Baron Briefs

I’ve been slowly evolving RealtyBaron’s lead trading platform since its launch in 2004. In that time, I’ve learned quite a bit from users (don’t we all). For example, I initially modeled lead auctions after eBay auctions–3, 5, 7, and 10 days in length. However, agents complained consumers didn’t respond to emails after a lead auction completed.

After some good ol’ fashioned research ‘n analysis, I concluded a lead becomes quite “cold” after 24 hours…a fact that’s prolly well known by other lead services on the Web. So, I made some changes recently to counter this effect:

1. Instead of giving a choice of 3, 5, 7, or 10 days, I now give no choice and impose a 24-hour time limit on all lead auctions.
2. I added the concept of a “stop bid” which can be used by consumers to immediately stop the auction if a certain bid amount is received from a Realtor®. Not only does this prevent bidding from reaching absurd lows, but it can significantly shorten a lead auction. I now see some lead auctions end within hours of starting.

The first wave of feedback is just now being received after making these changes:

Not bad, eh?

I launched our first integration with Zillow early this morning. Not bad considering the API has only been available for one week. (Am I the first? Surely someone from Zillow can confirm it in the comments if true.)

Like a good programmer should, I designed the integeration separate from the RealtyBaron.com website. As a result, anyone who is using Java as their web platform can use the same software code I used to integrate. The project’s home can be found at http://code.realtybaron.com/docs/zillow-api

The source is not yet available and the documentation was hurried. Drop me an email if you have questions, comments, or need help using the toolkit: marc@realtybaron.com

As of this morning, RealtyBaron.com is now using Zillow’s API to help homeowners estimate the value of their home when performing a Listing Auction. It’s the first in a serious of integration points we see possible between Zillow and RealtyBaron.

To see the API in action, enter your home address from our homepage and continue to the next page (FYI, we don’t capture any of your information until you reach the end of the wizard). If you entered an address Zillow has in its database, the next page should have a Zestimate pre-loaded in the form. Here’s an example:

Once again, kudos to Zillow for making it possible!

I received an invitation to join the Zillow API Network on Monday as an “Alpha” tester, but didn’t get a chance to begin work on anything until yesterday. Since then, I’ve assembled a small “toolkit” using nothing but the finest in Java open source to make integrating Zillow’s API easier. After getting past two roadblocks late this afternoon, I was able to successfully request my home’s property details and Zestimate via Zillow’s API. Woohoo! Anyone else working on integration with Zillow’s API?

First, let me say, surveillance is part of business. You must keep an eye on the competition. This includes visiting their website to read copy, searching news clippings for their name, etc. But when you start posing as a customer, it crosses the line and becomes reconnaissance. I don’t mind surveillance, but recon is an abuse of my time and money.

There’s one competitor in particular who has now performed recon on my system twice and was dumb enough to include their website name in the header…twice. I let it slide last summer, but it happened again this week so I’m calling them out. First offense was fishing for info on RealtyBaron’s ranking system last summer by posing as a real estate agent web merchant who is considering our service affiliate program:

Then, after RealtyBaron’s launch of Buyer Rebate Auctions last week, they again posed as a customer–this time a “home buyer” in Jacksonville:

“Hungry” indeed….hungry for inside scoop on RealtyBaron™. Down, boy…down.

I received an email this morning from Zillow Business Development saying the API does not currently include the data I was most excited about when it was announced:

At some point, it is very likely that the API will be able to pull [lot size, square feet, number of bedrooms, bath, etc], but we have not currently developed this functionality.

Bummer.

UPDATE:  False alarm.  Greg from Zillow set me straight in the comments.  Thanks, Greg!

BloodhoundBlog questions the strategy of allowing other websites to plug into the Web services of Zillow and Trulia:

How the hell are either of these two quivering little firms going to make money on this? “Advertising!” they shout in unison, but the advertising is on their home pages, where these APIs aren’t. Each one has a little click-back button to take self-selected volunteers back to the home planet. But if I’m getting the milk for free at LargelyUnobjectionableAtlantaHomes.com, why the heck would I go to the dairy?

My initial thought on why each would do this: By opening up Zestimates and Zindices to the masses, Zillow is following in the foot steps of major players like Amazon and Google…build an API, let others innovate off the technology, and then acquire the best of breed.  Remember, they recently picked up an extra $25 million to “broaden their product offering”.  As far as TruliaMap, it’s likely an attempt to win over agents and brokers who haven’t warmed up to the idea of their website being crawled and scraped. Now, they get a cool widget for their website and Trulia gets access to more listings.

Sometimes we receive email from brokers and agents who make it clear they are not fans. This beauty just arrived in my inbox from “Jim”:

Is there a service I can use to pick out a brain surgeon or a great attorney or a day care provider so I can bid and not be conceerned[sic] with their quality or their true experiance[sic] or past bad service.I thought prostitution was illegal.Great concept!!”

“Jim” not only illustrates his difficulty with the English language, but he totally misses the point of AgentRankâ„¢ whose sole purpose is to represent an agent’s “quality”. If an agent can’t prove he or she has a good track record, they will not see a whole lot of action on RealtyBaron.com. Unfortunately, I can’t help but think there are a 1,000 agents for every “Jim” who leave our little corner of the Web with the same misunderstanding.

Since launching RealtyBaron.com, our auction platform has only been introducing homeowners to Realtors®. Today, we start helping the other side of the real estate transaction with Buyer Rebate Auctions.

Basically, anyone who has taken the home search into their own hands using vertical search tools such as Realtor.com, Trulia, or Propsmart can use this new feature to connect with a Realtor® who will represent them in the transaction. Realtor® bids are based on what sales commission (or flat fee) they’d accept as compensation. The rebate is the difference between the co-broke fee listed in the MLS and the Realtor’s final bid. For example, a co-broke fee of 3% minus a final bid of 1% = 2% rebate for buyer.

Like RealtyBaron’s current Listing Auctions, bidding on Buyer Rebate Auctions will be controlled by the gatekeeper algorithm, AgentRankâ„¢. As the name implies, AgentRank(TM) ranks agents and prevents underperforming agents from bidding. By specifying a minimum AgentRankâ„¢, buyers can ensure they meet a Realtor who has a proven track record.

For Realtors®, this feature is an easy way to connect with clients who have already absorbed the most costly part of representing buyers–the prolonged home search.

UPDATE: Inman News writes about our new Buyer Rebate Auctions. Thanks, Glenn!

Real estate brokers on the Realtor® mailing list, RealTalk, sounded off today when asked ‘Where have all the sellers come from?’. Here’re a few of the responses:

People bought homes with adjustable rates and now the payments have gone up to the point they can’t comfortably pay them.

A lot of the sellers I’ve talked with decided last year to cash in on the profits and move up to new and bigger homes. Now that construction on their new homes is being completed, they’re putting their current homes on the market.

Sellers home owners insurance being increased so much that they feel they have to sell and move out of the area A large chunk of them appear to be coming from investors.

Many of them planned to buy and flip and got caught when the market changed faster than they anticipated!

I say, “What about buyers?”. Shouldn’t they accept some of the blame? After all, if buyers were able and willing (i.e. demand) to do their part, there wouldn’t be an inventory build up.