MRED Blog

Special Projects/R&D Director Lambrou Latest to take on Leadership Role

LISLE, ILLINOIS (September 3, 2015) – Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), Chicagoland’s multiple listing service (MLS), announced that Chris Lambrou, its Director of Special Projects/R&D, has been named the first chair of the newly formed Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) Internet Tracking Workgroup.

RESO is a group of real estate organizations working together to develop and implement data standards and processes that support innovation, ensure portability, eliminate redundancies and obtain maximum efficiencies for all parties participating in the real estate transaction. RESO’s ultimate goal is a fully automated real estate transaction facilitated by data standards and processes accepted by real estate professionals everywhere.

RESO has formed the Internet Tracking Work Group in response to the significant interest that exists today in big data analysis and developing ways to measure the value of data displayed.

“Tracking data is a key component for any modern day data set,” said Lambrou. “No longer is having the data secure and readily available enough. True analytics that show value are now expected and commonplace in the software industry. A RESO standard on tracking RETS data would be beneficial for all parties involved. I’m extremely excited for the opportunity to be the facilitator of this conversation and look forward to the journey ahead.”

“Today across the nation, brokers and agents advertise listings through hundreds of different outlets,” said Jeremy Crawford, Executive Director of RESO. “Understanding the value proposition of their advertising efforts and the reach of those efforts are critical to their everyday business. The new Internet Tracking workgroup chartered by the RESO Board of Directors will strive to create standards which will allow for brokers and agents to have transparency into the Internet listing activity and even behaviors by consumers so the brokers and agents know where best to focus their efforts and what is truly successful. The listing tracking information will also help technology and advertising companies tailor their products, services, and targeted outreaches to best serve their respective broker and agent customers.”

“We are proud of Chris and the contributions he has made in developing the sourceMLS analytics platform,” said MRED President/Chief Executive Officer Rebecca Jensen. “Tracking product usage amongst our vendors is key. MLSs need to make business decisions with this data, and it will help us compare “apples to apples”. I am very happy RESO is taking full advantage of the knowledge and insight Chris will bring.”

About MRED

Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) is the real estate data aggregator and distributor providing the Chicagoland multiple listing service (MLS) to more than 40,000 brokers and appraisers and nearly 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 for two years running according to the WAV Group MLS Technology Survey. MRED is the 2013 Inman News Most Innovative MLS/Real Estate Trade Association, and for five consecutive years the MRED Help Desk has been identified as one of the best small business centers in the United States and Canada by BenchmarkPortal. For more information please visit MREDLLC.com.

Infographic via KCM Blog

With TRID’s (TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule) effective date of October 3, 2015 approaching, lenders, real estate agents and settlement agents need to be taking stock of their preparedness and communicating among themselves and with consumers about what do expect.

Read the “Top 5” for TRID Compliance by three individuals from organizations recognized as industry leaders who have been dedicated to implementing TRID on time and in compliance.

Article via RIS Media

People often ask whether or not now is a good time to buy a home. No one ever asks when a good time to rent is. However, we want to make certain that everyone understands that today is NOT a good time to rent.

The Census Bureau just released their second quarter median rent numbers. Here is a graph showing rent increases from 1988 until today:

At the same time, a report by Axiometrics revealed:

“The national apartment market’s annual effective rent growth rate of 5.1% in June 2015 represented a 47-month high, and continued a streak of 5.0%-plus rent growth that is now the longest in at least six years, according to apartment market research. The effective rent growth in June 2014 was 3.7%, putting June 2015’s exceptional performance into perspective.

This is the highest rate since the 5.3% of July 2011. The metric has reached at least 5.0% for five straight months, the longest such streak since Axiometrics started monthly reporting of annual apartment data in April 2009.”

Where will rents be headed in the future?

Stephanie McCleskey, Axiometrics vice president of research, commented on the above report in an article by Real Estate Economy Watch:

“Rent growth is just shy of the post-recession peak, and the June metrics reflect the continued strength of the apartment market. The demand for apartments is still strong, despite the record number of new units being delivered this year. Tight occupancy is why landlords can push rents higher.”

Bottom Line

If you are ready, willing and of course able to buy, now may make sense.

Blog Post via KCM Blog

“Modern humans are the dazed survivors of a continuous, five million year habit of lethal aggression,” said Richard Wrangham and Pale Peterson, authors of the book Demonic Males.

In past times, people lived in small communities, everyone knew everyone else, and you knew who the bad guys were. It was impossible to escape past behavior. Fast forward to the internet age and our social interactions are often casual and impersonal with no frame of reference.

We still remain territorial, competitive, and sometimes violent just like our ancestors, but luckily most of our modern society lives within the norms of reality. Most of us act predictably, which in itself holds society together.

There is this small section of society however, that does not think that the rules apply to them. We refer to these individuals as predators as they prey on weak victims, just like sharks circling their next meal. Your potential to become their next victim is influenced, in large part, by the unconscious signals you project.

