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The Latest News from WFG National Title Company
ryantate
180
WFG News
March 2, 2015

Zillow Group’s game of ‘chicken’

For months now, the rumor mill has been flying with talk of Zillow and Trulia (now Zillow Group) ending the featured listings placement for brokers and franchisors by the end of 2015. Large brokers and franchisors who pay $5 to $10 to feature a listing, with all competing agents stripped…
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ryantate
168
WFG News
February 25, 2015

Zillow secures direct feed from big Georgia MLS

Georgia Multiple Listing Service, serving nearly 27,000 members with a total of over 54,000 listings, is the latest large MLS to sign up to send Zillow its listings in a direct feed. “The direct agreement with Zillow gives our members the opportunity to decide on how to best market their…
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ryantate
199
WFG News
February 25, 2015

Portals pay to play? Brokers, MLSs could profit from listing feeds

Clichés are commonplace in real estate. The simple, repetitive statements are supposed to make complex topics succinct. But more often, they create trite answers instead of strategic thought. “A real estate portal is just another advertising platform.” “They’re selling our leads back to us.” “Portals are no different than newspapers.” “My…
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ryantate
167
WFG News
February 18, 2015

Nicholas Quirico: ‘The biggest problem facing the industry is listing inaccuracy’

Inman is interviewing real estate professionals in every area of the field to talk about technology use. Here’s Nicholas Quirico of Accurate Agent and MyHouseHas. I run a business called Accurate Agent that addresses problems early on in the real estate process. I work to bring Realtors the tools they need…
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ryantate
220
WFG News
February 10, 2015

Some groups don’t get a say in the great portal debate

How should the industry address listing feeds to ListHub, Zillow, and other multiple listing services and portals? It’s up to brokers — and there are some industry groups who simply don’t get to vote. Jon Coile is the president of Champion Realty, a regional brokerage in Maryland, and the chairman of…
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ryantate
186
WFG News
February 9, 2015

How should brokers and MLSs navigate new world of listing distribution?

Real estate listing distribution will change significantly when ListHub and Zillow split in April. Brokers and MLSs are rushing to ensure that their listings remain on the most popular consumer advertising portals. Those brokers and MLSs need to take great caution in their next steps. Moving too quickly could undermine…
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ryantate
199
WFG News
February 4, 2015

Unintended consequences of listing regulations

“Follow the drugs and you’ll find the drug dealers, but follow the money and you’ll be surprised where it takes you.“ – HBO’s police drama “The Wire” Regulations governing the access, distribution and display of residential real estate listings changed many industry dynamics over the past 20 years. Traditionally, brokers…
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ryantate
166
WFG News
January 28, 2015

ListHub general manager discusses Zillow syndication agreement

Ever since the Jan. 6 announcement that ListHub would not be renewing Zillow’s syndication agreement, real estate professionals have been seeking more information about exactly what this means to ListHub, Zillow and, ultimately, themselves. This is a story that affects everyone in the industry. Yesterday, I had the unique opportunity…
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ryantate
151
WFG News
January 28, 2015

Why Zillow reminds me of my ex-girlfriend

I run a boutique real estate firm called TREO Realtors in Cincinnati, Ohio. I get a call or an email about once a week from Zillow trying to upsell me on services and, ultimately, secure a direct listing feed of my listings to its site. I really like Zillow. For…
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ryantate
217
WFG News
January 28, 2015

Why News Corp bought realtor.com instead of Zillow or Trulia

NEW YORK CITY — The new owner of realtor.com operator Move Inc. kicked the tires of its two chief competitors, Zillow and Trulia, before  acquiring Move for $950 million in November, News Corp. CEO Robert Thomson revealed today. In a one-on-one conversation with Inman Publisher Brad Inman at Real Estate Connect…
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