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Point2, ASR Implement Program

The StarPhoenix

A local company and a provincial real estate association have teamed up to implement Canada's first national real estate listing program by a regional association.

Point2 Technologies Inc., which employs more than 120 people at its corporate office in Saskatoon, and the Association of Saskatchewan Realtors (ASR) said Wednesday the national listing syndication program is set to maximize Saskatchewan property listing exposure online and help ensure listing accuracy on real estate search sites and search engines.

The groups say the program is a result of three months of planning and development. The initiative was led by the Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors, which hosts most of the province's real estate listing data. Real estate associations from the Regina, Prince Albert, Moose Jaw, Battlefords, Swift Current, Melfort and southeast Saskatchewan regions also participated in the development of the program.

The program is in operation effective immediately.

The MLS of the Future – Understanding MLS 5.0

MLS Matters by Saul Klein

RISMEDIA, - MLS 5.0 is constructed as a property Wiki. While traditional MLS is listing or transaction based, MLS 5.0 is parcel based. A sale or transaction is but a moment in time in the life of a property. Information about properties may be needed during periods other than a transaction period.

A wiki is a collection of Web pages, where the content is written by contributors (Wiki in plain English). Wiki software can have many uses and applications, the most well known being Wikipedia, which is an encyclopedia written by volunteer writers and editors. Companies today often use wiki software to create searchable, retrievable information about the company. A wiki begins with something referred to as a “stub,” which can be a word or a phrase, and then contributors write about the stub. Based on a concept known as the “wisdom of crowds,” the information about a stub (where a wiki subject item begins), typically becomes more comprehensive and accurate over time based on contributions from its participants.

The word “wiki” is the Hawaiian word for fast or quick. For many years, a flight into the Honolulu International Airport also meant a ride on the Wiki Wiki Shuttle.

A property wiki, then, is a wiki in which the stubs are property addresses or parcel numbers, to which information from contributors and editors can be added to create a comprehensive record.

Imagine a blank website for every property address in the U.S. To that blank website, imagine adding anything publicly known. Now imagine inviting the property owner and Realtors to add what they know about the property. While there are some concerns about accuracy, Web 2.0 concepts, self-policing, flagging and social capital will, in time, minimize the inaccuracies.

This is key to understanding MLS 5.0…that a listing is merely a moment in time in the life of a property. MLS data is a subset of a larger body of data relative to a parcel of real property. Of value to Realtors and consumers is information about a parcel before the property is listed for sale. Property history, in one convenient place, easily and quickly accessible and searchable, is an asset that grows in value as more information is accumulated over time. Pictures, video, audio, text and other formats of information relevant to a property and conveniently aggregated will provide benefits to both real estate professionals and consumers. There will also be the opportunity for local real estate professionals to demonstrate their expertise about properties and neighborhoods and build their real estate social capital in an online world.

Next month we’ll examine the beneficiaries of MLS 5.0, taking a closer look at generational differences, ever-changing expectations and the void the future MLS-MLS 5.0-will fill.

Association of Saskatchewan REALTORS® and Point2 Technologies Implement Canada’s First National Real Estate Listing Syndication Program by a Regional Association

New system enhances and expands existing regional MLS® system nationally - enables listing distribution and publishing on popular third party websites for optimal visibility to buyers

Saskatoon, SK – The Association of Saskatchewan REALTORS® (“ASR”) and Point2 Technologies Inc. (“Point2”) today announced the launch of Canada’s first automated national real estate property listing syndication program to ever be undertaken by a regional Canadian real estate industry organization.

The initiative aims to maximize Saskatchewan For Sale property listing exposure online and will help to ensure listing data accuracy and integrity on high traffic real estate search sites and search engines that have become increasingly popular with consumers for researching real property.

The program reflects three months of extensive planning and development, and is a collaborative effort between eight industry organizations. The Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS® (“SRAR”) where most Saskatchewan real estate listing data is hosted and processed, led the initiative.

