Comments on: Today’s Real Estate Gossip: Move.com Does A Microsoft; Foxtons Does A Countrywide

By: What’s A Discount Listing Worth? How About $78.57? (Ex-Foxton’s Listings Sold Off En-masse During Bankruptcy Proceedings…Good Move For The Buyer?) : 3 Oceans Test Test Test

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:28:05 +0000

[...] As I previously reported, Foxton’s the now-defunct east coast discount shop, is, well, defunct. They recently fired most of their staff and declared bankruptcy. What to do with the thousands of listings they had, however? [...]

By: Reaping The Fruits Of Others’ Labor? Or Adding Value To It? : Domus Test Test Test

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 16:55:47 +0000

[...] those who care about such things, the big recent news is, of course, the Move.com vs. Active Rain dustup. While much of the commentary amongst Active Rainers has been supportive of their fearless [...]

By: Mr. Arrington, Please Stick To Your Knitting : Domus Test Test Test

Mr. Arrington, Please Stick To Your Knitting : Domus Test Test Test — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 16:55:31 +0000

[...] Arrington, founder and editor of tech blog TechCrunch, piles in on the Move.com vs. Active Rain dustup in a highly entertaining post entitled Highly Entertaining: Realtors Suing [...]

By: What’s A Discount Listing Worth? How About $78.57? (Ex-Foxton’s Listings Sold Off En-masse During Bankruptcy Proceedings…Good Move For The Buyer?) : Domus Test Test Test

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 16:54:13 +0000

By: Today’s Real Estate Gossip: Move.com Does A Microsoft; Foxtons … | ImmediateRealEstate.com

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 12:19:21 +0000

[...] unknown article is brought to you using rss feeds.Here you will find the latest real estate news for buying and selling homes.Adding to the bad news is that Foxtons, the UK-based discount real estate brokerage, is laying off 350 employees from its New York and New Jersey operations. Some have predicted that this down market will weed out the non-traditional … [...]

By: Arizona Mortgage Guru » My Turkey of the Year Award for 2007

Arizona Mortgage Guru » My Turkey of the Year Award for 2007 — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 00:02:11 +0000

[...] Place: Active Rain Network – I can just hear the hush go through the room. After the failed purchase by Move.com, it’s become clear that AR is not what it is cracked out to be. You don’t own the content you [...]

By: What’s A Discount Listing Worth? How About $78.57? (Ex-Foxton’s Listings Sold Off En-masse During Bankruptcy Proceedings…Good Move For The Buyer?)

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 20:37:21 +0000

By: Palo Alto Real Estate Prices Continues To Defy Gravity…And Expectations…But Tight Inventory Is Part Of The Reason

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 07:21:50 +0000

[...] all the current bad real estate news, with mortgage companies going bankrupt, Foxton’s closing shop, foreclosure rates rising, a liquidity crunch in the credit market, people can certainly be [...]

By: After Active Rain vs. Move.com, What Next?

After Active Rain vs. Move.com, What Next? — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 04:50:18 +0000

[...] ongoing Active Rain vs. Move.com dustup, our very own ongoing soap opera saga, illustrates one fact above all else: the re.net is maturing. [...]

By: The Odysseus Medal competition — The long list | BloodhoundBlog: Real estate marketing and technology blog | Realtors and real estate, mortgages, lending, investments

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 19:09:12 +0000

[...] Mortgage fraud, When people get desperate, all bets are off.Kevin Boer — Foxtons/AR/Move, Today’s Real Estate Gossip: Move.com Does A Microsoft; Foxtons Does A CountrywideBrian Brady — Using AR for profit, Activerain.com v. Move.com: The Duplicity at [...]

By: The Odysseus Medal competition — The long list | BloodhoundBlog: Real estate marketing and technology blog | Realtors and real estate, mortgages, lending, investments

