Fort Meade - USNA - Andrews AFB: Another Accolade for ActiveRain - Congratulations!

Perhaps someone else has already mentioned this, but I haven't read it on ActiveRain.  Actually, I got an email this week titled "Announcing: The Real Estate Trendsetters for 2007"

There, right alongside biggies like RE/MAX and Zillow, is our own ActiveRain!  Here are the names and descriptions of the 2008 Top 10 Trendsetters, according to report author Stefan Swanepoel:

10.   Bank of America - The largest retail banking operation in the country stepped up by initially lending $2 billion to save ill-fated and cash-starved Countrywide before ultimately purchasing the company.

9.   EXIT Realty - Based on a system that pays out residuals, EXIT's innovation in redistributing the commission pie and strong growth in recent years to become one of the 10 largest national franchises in the country. 

8.    RealEstate.com - For its complete about-turn and expanding an online business into the successful opening of 12 "bricks and mortar" real estate offices. 

7.      Federal Reserve - For the poor handling of the forewarned housing bubble that lead to the worst housing slump in two in decades and the largest collapse of the financial markets since the depression.

6.      Trulia - Became one the 3 ^rd largest traffic contributors to 12 of the largest residential real estate franchisors and brokerages nationwide. 

5.    ActiveRain - Launched in June 2006, ActiveRain assumed the mantle as the #1 real estate social network, boasting 60,000 members by 2007.

4.    RE/MAX - Leading the charge by adding everyone's listings on their corporate website, Remax.com became the most visited website of any national real estate company, generating a record 3 million leads for RE/MAX agents.

3.     Zillow - Fueled by "Zestimates" and excellent publicity, Zillow became the most talked about company in real estate and their site one of the top 3 most visited websites in the industry.

2.     Dominion - Combining print publications Harmon Homes, For Rent, New Homes & Living, Home Solutions and Distinctive Homes together with websites Homes.com and ForRent.com and   companies Number1Expert, Katabat and eNeighborhood, Dominion has in two short years become a force in the industry.

1.   Realogy - Breaking up Cendant into three focused operating units with Realogy becoming the new parent for the real estate activities (Coldwell Banker, Century 21, ERA, NRT and Sotheby's). Realogy is now the real estate industry's largest franchisor in with more than 15,000 employees and 315,000 affiliated real estate brokers and sales associates worldwide .    September 2007 they added Better Homes and Gardens to their portfolio solidifying their position at the top of the list of 2007 Trendsetters of the Year.  

According to the email forwarded from my broker (originally from Realsure Publishing), the criteria for selection included "product innovation, industry influence, value of contribution, acceptance, anticipated impact and general media exposure."  Swanepoel, who authored the report, indicated that the companies selected are the current drivers and leaders in the industry and collectively caused more change in 2007 than any other companies. "I believe that, as a result of their vision, drive, commitment and leadership, the industry is more dynamic today than ever before." 

CONGRATULATIONS, ActiveRain!!!

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