CHICAGO – (October 25, 2021) – Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® has added CommVersion to its Solutions Group program of preferred business resources for its global network of 550 market-leading real estate firms. CommVersion’s unique ‘done-for-you’ live chat service delivers the lead generation and user experience (UX) benefits of human-powered live chat — surpassing AI-powered bots — but without the associated cost.

By engaging with website traffic to identify if the person browsing is a buyer, seller, tenant, or landlord, CommVersion qualifies relevant leads in real-time and instantly connects a qualified lead with a member of the brokerage’s team. With customer success specialists ensuring each brokerage has a highly personalized solution in place, CommVersion engages prospects with the right message at the right time. The service can also integrate a lead’s contact information and chat transcript into the company’s CRM.

“Trusted by leading firms across industries, CommVersion has helped hundreds of brokerages gain a competitive advantage, generating more leads each month and saving money in the process,” said LeadingRE Vice President, Sales/Partnerships Jeff Kennedy. “In the digital space, CommVersion excels in converting web traffic into qualified leads, and we look forward to sharing these tools with our members.”

With offices in Austin and London, CommVersion is well-positioned to serve LeadingRE’s global membership across borders.

“LeadingRE is one of those rare organizations that truly delivers on its brand promise, namely making the best brokerages better. This is a vision CommVersion shares, making this fantastic relationship a natural step,” said Commercial Director Bertie Horne. “We are excited to work closely with the LeadingRE team to help ensure its members continue to have the best solutions in the industry at their fingertips.”

Learn more about CommVersion at commversion.com. Learn more about Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® at LeadingRE.com.

About CommVersion

CommVersion helps brokerages and real estate businesses unlock their digital potential by driving more qualified and context rich leads from existing website traffic. CommVersion’s unique ‘done-for-you’ live chat service delivers the lead generation and UX benefits of human-managed live chat – surpassing ai-powered bot’s – but without the associated cost. Live chat – but not like you’ve seen it before.

About Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®

Chicago-based Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (LeadingRE.com) is a global network of top independent real estate firms, with 550 companies and 150,000 sales associates in 70 countries. In 2020, network members participated in over 1.1 million global transactions. LeadingRE supports its members with powerful connections to other market leaders and access to innovative, performance-driven programs. Its online learning platform, LeadingRE Institute, was named to Training magazine’s Top 10 Hall of Fame. LeadingRE is also active in commercial real estate, with 200 firms in 15 countries specializing in the commercial arena.

 

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CHICAGO – (October 25, 21) – Chicago-based Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (LeadingRE) announced today that it recently promoted Pat Poole to Senior Vice President, Member Services/North America.

In this newly created role, Poole leads the network’s U.S. member-facing team of Vice Presidents, Business Solutions, who provide hands-on consultative support to the network’s member companies, with the goal of helping them be more productive through the utilization of LeadingRE’s extensive programs and services.

A veteran in the real estate industry with experience working for national real estate and relocation companies, Poole has been with LeadingRE since 2010, most recently serving as Vice President, Business Solutions. She has extensive experience working with members to support their success.

“As our network has grown, both in the number of firms and the scope of our offerings, it was a natural progression to add a team lead for our highly experienced and engaged account managers. Pat’s grasp on what brokerages need to thrive in today’s environment and her experience working as a Vice President of Business Solutions herself make her a natural fit for this important role,” said Executive Vice President, Member Services Kate Reisinger.

Poole is based in San Diego and can be reached at ppoole@LeadingRE.com.

 

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About Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®

Chicago-based Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (LeadingRE.com) is a global network of top independent real estate firms, with 550 companies and 150,000 sales associates in 70 countries. In 2020, network members participated in over 1.3 million global transactions. LeadingRE supports its members with powerful connections to other market leaders and access to innovative, performance-driven programs. Its online learning platform, LeadingRE Institute, was named to Training magazine’s Top 10 Hall of Fame. LeadingRE is also active in commercial real estate, with 200 firms in 15 countries specializing in the commercial arena.

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LeadingRE promotes Jeff Kennedy to Vice President, Sales/Partnerships.

 

CHICAGO – (10/19/21) – Chicago-based Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (LeadingRE) recently promoted Jeff Kennedy to Vice President, Sales/Partnerships. In this role, he is responsible for managing the company’s preferred vendor program, Solutions Group. In addition, he manages the sales/marketing of other key network programs and event sponsorships.

Kennedy joined LeadingRE in 2011, most recently serving as Director, Sales and Business Development. He began in the real estate industry in 1998, having a successful career in the mortgage sector, owning his own mortgage company and ultimately managing a team of 40 loan officers. Additional experience includes leading sales for a national training company and a client feedback platform.

“Jeff has had incredible success since joining our company ten years ago, helping us achieve dramatic growth in our Solutions Group program. He has an eye for identifying technologies and other products that support the success of our member companies and a real talent for generating engagement among our various constituencies,” said Jessica Edgerton, Executive Vice President of Operations and Corporate Counsel.

Kennedy attended Queens University of Charlotte and has earned a sales certification from Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management. As a motivational speaker and a participant Leadership Charlotte Class XXXI, he has addressed the topic of economic empowerment and equality.  He is based in Charlotte, N.C. and can be reached at jkennedy@LeadingRE.com.

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– When we stepped away from green spaces, nature stepped in. Here’s why biophilic design is great for people and the places they live. –

 

Singapore’s Supertrees Grove in the Gardens by the Bay

 

By Chris Dietz, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, Executive Vice President, Global Operations, as published by Inman News

 

When we stepped away from green spaces, nature stepped in. Here’s why biophilic design is great for people and the places they live.