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 19:09:12 +0000

[...] With that, the long list: Kelly Roark — Agent 2.0, Agent 2.0: not-so-clever play on ‘Web 2.0’ or the future of real estate marketing?Brian Brady — Debunking Guttentag, Debunking GuttentagBrian Brady — Jumping off a cliff, Small Steps Today Prevent Jumping Off A Cliff TomorrowBrian Brady — Using AR for profit, Activerain.com v. Move.com: The Duplicity at Activerain.comTrevor Curran — Old is the new new, Everything That Was OLD is NEW again.Joel Burslem — ActiveRain/Move, Move.com Tried to Buy ActiveRainMorgan Brown — FHA bailout, A Bail Out is Still a Bail Out by Any Other NameKevin Boer — Reaping the fruits, Reaping The Fruits Of Others’ Labor? Or Adding Value To It?Russell Shaw — Foxtons, Foxtons Almost Gone – About to Become a Footnote in Real Estate HistoryTeri Lussier — Huber Heights 2.0, My life online and how you too, can create a Huber Heights 2.0Michael Wurzer — Standards and monopolies, Good Standards Break Monopolies, Not Make ThemDustin Luther — Make an impact, 7 Ways to Make an ImpactRon Ares — Rent vs buy, Addressing the Rent vs. Buy ConundrumDan Green — Fed Funds Rate, How Setting The Fed Funds Rate Is Like Shooting Free Throws With Your Eyes ClosedErik Hersman — RealUmbrella, Creating the Ultimate Real Estate DisintermediatorBill Leider — Opportunity costs, Internet Marketing And Opportunity Cost – Connecting The DotsBrian Brady — NAR and lending, Can the NAR Improve a Buyer’s Financing Experience?Steve Leung — Hidden factors, Hidden Factors When Calculating a Home’s ValueLarry Cragun — Foxtons, A Darling Of Discount Real Estate Rides Into The SunsetDan Green — Visa credit scoring, How Visa USA Tried To Scare Us All Into Using Its Credit Scoring Web SitePatrick Kapowich — Realtor licensing, Inside the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors’ Convention. Buyer beware? No. It’s Licensees Beware.Jeff Brown — Little things, Real Estate Investors — The Little Things Count — Big TimeJeff Brown — Double-edged sword, Double-Edged Sword — OR — Planning & Discipline — What Does Your Retirement Look Like?Morgan Brown — Mortgage fraud, When people get desperate, all bets are off.Jonathan Dalton — Princess will come, Someday My Princess Will Come…Jillayne Schlicke — Deceptive advertising, Deceptive Radio Advertising in Mortgage LendingGreg Kilwein — Wireless MLS, Wireless Usage On The RiseBrian Brady — AR wuz robbed, Active Rain Wuz RobbedMorgan Brown — Housing glut, Housing Glut, Lennar Revenue off 44%, Other GoodiesJonathan Dalton — Sgt. Hulka, Sergeant Hulka and the Phoenix Real Estate AgentDoug Quance — How low?, Ask The Broker: How Much Below The List Price Should We Offer?Jim Watkins — Down market?, Down Sales Market? Think Outside the BoxDaniel Rothamel — Facebook, Why Your Answer to, “Are You on Facebook?” Will Determine the Fate of Your Business in 10 Years or SoonerJonathan Dalton — Real estate 2.0, Real Estate 2.0 and the Phoenix Real Estate ConsumerDan Melson — Sellers pays commissions, Why the Real Estate Buyers Agent’s Commission is Paid by the SellerBrian Brady — Advertising to Ashley, Advertising to AshleyDan Green — Data is granular, Why Real Estate Data Is Granular And Not Mosaic, Or One More Reason To Stop Reading Real Estate HeadlinesDan Melson — NegAm loans, Trying to Rehabilitate the Negative Amortization Loan – NOT!Brian Wilson — Redfin, [Redfin] “I coulda been a contender…”Kevin Boer — Foxtons/AR/Move, Today’s Real Estate Gossip: Move.com Does A Microsoft; Foxtons Does A Countrywide [...]

By: Kaye Thomas

Kaye Thomas — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 02:42:32 +0000

Laurie is right you had to know that eventually something was going to happen with AR.. However the boys should have been a wee bit more forthcoming about their plans.. As to Move.com.. no chance that most of us would have stayed there. Most of my posts are linked to my other blog so it wouldn’t have mattered what they did my content would always go back to me..

By: Andy Kaufman

Andy Kaufman — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 06:31:19 +0000

whoa! $30M? I stand corrected.

By: Reaping The Fruits Of Others’ Labor? Or Adding Value To It?

Reaping The Fruits Of Others’ Labor? Or Adding Value To It? — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 04:24:58 +0000

By: Mr. Arrington, Please Stick To Your Knitting

Mr. Arrington, Please Stick To Your Knitting — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 03:25:17 +0000

[...] David Roberson, Attorney RHRC San Jose, CA 408.261.4252 ← Today’s Real Estate Gossip: Move.com Does A Microsoft; Foxtons Does A Countrywide [...]

