Sam DeBord Becomes RESO CEO

The evolution of data management standards has been driven by generous contributions of the best minds in real estate technology, shepherded by Jeremy Crawford over the past two years. Today, WAV Group welcomes another great leader to RESO, Sam DeBord. His credentials are outstanding.

The RESO announcement is important because MLS systems in America are the platform for data management in real estate. Since its inception, MLSs found their own path to creating data schemas, like data payloads, data fields, and data business rules.

As brokers and agents have evolved their application diversity in their business from property search to a wide array of applications, the unique data schema of each MLS required custom data mapping to insert MLS data into software products.

Moreover, firms and vendors operating across multiple MLS markets face increased complexity mapping software to MLS data that is often formatted differently from market to market. To make MLS data more consistent, the industry founded the non-profit organization called the Real Estate Standards Organization or RESO.

RESO’s charter is to work across all MLSs in America to normalize data management by the creation and adoption of common practices. This standardization allows software to connect to MLS data with minimal data mapping, saving time and money.

The iterative adoption of a common set of data management practices creates RESO standards. Each year, members of the RESO, which include MLSs, MLS vendors, brokerage firms, and technology companies, meet in Workgroups to evolve new standard together. They collaborate to guide the direction on a few key areas that impact and shape how data flows from MLS systems into the software used by the real estate industry.

Over the past few years, RESO has released new standards that have dramatically reshaped MLS data. Namely, our industry has stopped evolving an old standard that was custom designed for real estate (called RETS) and prioritized a new standard based on a non-industry specific schema called OData – or open data protocol.

A key trigger to the adoption of RESO standards is the mandate by the National Association of REALTORS® that all Realtor® affiliated MLSs must adopt the RESO standards within one year of their release. This includes two main features. The first is the RESO Data Dictionary which sets the standards for data fields (names and structure). A simplified example, bedrooms (name) and a numeric value (structure).

The second main feature is a standard for how data is transported, and the new standard that replaces RETS is the RESO Web API, which is closely aligned with OData RESTful API. Because an enormous population of software developers like Microsoft or Twitter and thousands of others use OData, it’s easier to use and adopt.

As you can see, RESO, with the help of the entire industry, still has a lot of work to do and that’s why we welcome Sam to his new role with RESO. Here is the news release announcing Sam as their new CEO.

RESO news release:

Real Estate Standards Organization Names Sam DeBord as CEO

Raleigh, NC – April 11, 2019 – The Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Sam DeBord Chief Executive Officer effective immediately. DeBord brings 20 years of expertise in real estate brokerage, mortgage lending, and technology consulting to the 850-member organization.

“Sam DeBord is a remarkable hire for RESO,” said Art Carter, Chair of the RESO Board and CEO of California Regional MLS (CRMLS). “It is rare to find a leader who possesses the ability to bridge the gap between engaging business decision makers and helping problem solve with technologists. He can do both and we are excited about RESO’s future under his leadership as we push harder for the adoption and implementation of standards.”

DeBord is well-known in the real estate industry and serves as a leader for MLS, REALTOR®, technology, and brokerage organizations. His passion for technology and industry collaboration is expected to energize RESO efforts to more rapidly drive adoption and utilization of standards, providing efficiency throughout the real estate industry.

“RESO has become vital to shaping the future of our real estate industry,” said DeBord. “I’m thrilled with the opportunity to accelerate the value that we deliver to professionals and consumers through technology innovation. We know that standards adoption is critical to this progress. Our members represent the best technology minds in real estate, and it’s an honor to work with them to move the industry forward.”

DeBord has served in a wide range of industry leadership positions including as President’s Liaison for MLS and Data Management with the National Association of REALTORS®. He sits on the Board of Directors for NAR, Second Century Ventures, and CRMLS. Previously, he worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers in management and technology consulting. DeBord is also a recognized real estate industry writer for REALTOR® Magazine, Inman News, and the Swanepoel Trends Report.

DeBord replaces Jeremy Crawford as CEO of RESO, who joined the organization as its Executive Director in April 2015 and recently became Chief Executive Officer of First Multiple Listing Service (FMLS) in Georgia.

DeBord will be in attendance at the not-for-profit trade organization’s sold-out 2019 RESO Spring Technology Summit in Boise, Idaho, April 29-May 2, 2019.

About RESO
The mission of the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) is to create and promote the adoption and utilization of standards that drive efficiency throughout the real estate industry. RESO was incorporated in November 2011 as an independent, not-for-profit trade organization that was previously a section of the National Association of REALTORS®. RESO has some 850 active members, including NAR, multiple-listing services, real estate associations, brokerages and industry technology providers. For more information, visit www.reso.org. Contact RESO via email at info@reso.org.

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