Better Homes & Gardens Mason McDuffie Embraces Trulia to Build Relationships with Consumers

Last week, we had the privilege of speaking with Ed Krafchow, Chairman and CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Mason-McDuffie Real Estate and an influential member of the real estate industry.

Ed was in our offices to celebrate his firm’s partnership with Trulia. He sees many commonalities between our two firms, as do we. “In our work with Trulia, we are building a consortium of agents, brokers and consumers to come together in the best interest of the consumers,” Ed said. “We believe helping consumers get the information they want is the right thing to do for consumers. With its reach, Trulia will provide our listings with extensive exposure. For these reasons, I am excited about working with Trulia.”

As part of the agreement, Better Homes and Gardens Mason-McDuffie Real Estate will receive prominent placement and brand exposure for its property listings on Trulia.

Krafchow says the industry is entering a third phase in the real estate business. In the first phase brokers owned the business, in the second the agent owned the business, and “in this third phase, I believe consumers will come to own part of the business,” he says.

Watch the video to see Krafchow’s complete remarks.

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CurbedWire: 2012 Homie Awards; Qazzoo Preps for Launch; HGTV Gardens

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Tuesday, March 13, 2012, by Rob Bear

A shot of the Bower family's sitting room, from Bower Power.

THE INTERNET— After two weeks of nominations and voting, Apartment Therapy has announced the winners of it's 2012 Homie Awards, aimed at recognizing the best home blogs of the year. The winner in the home design category is Bower Power, a blog that follows an Atlanta couple's design challenges and solutions. Click over to AT for the rest of the winners. [Apartment Therapy]

THE INTERNET— The nonsensically-named new real estate site Qazzoo is currently in beta testing and is set to hit the web on April 1st. While the name might sound like an April Fool's joke, the site is very real and aims to connect brokers with potential clients, rather than buyers with particular properties. [CurbedWire Inbox]

THE INTERNET— In still more internet news, HGTV has just launched a new site, HGTVGardens.com, with gardening tips for seasoned green thumbs and newbies alike. Just in time for spring, the TV channel-turned-home media behemoth unveiled the new product at the ever-trendy SXSW festival. [CurbedWire Inbox]

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Italian Gardens Via Vermont: Zillow's House of the Week, a...

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Thursday, September 29, 2011, by Rob Bear

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Name Change: Japanese Tea Garden's Tea House To Be Renamed

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Wednesday, August 24, 2011, by Sally Kuchar

The tea house in the Japanese Tea Garden will be renamed the Jack Hirose Tea House, reports the SF Examiner. The Rec and Park Commission approved the renaming of the tea house last week, and will install a commemorative plaque at the site. Jack Hirose was the Japanese Tea Garden concessionaire from 1959 to 1992, although he remained active in supporting the garden after he officially concluded his business. He passed away two years ago. "One of Jack Hirose's last acts of generosity was to support the proposal of Carol Murata in the 2008 [request for proposal] process to select a concessionaire for the Tea House and Gift Shop by pledging $500,000 for the refurbishments of those facilities," according to the Rec and Park Proposal to name the tea house after him.
· Japanese Tea Garden’s tea house named after Jack Hirose [SF Examiner]
[photo via Ernest Gaudreau]

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Linkage: Gardens Galore; Iris Apfel's Wonderland; the Selby's Latest; More!

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Better Homes and Gardens <b>Real Estate</b> Expands in New York State <b>...</b>

RISMEDIA, February 22, 2011—Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC announced that TechValley Homes Real Estate LLC, which serves the greater Albany, N.Y. region, has joined its fast-growing franchise network. The brokerage will operate as Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Tech Valley under broker/owner Miguel Berger, adding two offices and 30 agents to the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate network.

“By focusing on the importance of lifestyle marketing, leveraging the power and efficiencies of technology and possessing the unrelenting desire to be the best, Miguel and his team have built a brokerage that mirrors the mission and overall vision of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate,” said Sherry Chris, president and CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate. “We are confident that this affiliation will help Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Tech Valley thrive as the New York State Capital Region undergoes an exciting transformation.”

Established in 2001, TechValley Homes Real Estate serves Albany, Saratoga, Schenectady, Rensselaer and Northern Columbia Counties in New York State, a region vitalized by industry growth in technology, facilities and research and development, as well as a growing, diverse community of home buyers. Berger, a 27-year real estate industry veteran, is a long-time and active member of various industry organizations in the Albany area, including Secretary – Treasurer of the Greater Capital Association of REALTORS®, NYS Regional Vice President – Capital Region and Chair of the Emerging Issues Committee for the NYS Association of REALTORS®.

“The technology and tools that Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate has developed provide significant advantages for our agents, who cater to a diverse community of tech-savvy residents,” said Berger. “We see this transition as an exciting step forward for TechValley Homes and the Albany region as a whole, and we are thrilled to join the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate family.”

For more information, visit www.BHGRealEstate.com.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

Have you heard about RISMedia’s Real Estate Information Network® (RREIN)? RREIN is an elite network of leading real estate companies dedicated to providing consumers and their agents with leading real estate information, and committed to the belief that Information Share Equals Market Share. Having only launched this past June 2010, the RREIN network is already comprised of 40 leading brokerages, which make up 575 offices, 30,000 agents, 167,000 closings and represents over $41 billion in transactions. How can RREIN help your recruiting efforts and differentiate your company today? For more information, email rrein@rismedia.com.

Copyright© 2011 RISMedia, The Leader in Real Estate Information Systems and Real Estate News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be republished without permission from RISMedia.

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