Inman Connect Highlights Real Estate 2.0
Inman Connect has been a whirlwind for the last few days, so much so that I have barely had a chance to sit down at my computer. Compounding the situation has been spotty Wifi access on the show floor, something that Inman should definitely address next year. (Kevin from 3Oceans seems to agree with me with the need for a better Wifi access).
Apart from the flaky Wifi, the show has been a resounding success so far. Kudos to Brad and his organizing team for a fantastic event. It’s definitely one of the best trade shows I’ve ever attended.
Most exciting has been the opportunity to finally meet many of the real estate bloggers in person.
Sunday night’s Beers with the Bloggers event was a great success, thanks to everyone who showed up - Paul from Blogging Systems, Mary & John from RSS Pieces, Erik from RealtyThoughts, Matt and Jonathan from ActiveRain , Jeff from XBroker, Phil from Wellcomemat, Steve from AgencyLogic and Pat from TransparentRE, to name just a few (forgive me if I’ve forgotten anyone).
I was also honored that Pete and Kelly from Trulia stopped by and same goes for when Brendan and Jeff from Point2 arrived (I guess they’ve forgiven me for my Firefox jabs).
Of course a big shout out to the Rudy and Joe at Sellsius for suggesting an excellent venue at the Hudson Hotel (make sure you check out their pics of the evening too, see First Round, On Sellsius°). The guys at Sellsius have been doing a bang up job of covering the conference so far, so make sure you check ‘em out. I’ve been eyeing Rudy’s EVDO connection rather enviously over the last few days as he’s managed an Internet connection while the rest of us have been in the dark.
But onto the conference itself…
Some highlights:
Move.com’s Alan Dalton takes on Redfin’s Glenn Kelman. Wow. Highly spirited to say the least. My estimation of Glenn went up several notches as he had to sit up there in a very hostile atmosphere and defend his business model. I walked away very impressed. Like ‘em or not, you have to admire Redfin’s ability to soldier on.
Make sure you read Glenn’s take on the Redfin blog (see Holy Guacamole! Move.com Squares Off with Redfin at Inman)
Glenn also reveals that Redfin is soon to be launching in Southern California and Boston.
Oops! Brad Inman spills the beans on Localism, ActiveRain’s new “consumer facing” site. Read Matt’s post Brad Inman lets the cat out of the bag
Where’s Zillow? Despite all the hype over the last year, Zillow has remained conspicuously low key at this show. Signs of greater acceptance by the real estate community? Or are they digging themselves in for a bigger battle to come?
Trulia on the other hand, is getting into the consumer trends game with their Trulia Trends report. Johnathan Miller of Matrix has a good summary of what it entails and I plan on digging into it deeper on the flight back to Portland.
Finally, some takeaway thoughts:
Metrics, Metrics, Metrics
Online marketing is hitting its stride in the real estate space. More than ever, there are so many new options for Realtors to allocate their advertising dollars. The need to track and measure the ROI (Return On Investment) is going to become greater and greater. The companies that can help handhold real estate professionals through managing their metrics are the ones that are going to succeed.
Data Quality
The last year has been all about aggregating data. Whether it’s listings, agent profiles, consumer behavior or demographics, many of the Internet based companies that have enjoyed a rapid rise in the real estate space have built their businesses on the mountains of pre-existing raw data. The next challenge going forward is going to be how those companies keep their databases fresh and whether the data still remains relevant a year from now.
Video Killed the Virtual Tour
I believe this is going to be the year that online video finally make an impact in real estate. The barriers to entry have largely disappeared and the reams of data that now exists now needs context. Video does just that. Realtors and brokers should start looking at how they can incorporate video into their marketing efforts, not only as a way to differentiate themselves from the competition, but as a way to bring greater value to their clients and to consumers.
I hope to expand on much of this over the coming days as well as profile some of the interesting companies I’ve run into over the past 24 hours. But for now, I just have to get some sleep.