By: Andy Kaufman

Andy Kaufman — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:09:07 +0000

That would explain the funny looks I got at SF Connect when I suggested that AR was perfect flip bait and would be a great acquisition for Move. As Pat noted, “AR with listings” would be a great next step.

A $12.5 mil valuation does seem a bit steep though. Each user in Facebook provides a treasure trove of data, which at least in theory supports the high per-user valuation. My guess is that AR would probably be worth $6-8 mil. Not chump change by any means.

By: Laurie Manny

Laurie Manny — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 21:45:13 +0000

The AR members knew that AR would eventually be sold. If the sale had gone through the members would have begun to write more on their own blogs and would have scattered to an assortment of other networks. Realtor.com and Move.com are thought so little of, I don’t think there are a handful of members, who would have stayed on the network had that purchase taken place.

I agree with Pat, it is about the listings. It has to be monetized and that requires capital.

By: What Would Have Happened If The Active Rain Deal Went Through?

What Would Have Happened If The Active Rain Deal Went Through? — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 21:44:25 +0000

[...] Boer Today’s Real Estate Gossip: Move.com Does A Microsoft; Foxtons Does A Countrywide Bookmark this [...]

By: Someday My Princess Will Come … | Phoenix Real Estate and Homes for Sale - Dalton’s Arizona Homes Blog

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 17:37:26 +0000

[...] Boer also weighs in at 3 Oceans. As does Brian Brady. And, of course, Odysseus. (And I finally beat Greg to a post on something. [...]

By: Jeff Brown

Jeff Brown — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 15:42:32 +0000

How ’bout AR building a ‘platform’ that attracts 50,000 users with more than 1% who actually use it at least four times weekly?

What happened between the excitement generated by AR resulting in 50,000 agents signing up, and the current 500 who do anything with it?

Clearly, folks like Brian Brady, who have figured out how to competently leverage AR’s platform are the exception to their rule.

If that’s not the case?

Real estate agents are stoopider than I’ve always suspected.

By: Kris Berg

Kris Berg — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 14:29:17 +0000

Echoing Jeff Brown’s sentiments.

By: Pat Kitano

Pat Kitano — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 07:43:23 +0000

Kevin, your two-minute answer is quite apt. The qualifier is how well an acquirer can build and leverage a revenue model for AR.

I actually think there are ways to develop AR so it attracts more consumers, but it will take capital. Simply put, think AR with listings, think “who owns the bloggers”.

Final word – Move.com and NAR sure is going out of its way to annoy its constituency

By: John Power

John Power — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 05:24:19 +0000

Its indeed exciting times for real estate.

By: Kevin Boer, Realtor, Alain Pinel Realtors, 650.387.2860

Kevin Boer, Realtor, Alain Pinel Realtors, 650.387.2860 — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 04:46:49 +0000

Since there isn’t an “MLS of social networks” from which we could get data to “comp” Active Rain and find its “market value” we’d have to answer that question using very, very rough metrics.

Here’s my 2 minute answer on this question:

Recent rumors about Google contemplating purchasing a piece of social network Facebook suggest a valuation of $10BN. With 40 million active users, that suggests a value of $250/user.

ActiveRain, also a social network, currently has about 50,000 users. At the same valuation, that gives us a value for Active Rain of $12,500,000.

There are, of course, arguments to make which either increase or decrease that value substantially. Winning those arguments is how investment bankers get rich. Advising the investment bankers, and the parties to the negotiation, is how management consultants get rich. When the parties begin suing each other, that’s how attorneys get rich.

By: Jeff Brown

Jeff Brown — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 03:41:31 +0000

Is AR worth anything close to $1 Million?

By: Kevin Boer, Realtor, Alain Pinel Realtors, 650.387.2860

Kevin Boer, Realtor, Alain Pinel Realtors, 650.387.2860 — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 03:39:12 +0000

Jeff, fair question.

I’d say they’re both about a “5″ on the “it matters” scale: not trivial, but also not earth-shaking.

Foxtons: Is the declining market to blame, as consumers flee to the perceived safety of traditional brokers? If so, what does that mean for Redfin and the other non-traditional ones?

Move.com vs. ActiveRain: The big boys are starting to take notice of this whole wacky blog world. Unable to innovate, they have to either acquire or snuff out the competition.

By: Jeff Brown

Jeff Brown — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 02:31:25 +0000

Kevin – I realize I’m probably in the distinct minority here.

I’d like to hear your take on the ‘It Matters’ scale. (1-10)