How Loyal Are YOUR Customers?

It is critical for MLSs and Brokers to measure the relationships they have with their customers.  While most MLSs do not have DIRECT competition, they have tons of indirect competition.  MLSs compete against companies that generate leads for agents since that it one of their key roles. They compete against training companies providing CE credit and teaching about technologies. MLSs also compete. MLSs also compete with companies that provide ways to aggregate and distribute real estate listing information for the purposes of monetizes the information flow.  While MLSs have survived well in the real estate ecosystem, some are more well-regarded than [...]

By |2018-08-11T03:34:48-07:00June 6th, 2017|Broker-Agent Information, MLS Insights, Suveys and Research|Comments Off on How Loyal Are YOUR Customers?

5 Technical Benefits to Upstream

  I think that a lot of people are confused about Upstream. Some people think that it is a consumer-facing site like the Broker Public Portal/Homesnap. Others think that it is some kind of brokerowned MLS. It is none of those things. It is a database for brokers to create, store, and distribute data. For the most part, every large firm and franchise organization is doing this today, but as an industry the process is broken. Every broker who is managing their data is doing it in different ways, and their data is not interoperable with applications without custom integration, data [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:22:47-07:00June 6th, 2017|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, MLS Insights, Technology Evaluation|Comments Off on 5 Technical Benefits to Upstream

Upstream Adjusts and Improves

WAV Group has played a humble role in the evolution of Upstream from a concept to where it is today. The effort has been shaped by the deep involvement of leading technologists from across the brokerage and franchise community. This week, we have been pummeled by questions arising out of their recent announcement during the 2017 Midyear REALTORS LEGISLATIVE MEETINGS & TRADE EXPO in Washington D.C. Upstream is a bright concept for improving data management in real estate today. If you understand the laws of America, you understand that Licensed Real Estate Brokers supervise agent and consumer real property transactions [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:22:47-07:00May 31st, 2017|Broker Technology Research, MLS Insights|Comments Off on Upstream Adjusts and Improves

Highlights and Lowlights at NAR Midyear

The REALTORS® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo is a mouthful, so we all just call it NAR Midyear. This one was a scorcher: both inside, as Upstream was the hot topic, and outside, as the temperatures were in the 90s in mid-May and the humidity made me remember why everyone leaves D.C. in August (except the tourists). CMLS Brings it to the Table For me, this was the highlight of the conference and it really isn’t even officially part of Midyear. It’s a tangential track that the Council of Multiple Listing Services hosted at American University, about 15 minutes north [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:22:47-07:00May 25th, 2017|Main category, MLS Insights|1 Comment

Your MLS is a Lead-Generation Machine – But Do Your Members Know That?

Think about this for a second: The more highly qualified leads that an MLS generates all represent clients who are serious about buying or selling a home. It makes sense. If those buyers are smart enough to be looking at an MLS or brokerage website instead of combing a portal at 2 a.m. for a home, then they’re probably a more serious buyer or homeowner looking at whether the time is right to sell their home. So why do MLSs insist on selling their ability to generate serious business opportunities short?  MLSs are lead-generation machines that give brokers a bounty [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:22:49-07:00May 25th, 2017|Broker-Agent Information, How to Make Strategic Planning Really Work in your MLS, MLS Insights|Comments Off on Your MLS is a Lead-Generation Machine – But Do Your Members Know That?

CRMLS Agrees to Offer Remine to its 82,000 Subscribers

by MARILYN WILSON on MAY 16, 2017 Remine is at it again!  In recent months, the company has forged partnerships with several of the nation’s largest MLSs. CRMLS will be launching the product to its 82,000 members according to the press release issued today.  Remine is taking the industry by storm.  Every MLS I work with across the country seems to be looking at this exciting new product. Remine is an intelligent service marrying social media profiles with home ownership factors to help agents identify prospects and then use social media to advertise to them.  The company has deep expertise in [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:22:49-07:00May 16th, 2017|MLS Insights, Press Releases|Comments Off on CRMLS Agrees to Offer Remine to its 82,000 Subscribers

