Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Show HN: Shitty Listings algorithmically finds undervalued property

shittylistings.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 64 posts

Re: Show HN: Shitty Listings algorithmically finds undervalued property

#31

Post by creichert »

Great to see more action in the real estate space. One thing I found interesting was that you actually registered to become brokers to distribute the data and get the commission.

I'm not surprised to see so much push-back from agents [0]. It's a pretty competitive industry and most agents don't take it lightly when their leads are taken :). I do feel like more technology is being adopted but I am curious as to why real estate tech seems so behind?

I also work with real estate data on SimplyRETS (https://simplyrets.com). We aggregate data from MLS's across the US and the state of the art is quite a mess. We took a slightly different approach, though, in that we distribute the data to app developers and brokers through our API and let them manage their leads.

Very cool stuff. Keep up the good work!

[0] - See comments in http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/26/openlistings/ and http://www.inman.com/2015/02/27/startup-lets-you-shop-withou....

Re: Show HN: Shitty Listings algorithmically finds undervalued property

#32

Post by rgbrgb »

creichert wrote: post #31

Great to see more action in the real estate space. One thing I found interesting was that you actually registered to become brokers to distribute the data and get the commission. I'm not surprised to see so much push-back from agents [0]. It's a pretty competitive industry and most agents don't take it lightly when their leads are taken :). I do feel like more technology is being adopted but I am curious as to why re…

> I do feel like more technology is being adopted but I am curious as to why real estate tech seems so behind?

I think it's 2 things:

1) A lot of technologists find real estate abhorrent. They know it should be fixed but they don't want to be the ones to do it. That's fair. My thought is that the fundamental problem of exchanging money for land is pretty cool, even though all of the connotations of "real estate" kind of suck. So I try to think about it from first principles... what's the ideal way to exchange money for land?

2) It's complicated to get the data due to MLS regulations. Companies like yours help with this, but I believe app developers still have to apply to each MLS to legally get data from a vendor like yourself. It's not like building an app on the Twitter or Tumblr API, you have to call the MLS office and talk to real people (who are usually experts in real estate, not tech) and often pay them real money. Also, I'm guessing your IDX feeds don't always include sold properties or historical data.

Re: Show HN: Shitty Listings algorithmically finds undervalued property

#35

Post by creichert »

rgbrgb wrote: post #32
creichert wrote: post #31

Great to see more action in the real estate space. One thing I found interesting was that you actually registered to become brokers to distribute the data and get the commission. I'm not surprised to see so much push-back from agents [0]. It's a pretty competitive industry and most agents don't take it lightly when their leads are taken :). I do feel like more technology is being adopted but I am curious as to why re…

> I do feel like more technology is being adopted but I am curious as to why real estate tech seems so behind? I think it's 2 things: 1) A lot of technologists find real estate abhorrent. They know it should be fixed but they don't want to be the ones to do it. That's fair. My thought is that the fundamental problem of exchanging money for land is pretty cool, even though all of the connotations of "real estate" kind…

> Companies like yours help with this, but I believe app developers still have to apply to each MLS to legally get data from a vendor like yourself.

Not necessarily, in some MLS areas we are able to distribute on behalf of the MLS vendor. It's on a case by case basis and still requires us to ensure we are working with a valid broker, though.

> It's not like building an app on the Twitter or Tumblr API, you have to call the MLS office and talk to real people (who are usually experts in real estate, not tech) and often pay them real money.

In general, this is true. However, we are simplifying the process :). Usually, we are able to handle all the dirty work with the MLS vendor on behalf of the broker. Especially in areas where we have a licensing agreement with that MLS already. Not all MLS's support this but we are growing our reach to handle this as smoothly as possible.

> Also, I'm guessing your IDX feeds don't always include sold properties or historical data.

We can only support what the MLS vendor supports but gaining access to sold and historical has only a problem in smaller MLS areas. It usually costs more at the MLS level, though.

Re: Show HN: Shitty Listings algorithmically finds undervalued property

#37

Post by scottmcdot »

rgbrgb wrote: post #11
davak wrote: post #4

Ohhh. I want this for my area. Great idea.

If you email shitty@openlistings.co with your city I'll let you know when we come to your area (that goes for everyone). We're going for full California coverage in the next month or so.

Any chance that you will come to Melbourne, Aus?

Re: Show HN: Shitty Listings algorithmically finds undervalued property

#38

Post by CodyReichert »

rgbrgb wrote: post #36
smilekzs wrote: post #34

I played with the flipping logo for a whole good minute.

Credit goes to Kevin Hale for the turd on the back side. Really pulls the whole site together ;)

Ha! I didn't even notice until this comment - that is hilarious.

Re: Show HN: Shitty Listings algorithmically finds undervalued property

#39

Post by juliangregorian »

CJefferson wrote: post #30
patmcguire wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Accessibility. Screen readers allegedly support JS - I don't use one - but I think we can agree it's a harder problem to solve than HMTL. Not to get too much on my high horse, since you're clearly in an area where there's no way you could ever support vision impairment, the problem with ignoring vanishingly small portions of an audience is that the same people tend to be in that portion all the time and never get any…

Nowadays screen readers are fine with the full-blown web, JS and all. The bigger practical issue is simpler things, like not putting alt tags on pictures, or abusing pictures (I saw a stupid website which put alt tags on spacer gifs).

Empty alt tags? Because that is what should be on spacer gifs. Of course, using spacer gifs is kinda 2004.

Re: Show HN: Shitty Listings algorithmically finds undervalued property

#40

Post by Iftheshoefits »

cpursley wrote: post #5

Crazy that “shitty” listings in California are $500k and up.

Listings in the Bay Area are absurd. I can buy 6 (larger, better maintained) houses almost anywhere else in the country for the price as one house that would be a "starter home" in those same places. The opportunities and culture in the Bay Area are better, but not 6x better than many of these other places.
Post reply on HN