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Category Archives: Agent “Doing Business” Discussions
MRED CEO AT THE CENTER OF LISTINGS DISTRIBUTION DEBATE
Russ Bergeron Joins Other Industry Heavyweights in Panel Discussion
At Real Estate Connect Conference
LISLE, ILLINOIS (July 9, 2013) – Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), Chicagoland’s multiple listing service (MLS), has announced that its CEO, Russ Bergeron, will be featured as a panel member at the 2013 Inman Real Estate Connect Conference in San Francisco. MRED has also been selected as a finalist for an Inman News Innovator Award in the MLS/Real Estate Trade Association category.
This year’s conference is taking place July 10th through 12th at the Hilton Union Square in San Francisco. Bergeron will be participating in a panel discussion on Thursday, July 11th, titled “Ringleading at the Syndication Circus: Not Just Another Syndication Panel”. Discussion will ensue regarding the proliferation of listings on the Internet, and if the MLS can be positioned as the definitive listings caretaker.
Bergeron will be joined on the panel by other real estate industry notables such as Chris Crocker of Zillow, Jon Coile from Champion Realty, Andy Woolley of Homes.com, Luke Glass from ListHub, and David Charron of MRIS.
“Real Estate Connect is known for stirring up controversy,” said MRED CEO Russ Bergeron. “The pros and cons of listing syndication have been debated for years. Our goal is try to shake things up a bit in an attempt to refocus everyone as to why we are all in this business.”
About MRED
Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) is the real estate data aggregator and distributor providing the Chicagoland multiple listing service (MLS) to nearly 40,000 brokers and appraisers and 8,000 offices. MRED serves Chicago and the surrounding “collar” counties and provides property information encompassing northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin and northwest Indiana. MRED delivers over twenty products and services to its customers, complementing connectMLS™, the top-rated MLS system in the country per the latest WAV Group MLS Technology Survey. For more information please visit MREDLLC.com.
Buying a House: The Cost If You Waited
We often talk about the potential cost of waiting to buy a home. Today, we want to look at the actual cost for someone who waited over the last year. We used a 10% increase in house values as prices have gone up by double digits in the country on average. We looked at approximate mortgage rates last year compared to this year. Here is the impact on a monthly mortgage payment (principal and interest):
Information via KCM Blog
Mayor Emanuel Announces Chicago is First City in the Nation to Include Energy Costs in Home Listings
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 03, 2013
CONTACT:
Mayor’s Press Office
312.744.3334
press@cityofchicago.org
MAYOR EMANUEL ANNOUNCES CHICAGO IS FIRST CITY IN THE NATION TO INCLUDE ENERGY COSTS IN HOME LISTINGS
Inclusion in Online MLS System Will Increase Value of Energy Efficiency in Home Sales
Mayor Rahm Emanuel in partnership with CNT Energy and Midwest Real Estate Data LLC (MRED) announced today that Chicago home listings on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) will display annual and monthly gas and electric cost to help home buyers make more informed purchasing decisions. Chicago will be the first city in the nation to provide this information on home listings. The new system launched this week on the Chicago MLS. Residents should talk to their realtors®to see this information online on MRED’s connectMLS site. Realtors can also provide potential homebuyers with a detailed energy report; a sample can be viewed at retrofit.cityofchicago.org/report.
“Chicago is leading the nation in using data to promote energy efficiency and create green jobs,” said Mayor Emanuel. “This innovative tool will allow residents and homebuyers to factor energy costs into their buying decisions and streamline the 25-year old paper-intensive process for realtors and utility companies, allowing them to focus on their customers. It is a win-win that will create a better marketplace and opportunity in our neighborhoods.”
In recent years, homebuyers’ preference for energy efficient homes has become a nationwide trend; a February report from the National Association of Homebuilders demonstrated that energy efficient homes are desired by a vast majority of consumers. Similarly, a March study from the University of North Carolina showed energy efficient homes with the ENERGY STAR designation are less likely to foreclose than comparable homes.
“The online energy information will help accelerate energy efficiency efforts in Chicago and highlight Chicago’s position as a leader in sustainability,” said Anne Evens, Executive Director of CNT Energy. “We look forward to the benefits that this continued partnership will bring to Chicago residents. We appreciate Mayor Emanuel’s leadership on this initiative and the Innovation Delivery Team’s efforts to make this possible.”
“We are proud to partner with the City and CNT Energy so that participants at every level of the home purchasing process will be able to make smart comparisons and ultimately make an informed decision regarding sustainability,” said Russ Bergeron, CEO of MRED. “Under Mayor Emanuel’s leadership, Chicago residents will have better information at their fingertips when making home purchase decisions.”
This new tool builds upon the success of the Retrofit Chicago Residential Partnership, which has retrofitted over 4,000 Chicago homes and apartments. Last week, Mayor Emanuel announced that $2.6 million of Retrofit rebates were still available for residents to make their homes more energy efficient. Further information is available at retrofit.cityofchicago.org or by calling 855-9-IMPACT. The initiative was developed under the leadership of the Mayor’s Innovation Delivery Team, in cooperation with Midwest Real Estate Data LLC (MRED), CNT Energy, and the Chicago Association of REALTORS®. Additional support was provided by Baird & Warner, @Properties, Prudential Rubloff, and Coldwell Banker.