New Merger Creates Third Largest Association in America

Consolidation of Associations of Realtors® and Multiple Listing Organizations has been the chapter and verse of our industry over the past few years. If we all learned anything during the recession it is that the organizations that support Realtors® need to deliver a higher bar of services. WAV Group is excited to share the announcement of collaboration between two of Americas great Association Boards who have come together to form a more perfect union. The State of Florida is one of America’s great Realtor® chapters. Along with New York, Texas, and California they boast one of the highest member counts. [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:22:50-07:00May 11th, 2017|MLS Insights, Press Releases|Comments Off on New Merger Creates Third Largest Association in America

Data Will Now Cross The Trestle

Trestle by CoreLogic has been a sprint for the nation’s largest technology provider. On the heals of migrating more than 50 MLSs over to Matrix over the past 30 months, they had the added challenge of getting all of their MLS clients to be RESO certified (RESO = Real Estate Standards Organization). CoreLogic got them there, but at the Silver level of certification (Booooooo!). In a press release today, RESO has upgraded their certification on Trestle to Gold (Yeaaaaaa!) WHY TRESTLE? Every MLS system vendor offers a server for publishing IDX and VOW data to enable brokers to hydrate their [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:22:50-07:00May 11th, 2017|Marketing, MLS Insights|Comments Off on Data Will Now Cross The Trestle

Looking for a New GIG? You Could be the FIRST MLS/Association Success Manager in the Country!

eXp Realty, The Agent-Owned Cloud Brokerage®, one of the largest, fastest growing and most innovative brokerages in America today has created a very exciting new position, the MLS/Association Success Manager.  This is the FIRST brokerage that we’re aware of that takes their relationship with their agents and local MLSs/Associations seriously enough to create a dedicated position like this. The MLS/Association Success Manager will be a key member of the eXp Agent Experience team. This newly created position will act as the first line of support for eXp agents in the states of Texas, California and Florida when they have questions [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:22:50-07:00May 10th, 2017|MLS Insights, Recruiting|Comments Off on Looking for a New GIG? You Could be the FIRST MLS/Association Success Manager in the Country!

The Industry Has Risen

I had a feeling during the recession that the pillars that held our industry in trust had cracked. The first of two pillars of trust is the National Association of REALTORS® as fully constituted by its local, state, national, and international chapters. The second pillar of trust is the Multiple Listing Service. History has taught us that when you apply pressure to any society or organization it is likely to fracture. No doubt, these industry pillars came under massive scrutiny from their constituents. The real estate brokers who founded these noble entities became conscientious objectors to the organizations and their [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:22:50-07:00May 10th, 2017|Main category, MLS Insights, Wav of Change|Comments Off on The Industry Has Risen

Help your Brokers Improve their Marketing with RESO Standards

MLSs have done a great job of embracing the Real Estate Standards Organization, the RESO Data Dictionary and RESO Web API. Today, 93% of all REALTORS® in America work with MLSs that are RESO Certified. RESO volunteers have worked tirelessly for years to get us to this stage.  MLSs have done the hard work to make RESO data standards available to their members and technology partners. We’re on the cusp of greatness with RESO. While just about all brokers in America can leverage RESO standards on their website, CRM and other marketing solutions now, very few are aware of the [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:22:50-07:00May 10th, 2017|Broker Technology Research, Marketing, MLS Insights|Comments Off on Help your Brokers Improve their Marketing with RESO Standards

Are You Stuck in the Office Whilst Everyone Else is at NAR?

We have been in SO many board rooms where we see a lack of awareness of the key strategic issues facing our industry today. Many Associations and MLSs are making decisions, or worse yet, not making decisions that may put their organizations in a weakened position over time. We also see that many smaller associations cannot afford to send multiple people to conferences where many of the industry’s important issues are discussed. Stuck in the Office? Are you and members of your Board of Managers stuck in the office rather than being out at NAR Mid Year this week? We [...]

By |2018-11-08T04:00:37-08:00May 10th, 2017|MLS Insights, Wav of Change|Comments Off on Are You Stuck in the Office Whilst Everyone Else is at NAR?