How many of you have seen the new national RE/MAX IDX search? RE/MAX calls it Leadstreet. I hear they plan to promote the hell out of it when it is totally released. Comments? concerns?

The RE/MAX IDX shows the Realtor remarks. My board does not allow individual agents, only acting brokers, to display addresses and Realtor remarks. I can see people using it for that fact but the actual search isn't all that spectacular so far. However, I am only checking my area and it is not 100% complete here.

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Marc Rasmussen
Michael Saunders and Company

Sarasota Real Estate

I posted this subject in another area. It is not due to be complete until late '07 with a 50 million dollar ad campaign to follow (or may start before it is completely done).

The test markets worked out good with almost one lead a day for each agent.

The parent company of eneighborhoods is doing the technology for us. It seamlessly takes you from the national site to the randomly selected brokers site in the area you are wanting to search in. They look exactly the same, so the customer does not realize that they have left the national site. The searches are actually done from the brokers site and conform to all MLS rules and regulations (they have to work with the local MLS's for the feeds).

As a RE/MAX agent, I am hopeful and excited about the idea. Their intention was to get leads before emortgage, Homegain, lendingtree, and all these other vultures who want to spend millions getting our leads and then sell them to us for an outrageous price. We have "wrongly" been calling it a national MLS, but the intent is not to compete or de-value the local MLS boards, but to gather and distribute INTERNET leads to the proper agents in the proper manor (FREE!).

I hope this helps.

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P.S.---A concern?
Nope, I hope the other big wigs finish theirs up (and yes they are working on it). i would rather a C-21 agent get a lead from their site over my getting it, then for that agent at C-21 to have to pay a 40% referral fee to Lending-Tree or Homegain.

Besides, if we as an industry don't roll with the punches and innovate, we will become obsolete.

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Thanks for the explanation Memphis. I am more concerned with how this will affect agents who derive a good portion of their business through the web. I wonder if these well capitalized, well promoted sites will eventually make it so hard to compete with them that getting business from the web may become unattractive. So far it has not so I don't think that will change but you never know.

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Marc Rasmussen
Michael Saunders and Company

Sarasota Real Estate

IMHO, you will always have the folks who will try to go FSBO and you will always have a large number of folks who do specific searches on the internet (ie, Memphis real estate). This is where our sites will dominate. They will be doing super bowl ad campaigns and CPC on the side of our sites.

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I also mentioned on this forum somewhere that a client searched for his listing via a Remax site's MLS. The update (price change) I made did not show up. On my VOW it did. So I'm thinking our local ReMax sites are using IDX, which is not as good as VOW.

Also, on my oldest site that has some top serps in G, I keep switching #1 & #2 spot with Homegain. No other big franchise sites have optimized that far down the tree yet (for smaller towns). And those are the towns I work in.

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Southwest Chicago Suburbs Real Estate is an affordable area with close access to downtown Chicago. Money Magazine says that Orland Park real estate is one of the best places to live in the U.S. Next door you can find Tinley Park homes for sale and get Orland Park amenities at a more affordable price.

Homegain is sleeping with people in the INTERNET industry, I think they have an affair with Mrs. Google as well.

They're the ones the Realtor big boys need to go after.

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P.S.-------Some bass-ackwards MLS's (like mine) don't support VOW yet.

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Here is an article about RE/MAX'x Lead Street


RE/MAX Wins Innovation Award for LeadStreet

RE/MAX International won an Inman Innovator Award on July 26 at the Real Estate Connect SF 2006 conference in San Francisco.
The network won the award for the Most Innovative Real Estate Brokerage for its national IDX initiative, launched this spring. RE/MAX is the first major franchise to publish every residential listing in any given U.S. market - those of RE/MAX Associates and competitors alike - on one Web site, remax.com.

View a video clip from the conference.

The annual Real Estate Connect conference, sponsored by Inman News, bills itself as an event connecting Realtors with entrepreneurs, engineers and software designers who have technology they think may be of use to the real estate industry.

The RE/MAX initiative, known as LeadStreet, also includes a lead-generation and management system. Online leads are routed directly to RE/MAX Associates and offices, with no referral fee from RE/MAX International.

Other finalists for the award were Weichert Realtors, Intero Real Estate, Chase International, Michael Saunders & Co. and Alain Pinel Realtors.

Copyright © 2006 RE/MAX International Inc. 7/27/06

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Regards,
Robert Santangelo, Broker
www.SoldBySanta.com

Santangelo Real Estate is your Philadelphia real estate broker for upscale and luxury homes. Search for houses and property listings from Malvern and Chester Springs to The Main Line. We help buyers and sellers relocate when moving to or from Philadelphia.

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