I wrote about Google Helpouts on my personal blog awhile ago was it was first announced. This is the future of search, for complex search topics…such as real estate. Helpouts launched officially today (official Google Blog). How much would you pay to talk via video chat…

A Few Thoughts On The Zillow Housing Forum – Thoughts from Mr Rob Hahn Broker perspective: 2 ways frustrations with MLSs might play out – from Frank Llosa Apply with Lovely – they partnered with experian to put the whole experience of applying for and securing…

By now, we all know the future is mobile (related reading). There are some killer real estate apps that exist. Those with the largest adoption are built by Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, and Trulia. Yet, I have to imagine, there are other real estate apps that…

Here’s a niche angle to explore. Help investors aiming to capitalize on the marketplace AirBnB has built. Jon Wheatly bought an apartment with the sole goal to rent it out using AirBnB (via USV). It’ll take him 4 years to pay for the $40,000 (+$10,000 in…

A few weeks back, Drew Meyers and I had discussed how many technology ventures are exciting and groundbreaking, but they don’t necessarily solve a specific problem that the average real estate professional is facing.  These “solutions looking for a problem” often languish in terms of…

I’ve always thought I think big. But it’s all relative. I’m thinking small compared to Elon Musk. Jason Calacanis wrote a thought provoking post about Google, with some crazy huge ideas included. You should read it. Franchises getting into the travel concierge game is an…

I stopped into Starbucks on Monday morning before heading to the office and seated inside were 8 of my Agents conducting business. – Broker, Austin, Texas. The Realization This one visit to Starbucks prompted this very successful Broker/Owner to go back and conduct an internal…

AGBeat – Eight Austin real estate firms terminate listing syndication (PS: if you read AG, you should really join the AGBeat community page) Inman – 8 more Austin real estate brokerages turn off flow of listings to portals So, more brokers are shutting off the listings faucet to…

The real estate industry is one of the most complex industries on Earth to gain market share in. The reason for this is the fact that hundreds of real estate agents are all competing against each other in their local market every day, yet they…

Those of you who have an indexable IDX product on your website know how powerful it can be. It can help drive traffic to your site for long-tail search phrases such as addresses, as well as MLS number searches. Early adopters of indexable IDX got…