Q&A with Romi Mahajan, Chief Marketing Officer & Chief Revenue Officer at Quantarium

Romi Mahajan, Chief Marketing Officer & Chief Revenue Officer at Quantarium possesse skills in building deep relationships, seeing markets before they burgeon, and in applying socio-political concepts to business. I have 3 pillars on which I pursue opportunities: People, Impact, and Autonomy.


Salespeople have to be considered a dynamic part of every process. They are not there to be passively “trained” but instead to be an organic part of the product process.


MEDIA 7: Could you please tell us a little about yourself? What interested you to pursue a career in Artificial Intelligence?
ROMI MAHAJAN:
I have multiple interests and only got to really focusing on what one might call “Career” in my mid-twenties.  At that point, I was already late to the game.  I had the luck of accidentally getting into Tech and then joining Microsoft when I was just learning how to really work hard and to “lead” projects and people.  Once in Tech, I feel I was a quick study and via reading, learning, participating in industry, having the good fortune to having senior roles, investing, and partnering with fantastic people, I got into AI.  Once you’re in, you never leave!


M7: What according to you is the role of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in real estate?
RM:
The role of AI and ML in Real Estate is vast- AI can impinge on/improve/enhance almost every part of the RE buying, selling maintaining, and exchanging processes.  In some of these steps, AI is best used in conjunction with humans, in other steps, AI can take over.  Ultimately, we have to remember that RE is the largest asset class in the world, and constitutes one of the most important areas of the Economy.  From Valuations to Analytics, from Buyer-Seller matching to Customer Experience, from process enhancement to propensity models, AI can be Queen and King.


Don’t chase things or put up with nasty people just because “eventually” you’ll get somewhere.  If work kills happiness then you don’t have a shot at a decent life.

M7: How do you ensure that your sales team understands and presents the products in an engaging manner?
RM:
There is no easy answer. Salespeople have to be considered a dynamic part of every process. They are not there to be passively “trained” but instead to be an organic part of the product process. That investment and synergy do the trick.


M7: What are the major advertising and marketing tools you use to hike up the brand awareness of your company?
RM:
A Marketer uses many tools but tools need to be thought of a secondary to goals, audiences, and strategies. Tools and Channels do not define Marketing; Marketing goals and ideas, audiences and intentions—these should inform the tools you use.  For me, my three most valuable tools are email, real conversations, and friendships made over a glass of wine.


You never know the exact reason for a marketing outcome so stop pretending Marketing is a science. It isn’t.

M7: You are also associated with Data Hunters and FinLedger simultaneously. What is your secret to maintaining a healthy balance between work and personal life?
RM:
I am associated with dozens of organizations and businesses.  I have an incredibly interesting work life and a vibrant personal life.  It is a strange thing to distinguish between the two- do what you love to do with people you like to work with.  Don’t chase things or put up with nasty people just because “eventually” you’ll get somewhere.  If work kills happiness then you don’t have a shot at a decent life. 


M7: The marketing mantra you swear by?
RM:
Pater Semper Incertus Est.  You never know the exact reason for a marketing outcome so stop pretending Marketing is a science.  It isn’t.
And second:  Audience first, Channel second.

ABOUT QUANTARIUM

Quantarium is the leading AI Company in residential real estate. With the leading AVM and analytics platform and the most comprehensive data lake of US residential properties, Quantarium customers span Mortgage, Banking, Insurance, and other large parts of the RE ecosystem.

More C-Suite on deck

Q&A with Sangram Vajre, Co-founder & Chief Evangelist at Terminus

MEDIA 7 | January 9, 2020

Sangram Vajre, Co-Founder & Chief Evangelist at Terminus is also an author and host of the podcast FlipmyFunnel. He is one of the leading minds in B2B marketing. MEDIA 7: What are you passionate about? SANGRAM VAJRE: Three things: Lead professionally. Grow personally. Love family. M7: Terminus has been recognized as one of Georgia’s 40 fastest-growing companies by ACG Atlanta. What factors contribute to this pace? SV: One of our core values is #OneTeam – which means we think and act as one team and know that if we treat our team right, they will treat our customers amazing. There are no great companies, only great people that make those companies.