Participants also include The Association of Regina REALTORS®, The Prince Albert and District Association of REALTORS®, The Moose Jaw Real Estate Board, The Council of Battlefords REALTORS®, The Swift Current and Region Council of REALTORS®, The Melfort Real Estate Council and The Southeast Saskatchewan Council of REALTORS®.

Under the new system, REALTORS® across major cities and jurisdictions in the province of Saskatchewan including Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert, Swift Current, The Battlefords, Estevan, Weyburn, and Moose Jaw will now be able to automatically supplement Realtor.ca branding and listing exposure with visibility across Point2’s industry leading network of 16 third party websites and search engines including Google, Craigslist, eBay, HouseHunting.ca, TheRealEstateChannel.ca, TheRealEstateBook.com, ZooCasa.com, HomesZ.com and Oodle.com.

Harry H. Janzen, CAE Executive Officer of the Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS® stated: “Fundamental changes in online consumer search habits and expectations have introduced challenges that until now REALTORS® have had to tackle through manual, and potentially expensive means, including posting listings on third party websites. By automating listing syndication, not only are we empowering Saskatchewan REALTORS® with more efficient ways to widen online listings exposure and branding, but we’re simultaneously ensuring data standards, consistency and accuracy no matter where consumers choose to search within the distribution network.”

Said Bill Madder, Executive Vice President of the Association of Saskatchewan REALTORS®, “We are ecstatic to partner with an industry leader like Point2 to provide REALTORS® across Saskatchewan with the ability to market listings nationally, in a new and empowering way, but also to gain access to traffic reports and other conversion tools that can help turn more browsing prospects into clients.”

“This is a great milestone for the province of Saskatchewan. We foresee other provinces also embracing syndication in the future, as a means to add value to their membership and enhance consumer experience on the Internet,” concluded Madder.

“Point2 has executed more than 70 MLS® and Association syndication agreements over the past eight months and our experience with the Association of Saskatchewan REALTORS®, and the leadership and implementation teams at SRAR has been exemplary at every stage,” said Saul Klein, Chief Executive Officer, Point2 Technologies. “We are very excited to be able to make a difference and to help further the value and value proposition of REALTORS® in the province of Saskatchewan.”

Effective immediately, current Saskatchewan based Point2 Agent solution users will start to draw the benefits of single point of data entry, automatically populating their Point2 system with listing data, through a live feed drawn directly from their MLS® system.

About Association of Saskatchewan REALTORS®
The Association of Saskatchewan  REALTORS® (ASR) is a voluntary, non-profit organization serving, representing, and providing direction and leadership to its members and to organized real estate. The ASR is one of the largest single-industry trade organizations in Saskatchewan, representing the interests of over 1,200 licensed REALTORS®.
 
Through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®), ASR members facilitated the sale of 12,282 properties valued at over 2.7 billion dollars in 2008.

About Point2 Technologies Inc.
Point2 Technologies develops and markets web-based inventory management and online marketing software solutions for the real estate and heavy equipment industries.

Point2 also owns and operates the real estate consumer portal, Point2 Homes, and the used heavy equipment marketplace, UsedIron. More information can be found at www.Point2.com.

Point2® is a trademark of Point2 Technologies Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.


Press Contacts:

Association of Saskatchewan REALTORS®
Bill Madder
Executive Vice President
Toll Free: 1-877-306-7732
T. 1-306-373-5377
E. bmadder@saskatchewanrealestate.com

Saskatoon Region Association of REALTORS®
Harry H. Janzen, CAE   Executive Officer
T. 1-306-343-3440
E. hjanzen@srar.ca

Point2 Technologies Inc.
Roger Noujeim
Vice President of Public Relations
Toll Free: 1-888-955-7900 (U.S. and Canada)
E. rnoujeim@point2.com

Point2 signs deal with association

The StarPhoenix

Point2 Technologies Inc. has signed a deal with one of the largest real-estate associations in the United States.

