Housing News
Brokerage Adds FourSquare Check-ins to Their iPhone App
#RealFourSquare
We’ve talked about location-based Twitter application FourSquare that allows you to “check in” to locations for some time- Ines asked if if it’s just a game, Matt Stigliano told us why “wasting your time” on FourSquare is good and Janie even gave us 10 ideas for the new “check in anywhere” feature.
The debate about FourSquare is whether or not it’s a game, a waste of time, professional enough for agent use and so on and so forth, but what’s not debated is the growth of FourSquare as businesses find new ways to integrate it into their business, which brings us to the Corcoran Group.
The Corcoran Group in New York has integrated FourSquare into their iPhone app to be part of their “Get Out Nearby” feature so users can check in on FourSquare directly from the Corcoran App while searching for homes for sale or rent, allowing them to see what is nearby a listing while standing inside that listing.
One of the features I like is that the app remembers which listing a user was on and allows toggling between surrounding businesses and the listing that a user has checked into.
The Corcoran Group is among the first to utilize this technology, despite agent chatter that it’s a time waster… as they should, because that’s where the consumer is and location-based technology isn’t “trendy” or “silly,” it is absolutely where mobile technology is headed.
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Average age of houses on the rise, so is it now better or worse to buy new?
With aging housing in America, are first-time buyers better off buying new or existing homes? The average age of a home is rising, as is the price of new housing, so a shift could be upon us.
The average home age is higher than ever
(REALUOSO.COM) – In a survey from the Department of Housing and Urban Development American Housing Survey (AHS), the median age of homes in the United States was 35 years old. In Texas, homes are a bit younger with the median age between 19 – 29 years. The northeast has the oldest homes, with the median age between 50 – 61 years. In 1985, the median age of a home was only 23 years.
With more houses around 40 years old, the National Association of Realtors asserts that homeowners will have to undertake remodeling and renovation projects before selling unless the home is sold as-is, in which case the buyer will be responsible to update their new residence. Even homeowners who aren’t selling will need to consider remodeling for structural and aesthetic reasons.
Prices of new homes on the rise
Newer homes cost more than they used to. The price differential between new homes and older homes has increased from 10 percent traditionally to around 37 percent in 2014. This is due to rising construction costs, scarcity of lots, and a low inventory of new homes that doesn’t meet the demand.
Click here to continue reading this story…
Housing News
Are Realtors the real loser in the fight between Zillow Group and Move, Inc.?
The last year has been one of dramatic and rapid change in the real estate tech sector, but Realtors are vulnerable, and we’re worried.
Why Realtors are vulnerable to these rapid changes
(REALUOSO.COM) – Corporate warfare demands headlines in every industry, but in the real estate tech sector, a storm has been brewing for years, which in the last year has come to a head. Zillow Group and Move, Inc. (which is owned by News Corp. and operates ListHub, Realtor.com, TopProducer, and other brands) have been competing for a decade now, and the race has appeared to be an aggressive yet polite boxing match. Last year, the gloves came off, and now, they’ve drawn swords and appear to want blood.
Note: We’ll let you decide which company plays which role in the image above.
So how then, does any of this make Realtors the victims of this sword fight? Let’s get everyone up to speed, and then we’ll discuss.
1. Zillow poaches top talent, Move/NAR sues
It all started last year when the gloves came off – Move’s Chief Strategy Officer (who was also Realtor.com’s President), Errol Samuelson jumped ship and joined Zillow on the same day he phoned in his resignation without notice. He left under questionable circumstances, which has led to a lengthy legal battle (wherein Move and NAR have sued Zillow and Samuelson over allegations of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and misappropriation of trade secrets), with the most recent motion being for contempt, which a judge granted to Move/NAR after the mysterious “Samuelson Memo” surfaced.
Salt was added to the wound when Move awarded Samuelson’s job to Move veteran, Curt Beardsley, who days after Samuelson left, also defected to Zillow. This too led to a lawsuit, with allegations including breach of contract, violation of corporations code, illegal dumping of stocks, and Move has sought restitution. These charges are extremely serious, but demanded slightly less attention than the ongoing lawsuit against Samuelson.
