Collabra Technology, the leading digital marketing platform for the real estate industry, announces the introduction of FlashCards™ instant property videos for real estate social media marketing, launched under the company’s TourFactory brand.
FlashCards automatically turn listing photos into eye-catching, looping videos optimized for the unique formats preferred by Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and WeChat. The TourFactory system personalizes each video with property details, list price, agent photo and contact information.
“FlashCards are designed to help real estate agents stand out and increase engagement on social media, which is crucial to garnering buyer interest,” said Collabra CEO Janet Case. “FlashCards streamline that portion of the marketing plan. They are also ideal for attaching to emails and texts.”
Over 13,000 FlashCards have already been delivered to individual agents across the U.S., and now more than 800 brokerage offices across the country will receive FlashCards as an upgrade to their TourFactory office technology package, with the videos available immediately after a listing is activated.
The company also offers FlashCards customized to brokerages and brands, plus a social media campaign package with different styles that highlight when a property is in the just-listed, open house, or just-sold stage. “No one else offers an automated, branded tool like this,” Case said. “It’s a great opportunity to set a brokerage apart and delight both agents and home sellers.”
“Video is favored by Facebook’s algorithms, so Facebook posts with FlashCards get an added boost,” said Collabra’s Multimedia Manager, Kevin Kelly. “Also, video is naturally captivating: Facebook users are 12 times more likely to click on a video than a still image. That attraction factor makes FlashCards videos the perfect base for a paid social ad or email campaign.”
Learn more at CollabraTechnology.com/FlashCards
The Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) has announced that AREAA Global launched the AREAA Global EXCHANGE, a developer platform powered by Collabra Technology that gives developers the ability to display and promote their projects.
“The AREAA Global EXCHANGE creates additional advantages for our members and their development partners,” says Carmen Chong, CEO of AREAA Global. “In addition, profits from the EXCHANGE will move us closer to building our very first AREAA National Headquarters and Community Center in San Diego.”
AREAA Global is the for-profit arm of AREAA, and all profits earned through the AREAA Global EXCHANGE will be reinvested toward AAREA’s mission.
“The EXCHANGE will expand the growth and success of AREAA, and the more we can encourage members to use it, the more effective it will become,” Chong says.
Through the EXCHANGE, 17,500 AREAA members gain access to multilingual digital marketing materials and analytics that equip them with tools to market EXCHANGE projects worldwide. The EXCHANGE currently represents 13 projects in five countries, and includes projects from development partners Lennar and Encore.
“We are talking with developers from Dubai, the Bahamas, Panama, the Cayman Islands, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as top U.S. and Canadian developers who are seeking to create added exposure for their projects,” says Michelle van Ruyven, managing director of AREAA Global.
“It’s an honor for Collabra to provide a technology platform that supports AREAA members and AAPI communities throughout the world,” says Janet Case, CEO of Collabra. “We’re proud to be part of this diversity initiative.”
For more information, please visit www.AREAAGlobal.com.
Douglas Elliman Real Estate on Wednesday announced the addition of top producer and former Compass associate broker Lindsay Barton Barrett to its New York City team. Barton Barrett closed more than $200 million in sales in 2017 and was the broker behind the $15.5 million sale of 140 Columbia Heights in 2018 — one of the highest-priced townhouses ever sold in Brooklyn.
“Lindsay is highly regarded throughout the industry for her fine-tuned negotiating skills, honed from her background in law, as well as for providing an unparalleled level of service to her clients,” said Douglas Elliman Realty, LLC chairman Howard M. Lorber in a press release. “She easily transitions between our very important Brooklyn and Manhattan markets, which adds to her prowess as an agent.”
Before launching her career in real estate sales, the Cornell University and Columbia Law School grad was a real estate attorney for two New York City firms.
Then, in 2003, she joined The Corcoran Group, a Realogy brand, where she specialized in new residential developments and townhouses. After 12 years with Corcoran, Barton Barrett took her talents to Compass in 2015 — two years after the brokerage’s launch.
“I am exceedingly grateful for the many talented agents and mentors I have been fortunate to work alongside throughout my career,” she said in a prepared statement. “My move to Douglas Elliman – with its deep well of new development expertise and entrepreneurial culture – is the best place for me to service my clients, customers and grow my business with my team.”