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5 Comment(s)
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- From Ubertor Real Estate Blog » Video Killed the Virtual Tour? | Jan 10, 2007
- From Interview with Glenn Kelman of Redfin | Rain City Guide | A Seattle Real Estate Blog... | Jan 10, 2007
- From VideoMagazine.tv: Video Differentiates Realtors from Competition | Jan 10, 2007
- From RealEstateVoices - Inman Connect Highlights Real Estate 2.0 - Social Real Estate News | Jan 10, 2007
- From Trulia Blog » Redfin vs. Realtor.com’s Allan Dalton | Jan 10, 2007
- From TRANSPARENT REAL ESTATE (www.TransparentRE.com) | Jan 10, 2007
- From » Panoramic Tours Are Dead - RIP » Video Openhouse Real Estate News | Jan 10, 2007
- From Realty Thoughts » Blog Archive » Thoughts on NY, Inman and Online Video | Jan 11, 2007
- From Redfin | Jan 11, 2007
- From Redfin | Jan 11, 2007
- From immobilienportale.com - Immobilien Blog » Ein paar Berichte von der Real Estate Connect NY | Jan 13, 2007
- From VC Ratings: Benchmark Capital Archives | Jan 19, 2007
- From Video Killed the Virtual Tour « Real Estate Video Tours | Jan 30, 2007
- From Extate Launches Video Tours | Feb 5, 2007
- From urbnlivn - A Seattle condo new construction real estate blog » Web sitcom used to sell condos in Vancouver | Feb 9, 2007
- From rsspieces.com - How popular is rsspieces.com? (://URLFAN) | Jun 26, 2007
- From Real Estate 2.0: The New Internet | Real Estate Blogsites | Sep 11, 2007
Jonathan Dalton | Jan 9, 2007 | Reply
Here’s one completely knee-jerk reaction to video from someone who admittedly has not fully researched the potential. I’m finding that with the sheer volume of resale inventory I’m often trying to determine what information to hold back. For example, I no longer include room sizes on my listings. Why? Because I don’t want someone eliminating one of these homes because the master bedroom is 15×15 and not 17×15. Maybe these 30 square feet are crucial. Or maybe they won’t really see it as an issue if they look at the house.
Virtual tours have posed similar challenges, whether using 360-degree or panoramic views. Every listing because a detailed discussion of what we should shoot and what we should avoid.
Video strikes me as the same … maybe it will be sufficiently dynamic that it’s less of an issue. Perhaps the client will be so immersed in what the experience that they won’t be eliminating homes left and right for perceived issues that may not exist with a live viewing.
And yes, I know I sound like one of Geico’s cavemen.
jf.sellsius | Jan 9, 2007 | Reply
Anyone who hasn’t been to an Inman conference ought to go. It’s all about face-to-face interaction with very big players in the real estate space. And everyone is approachable and willing to share their time with you. Business deals are being forged everywhere. For those who perceive Inman as solely a vendor show, you have to open your eyes. In fact, I haven’t even gotten a chance to go to the vendor space yet.
Speaking of video, Phil from wellcome mat has some great talent and we learned alot from him. Any blogger or agent who doesn’t think about using video is missing an opportunity to stretch their reach. I’m in complete agreement with you that video is going to be a more important marketing tool.
I had a great conversation with Travis of neighboroo at dinner this evening. The guy is amazingly bright and he is onto something big. We even shared some quality time with Craig Newmark today. He too was fascinated by Rudy’s connection & thought he should switch over. He told us he was even thinking about buying a place in NYC.
Overall, what you learn here is useful in making you a better agent–better tools, newest technology, trends–being around creative and innovative people can’t help but get the intellectually open person thinking about how they can improve the way they do business .
The icing on the cake is getting to relax and really get to know our fellow bloggers, face-to-face.
Jamie | Jan 10, 2007 | Reply
Joel,
It was nice meeting you in person, I think the interest and participation by the blogging community at these events is great. Let me know if you are coming to the SF show in July, would love to catch up more.
Jamie
Michiel Bonte | Jan 11, 2007 | Reply
Joel, my highlight also was the clash of Redfin Glenn and Move Alen. glenn is a brave guy and actually by sticking to his message and the underlaying business model at the end alan had to confess that “there should be some space for all of us”.
it’s nice to see that also in real estate, technology keeps the mind sharp of the traditional brokers. they have to change and embrace technology. where i come from (netherlands) since last year the largest broker is an internet broker who charges 1000 $ per deal, regardless of the price and only covers the legal handling and let buyers and sellers unite on their internet portal and make the deal. this is typically user generated content / business. technology facilitates. and it does not need to be the best situation for all deals or all house sellers but the numbers simply justify that the market is there! and the nice part is that it is transparant and that its succes is defined by worth of mouth, positive reactions and learning by doing, improving and continue to serve customers in stead of serving yourself as a broker with a 6% fee..
Elias | Jan 27, 2007 | Reply
Hi,
Speaking of video tours…I run a free video tour real estate site at http://www.ShowYourPlace.com
You can post your video tours for free. Please take a look.
Elias