The top two business issues on the minds of leading real estate executives are thoroughly explored by prominent industry experts in a new 12-page special supplement on "Recruiting and Technology" commissioned by technology firm Imprev for the latest issue of RISMedia’s Real Estate magazine. ...

CoreLogic®, a leading residential property information, analytics and services provider, announced the acquisition of Case-Shiller® from Fiserv, Inc. in conjunction with first quarter 2013 CoreLogic earnings results on April 24, 2013. The acquisition closed on March 20, 2013. ...

Data scraping and misuse of listing data that belongs to brokers are growing concerns. Many scrapers (or others who receive the data legitimately but use it in ways that violates its licenses) are actively reselling listing data for various uses not intended by brokers, such as statistical or financial reporting. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Curt Beardsley, vice president of consumer and industry development at Move, Inc., a leader in online real estate and operator of realtor.com®. Beardsley shared his thoughts on the proliferation of data scraping, the grey market for data, and how brokers can protect their data from unintended uses.

Nationally, house prices continued to rise in February, contributing to the overall recovery in U.S. house prices. According to the most recent release  by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, U.S. house prices rose by 0.7 percent

Branding is something that we as professionals need to take very seriously on an individual level. It’s essential to develop a unique and personal “professional brand” that communicates the value you have to offer to prospective clients.

Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 417,000 units in March, according to newly released figures from HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau. “This is the second-best sales number we’ve seen since early 2010, and a good sign of the continued, gradual headway that our industry is making toward recovery as more buyers jump off the fence in time to take advantage of today’s low interest rates and prices,” said Rick Judson, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Charlotte, N.C. “The latest sales report is right in line with our forecast for continued, modest increases in home prices and sales through 2013,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “At this point, we are about half-way back to what would be considered a ‘normal’ level of sales activity

Marketing mavens have long been saying that when it comes to making personal connections with clients, you shouldn’t be reaching out solely from a business angle. Instead, you should be stimulating regular conversation.

Xerox recently introduced ConnectKey™, a software system embedded in Xerox multifunction printers (MFPs) and a set of solutions that respond to an increasingly mobile workforce and the need for more advanced IT security across connected devices.

Last month we discussed how changes in the corporate mobility industry may herald new business opportunities for brokerage-based relocation departments. Traditionally, relocation directors focused on buyer and seller referral revenue, but with fewer corporate transfers and increased renter populations, it may be time to include more non-traditional approaches. This month, we focus on key mobility trends and related support services. For future issues we’ll include topics that interest you most, so please take our short survey here. Awareness of trends that can impact mobility

(MCT)—With solar panel prices plunging and generous tax credits and incentives still available, now may be as good a time as any to go solar. But shopping for a solar power system can be a tough task. Consumers face a bewildering array of options. There are thousands of different solar panel models from dozens of manufacturers. In some regions, consumers can choose from among hundreds of different panel installers. And once they pick their panels and a contractor, they have to figure out how to pay for their system from among several different methods.

It’s 8:00 a.m. in a Ritz-Carlton meeting room in downtown Chicago as a baker’s dozen of real estate brokers representing $90 billion in annual home sales gather at the thrice-yearly board of directors meeting for the company they own and operate. This is arguably the single most powerful group of leaders in the industry. Yet curiously, the company that they collectively oversee and that has flourished over its 16-year history is often overlooked by real estate pundits and trend-spotters. That company is Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®,

Existing-home sales eased in March from inventory constraints, which continued to pressure home prices, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions

Since late last year, industry experts forecast a drop in mortgage refinancings as rates rise, and a revival of purchase mortgages, as the housing recovery creates business for lenders willing to work with buyers. The spring housing market is here and now the mortgage market is following. Purchase mortgages zoomed to their highest monthly market share since last August in Ellie Mae’s latest originations report, a sign that the mortgage business is shifting gears and the greatest boom in refis in recent years is ending. Loans to buyers made up 38 percent of all loans processed by the nation’s largest mortgage processing platform, up from 32 percent in February and 27 percent in January.

As the weather warms for spring, so are consumers—for home buying, that is. “Now that interest rates are at such a low level, people are beginning to realize that buying a home is more affordable than renting,” says Rob Sibcy,

In preparation for the beginning of the most trafficked months for open houses, realtor.com® has initiated systems for brokers and their agents to maximize their open house efforts.