From left: Dottie Herman of Elliman, Frederick Peters of Warburg, and Matt Daimler of Buyfolio.com

While it’s true that most brokers can’t read minds, with a VOW they can come pretty close.

Real estate pros say that VOWs, also known as “Virtual Office Web sites,” can give agents a backstage pass to their clients’ predilections. VOWs allow buyers to view an agent’s listings — and those belonging to other brokerages — all on the same Web page.

But VOWs present serious invasion of privacy issues and as a result can be a real turn-off to homebuyers, critics say.

VOWs can track your buying behaviors. For example, if a buyer tells a broker that she has a budget of $1.2 million, but the broker sees the buyer checking out $1.5 million listings on the company’s VOW, the broker could potentially push the buyer to make a larger purchase than she had talked about. [more]

Anthony Longo (insert) the CEO of CondoDomain, and a screengrab from the site (Click image for larger version)

New York City is getting a new VOW-based brokerage company, in what may soon become a flood of companies taking advantage of the new technology.
Boston-based CondoDomain, a Web-based discount real estate brokerage, is now a member of the Real Estate Board of New York and offers a VOW, or virtual office Web site. That means that customers who log onto CondoDomain’s New York site can browse through all of the listings in REBNY’s database.

CondoDomain founder and CEO Anthony Longo told The Real Deal that the appearance of VOWs in New York City has opened the floodgates for new companies like his to penetrate the lucrative New York City market.

“The VOW will lay the groundwork for companies like ours to come in and compete,” said Longo, who has had his eye on the New York market for years. [more]

Listing information provider On-Line Residential has joined the VOW fray, this week introducing its new software product for brokerages to adopt virtual office Web site, or VOW, capabilities. A VOW allows consumers the chance to view all industry listings in the Real Estate Board of New York database on one Web site, a strategy now being adopted by many of the city’s leading real estate firms, including Halstead Property, Prudential Douglas Elliman and A.C. Lawrence. OLR’s version of the VOW is particularly aimed at smaller brokerages who want to give their customers comprehensive search experience while maintaining their loyalty. “Essentially, it’s a Web site within a Web site but the VOW will maintain the brand image of the firm by incorporating the firm’s logo, banners and footers, color scheme and font choices,” said Jonathan Greenspan, OLR’s president and founder. “We felt that it was very important for the consumer to feel that he/she was still working on the same Web site and not being sent somewhere else.” REBNY approved the software last week, and more than 40 firms — ranging from one-person agencies to some of the city’s largest firms — have already committed to adopting the new product, Greenspan said. TRD

Stephen Kotler of Prudential Douglas Elliman

Prudential Douglas Elliman gave The Real Deal an update on its new Web site, which will include VOW capabilities and track listings’ price changes. Elliman has spent a year and more than $1 million developing the new Web platform, which is slated to launch the first week of April, according to Stephen Kotler, an executive vice president at the company. The redesigned site will include a virtual office Web site, or VOW, that allows customers to see not only Elliman’s listings, but all of the properties for sale in the markets where Elliman has offices: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Hamptons, and Long Island. Kotler, who is overseeing the launch of the new site, said the fact that Elliman’s VOW capabilities extend to markets outside New York City will set it apart from other brokerage Web sites. “What will make ours stand out is the fact that it’s not just Manhattan,” he said. “There’s nobody in the marketplace that is going to deliver all the [region’s] listings in one place.” “What will make ours stand out is the fact that it’s not just Manhattan,” he said. “There’s nobody in the marketplace that is going to deliver all the [region’s] listings in one place.” TRD gets dirt on Elliman’s new $1M Web site” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

The Real Deal had a contingent of reporters and editors at the New York Hilton for the Real Estate Board of New York’s annual banquet and awards ceremony (click here to see an article on the event). The Real Deal’s Web editor Lauren Elkies interviewed a slew of real estate bigwigs from Bill Rudin of Rudin Management — who said Jonathan Mechanic of Fried, Frank (who The Real Deal also spoke to) is “the real deal” — to Bruce Mosler of Cushman & Wakefield — who said he loves The Real Deal, to Frederick Peters of Warburg Realty — who said “Virtual Office Web sites,” or VOWS, “will ultimately be insignificant.” [more]

Diane Ramirez, president of Halstead

Halstead Property announced today that it has completed the process of instituting a VOW, or “Virtual Office Web site,” making it the first major city brokerage to do so. According to Diane Ramirez, the president of Halstead, the company has received approval from the Real Estate Board of New York for a VOW, a new type of Web site expected to have far-reaching consequences for the industry. That means that Halstead customers may now search all of the industry’s
listings — provided directly by REBNY — without leaving an individual
Halstead agent’s Web site. In the past, site visitors could see only
Halstead exclusives.

The result of a recent settlement between the Department of Justice and the National Association of Realtors, VOWs are a new phenomenon in Manhattan. Under the terms of the settlement, the Real Estate Board of New York is required by law to provide these listings directly to VOWs who are REBNY members, provided they agree to certain guidelines and pay a fee for an audit by REBNY. This summer, Manhattan got its first VOW, an online brokerage known
as CBS 2 Real Estate Market, located at CBS2REM.com. Halstead is the
first of the city’s major brick and mortar firms to go through the
process of adding VOW capabilities, according to Ramirez, who said the
brokerage was informed last week that it met REBNY’s requirements, and
is now just waiting for the official paperwork. The change comes in
conjunction with new individual agent Web sites the company recently
unveiled.  More

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