Real Estate Connect - Day 3

Brad again kicked off the morning by briefly addressing the audience and
introducing the day’s panels. After the numerous TurnHere productions shown at the
conference, he didn’t shock any of us when he proclaimed that "Video is
for everything!"

Radical Marketing - Customer Acquisition from the Edge:

• This panel consisted of Dany Levy, Founder of Daily Candy, David Gensler, President of Keystone Design, and Eric Ryan, Co-Founder of Method.
      
• Eric opened his segment by stating: "When I was 27, I had this really stupid idea." Method, which makes non-toxic cleaning supplies and whose motto is "the people against dirty",
       does not look like a stupid idea 6 years later now that it is a profitable venture.
• Daily Candy targets 24-35 year old women and sends daily e-mails that keep their subscribers
  "in the know".
• David Gensler said that Keystone Design is on its way to becoming the "Proctor and Gamble of street culture." Their strategy is to focus on cultivating talent and improving branding in the fashion industry.

Dynamic Financing - How will Products and Business Models Change on the Web?

• Richard Sommer, former CEO of HomeGain, said that in the late 1990’s, capital was driving adoption on the web. Now, adoption is driving capital — which is the way it should be.
• John Helm, Founder and CEO of MyNewPlace, drove home the importance of transparency (recurring theme here) in the rentals market.
• Carter Murdoch from Bank of America mentioned that customer service is even more important with fewer buyers in the Real Estate market.

A Gaze Inside the Crystal Ball?

• This fascinating forward-looking panel discussion featured Craig Donato, CEO of Oodle, Tim Fagan, CEO of HomeGain, Eric Gorrell, President and CEO of HomeTeam, and Joel Singer, the President of the California Association of Realtors.
• Donato said that many media companies are "turning inside out" and that on the web, you need to be everywhere. He suggested that Realtors become the destination for their local consumers by providing "sticky" features of their own.
• Tim Fagan stated that the "days of closed networks are waning." Companies must syndicate their content. He predicts that our industry will see many consolidations over the next year, with multiple companies vying to build a one-stop-shop for real estate consumers.
• Joel said "there is no question that the market is slowing down" but he predicts this trend won’t last more than 5 years. During that time, the number of active Realtors will decline, in turn reducing demand for Real Estate technologies.
• Eric mentioned that "nothing can be in a black box anymore" (that transparency thing again) — consumers will demand more and more information and go where they find it.

What a great conference. Innovation is clearly thriving in
the Real Estate industry. It will be fascinating to see where we are a year from
now.