OpenHouse.com Resources

Before the Internet was around Home Buyers usually would spend a few hours on the weekend driving around local neighborhoods they wish to live. In hopes of spotting an Open House sign that they could "walk-through" (view) without having an appointment.

Now websites are available to help Home Buyers find an inventory of Open House's to tour. However, pay attention because I noticed on OpenHouse.com in the Resources section of the site that the inventory of Open Homes displayed are only from Coldwell Banker, ERA, Sothebys Realty, and Centry 21. A Home Buyer will not see Open Homes from other brokerages such as RE/MAX, Intero Realty, Independant Brokers, Alain Pinel, For Sale By Owner, Help-U-Sell, Redfin, Buy Side Realty, and more.

OpenHouse.com 's registrant is NRT Inc. according to the Whois Record. So you may ask - Why do they limit the internet home buyers view of available open homes to tour on the weekend at OpenHouse.com?

UPDATE: David Linger, RE/MAX founder and chairman told an audience at the Inman ConnectSF conference that "On Dec.5th of 1998, RE/MAX went live with 100% of listings that Realtor.com had -- it created a firestorm overnight. We had RE/MAX listings and every other listing that was on Realtor.com. Other companies complained about the fact that RE/MAX was displaying all of the listings and Realtor.com asked RE/MAX to stop the practice." Then in August of 2005 RE/MAX announced the same plan to list 100% of the listings from all Real Estate Brokerages -- "..this time without the Firestorm." Linger's quotes are from an Inman News article by Glenn "Fireball" Roberts called "Internet is Overvalued, says RE/MAX founder"

Related: OpenHouses.com Article
Too Little Too Late (2007)
OpenHouse.com (2008)

Inman Connect 2006

Zillow blog has a good summary of the Inman Connectsf event.

Day 1
Day 2

Also Sellsius is doing a great job with links to blog posts about Connectsf.

Summary

Basic Steps of a Real Estate Transaction

Information Phase

Home Buyers: Research and evaluate needs and then choose the sources to fill them. Find and tour the available inventory of homes for sale.
Home Sellers: Valuate property and arrange to advertise home to qualified buyers.

Negotiating Phase

Participating players in the transaction negotiate the terms of the deal.

Execute & Monitor Phase

The transaction is executed with money and goods being exchanged according to the conditions previously stipulated. Monitoring accompanies to close the deal.