The Saskatoon-based company and the Southland Regional Association of Realtors have implemented a major program designed to extend advanced property listing syndication technology to the association's 10,000 real-estate brokers and agents in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys, Point2 said Tuesday.

The deal allows the real-estate association's members to automatically publish listings on nearly 300 search engines and websites. Point2 says the technology will allow buyers to more easily find and research Southern California real estate on preferred real-estate websites and on more than 260 newspaper websites.

In the six months since Point2 launched its real estate MLS and association partnership initiative, more than 65 organizations representing 250,000 Realtors and 500,000 property listings have joined the program, the company said.

Online Real Estate Leader Point2 Technologies Releases the "Real Estate Confidence Index" to Track Street-Level Real Estate Market Sentiment

Index goes beyond data to capture a forward-looking view of the real estate market - from the people who know it best.

San Francisco, CA - Point2 Technologies, Inc. (www.point2.com), the largest independent provider of website and listing syndication solutions for the real estate industry, with users in over 100 countries on its platform, debuted the Real Estate Confidence Index today at the Inman News Real Estate Connect conference.  The Index, which tracks the real estate market opinions of thousands of real estate professionals across the United States, fills a missing link in real estate intelligence by capturing the current, near-term and long-term sentiment of the people most attuned to market conditions.  The company released its June and July national level results today with plans to provide regional indices starting September 2009.

More information and initial results can be found at www.realestateconfidenceindex.com.

The Real Estate Confidence Index is produced through a monthly survey of real estate professionals across the country who are asked to rate current conditions in their market, accounting for seasonality, on a scale of one to ten (1 being "bad" and 10 being "good") and rate their sentiment for market conditions 3-6 months and 6-12 months into the future on a ten-point scale (1 being "pessimistic" and 10 being "optimistic").  The median response across all questions represents the Index measure for the month.  3,191 professionals contributed to the Index in June; 3,201 contributed in July.

The Real Estate Confidence Index for June was 4.7, with respondents taking a measured assessment of current conditions on a seasonally adjusted basis - a median rating of 5 on the ten-point scale.  However, respondents showed marked optimism for both short (3-6 months) and long-term (6-12 months) prospects.

The July index showed a 16.5 percent increase, rising to 5.5, signaling that real estate professionals are seeing positive movement in a market characterized by contraction for over two years.  However, not all respondents were sanguine.  18 percent were less than optimistic about market prospects even 12 to 18 months into the future.

"The feet-on-the-ground perspective only real estate professionals possess is critically important to understanding where the market is, where it is heading and it simply cannot be captured by traditional measures," said Saul Klein, Point2's CEO.  "The Real Estate Confidence Index provides a window into the market that did not exist before."

Point2 will issue the index on a monthly basis and intends to provide region-specific indices starting in this fall.  The company will also provide advance reports to professionals who contribute to the index.

"Since the beginning of real estate time, at backyard barbeques and in neighborly conversations, consumers have asked real estate professionals the same question: 'How's the market and where do you think it's headed?'" concludes Point2's Klein.  "The Real Estate Confidence Index reflects the collective answer of thousands of informed professionals across the country.

About Point2 Technologies Inc.
Point2 Technologies develops and markets web-based inventory management and online marketing software solutions for the real estate (www.point2agent.com) and heavy equipment industries (www.point2manager.com).

Point2 also owns and operates the real estate consumer portal, Point2 Homes (www.point2homes.com), and the used heavy equipment marketplace, UsedIron (www.usediron.com). More information can be found at www.Point2.com.  For ongoing news about Point2, please visit www.point2.com/news.asp.

Point2® is a trademark of Point2 Technologies Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

Press Contact:
Point2 Technologies Inc.
Roger Noujeim
Vice President of Public Relations
Toll Free: 1-888-955-7900 (U.S. and Canada)
C. 778-960-8906
E. rnoujeim@point2.com

Companies making news

Detroit Free Press - Freep.com

• Ann Arbor-based SchoolPictures.com, a provider of school pictures, donated more than $2 million to Michigan schools that have used its portrait services in the four years since its founding. This milestone validates the company's mission to supplement funding for education and improve the academic environment for children while providing pictures.