Read More

Q&A with Amy Barzdukas, Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer at Poly

MEDIA 7 | November 21, 2019

Amy Barzdukas, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer at Poly is a marketing and communications leader with extensive experience in setting strategy, shifting perceptions, advising customers, digital marketing, revenue marketing, integrated marketing communications, and public relations in highly competitive product arenas. Amy is known for her ability to create and execute winning turnarounds on a global scale. MEDIA 7: What inspired you to get into marketing? AMY BARZDUKAS: I was always destined for marketing, even if I didn’t know it. As a child, I collected promotional brochures. I was fascinated by how the words and pictures were used to drive action. My first job was as an advertising copywriter, and I’ve never looked back. M7: How is Poly redefining the video conferencing experience for modern businesses? AB: We’re in an unprecedented time of change in our industry. Voice and video services are moving to the cloud, and companies are changing how they approach their communications needs. Poly is the largest provider of the devices – video conferencing, audio conferencing, headphones and desk phones – you use to connect to these services so you can collaborate with your colleagues. That uniquely positions us to shape the video conferencing experience, and we’re doing so in four ways. First, Poly has made both the Zoom Rooms and the Microsoft Teams video conferencing experience better than ever with our radically simple Poly Studio X video bars that deliver these experiences with no PC or Mac required. We’ve got decades of experience in understanding what makes meetings more human – for everyone in the room and those dialing in from other locations – and we’ve packed all of that into easy-to-install, easy-to-manage, and easy-to-use all-in-one powerhouses. Second, we are bringing the world of AV and video conferencing into the modern app economy. Our Studio X series and Poly G7500 video conferencing devices run a common platform that can be updated and enhanced through a series of regular software updates. This Poly platform, built on Android, can run applications like a smartphone does today. Third, Poly has introduced innovation that makes any video conference better. Our new Poly MeetingAI features use AI and machine learning to address the distractions that hit your senses in a meeting. We make it easier to hear what’s being said by blocking out the annoying noises that people make while talking, and we make it easier to see what’s going on in the room with the most advanced speaker tracking and framing, and our built-in production rules. Finally, we are pricing our solutions in a way that completely resets the calculations on what it costs to outfit a room. The Studio X30, for huddle room and smaller spaces, costs just about $2,100, including the Poly TC8 touch controller. All you add is the cloud service and a monitor, and you have a room up and running for under $2,500. That’s easily under the cost of other solutions and with better audio and video quality.

Read More

Q&A with Ed Breault, Chief Marketing Officer at Aprimo

MEDIA 7 | November 28, 2019

Ed Breault, Chief Marketing Officer at Aprimo is a marketer with over 18 years of industry experience. At Aprimo, Ed is responsible for the global brand and growth which includes all Paid/Owned/Earned media, Brand Experience, Product Marketing, Industry Marketing, Influencer Marketing, Strategic Communications, Content Marketing, Analyst Relations, Alliance Marketing, Public Relations, Events, Demand Generation and Account-Based Marketing. MEDIA 7: What’s your superpower? ED BREAULT: I would say it’s applying the full spectrum of art and science that is required in marketing today. Not just left or right brained, but whole-brained strategy. Being human yet data-driven and really understanding numbers and (the right) metrics to make connections to business drivers. Add storytelling to that, so I can effectively communicate to my team, the CEO and CFO as well as my Board of Directors on those metrics, and connecting all that we are doing in marketing to the mission of the business. Then quickly shifting gears to the art and creative aspects of marketing that are required to engage an audience and tell great commercial stories that take complex concepts and craft them in a way that is interesting for people to pay attention to. I have to be the ultimate point of truth for the brand. M7: At Aprimo, how have marketing leadership roles and responsibilities evolved over the past few years? EB: There are so many dimensions needed by marketing leaders today. There are several elements driving this evolution, it’s the new experience battlefront that is emerging and also marketers themselves driving changes. From a market perspective, there is a clear appetite for disruption and consumers are wanting more experiential elements to their buying experience and interactions with brands. Take a few direct to consumer disruptions like trialing products in-home, purchasing directly from a brand or even wanting to ensure that the producer’s trade practices are in line with the buyer’s or even a regulator’s for that matter. Then we want to try before we buy, and we emotionally care about the supply chain of products. Do we TRUST this brand to do business with them? Behind all of this is a story that needs to be told, and it is those marketers who know their audience well and make connections that will win the commercial game. Back to the marketer, there are so many diverse backgrounds that marketers bring now and I’m really intrigued by those who have unconventional backgrounds because they contribute something uniquely new to the field. I love hearing about the marketer’s journey.

