It started in San Francisco, and has since had stops in Houston and New York City. The next stop for the Real Estate Barcamp movement will be in GeekEstate Blog’s back yard, Seattle. Drew Meyers at Zillow, along wth Rich Jacobson and Brad Andersohn of Active Rain are spearheading a February 13th date for those in the Pacific NW.

What is a Barcamp? Long story short, it’s about sharing information in a collaborative fashion. where the agenda isn’t owned by anyone, including sponsors. In fact, the majority of the agenda is created on the fly by those that attend! They have been referred to in that past as “unconferences”. Anyone involved in the real estate industry in any way is welcome (and encouraged) to attend – Vendors, agents, lenders, builders etc.

Don’t let the name or the format intimidate in any way. It’s a very casual atmosphere and heck of a lot of fun. It may sound chaotic, but it’s more of a controlled chaos that begins to gel and make sense the minute things get started. I’ve been involved with all 3 of the real estate specific events and 1 general barcamp thus far and I can say that every person I had the chance to talk to afterward said they were able to take something away that could be put into action along with strong networking connections. NAR  and  Center for Real Estate Technology are extremely supportive of REBarcamp and will be working with those involved in the movement to bring member attention and clarity to REBarcamps across the country.

If you’re in the Pacific NW you should put it on your schedule. We’re still actively pursuing sponsors to help cover the expenses. The recommended amount to donate per sponsor is $250 and you can do so through the PayPal link on this page. Drew will get back with you on the rest of the details.

Current Sponsors:
Zillow
Retechy
MLBroadcast.Com
Active Rain
Diverse Solutions
Real Geeks
Hawaii Real Estate Guy
Education.com
Inman News

Zillow would also like to announce that there will be an  “Unchained” Preview event on the 12th at Zillow Headquarters. Click Here For Details.