Partnerships

• Grand Rapids-based Wolverine Building Group, a construction company, hired Michael J. Houseman to lead its Wolverine North America division. Houseman plans to merge his Walker-based company, Houseman Construction, with Wolverine Building Group. Houseman's company will be identified as Wolverine North America, a fourth division of Wolverine Building Group launched in 2005 in response to needs of clients to build outside west Michigan.

• The graphic artists and multimedia developers at Grand Haven-based Media 1 have expanded offerings beyond learning and performance to visual communication projects under the M1 DesignWorks banner. Design services will also include marketing/promotional animation, graphic design, photography and online video production.

• Realcomp, Michigan's largest real estate multiple-listing service headquartered in Farmington Hills, and Point2 Technologies debuted new online home marketing technology services. The new system is designed to enhance online home listings awareness and reach and will be offered free to Realcomp's 11,000 Realtor members.

• The Green Panel, a solar energy company providing turnkey solar planning, engineering and installation for Fortune 500 companies, universities, state and municipal government and nonprofits, and Feyen Zylstra, a knowledge-based electrical services firm supporting commercial, industrial and institutional clients in the Great Lakes region, have come together to provide a one-vendor solar approach called EF&I.

• Cornerstone Advisory Group Inc. and the Virtual Interactive Agency joined the Business Improvement Team, a consortium of independent consulting firms.

 

Trulia gets Houston listings

Inman News

HAR listings on Zillow, Cyberhomes, Google Base, Realtor.com

The Houston Association of Realtors has added Trulia to the list of Web sites it pushes listings to, under a partnership that will automatically feed more than 50,000 for-sale property listings to Trulia.com.

Other multiple listing services (MLSs) providing direct feeds to Trulia.com include MLSPIN, CLAW, MLSLI and NORMLS, Trulia said. Technology vendors that accept feeds from MLSs, such as Threewide Corp and Point2, provide listings from more than 200 MLSs to Trulia.

HAR has similar agreements in place with a number of other third-party real estate portals. When HAR announced in November that it would begin feeding listings to Zillow.com, it already had similar agreements in place with Cyberhomes, Google Base, Homes.com and Realtor.com (see story).

The listings HAR sends to Trulia will include full property descriptions, photos and contact information for the listing agent, the companies said. The listings will link back to HAR.com so consumers can obtain more detailed information about the property, neighborhood, listing agent and brokerage.

Agents see better market in 12-18 months

Inman News

Survey is basis for company's 'Real Estate Confidence Index'

Nearly two out of three estate professionals rated current market conditions on the bottom half of a 10-point scale in July, but were considerably more optimistic about the near- and long-term outlooks.

That's according to surveys of more than 3,000 agents in the U.S. and Canada who are clients of software developer Point2 Technologies Inc.

Asked to rate current market conditions in their area on a seasonally adjusted basis using a 10-point scale, 64 percent of agents rated conditions on the bottom half of the scale (from one to five). Only 36 percent said current conditions rated a score of six to 10.

But when agents were asked how optimistic or pessimistic they were about the near term -- the next three to six months -- they were more equally divided. Nearly 52 percent were optimistic, scoring the near-term outlook between six and 10, while a little more than 48 percent were on the neutral or pessimistic side of the scale (one through five).

The outlook for the next 12-18 months was even brighter, with 70 percent rating the long-term outlook as a six or better. Although 30 percent scored the long-term outlook on the neutral or pessimistic side of the scale, the percentage who were deeply pessimistic declined sharply.

Only 5 percent of agents rated the long-term outlook as a one or two, compared with nearly 10 percent who saw the near-term outlook that way and more than 13 percent who scored current conditions as a one or two.