Read More

Q&A with Sangram Vajre, Co-founder & Chief Evangelist at Terminus

MEDIA 7 | January 9, 2020

Sangram Vajre, Co-Founder & Chief Evangelist at Terminus is also an author and host of the podcast FlipmyFunnel. He is one of the leading minds in B2B marketing. MEDIA 7: What are you passionate about? SANGRAM VAJRE: Three things: Lead professionally. Grow personally. Love family. M7: Terminus has been recognized as one of Georgia’s 40 fastest-growing companies by ACG Atlanta. What factors contribute to this pace? SV: One of our core values is #OneTeam – which means we think and act as one team and know that if we treat our team right, they will treat our customers amazing. There are no great companies, only great people that make those companies.

Read More

Q&A with Amy Barzdukas, Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer at Poly

MEDIA 7 | November 21, 2019

Amy Barzdukas, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer at Poly is a marketing and communications leader with extensive experience in setting strategy, shifting perceptions, advising customers, digital marketing, revenue marketing, integrated marketing communications, and public relations in highly competitive product arenas. Amy is known for her ability to create and execute winning turnarounds on a global scale. MEDIA 7: What inspired you to get into marketing? AMY BARZDUKAS: I was always destined for marketing, even if I didn’t know it. As a child, I collected promotional brochures. I was fascinated by how the words and pictures were used to drive action. My first job was as an advertising copywriter, and I’ve never looked back. M7: How is Poly redefining the video conferencing experience for modern businesses? AB: We’re in an unprecedented time of change in our industry. Voice and video services are moving to the cloud, and companies are changing how they approach their communications needs. Poly is the largest provider of the devices – video conferencing, audio conferencing, headphones and desk phones – you use to connect to these services so you can collaborate with your colleagues. That uniquely positions us to shape the video conferencing experience, and we’re doing so in four ways. First, Poly has made both the Zoom Rooms and the Microsoft Teams video conferencing experience better than ever with our radically simple Poly Studio X video bars that deliver these experiences with no PC or Mac required. We’ve got decades of experience in understanding what makes meetings more human – for everyone in the room and those dialing in from other locations – and we’ve packed all of that into easy-to-install, easy-to-manage, and easy-to-use all-in-one powerhouses. Second, we are bringing the world of AV and video conferencing into the modern app economy. Our Studio X series and Poly G7500 video conferencing devices run a common platform that can be updated and enhanced through a series of regular software updates. This Poly platform, built on Android, can run applications like a smartphone does today. Third, Poly has introduced innovation that makes any video conference better. Our new Poly MeetingAI features use AI and machine learning to address the distractions that hit your senses in a meeting. We make it easier to hear what’s being said by blocking out the annoying noises that people make while talking, and we make it easier to see what’s going on in the room with the most advanced speaker tracking and framing, and our built-in production rules. Finally, we are pricing our solutions in a way that completely resets the calculations on what it costs to outfit a room. The Studio X30, for huddle room and smaller spaces, costs just about $2,100, including the Poly TC8 touch controller. All you add is the cloud service and a monitor, and you have a room up and running for under $2,500. That’s easily under the cost of other solutions and with better audio and video quality.

