Today’s real estate technology companies are partnering with MLSs at an unprecedented rate. This trend is brought about by natural gravity. The MLS is the primary source of fundamental technology for real estate professionals.
WAV Group is beginning to see a number of MLSs pursuing a variety of strategies for offering non-core MLS services. Historically, MLSs only pursued site licenses for technology for their members, paying a price per member per month. This trend expanded as emerging products like Listhub, Property Panorama, and Listingbook began to offer Freemium services, where the MLS offered a free basic version of the product, but subscribers could opt into advanced features by paying a premium. Recently, Metrolist in Colorado; MRIS in the Mid-Atlantic States; and MLSListings.com in California launched retail stores for technology.
Last week, the California Regional Multiple Listing Service announced a partnership with Homes.com to offer the complete Homes.com tool set as a member benefit – returning to the trend of site licenses. Homes.com has had a long-standing relationship with MLSs in California site licenses for a cross-MLS property search and CMA tool under the product name Mercado with the MLS Alliance search. The new relationship adds abundantly more product offerings that marry data to key agent resources beyond the Mercado marketing package.
Agents will have access to the Homes Connect Marketing platform (Design Center) tied to the Homes.com Customer Relationship Management solution. This CRM solution recently added social prospecting features through Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter contact integration. Topping it all off, agents will receive IDX and VOW offerings included in the package along with agent facing and consumer facing mobile offerings and the Facebook Listing Application for Facebook business pages. (Kitchen sinks available if requested). But wait, there is more……
Participating brokers and agents will also have their listings displayed on Homes.com and their agent MyHomes profiles populated from the MLS roster on the site.
CRMLS has purchased all of these products from Homes.com and will be offering them all as a member benefit. By my basic accounting, this includes every Homes.com product with exception of advertising enhancements on Homes.com (Homes Connect Plus and Homes Connect Pro).
Some more observations:
CRMLS offers multiple MLS systems: Matrix and Tempo/ Fusion. To some extent you could include REALTORS Property Resource and WyldFyre 7 to this list although they are not MLS systems (only MLS data search).
CRMLS offers multiple IDX/VOW solutions: SmartDesk IDX from Real Estate Digital, Immobel foreign language IDX; Homes.com (think eNeighborhoods), and Listingbook (Freemium).
CRMLS offers multiple CMAs – SmartDesk CMA, CMAzing from Homes.com, Cloud CMA. To some extent, you could include the REALTORS Property Resource into this category.
Listing Syndication – Listhub and Point2 and direct feeds.
Mobile: CRMLS Mobile, Kurio, Homes.com and Goomzee.
Believe it or not, I have probably missed some stuff. Homes.com is working to expand this offering to more MLSs around the country and plans more announcements before and during the NAR Midyear Conference.
About Homes.com
Homes.com is a leading provider of real estate marketing and media services, including brand advertising, property listing exposure and syndication, search engine marketing and instant response lead generation. Homes Connect by Homes.com offers the real estate industry’s first-ever all-inclusive marketing platform for agents and brokers featuring single-login convenience. Over 10 million consumers visit Homes.com each month to search nearly 4 million properties for sale or rent, to locate real estate agents in their area and to find useful home buying tips. For more information, visit www.Homes.com.
About CRMLS
California Regional MLS is the nation’s largest Multiple Listing Service, providing products and services to over 70,000 subscribers from 33 REALTOR® Associations. California Regional MLS, located at 180 Via Verde, Suite 200 in San Dimas, California, provides access to listing data throughout the State of California. California Regional MLS has been a regional MLS for over 30 years and is dedicated to making a REAL Difference in the day-to-day business of Real Estate Professionals. For more information on California Regional MLS, please email communications@crmls.org.