At the other end of the scale, just 3 percent said current conditions rated a score of nine or 10. But 9 percent said the near-term outlook rated a nine or 10, and close to 21 percent saw the long-term outlook in that light.

Point2 said it will use the survey to produce a Real Estate Confidence Index to provide "a window into the market that did not exist before," with the median response across all questions representing the index measure for the month.

With two months of surveys completed, the Real Estate Confidence Index for July was 5.5, a 16.5 percent increase from the 4.7 median response in June, Point2 said.

Builder confidence rebounded in July to a level not seen since September, but far more builders still see conditions as "poor" than "good," according to a survey by an industry trade group.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rose two points in July to 17 (see story). When the seasonally adjusted index is above 50, more builders view sales conditions as good than poor.

 

Southland Regional Association of REALTORS® Partners with Point2 Technologies on Listing Syndication Initiative

Van Nuys, CA and Saskatoon, SK – Point2 Technologies Inc. ("Point2") and Southland Regional Association of REALTORS®, one of the largest real estate Associations in the United States today completed the implementation of a major program designed to extend advanced property listing syndication technology to more than 10,000 real estate brokers and agents in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys.

The partnership will allow Southland Regional Association members to automatically publish listings on nearly 300 search engines and websites, with a single click, optimizing property exposure on the Internet while enabling buyers nationwide to more easily find and research Southern California real estate on preferred real estate portals and on over 260 newspaper websites.

Users will also gain optional, seamless access to the full capabilities of the Point2 Agent (www.Point2Agent.com) platform, enabling them to more effectively capture and convert leads into revenue.  Further elevating buyer experience online, subscribers will be able to augment and publish listings with up to 36 photos each, video and automatically created virtual tours.

"We are very pleased to lead the State of California with yet another world class initiative," said Jim Link, Chief Executive Officer of the Southland Regional Association of REALTORS®.  "Our partnership with Point2 on such an important initiative reflects our relentless determination and focus on our members' success."

"Southland Regional Association is leading the way in California.  Point2 is proud to have been chosen to help enable and support their vision," said Saul Klein, Chief Executive Officer, Point2 Technologies.  "As forward thinking organizations continue to adopt the Point2 Agent solution, the value of the REALTOR® will continue to increase as consumers realize the benefits of professional, cutting edge online marketing expertise in the buying and selling of real estate."

Since launching its real estate MLS and Association partnership initiative six months ago, more than 65 organizations representing 250,000 REALTORS® and over 500,000 property listings in the United States have joined the Point2 program.

About Southland Regional Association of REALTORS®
The Southland Regional Association of REALTORS® is the "voice for real estate" in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys.  Our mission is to provide products and services to our members so that they may successfully pursue the real estate profession with fairness, competency and high ethical standards, and, through collective action, promote the preservation of real property rights.

Founded in 1920, SRAR has grown to over 10,000 members and is one of the largest local REALTOR® associations in the country.  All members of SRAR are members of the California Association of REALTORS® and National Association of REALTORS® and subscribe to a strict Code of Ethics.  More information on SRAR can be found at www.srar.com.

About Point2 Technologies Inc.
Point2 Technologies develops and markets web-based inventory management and online marketing software solutions for the real estate (www.point2agent.com) and heavy equipment industries (www.point2manager.com).

Point2 also owns and operates the real estate consumer portal, Point2 Homes (www.point2homes.com), and the used heavy equipment marketplace, UsedIron (www.usediron.com). More information can be found at www.Point2.com.  For ongoing news about Point2, please visit www.point2.com/news.asp.

Point2® is a trademark of Point2 Technologies Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

Press Contacts:

Point2 Technologies Inc.
Roger Noujeim
Vice President of Public Relations
Toll Free: 1-888-955-7900 (U.S. and Canada)
E. rnoujeim@point2.com

Southland Regional Association of REALTORS®
David R. Walker
Media Contact
T. 818-635-9812
E. davidr7944@aol.com