Read More

Q&A with Ed Breault, Chief Marketing Officer at Aprimo

MEDIA 7 | November 28, 2019

Ed Breault, Chief Marketing Officer at Aprimo is a marketer with over 18 years of industry experience. At Aprimo, Ed is responsible for the global brand and growth which includes all Paid/Owned/Earned media, Brand Experience, Product Marketing, Industry Marketing, Influencer Marketing, Strategic Communications, Content Marketing, Analyst Relations, Alliance Marketing, Public Relations, Events, Demand Generation and Account-Based Marketing. MEDIA 7: What’s your superpower? ED BREAULT: I would say it’s applying the full spectrum of art and science that is required in marketing today. Not just left or right brained, but whole-brained strategy. Being human yet data-driven and really understanding numbers and (the right) metrics to make connections to business drivers. Add storytelling to that, so I can effectively communicate to my team, the CEO and CFO as well as my Board of Directors on those metrics, and connecting all that we are doing in marketing to the mission of the business. Then quickly shifting gears to the art and creative aspects of marketing that are required to engage an audience and tell great commercial stories that take complex concepts and craft them in a way that is interesting for people to pay attention to. I have to be the ultimate point of truth for the brand. M7: At Aprimo, how have marketing leadership roles and responsibilities evolved over the past few years? EB: There are so many dimensions needed by marketing leaders today. There are several elements driving this evolution, it’s the new experience battlefront that is emerging and also marketers themselves driving changes. From a market perspective, there is a clear appetite for disruption and consumers are wanting more experiential elements to their buying experience and interactions with brands. Take a few direct to consumer disruptions like trialing products in-home, purchasing directly from a brand or even wanting to ensure that the producer’s trade practices are in line with the buyer’s or even a regulator’s for that matter. Then we want to try before we buy, and we emotionally care about the supply chain of products. Do we TRUST this brand to do business with them? Behind all of this is a story that needs to be told, and it is those marketers who know their audience well and make connections that will win the commercial game. Back to the marketer, there are so many diverse backgrounds that marketers bring now and I’m really intrigued by those who have unconventional backgrounds because they contribute something uniquely new to the field. I love hearing about the marketer’s journey.

Read More

Related News

Real Estate Technology

Nestfully Announces Strategic Collaboration with Local Logic to Enhance Real Estate Search Experience

PR Newswire | January 09, 2024

Nestfully, an innovative public search portal in the real estate industry powered by some of the country's largest MLSs, today announced a collaboration with Local Logic, a leading location intelligence software provider. Local Logic's advanced location and demographic insights are now directly integrated into Nestfully's platform, enhancing the home search experience for both consumers and real estate professionals. Nestfully connects consumers directly with the most accurate and up-to-date listing information from the MLS and is elevating its service offerings by integrating two of Local Logic's flagship products - Local Content and Local Demographics. These additions will empower homebuyers with deeper insights into potential properties, covering aspects such as neighborhood characteristics, local services, transportation options, and detailed demographic data. "Our collaboration with Local Logic marks a milestone for Nestfully," said Amit Kulkarni, Bright MLS Chief Marketing Officer. "Integrating Local Logic's advanced location and demographic insights directly into Nestfully introduces new value to agents and homebuyers and brings them a new innovative tool that enhances the homebuying search." Local Logic's Local Content product offers 18 distinct location scores across services, transportation, and character, along with details on nearby points of interest and school data. This user-friendly and customizable interface ensures brand consistency while enriching the user's understanding of a home's lifestyle and location characteristics. Local Demographics provides a comprehensive view of neighborhood dynamics, including income, employment statistics, population demographics, education levels, housing data, and more. This feature is designed for fast implementation and consistent site design, allowing real estate companies to focus on their core business while offering valuable insights to modern home seekers. "Nestfully's innovative approach to real estate search aligns seamlessly with our mission at Local Logic," said Vincent-Charles Hodder, Co-founder and CEO of Local Logic. "By infusing our comprehensive location intelligence into their platform, we're not just enhancing the homebuying experience; we're reshaping it. This partnership reinforces our position as the go-to provider of neighborhood insights, benefiting both real estate professionals and homebuyers." About Nestfully Nestfully delivers millions of residential property listings and a wealth of information to home buyers and sellers from the definitive source used by real estate pros – the MLS. Consumers get access – at no charge – to a search experience that has no advertisements, just home listings and seamless connection to local agents and brokers who know the properties and markets the best. Nestfully was designed, engineered and launched by several of the nation's leading MLSs including California Regional MLS and Bright MLS, with REcolorado, BeachesMLS and Miami REALTORS® as participants. About Local Logic Local Logic is a location intelligence platform that digitizes the built world for consumers, investors, developers, and governments – delivering unrivaled clarity and actionable insights capable of creating more sustainable, equitable cities. With more than 85 billion unique data points – the largest unique location data set in the U.S. and Canada – the platform creates a digital twin of cities, quantifying the built world and offering predictive, precise analytics to inform the present and future of over 250 million individual addresses.

