WFG News
February 23, 2015

Trulia’s economist latest to leave company

Trulia’s chief economist is the latest to depart the company in the wake of the portal’s acquisition by Zillow, but says his research team will continue to produce housing reports “that will be different from Zillow’s and sometimes will kick their butts.” Jed Kolko. “From day one, Trulia’s leaders have…
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WFG News
February 23, 2015

Analyst: Trulia could lose 40 percent of listings

Trulia, the nation’s second most popular real estate search portal, could lose 40 percent of its listings if Zillow Group is not able to get a court to step in, according to Deutsche Bank analyst Lloyd Walmsley. Zillow announced Friday that it had filed for a temporary restraining order in…
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WFG News
February 23, 2015

StreetEasy takes page out of Zillow’s marketing playbook

Zillow-owned StreetEasy, a listing portal covering the New York City area, has launched a blog to showcase original research and company news, market data and “stories on the complexities and quirks of living in New York City.” The StreetEasy Blog will “serve as a helpful intersection for all the data…
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WFG News
February 23, 2015

Real estate brand wars and the future of homeownership

No more Z talk Marjan Apostolovic/Shutterstock Did you ever have a friend warn you, “Tonight, no talk about religion or politics”? I added another topic to the no-talk list: the Zillow acquisition of Trulia. Say the word Zillow and you must put a dollar in this jar. The other big…
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WFG News
February 23, 2015

Have a problem with Zestimate? More AVMs are coming your way

If you have concerns about how Zillow’s automated valuation model (AVM), Zestimate, could affect sellers’ perceptions of home value, then brace yourself because automated valuations will be a major battleground for portals starting this year. To stay competitive on the Internet, all of the major portals (and perhaps even a…
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WFG News
February 23, 2015

Century 21 unveils 2015 national marketing campaign

Century 21 Real Estate has unveiled two new TV spots, which will air throughout the year on network and cable channels as part of the Realogy brand’s 2015 national marketing campaign. Continuing the brand’s “Smarter. Bolder. Faster.” marketing campaign, the two 30-second spots — “Mom’s Basement” and “The Chase” —…
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WFG News
February 23, 2015

6 biggest challenges of real estate crowdfunding

When it comes to real estate investing, the web has had a profound effect on the industry. However, although some see surfing the Internet as a means of locating and researching potential investment properties, the web has also unleashed the power of crowdfunding, allowing ordinary people to invest in large properties that…
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WFG News
February 23, 2015

New portal surfaces research on benefits of housing

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) has launched an online portal dedicated to highlighting housing’s role in individual and neighborhood well-being. “How Housing Matters” serves up research and news that connects housing with a broad range of topics, focusing on the links between housing and “better educational opportunities and outcomes for children; stronger foundations…
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WFG News
February 23, 2015

Joe Schutt: ‘Adding an inside sales associate helps our agents get hot leads and close more deals’

Unit Realty Group agent Joe Schutt talks about ISAs, keeping an open-door policy and “unitails.” The post Joe Schutt: ‘Adding an inside sales associate helps our agents get hot leads and close more deals’ appeared first on WFG National Title Insurance Company.
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WFG News
February 23, 2015

Debunking 6 myths about IDX

The ubiquity of embedded IDX (Internet data exchange) widgets is something that can’t be ignored. The traditional agent website and its visitor search experience are almost always tied to some type of embedded IDX widget, which has been the industry’s answer to the question of how to provide home searches…
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