The pandemic and its aftermath forced policymakers and business leaders to reassess what global recovery and the ‘new normal’ could look like as large parts of the world’s rural economies are undertaking significant shifts in how land is used.

These shifts may ultimately influence how and where people live and impact the real estate industry. As part of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World’s newly-launched Sustainability Series, we explored the practice of rewilding.

Frequently carried out in rural areas, rewilding can be defined as restoring an area of land to its natural and uncultivated condition to enable natural processes to repair damaged ecosystems. Now cities across the globe are working to ‘rewild’ their own communities by incorporating new elements of green and eco-friendly design.

Between 2001 and 2017, the US alone lost 24 million acres of natural area — or the equivalent of nine Grand Canyon parks — largely due to housing sprawl, agriculture, and energy development, according to a 2019 Reuters report. Every day, 6,000 acres of open space, from parks, forests, farms, grasslands, and streams, are converted for other uses.

City planners now realize that rewilding urban areas can incorporate both the old and the new, allowing wildness to reclaim a patch of land or using innovative architecture — building new parks on empty lots, incorporating more biophilic design in new structures, or adding green walls with fauna on building facades. A major draw to rewilding in urban areas is the proven positive impact of nature on our health and wellbeing, particularly for cities with less access to outdoor spaces.

In Barcelona, when the city emerged from its six-week lockdown last April, they found their parks bursting with wildlife. In May and June of 2020, there were significant increases in biodiversity in the city: 28% more species per park overall, 74% more butterflies, and an explosion of plant growth. Inspired by these changes, despite having difficulty implementing rewilding efforts previously, Barcelona is now planning 49,000 square meters of car-free “greened” streets.

In Singapore, there has been a tangible effort to increase the quality of life and restore native vegetation by taking it from a “garden city” to a ‘‘city in a garden.’’Along Marina Bay, 18 Supertrees have been dispersed throughout the landscape, some as high as 160 feet. They aren’t actual trees, but rather artificial constructs that provide shelter and habitat for over 158,000 plants and mimic the functions of regular trees by providing shade, filtering rainwater, and absorbing heat.

And in the UK, with the number of empty shops on high streets at the highest level in years, the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust proposed a new vision for the now-empty Broadmarsh shopping center in Nottingham: an urban oasis of woodland, wetlands, and wildflower meadows. Replacing six acres of unused development could set a precedent for how such spaces are repurposed in the future.

Australia is considered a world leader in the biophilic cities movement — a different design approach that brings nature and urban life together by encouraging native species and making even the densest spaces wilder. The government of New South Wales has outlined the benefits of bringing nature into cities by creating more green infrastructure that serves human health, improves property values, and builds resilience against the effects of climate change.

The pandemic forced communities to take time away from their regular day-to-day work lives and offices. This period of reflection has created a new sense of purpose around sustainability and global wellbeing. I predict we will see many more exciting rewilding initiatives adopted by governments in global urban centers over the next 12 months and well into the future.

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CHICAGO – (October 1, 2021) – Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® has added Sellers Shield™ to its Solutions Group program of preferred business resources for its global network of 550 market-leading real estate firms. Sellers Shield™ is an innovative real estate disclosure form solution that reduces the likelihood of home sale lawsuits and provides legal protection to home sellers if a lawsuit occurs.

Designed by legal experts, Sellers Shield™ was deliberately crafted to protect and provide a premium experience to home sellers, agents, and brokerages alike. The free digital disclosure process helps prevent mistakes by providing sellers with expert tips, definitions, examples, and additional resources as they fill out their disclosure forms online. Sellers can also opt into Home Sale Legal Protection™ for peace of mind after the sale. Because these tools help prevent lawsuits and limit agent liability, legal and insurance costs are significantly lowered for brokerages. Multiple national insurance carriers offer deductible waivers to brokers who use Sellers Shield™.

“In our virtual environment, Sellers Shield™ allows real estate agents to send the appropriate disclosure forms to their clients within seconds,” said LeadingRE Vice President, Sales/Partnerships Jeff Kennedy. “They know agents are busy, so ease and efficiency have been at the forefront of their product, and we look forward to sharing these tools with our members.”

Currently, in twelve states with a continued focus on national expansion, Sellers Shield™ is well-positioned to serve LeadingRE’s membership.

“LeadingRE has created a network of top boutique brokerages that consistently deliver high-quality customer experiences. We’re excited to align with LeadingRE because we’re committed to delivering a gold standard disclosure experience that sellers, agents, brokers, and buyers haven’t had in the past,” said VP of Strategic Partnerships, Mike Briggs.

Learn more about Sellers Shield™ at sellersshield.com. Learn more about Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® at www.LeadingRE.com.

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About Sellers Shield™

Sellers Shield™ provides software solutions that protect real estate brokers, agents, and home sellers from lawsuits. Sellers Shield™’s state-of-the-art protection is designed by industry experts to reduce the likelihood of a lawsuit as well as provide security to sellers if one occurs.

Currently available in Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Texas, California, and Missouri.

About Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®

Chicago-based Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (LeadingRE.com) is a global network of top independent real estate firms, with 550 companies and 150,000 sales associates in 70 countries. In 2020, network members participated in over 1.1 million global transactions. LeadingRE supports its members with powerful connections to other market leaders and access to innovative, performance-driven programs. Its online learning platform, LeadingRE Institute, was named to Training magazine’s Top 10 Hall of Fame. LeadingRE is also active in commercial real estate, with 200 firms in 15 countries specializing in the commercial arena.

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