Read More

Real Estate Investment

Cohen & Steers Launches Real Assets Compass to Help Financial Advisors Build Better Portfolios with Real Estate

PR Newswire | January 11, 2024

Cohen & Steers, Inc. announced today the launch of the Real Assets Compass, an interactive tool focused on real estate allocations designed to help financial advisors and institutional investors improve portfolio risk-return profiles. Using the firm's Capital Market Assumptions for the next 10 years and 30 years of historical data, the Real Assets Compass ("the Compass") compares historical and expected returns and volatility of traditional portfolios of only stocks and bonds with those of a more diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds and listed and private real estate. Cohen & Steers believes that many investors are under-allocated to real estate despite the well-documented benefits of the asset class, including its strong performance and potential to enhance risk-adjusted returns. These investors include those across a range of profiles, from self-directed investors to those investing with financial advisors or family offices. Cohen & Steers' analysis, utilized in the Real Assets Compass, suggests that adding real estate to an investor's portfolio of stocks and bonds can improve its total return and risk-reward profile. The Compass can help advisors demonstrate the impacts of adding real estate to a portfolio and address client questions about allocating to real estate. The potential benefits of a real estate allocation apply to an array of investor styles, ranging from those more conservative seeking income or lower risk to those seeking growth or higher returns. Joe Harvey, Chief Executive Officer & President, said: "The Real Assets Compass is the latest example of Cohen & Steers' commitment to innovation and providing advisors with the tools necessary to build better portfolios and educate clients around the benefits of private and listed real estate allocations." The Cohen & Steers Real Assets Compass will enable financial advisors to: Build customized investment profiles based on general risk tolerance, investment objective and portfolio size View a portfolio allocation with both listed and private real estate based on that profile Adjust the total real estate allocation and the mix between listed and private real estate Forecast the impact of an allocation to real estate on the risk/return profile of a portfolio through a clear comparison to a traditional stock/bond portfolio View resulting 10-year expected portfolio growth in dollars and quantitative performance and risk metrics, as well as the past-30-year return profile Download easy-to-understand reports to review with clients Jon Cheigh, Chief Investment Officer, said: "We believe real estate should be a strategic, long-term allocation for most investors. Yet too few investors recognize that allocations to real estate can deliver strong absolute and relative returns at lower risk. As a result, we created our Real Estate Advisory Services, which aim to help institutional clients allocate to listed and private real estate based on where we are in the market cycle. These capabilities, along with the Real Assets Compass, will play an instrumental role in Cohen & Steers' work to close the education gap that exists in investors' understanding of the power of real estate allocations." The launch of the Real Assets Compass follows the appointments of Rich Hill as Head of Real Estate Strategy and Research in September 2022 and Jeff Palma as Head of Multi-Asset Solutions in November 2021, to grow Cohen & Steers' portfolio allocation and research capabilities. The Compass tool can be used by institutional investors in conjunction with the portfolio allocation and real estate strategy insights produced by the firm. About Cohen & Steers. Cohen & Steers is a leading global investment manager specializing in real assets and alternative income, including real estate, preferred securities, infrastructure, resource equities, commodities, as well as multi-strategy solutions. Founded in 1986, the firm is headquartered in New York City, with offices in London, Dublin, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore.

