Great agents have deep, deep local expertise — and an incentive to share it. Hence why I’ve long thought there is a play to be made around showcasing local experts. Zillow Advice and Trulia Voices and Localism (check this press release from 2008) used to…

We’re looking for a few strategic brokers / teams for StreetAdvisor’s revamped white label offering to promote as showcase clients — at a much lower price point than previously offered at. The “why”? Engagement, and conversion. Buyers looking at your site are already researching neighborhoods and cities elsewhere. Enable them…

I got a “Must try local restaurants that just opened near you” email from Yelp yesterday… Please tell me, why exactly are brokerages/agents/teams not the ones delivering this?

I hadn’t seen Hoodline before; here’s their about page description: We want to be the go-to source for news about the places where you live, work and play. Restaurant openings, housing developments, retail news and more — whatever’s happening in your neighborhood, we’ll get the…

I wrote about the possibility of putting “Zillow Advice into a mobile app” in 2013. That was before I ever started consulting for StreetAdvisor, whose business model is to white label their local reviews + question & answer offering to brokerages/franchises (or corporations). Especially for the…

I think a lot about long term strategic defensibility when evaluating any business (& building my own). The best companies, focus on what they do better than anyone else, that is extremely hard to duplicate — and stay focused on executing on increasing that defensibility. You’ve…

Those of you who have had self hosted WordPress real estate websites for a number of years may remember the local market explorer WordPress plugin (released back in 2009, see launch post here & here). The plugin makes it simple to create city, neighborhood, and zip code pages filled…

I truly believe there is a very real opportunity for someone to showcase true local experts. Sure, there is a data aspect of local expertise – but there’s also a neighborhood/community knowledge aspect which has nothing to do with real estate market data. Buyers want to truly…

I saw Blockfeed this morning, a hyper local news app in NYC. See Fred Wilson’s Been There Done That post — aggregating hyper local news has been tried (Outside.in & Everyblock among others), but that doesn’t mean Blockfeed’s latest attempt will fail. We all know everyone cares (to some…

New York Times recently published a great read on the 43 questions homebuyers should ask before picking a new town. The article suggests to home shoppers that rather than using a standard checklist of what to ask when looking for a place to live, a…