Chicago is one of five cities to have received an Innovation Delivery Team grant from the Bloomberg Philanthropies. Since launching in November 2011, the team has spearheaded a business license reform ordinance that reduced the number of license categories by 60 percent and helped design the Small Business Center to serve as a one-stop-shop for small businesses. Part of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Project, Innovation Delivery Team grants were also awarded to four other cities: Atlanta, Louisville, Memphis, and New Orleans.
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How Much Has Your City Changed? [Infographic]
According to this data, the cities that grew the most between 2000 and 2010 are:
- Aurora
- Joliet
- Plainfield
- Homer Glen
- Huntley
Infographic via Chicago Real Estate Forum
MRED Stuns Industry with Super-Success of MREDpalooza
Attendees, Sponsors and Exhibitors Thrilled with the Real Estate Tech Event of the Year
LISLE, ILLINOIS (June 24, 2013) – MREDpalooza was a super-success! That was the consensus of the attendees, sponsors and exhibitors as told to the staff of Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), Chicagoland’s multiple listing service (MLS), host of the event.
MREDpalooza, which took place on June 18th, surpassed all expectations and delivered on its promise as the largest and most impressive free real estate tech event of the year. Almost 4,300 expo attendees stormed the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. Training classes were filled to overflowing with almost 7,400 pre-event registrations and numerous walk-ins. Everyone came away impressed.
“Thanks for MREDpalooza – it was very informative,” said Sharon Drumm of Drumm Realty in Manteno. “We learned LOTS!
“MREDpalooza was a valuable experience to learn how real estate technology impacts our industry and how knowledge of the various products and services available can empower any broker or agent,” said Marco Mallard of Safe Harbor Realty in Chicago. “I got a chance to talk to several representatives that offered me insight into upcoming products and technology, and also empowered my utilization of current products and services. And for free?! Totally worth it.”
“MREDpalooza was absolutely phenomenal — and free!” said Linda Krause of RealLiving Speckman Realty in Bourbonnais. “The location, placement of vendors and classes running continuously throughout the day was a great idea. Having amenities and food vendors nearby was an additional plus! Thank you!”
“I just flew in from overseas – Romania,” said Bruce Theobald, of Lakefront Realty Group in Chicago. “This is fabulous! You guys are great.”
“I got to meet a lot of “behind the scenes” people from MRED,” said Kathy Repsis of Coldwell Banker Residential in Elmhurst. “I love MRED and all of their Help Desk staff people.”
MREDpalooza’s sponsors and exhibitors were equally amazed with the large turnout and enthusiasm of attendees.
“Russ Bergeron and his crew at MRED showed us how it’s done,” said Greg Robertson, Co-founder of W&R Studios. “We had our single best day for Cloud CMA Power Pack orders. I also spoke to a few other vendors and heard the “best day ever” comment more than a few times. The place was rocking for 7 hours straight. I probably left some money on the table by not having another person in the booth with me, it was that crazy.”
“Congrats to the MRED team!” said Susan Young of realtor.com. “Our classes were standing room only and our booth was extremely busy all day. Well done MRED!”
“We were thrilled by the amount of booth traffic and energy MREDpalooza provided,” said Vanessa Murray, Partner Marketing Manager for Market Leader. “And a huge ‘Thank You’ goes to Gayle Ludemann and all the MRED team for making this a successful event and wonderful vendor partnership. It was a great show for us and we will definitely be sponsoring again!”
“The integration of down payment assistance information into property listings is a new concept,” said Rob Chrane, President of Down Payment Resource (DPR). “Seven hours of non-stop engagement with MRED real estate professionals gave us a great opportunity to share our product’s features and answer questions up close and personal. We were thrilled with the level of participation at MREDpalooza.”
“MREDpalooza had an amazing turn out!” said Liz McKay, Production Manager for 10K Research and Marketing. “The 10K booth was busy all day, and we had great responses to our demos. We’ve long valued our partnership with MRED; and the popularity of our product demonstrations at MREDpalooza cemented our mutual commitment to thrill MRED members.”
“I cannot express how satisfying it is to me personally and to our staff to have such a successful event,” said MRED CEO Russ Bergeron. “It was a lot of hard work, but it was extremely important to us that this be a special experience for our attendees, sponsors and exhibitors. We pulled out all the stops, and everyone involved thinks this was time very well spent.”
About MRED
Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) is the real estate data aggregator and distributor providing the Chicagoland multiple listing service (MLS) to nearly 40,000 brokers and appraisers and 8,000 offices. MRED serves Chicago and the surrounding “collar” counties and provides property information encompassing northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin and northwest Indiana. MRED delivers over twenty products and services to its customers, complementing connectMLS™, the top-rated MLS system in the country per the latest WAV Group MLS Technology Survey. For more information please visit MREDLLC.com.
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