Read More

Real Estate Advice

Zillow unveils a new look for property pages, their biggest redesign in 5 years

PR Newswire | October 25, 2023

Zillow is launching a big update to the look and feel of for-sale property listings on its website, improving home shoppers' experience with a more intuitive and simplified layout. The enhanced design of for-sale property listings on Zillow.com offers a wider, single-scroll format, making it easier for home shoppers to find key information, such as square footage, the Zestimate feature, lot size and home type. The new layout also introduces a media section at the top of the page that better showcases photos and 3D tours. By clicking on a photo, the media section expands, providing a full-page, magazine-style layout for seamless navigation through the rest of the home's photography. "The new design delivers a fun and efficient way to browse homes on the Zillow website, making it easier for home shoppers to navigate and process information," said Jenny Arden, chief design officer at Zillow. "We introduced a wider layout for images, larger fonts for the most important facts and a clearer articulation of what makes the home special to help our users quickly understand if the home is right for them." Zillow's app updates: Navigate with ease and simplify financing with the Home Loans tab In addition to the redesign on the Zillow website, for-sale property listings on the Zillow app (iOS) are also receiving an update. This new look minimizes excessive scrolling by allowing users to more easily find the information that matters the most to them, whether that's home facts and features, a cost calculator or the Zestimate history. When viewing a for-sale listing on the app, users will see a new look that presents the home details categorized into sections such as "What's Special,"' "Market Value," "Monthly Cost" and "Neighborhood." Users can click into particular sections of interest to find more details. This new look will be available before the end of the year on the Zillow iOS app. Zillow is also introducing a new "Home Loans" tab on the Zillow app to help shoppers become buyers. Users can now easily figure out their budget, connect with a lender, get prequalified with Zillow Home Loans℠, and track their loan status — all in one place. "Financing is a critical part of the home-buying process, and 60% of buyers say setting their budget is their first step when buying a home. With this update, we're helping the millions of people browsing the Zillow app better understand what they can afford within their budget and see a clear path toward getting the mortgage they need," said Matt Daimler, senior vice president of product at Zillow. "We're already seeing an impact: Customers are saying it's easier than ever to access and use our financing tools and get prequalified with Zillow Home Loans."

Read More

Real Estate Technology

Nestfully Announces Strategic Collaboration with Local Logic to Enhance Real Estate Search Experience