Shocking data predator selection

In a groundbreaking study, researchers Betty Grayson and Morris I. Stein shot video of pedestrians walking down a busy New York City sidewalk, unaware they were being taped. They then asked convicts, in prison for violent offenses such as armed robbery, rape, and murder, to review the footage.

Literally within a few seconds, these convicted criminals identified which pedestrians they would have targeted. What’s alarming is that there was a clear consensus among the criminals as to which individuals they personally would have picked as victims.

Their choices were not based on gender, race, or age. Some petite, physically slight women were not selected, while some large men were.

Grayson and Stein soon realized the criminals were intuitively assessing the ease with which they could overpower the targets and neither criminals nor victims were consciously aware of these cues.

Predators spot non-verbal attributes as well

Further investigation revealed that there were several nonverbal signals—posture, body language, pace of walking, length of stride, and awareness of environment – what psychologists call “precipitators,” personal attributes that increase a person’s likelihood of being criminally victimized.

One of the main precipitators is a walking style that lacks organized movement and flowing motion.

Just like predators in the wild, predators often attack the slowest in the herd. People who drag their feet, shuffle along, or exhibit other unusual gaits are accessed as less self-confident and so targeted more often than people who walk fast and fluidly.

How to avoid looking like a potential target

To reduce the chances of becoming a victim, you can’t look like a victim. “Walk in an alert fashion, walk with purpose, with your shoulders held back,” the study recommends. This, in itself, can terminate the selection process.

Try this experiment: The next time you are in a crowded area such as a mall, alter your stance. Walk taller with purpose, looking straight ahead with your shoulders back. Choose your course, stick to it, and don’t waver. As you walk forward, there will be groups of people walking towards you.

You may notice that you are more aware of your surroundings. Some of these people may look at you inquisitively – just make brief eye contact and keep moving.

With enough purpose and confidence, you will find that these groups will part in front of you, allowing you to stay your course.

Another important study showed that 60 percent of criminals would move on to a different target, if the person they were targeting simply made eye contact with them. Looking squarely at someone who concerns you communicates to them that you are not a tentative, frightened victim-in-waiting.

Move with purpose

Predators are looking for a victim who is unaware, preoccupied and easy to ambush, so in future you will walk in an alert fashion, with purpose, your shoulders held back, just like you did in the mall during your experiment.

#RealtorSafety

Blog post via The Real Daily

Cloud Streams is the Newest MRED Service, joining Cloud CMA

LISLE, ILLINOIS (August 4, 2015) – Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), Chicagoland’s multiple listing service (MLS), announced that Cloud Streams has gone live as the newest MRED service offered to its real estate professionals.

Cloud Streams is the listing alert and collaboration tool that real estate brokers will love to use from the folks who provide Cloud CMA, W&R Studios. It allows you to send gorgeous listing alerts to prospective purchasers via email or text, and has real-time MLS property information. Photos are front and center, to give possible buyers a window shopping experience they will love. Brokers are notified immediately when a customer “likes” or makes a comment on a property, and Cloud Streams works on any device.

Adding Cloud Streams is just the latest initiative pursued by the Midwest MLS giant. MRED is committed to supporting its real estate professionals with many different marketing tools, including its social networking listings delivery tool, the Share My Listings (SMyL) widget; RatePlug, which integrates real-time mortgage payment information into MLS listing reports; and the very popular Cloud CMA, the easy to use CMA and listing presentation software.

“With Cloud Streams agents can collaborate with their buyers in style,” stated Greg Robertson, co-founder of W&R Studios. “Cloud Streams is a perfect tool to help agents keep more buyers and past clients” concluded Mr. Robertson.

“Cloud Streams caught my eye from the moment I first saw it,” said MRED President/Chief Executive Officer Rebecca Jensen. “Delivering the freshest information in the most consumer friendly way to prospective purchasers is critical to service the public today. W&R Studios has hit another home run with this latest product.”

About MRED

Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) is the real estate data aggregator and distributor providing the Chicagoland multiple listing service (MLS) to more than 40,000 brokers and appraisers and nearly 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 for two years running according to the WAV Group MLS Technology Survey. MRED is the 2013 Inman News Most Innovative MLS/Real Estate Trade Association, and for five consecutive years the MRED Help Desk has been identified as one of the best small business centers in the United States and Canada by BenchmarkPortal. For more information please visit MREDLLC.com.

About W&R Studios

Founded in 2008, W&R Studios is a privately held web software company located in Huntington Beach, California. The company focuses on creating the next generation of web-based software solutions for the real estate industry. By providing a “less is more” approach to software design, elegant user interfaces, and using the latest in agile programming, W&R Studios’ software applications are at the same time powerful, yet accessible to everyone. Co-founders Dan Woolley and Greg Robertson have over 20 years experience each developing and marketing real estate software solutions.