In an interview with The Real Deal, Barton Barrett elaborated on her move from Compass to Douglas Elliman and said that the brokerage’s work with new developments, which includes the early-November launch of FOLIO — a sales and digital marketing platform created in conjunction with Knight Frank Residential that aggregates, organizes, and shares new development information with buyers’ agents around the world, was the driving force behind her decision.
“It made sense for me to be somewhere where I could really take advantage of a long track record of new development sales,” she said.
Barton Barrett is currently representing six newly constructed passive house single-family townhouses on 29-35 Carroll Street and will be working with her three-agent team out of Douglas Elliman’s 111 Fifth Avenue location.
“I have long admired Lindsay’s skill and tenacity and I am so pleased to welcome her to Douglas Elliman where I am confident we will prove to be great assets to one another,” said Douglas Elliman president and CEO Steven James.
Lindsay Barton Barrett
Lindsay Barton Barrett — one of Compass’ early hires — is headed to Douglas Elliman.
The move comes as Barrett is seeking to further boost her focus on new development, she told The Real Deal. Barrett and her team of three will be based out of Elliman’s new 111 Fifth Avenue location.
“It made sense for me to be somewhere where I could really take advantage of a long track record of new development sales,” Barrett said.
The hire follows the November launch of Elliman and Knight Frank’s platform dubbed FOLIO. The initiative seeks to centralize information and marketing tools for new dev projects. Information ranges from floor plans and unit availability to customized sales and rental comparable data.
Barrett said she’s eager to grow her new dev experience, particularly in Brooklyn. She’s worked on 495 9th Street and 503 6th Avenue in Park Slope, among others. In TRD’s latest ranking of top agent teams in Brooklyn, Barrett’s team came in second — with about $174 million in sales in 2017.
“She has a lot of expertise in new development, which is a big part of our business,” said Elliman chairman Howard Lorber. “This puts us in a better position to service our developers.”
Among Elliman’s Brooklyn projects is Quay Tower in Brooklyn Heights. Earlier this year, a penthouse reportedly went into contract at the project for around $20 million, which would be a record-setting sales price for the borough.
Barrett joined Compass in 2015 after spending 12 years at the Corcoran Group. After spending nearly four years at Compass, Barrett said she was at a point where she wanted a change and an environment that would support her independent style of working. After consulting with friends at the firm, she felt set on her shift to Elliman.
“We have tremendous respect for Lindsay as an agent and an entrepreneur and support her decision to focus more of her business on new development going forward,” said Rory Golod, Compass’ general manager for the New York region.
Barrett’s prominent deals include the $25 million penthouse at 10 Sullivan Street last year and the townhouse at 140 Columbia Heights in Brooklyn for $10.75 million in 2007. She is currently representing 29-35 Carroll Street, six newly constructed townhouses.
Elliman’s recent hires also include Richard Phan, formerly Carrie Chiang’s “right hand” at Corcoran, and Melissa True, the former Town executive tapped to lead agent development and recruitment.
Two of the leading real estate companies globally have launched a new sales and digital marketing platform for new homes developments.
Douglas Elliman Development Marketing and Knight Frank’s FOLIO platform utilized the tech know-how of enterprise software company Collabra to develop a powerful technological tool to aggregate, organize and share new development information with buyers’ agents around the world.
The platform connects more than 21,500 real estate agents and their clients around the world to real-time information about each new development in Douglas Elliman | Knight Frank Residential‘s global portfolio, valued at approximately $87 billion.
“Global connectivity is no longer a supplement to domestic new development property marketing efforts. It is a mandate,” said Susan de França, President and CEO, Douglas Elliman Development Marketing. “With FOLIO we have created a game-changing platform for our developer clients, international buyers and their real estate advisors. By providing immediate access to the information most critical to buyers when considering a property purchase outside of their local market, FOLIO empowers all stakeholders with the data needed to facilitate global transactions.”
The platform translates information into 7 languages and information about the developments includes unit availability, pricing, custom marketing print collateral, photography, floors plans, video content, market reports, neighborhood guides, sales and rental comparable data and sales team contact information.