Greg Tracy

BlueRoof360 has been offering this on all of our client's mobile websites all year (see for yourself at blueroof.com/m on your computer or mobile device) Nice to know we're still ahead of the curve... and ahead of Inman's reporting! Greg BlueRoof.com BlueRoof360.com

Hi Glenn, Good article. Here are my personal responses to each of your points. 1. I agree. I think real estate licensing is among the greatest flaws in the entire housing industry. I think licensing should be a two year degree with one year learning and one year apprenticeship. 2. Transparency is happening within the free market. I don't agree with adding regulations on the origination process. 3. Every industry can become more efficient and cut cost. The "body shop" offices would mostly disappear by raising the barrier to entry (see my response to #1) 4. Consumers have many options with compensation today. Exclaiming how it's all broken is old news. There are plenty of compensation models out there today. 5. A national set of standards for sharing MLS data would be wonderful and helpful. A national MLS would just be a bigger nightmare than we have now and could never happen- they all want more control (and more money). 6. Not everyone wants piles of data to pour over. In fact, most buyers I speak with could care less about statistics beyond the basics. Other than it being a good investment (which is why you use a great Realtor) they simply want to love their new home and feel good there. Data cannot give you that. 7. It's not securing the loans that is the problem. If the approval process was better, the secondary markets would function, as they have for many years, very efficiently. 8. I disagree. Regulation is not appropriate with settlement services- allow the market to dictate the fees and costs. 9. I agree we need more affordable housing and finding appropriate clemency for many people with regard to housing opportunities. 10. There are very few barriers to new business models in real estate. Innovation is thriving and technology is growing monthly. See you at the next Connect! Greg Tracy BlueRoof.com BlueRoof360.com

Home searches on a phone are a fun idea, but not practical with such small screens. The process of using a map-based search could be more cumbersome with all the scrolling and trying to make sense of the maps. It is a cool app, but most people do their searching during lunch hours at work or when they first get home from work, not while they're driving around. I wouldn't call this a game-changer anymore than video has been. It is a cool app though, and I agree the iPhone's screen makes it fun to use. Have you used that new HP desktop touch-screen? Looks pretty cool but I've not used it yet...