PR Newswire | January 09, 2024

Nestfully, an innovative public search portal in the real estate industry powered by some of the country's largest MLSs, today announced a collaboration with Local Logic, a leading location intelligence software provider. Local Logic's advanced location and demographic insights are now directly integrated into Nestfully's platform, enhancing the home search experience for both consumers and real estate professionals. Nestfully connects consumers directly with the most accurate and up-to-date listing information from the MLS and is elevating its service offerings by integrating two of Local Logic's flagship products - Local Content and Local Demographics. These additions will empower homebuyers with deeper insights into potential properties, covering aspects such as neighborhood characteristics, local services, transportation options, and detailed demographic data. "Our collaboration with Local Logic marks a milestone for Nestfully," said Amit Kulkarni, Bright MLS Chief Marketing Officer. "Integrating Local Logic's advanced location and demographic insights directly into Nestfully introduces new value to agents and homebuyers and brings them a new innovative tool that enhances the homebuying search." Local Logic's Local Content product offers 18 distinct location scores across services, transportation, and character, along with details on nearby points of interest and school data. This user-friendly and customizable interface ensures brand consistency while enriching the user's understanding of a home's lifestyle and location characteristics. Local Demographics provides a comprehensive view of neighborhood dynamics, including income, employment statistics, population demographics, education levels, housing data, and more. This feature is designed for fast implementation and consistent site design, allowing real estate companies to focus on their core business while offering valuable insights to modern home seekers. "Nestfully's innovative approach to real estate search aligns seamlessly with our mission at Local Logic," said Vincent-Charles Hodder, Co-founder and CEO of Local Logic. "By infusing our comprehensive location intelligence into their platform, we're not just enhancing the homebuying experience; we're reshaping it. This partnership reinforces our position as the go-to provider of neighborhood insights, benefiting both real estate professionals and homebuyers." About Nestfully Nestfully delivers millions of residential property listings and a wealth of information to home buyers and sellers from the definitive source used by real estate pros – the MLS. Consumers get access – at no charge – to a search experience that has no advertisements, just home listings and seamless connection to local agents and brokers who know the properties and markets the best. Nestfully was designed, engineered and launched by several of the nation's leading MLSs including California Regional MLS and Bright MLS, with REcolorado, BeachesMLS and Miami REALTORS® as participants. About Local Logic Local Logic is a location intelligence platform that digitizes the built world for consumers, investors, developers, and governments – delivering unrivaled clarity and actionable insights capable of creating more sustainable, equitable cities. With more than 85 billion unique data points – the largest unique location data set in the U.S. and Canada – the platform creates a digital twin of cities, quantifying the built world and offering predictive, precise analytics to inform the present and future of over 250 million individual addresses.

Read More

Real Estate Investment

Cohen & Steers Launches Real Assets Compass to Help Financial Advisors Build Better Portfolios with Real Estate

PR Newswire | January 11, 2024

Cohen & Steers, Inc. announced today the launch of the Real Assets Compass, an interactive tool focused on real estate allocations designed to help financial advisors and institutional investors improve portfolio risk-return profiles. Using the firm's Capital Market Assumptions for the next 10 years and 30 years of historical data, the Real Assets Compass ("the Compass") compares historical and expected returns and volatility of traditional portfolios of only stocks and bonds with those of a more diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds and listed and private real estate. Cohen & Steers believes that many investors are under-allocated to real estate despite the well-documented benefits of the asset class, including its strong performance and potential to enhance risk-adjusted returns. These investors include those across a range of profiles, from self-directed investors to those investing with financial advisors or family offices. Cohen & Steers' analysis, utilized in the Real Assets Compass, suggests that adding real estate to an investor's portfolio of stocks and bonds can improve its total return and risk-reward profile. The Compass can help advisors demonstrate the impacts of adding real estate to a portfolio and address client questions about allocating to real estate. The potential benefits of a real estate allocation apply to an array of investor styles, ranging from those more conservative seeking income or lower risk to those seeking growth or higher returns. Joe Harvey, Chief Executive Officer & President, said: "The Real Assets Compass is the latest example of Cohen & Steers' commitment to innovation and providing advisors with the tools necessary to build better portfolios and educate clients around the benefits of private and listed real estate allocations." The Cohen & Steers Real Assets Compass will enable financial advisors to: Build customized investment profiles based on general risk tolerance, investment objective and portfolio size View a portfolio allocation with both listed and private real estate based on that profile Adjust the total real estate allocation and the mix between listed and private real estate Forecast the impact of an allocation to real estate on the risk/return profile of a portfolio through a clear comparison to a traditional stock/bond portfolio View resulting 10-year expected portfolio growth in dollars and quantitative performance and risk metrics, as well as the past-30-year return profile Download easy-to-understand reports to review with clients Jon Cheigh, Chief Investment Officer, said: "We believe real estate should be a strategic, long-term allocation for most investors. Yet too few investors recognize that allocations to real estate can deliver strong absolute and relative returns at lower risk. As a result, we created our Real Estate Advisory Services, which aim to help institutional clients allocate to listed and private real estate based on where we are in the market cycle. These capabilities, along with the Real Assets Compass, will play an instrumental role in Cohen & Steers' work to close the education gap that exists in investors' understanding of the power of real estate allocations." The launch of the Real Assets Compass follows the appointments of Rich Hill as Head of Real Estate Strategy and Research in September 2022 and Jeff Palma as Head of Multi-Asset Solutions in November 2021, to grow Cohen & Steers' portfolio allocation and research capabilities. The Compass tool can be used by institutional investors in conjunction with the portfolio allocation and real estate strategy insights produced by the firm. About Cohen & Steers. Cohen & Steers is a leading global investment manager specializing in real assets and alternative income, including real estate, preferred securities, infrastructure, resource equities, commodities, as well as multi-strategy solutions. Founded in 1986, the firm is headquartered in New York City, with offices in London, Dublin, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore.