2. Two major media brands emerge
Last fall, the News Corp. acquisition of Move, Inc. was given the green light by the feds, and this month, Zillow finalized their acquisition of Trulia.
…Click here to continue reading this story…
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Bob
February 23, 2010 at 11:51 am
Location based technology is also under extreme criticism for privacy issues.
pleaserobme.com
Lani Rosales
February 23, 2010 at 11:55 am
Yes, you’re right. As were the concerns with telephones, email, IRC, chat rooms, myspace, twitter, facebook or any other form of communication where it is made clear that you are not home. Common sense should prevail.
Personally, unless there is someone of age in my house (like our 19 year old, a house sitter, etc), I don’t say where I’m GOING, only where I’ve BEEN.
Bob
February 23, 2010 at 12:11 pm
The whole point of 4sq is where you are, but that aside, Corcoran’s use of 4sq is a long way from the discussion about telling people you are hanging at Starbucks so that maybe a client decides to join you for a cup of joe.
Their app also isnt about them, but about the consumer. Corcoran didnt design an app for their agents so that all their clients would know where they are at any point during the day. They made a tool to aid in the home buying process. Big difference between how they use it and most of the RE.net plays with it.
Lani Rosales
February 23, 2010 at 12:31 pm
agreed 🙂
Melanie Wyne
February 23, 2010 at 12:41 pm
Bob is right about the privacy concerns. There is a hearing scheduled tomorrow in the House Commerce committee to examine privacy implications of location based technologies. I’m going–I’ll report back. Lani is right too…there are privacy concerns over every new technology the rub is often what, if anything, policymakers do about it.
Benn Rosales
February 23, 2010 at 12:45 pm
Well Melanie, since these are homes for sale that you can check into (technically broadcasting arrival, not exiting), should we put the MLS back behind closed doors for concerns and fears that the seller may be robbed if viewed by evil minds? After all, with great data comes great responsibility! 😉
Melanie Wyne
February 23, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Hmmm…for now I’d put that in the “solution in search of a problem” category. 🙂
Benn Rosales
February 23, 2010 at 1:04 pm
Well, while public safety is paramount in reference to geo location services I actually believe this is an incredibly effective use of geo location in terms of product promotion and presentation.
I do foresee possible implications however for proper disclosure. Describing what it means to be marketed on the internet is very quickly evolving and although many agents are not clear on all of the nuances of internet marketing, I’m wondering if the documentation we present during listing presentations doesn’t need to somehow become more standardized nationally to give the best description of what ‘internet marketing’ means above and beyond MLS, agent/broker sites, etc.
Nashville Grant
February 23, 2010 at 6:41 pm
I prefer to call FourSquare, the “RobMyHouse” game. What a lot of criminals are beginning to do is use this technology against by my simply geo mapping your home and comparing to the location you just checked in at on FourSquare. In other words, they know exactly how much time they have to clean out your house before you can even get home using Google Traffic Maps…scary. I don’t play FourSquare.
Lani Rosales
February 23, 2010 at 6:50 pm
Yeah, that’s what Bob mentioned in comments above. This is why I don’t recommend people checking in to their home- if you never do that, people don’t know where you live. Also, as I commented above, I prefer to broadcast where I have been rather than where I am.
This app as outlined in the article is more along the lines of a branded means for home buyers to check out their surroundings and is done very well.
Matt Stigliano
February 23, 2010 at 6:52 pm
I was robbed long before Foursquare existed. If someone wants your goods and they are willing to steal them – they will find away, with or without technology.
Burglary is a very low-tech crime if it needs to be.
#justsayin
Sean Dawes
February 26, 2010 at 7:07 pm
Why do realtors need to spam every single media channel? If you think about it, if I want to check in at a local restaurant but every realtor has added their listing, I now have to scan past all the BS to get to the quality. Adding check ins is only adding spam to the platform.