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After 4 years as Vice President of the Multiple Listing Service, this past Thursday I was sworn in as 2014 MLS President. I have to admit that it was a proud moment, but I also feel very strongly that there is quite a bit of work to do. Our association has merged with 3 other boards in the past few years, and the last merger resulted in the union of two MLS systems running on different platforms. In 2014, both databases, the old Empire Access MLS and Greater Hudson Valley MLS will now not only be the unified Hudson Gateway MLS in name, but also in fact on the Matrix system. To the public this may sound like a bunch of gobbledy- techno-gook, but to fellow Realtors this is monumental and presents the challenges of change to over 9000 agents on both sides of the Hudson.
I foresee few issues with the transition. Our neighbors in Connecticut switched to Matrix last year and it was very smooth.
The bigger issue I see is that of data policy. The real asset that any MLS has is its data. We have over 15 years of market activity in our archives, and of course the MLS is to the real estate market very much what the stock exchange is to securities. We currently provide the inventory of homes for sale to Realtor.com, every real estate website with an Internet Data Exchange (IDX) and use a 3rd party to import our listings to dozens of “syndication” sites like Zillow and Trulia. When I first started my company brokers who wanted their listings syndicated opted in through their own means or vendors. We then adapted our current policy, and there are some systems that provide some syndication sites with a direct (“RETS”) feed.
There are complications and pitfalls with each model. Syndication sites (disclosure: I am a member of the Zillow Agent Advisory Board) have fostered some suspicion from licensees over how they have monetized their business models, and there have always been data accuracy issues. The cure for one compounds the other. I will be forming an advisory group to review our data policy from the ground up to determine how best to provide data to outside sources in service to our participants and consumers with a long term outlook. It sounds easier than it is. But I live for this stuff.
It will be great to work alongside newly-installed Hudson Gateway Association President Diane Cummins on the executive board. When I first met Diane years ago she was rocking a Motorola Xoom tablet computer and she has always been a pleasure to collaborate with on association matters. She also gets my sense of humor. Also serving as Vice President of the Association will be none other than our own Jenn Maher, my partner in J Philip Commercial group and manager for the residential firm. I could write a month of posts just on Jenn’s exploits-she is an asset to the firm and the association.
This is a volunteer position that will be undertaken outside of running my brokerage. I will be busy. I am also extremely honored, and as I have promised many before, I will say it again here: I will give it my all.
On Being Household Name-or Not.
Name recognition is something all business enterprises aspire to have. A good reputation, a book of business, “getting your name out,” is the goal of every company. In a brand conscious place like Westchester County, it is the holy grail. That being said, industry specific circumstances often make that aspiration a constantly moving target. For example:
Name a great proctologist you would swear by in Armonk.
Who is the best architect in Dobbs Ferry? Or the top 3?
Off the top of your head, who is the “go to” interior decorator in Harrison?
If your car were totaled, who would you call to buy a new vehicle that you absolutely know would be honest to a fault and take awesome care of you?
You need a wedding planner. Who do you know would make the magic day magic?
You need a child psychologist. Who do you entrust your son or daughter to?
The chances are that you’d ask your sphere of influence for input. And the chances are high that the names of the proctologist, decorator or wedding planner are names you have never heard before. And I’ll bet that doesn’t factor in, because these are things that you don’t do every day.
Real estate is a specialized field in that it is a transaction that seldom occurs. It is no sin to not have the same name recognition in real estate as a soft drink, automobile maker or chain restaurant. As a matter of fact, real estate is the one field where being a big box name, for some people has the exact opposite meaning to the public as other industries.
Here’s what I mean- take a wedding for example:
Would you want your wedding catered by a well known hamburger franchise?
Would you buy a wedding dress at a department store with an automotive department a few aisles down?
What about the photos? After the ceremony would you head down to the strip mall and have your wedding portrait taken at the photography kiosk next to the half-off DVD bin?
What about the flowers? Wouldn’t the supermarket be more cost effective than a florist?
Most would agree that it would be absurd to have any mass produced servicer for something as special and rare as a wedding. Yet I speak with literally hundreds of people a year who entrusted the rare, special and largest financial event of their life to someone because they saw their company’s signs all over the place or their ads in the margins of their online newspaper. And they regretted it.
There is no Proctologist Hut.
I know of no Child Psychologists- R- Us
Architect-Mart wouldn’t catch on.
Name recognition is equally dubious in real estate in most cases. The idea that if a company or agent spends a ton of money on marketing then they must be good is fallacious in my 17 years of experience. National brands are meaningless in something as expensive, rare and high stakes as real estate. Buyers don’t care who a house is listed with, they care if it suits their needs. And as far as big box firms having more “tools” and exposure than smaller independents, why is my little firm outperforming the market by well over 50%? Why are over half of my sold listings the ex clients of franchises and “market leaders?” Consumers learn fast to do more due diligence on their broker than buy the marketing pitches.
Here is what I tell my frustrated friends and colleagues to say when they are told by a prospective referral that they never heard of me or my firm:
Now you have.