Read More

Real Estate Advice

Zillow unveils a new look for property pages, their biggest redesign in 5 years

PR Newswire | October 25, 2023

Zillow is launching a big update to the look and feel of for-sale property listings on its website, improving home shoppers' experience with a more intuitive and simplified layout. The enhanced design of for-sale property listings on Zillow.com offers a wider, single-scroll format, making it easier for home shoppers to find key information, such as square footage, the Zestimate feature, lot size and home type. The new layout also introduces a media section at the top of the page that better showcases photos and 3D tours. By clicking on a photo, the media section expands, providing a full-page, magazine-style layout for seamless navigation through the rest of the home's photography. "The new design delivers a fun and efficient way to browse homes on the Zillow website, making it easier for home shoppers to navigate and process information," said Jenny Arden, chief design officer at Zillow. "We introduced a wider layout for images, larger fonts for the most important facts and a clearer articulation of what makes the home special to help our users quickly understand if the home is right for them." Zillow's app updates: Navigate with ease and simplify financing with the Home Loans tab In addition to the redesign on the Zillow website, for-sale property listings on the Zillow app (iOS) are also receiving an update. This new look minimizes excessive scrolling by allowing users to more easily find the information that matters the most to them, whether that's home facts and features, a cost calculator or the Zestimate history. When viewing a for-sale listing on the app, users will see a new look that presents the home details categorized into sections such as "What's Special,"' "Market Value," "Monthly Cost" and "Neighborhood." Users can click into particular sections of interest to find more details. This new look will be available before the end of the year on the Zillow iOS app. Zillow is also introducing a new "Home Loans" tab on the Zillow app to help shoppers become buyers. Users can now easily figure out their budget, connect with a lender, get prequalified with Zillow Home Loans℠, and track their loan status — all in one place. "Financing is a critical part of the home-buying process, and 60% of buyers say setting their budget is their first step when buying a home. With this update, we're helping the millions of people browsing the Zillow app better understand what they can afford within their budget and see a clear path toward getting the mortgage they need," said Matt Daimler, senior vice president of product at Zillow. "We're already seeing an impact: Customers are saying it's easier than ever to access and use our financing tools and get prequalified with Zillow Home Loans."

Read More

Spotlight

Quantarium

Quantarium

Quantarium is the leading AI Company in residential real estate. With the leading AVM and analytics platform and the most comprehensive data lake of US residential properties, Quantarium customers span Mortgage, Banking, Insurance, and other large parts of the RE ecosystem....

Events

Resources

resource image

Market Outlook, Real Estate Technology

Mobilising Private Capital for New Housing Solutions

Whitepaper

resource image

Market Outlook, Real Estate Advice

Analyzing Residential Real Estate Trends in July

Video

resource image

Market Outlook, Real Estate Advice

2023 Global Predictions

Whitepaper

resource image

Market Outlook, Real Estate Technology

Mobilising Private Capital for New Housing Solutions

Whitepaper

resource image

Market Outlook, Real Estate Advice

Analyzing Residential Real Estate Trends in July

Video

resource image

Market Outlook, Real Estate Advice

2023 Global Predictions

Whitepaper

Events