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REinventing MLS
Groundbreaking study reveals how predators select victims (and it’s not what you think)
“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
It’s Mostly Cloudy at MRED
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.
Pending home sales index falls for first time in months, performs unequally across regions
Although pending homes (contracts signed) increased for the last five months, in June, they fell slightly (1.8 percent), remaining near May’s level. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) is an indicator put out by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) who is quick to point out that May’s level was the highest in over nine years, so it is our assessment that there is no need to panic or get cynical about the market.
Further, the West and Northeast actually saw gains for the month, but were offset by larger declines in the Midwest and South. The PHSI is now 8.2 percent above a year ago, also making June the third highest reading of 2015.
NAR’s Chief Economist explains
Dr. Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist, says although pending sales decreased in June, the overall trend in recent months supports a solid pace of home sales this summer. “Competition for existing houses on the market remained stiff last month, as low inventories in many markets reduced choices and pushed prices above some buyers’ comfort level.”
“The demand is there for more sales, but the determining factor will be whether or not some of these buyers decide to hold off even longer until supply improves and price growth slows,” added Dr. Yun.
He also notes that existing-home sales are up considerably from last year, despite the share of first-time buyers improving only modestly, giving credit for the boost to pent-up sellers realizing their equity gains from recent years.
“Strong price appreciation and an improving economy is finally giving some homeowners the incentive and financial capability to sell and trade up or down,” adds Yun. “Unfortunately, because nearly all of these sellers are likely buying another home, there isn’t a net increase in inventory. A combination of homebuilders ramping up construction and even more homeowners listing their properties on the market is needed to tame price growth and give all buyers more options.”
Regional performance varied wildly
The PHSI in the Northeast inched 0.4 percent to 94.3 in June, and is now 12.0 percent above a year ago. In the Midwest the index declined 3.0 percent to 108.1 in June, but is still 5.0 percent above June 2014.
Pending home sales in the South also decreased 3.0 percent to an index of 123.5 in June but are still 7.8 percent above last June. The index in the West increased 0.5 percent in June to 104.4, and is now 10.4 percent above a year ago.
The national median existing-home price for all housing types in 2015 is expected to increase around 6.5 percent to $221,900, which would match the record high set in 2006. Total existing-home sales this year are forecast to increase 6.6 percent to around 5.27 million, about 25 percent below the prior peak set in 2005 (7.08 million).
Why this time of year is tough to gauge
According to realtor.com Chief Economist, Dr. Jonathan Smoke, “This is a tricky time of year to assess housing trends as the housing market is very seasonal. The seasonal trend varies by market so a general interpretation of these numbers should be treated with skepticism.”
He adds, “The underlying data was a mixed bag: the Northeast and West had slight increases on the seasonally adjusted index while the South and Midwest experienced declines. Even more confusing is the fact that the non-seasonally adjusted rate actually increased 2.6 percent in June over May, and only the Northeast and West had declines in the nonseasonal index.”
Dr. Smoke concludes by noting, “Regardless of what reading you prefer, the level of sales remains high. You have to go back to 2006 to see better readings on both indices.”
Blog post via The Real Daily
Illinois Home Sales and Prices Heat Up in June [Infographic]
Infographic via IAR Buzz
MRED Goes Live With Green Information in Realtor.com and Homes.com
Providing Another Great Benefit to Real Estate Brokers and their Customers
LISLE, ILLINOIS (July 21, 2015) – Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), Chicagoland’s multiple listing service (MLS), announced that Realtor.com and Homes.com, two of the nation’s largest homes for sale web sites, are now displaying Green and energy related information made available to them from MRED and its real estate professionals.
This is the latest in efforts by MRED to increase the availability of Green data. Consumers today are demanding greater access to this information to make more environmentally informed choices about homes to purchase. Brokers having this information available on their listings helps to promote the sale of those properties. Specifically, data regarding the Green Features of homes and energy/green ratings, available in homes listed in MRED’s MLS system, is now displayed on two of the most visited real estate sites in the country.
This is also about the bigger picture. MRED recently entered into the Home Energy Information Accelerator Partnership Agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy, supporting the national initiative to improve energy efficiency via the distribution of energy information. This will eventually result in even more information available through MRED’s MLS system as well as for distribution to real estate web sites.
“MRED sets the standard for MLSs in many ways,” said MRED President/Chief Executive Officer Rebecca Jensen. “We’ve challenged ourselves to step up and lead the way on Green and energy information as well. This is a great benefit to our own real estate professionals, but I’m proud that this is also a public service for the many consumers interested in Chicagoland real estate.”
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.
MRED Chicagoland Report for June, 2015
The curtain closes and the first half of 2015 is a finished act. Monthly market analysis helps nudge the real estate story forward for a final bow. The orchestra (consumers) and conductor (the REALTOR®) are thanked. Metropolitan operas, er, markets across the country continue to improve and further perform at peaks not seen in years. Bad memories from that one lousy show known as the Great Recession are pushed even further into the past.
New Listings in Chicagoland were up 4.9 percent for detached homes and 5.5 percent for attached properties. Listings Under Contract increased 22.2 percent for detached homes and 22.0 percent for attached properties.
The Median Sales Price was up 4.9 percent to $235,950 for detached homes and 8.3 percent to $195,000 for attached properties. Months Supply of Inventory decreased 13.3 percent for detached units and 12.0 percent for attached units.
Having six months of 2015 data in the books is great, but it is still just intermission at this halfway point of the year. Forecasting market trends can be as dicey as the weather, but with interest rates managing to remain low into the summer months, the outlook is promising, even if rates go up later in the year. Metrics like inventory and percent of list price received at sale are two of the better understudies to watch this year.
MRED real estate professionals can log into MREDLLC.com and click on the Statistics tab to get the latest Lender Mediated and Monthly Market Indicators Reports. You can also click on the Local Market Updates choice under the Statistics tab and use our Interactive Market Analytics map for the latest local market metrics.
Any questions? Please contact MRED’s Help Desk at 630-955-2755 or help.desk@MREDLLC.com.
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