CoreLogic Extends Trestle RETS Server to other Systems for FREE

It is RESO week. The week when CIO and CTO types gather together in Austin, TX for the Annual Real Estate Standards Organization meeting. This year’s conference was sold out for the first time with a rumored count of more than 700 participants. Kevin Hawkins of WAV Group Communications says that the environment and buzz at the conference is amazing. You can follow Kevin's RESO updates on Twitter @RESO_RETS  or follow the RESO hashtag at #reso15 to listen to the conference chatter. One of the astonishing calls that I got today was from an MLS asking me if CoreLogic was [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:31-07:00October 28th, 2015|Main category, MLS Insights|Comments Off on CoreLogic Extends Trestle RETS Server to other Systems for FREE

Understanding the MRIS-TREND Project

The highlight topic for the CMLS conference last week was the overview provided by Tom Phillips, President and CEO of TREND; Gene Millman, TREND Board Chair and David Charron, President and CEO of MRIS on their shared vision for bringing their two regional MLSs together. The keynote for me is that these organizations and their boards of directors started with a clean whiteboard. Nothing was held back from the development of the strategy, including dissolving both companies. The two organizations do not have the answers yet, but they are on the path to figuring it out. Why would they do [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:33-07:00October 14th, 2015|Main category, MLS Insights|3 Comments

Quarterbacking the adoption of the RESO Data Dictionary

An inside look with the Workgroup’s Chair, Rob Larson of CRMLS By Jeremy Crawford He’s at the helm of what has been hailed as real estate’s “Rosetta Stone.” Rob Larson, the Chief Information Officer of the nation’s largest Multiple Listing Service, CRMLS, chairs the RESO Data Dictionary Workgroup. The Workgroup is responsible for the real estate industry’s new and growing set of property data listing standards, which is quickly approaching the NAR mandated deadline of January 1, 2016 for Data Dictionary adoption. Larson and CRMLS are testaments to the old adage “Practice what you preach.” At CRMLS, Rob has lead [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:33-07:00October 8th, 2015|Main category, MLS Insights|Comments Off on Quarterbacking the adoption of the RESO Data Dictionary

MLS As A Communication Tool

Years ago, real estate agents gathered for breakfast with wrinkled sheets of paper culled from notes that took at listing presentations. Of course, they were not listing presentations at the time. It was more like a walk around the place. Someone in the area, often a relative or a neighbor, was trusted for selling property. There were not a lot of transactions then. Many families homesteaded their land, like my great grandfather. Today the decedents of that family occupy that property, subdivided as necessary to provide homes for grown children. Real estate information is something that people knew long before [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:34-07:00October 6th, 2015|Main category, MLS Insights|4 Comments

A TRULY Broker-Centric MLS – What a Concept!

The now infamous GRIPE List issued by Craig Cheatham back in 2013 has led to a plethora of new ideas and initiatives. From the momentum of RESO Data Standards, to the Broker Public Portal and Upstream, the confrontation has led to more innovative ideas and initiatives than we’ve seen in many, many years. Last month MRIS and TREND announced a ground-breaking intention to find a way to partner with each other to create a brand new organization built with the fundamental goal to create a truly broker-centric MLS. According to David Charron, President and CEO of MRIS, “We are committed [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:34-07:00October 6th, 2015|Main category, MLS Insights|Comments Off on A TRULY Broker-Centric MLS – What a Concept!

How about MLS coverage defined by individual broker needs?

Last week MRIS and TREND announced a ground-breaking intention to find a way to partner with each other to create a brand new organization built with the fundamental goal to create a truly broker-centric MLS. If the taskforce formed that has been at work for over ten months can be successful, they will open up a huge market opportunity for brokers in the Mid-Atlantic region. Collectively, TREND and MRIS cover 31,000 square miles, 17 million consumers, 7 million on and off market properties, and 10 million property parcels. The group has drafted a Shared Commitment and Vision paper to help [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:34-07:00October 6th, 2015|Main category, MLS Insights|Comments Off on How about MLS coverage defined by individual broker needs?

Can You Predict Housing Trends Better than NAR?

The Council of Multiple Listing Services has long discussed the idea of being the source of homes sales data, but has never acted on this. So, ahead of the CMLS2015 conference, we're conducting an experiment to see how successful we might be if we gather that information direct from agents, brokers, and MLSs. How to Participate Many of you are already compiling this housing data. If you could copy us when you send your local data to NAR, that would be helpful. Alternatively, we've created a brief survey that asks about pricing, closings, and market conditions in your local area. [...]

By |2016-07-02T04:54:51-07:00September 30th, 2015|Main category, MLS Insights|Comments Off on Can You Predict Housing Trends Better than NAR?

The Do’s and Don’ts of MLS System Selection

MLSs are growing again. Membership is up. Agents are making money again. Life is good.  In many cases, the upward turn in the market is allowing MLSs to once again focus on evaluating their technologies to ensure they are offering the strongest tools they can. Recently we have been involved in a few system selections and I thought I would share some of our thinking about the best way to make the process as successful as it can be. Turn on all of the relevant enhancements Before you even contemplate looking at alternative MLS systems, meet with your current MLS [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:36-07:00August 19th, 2015|Main category, MLS Insights|1 Comment

Austin Board of REALTORS® announces Tim Dain as new MLS Director

AUSTIN, Texas – Aug. 3, 2015 – Today, the Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABoR) announced the appointment of Tim Dain as Multiple Listing Service Director.   A seasoned MLS executive, Dain brings a unique combination of experience to ABoR, including leading a regional MLS, where he oversaw significant growth for the MLS; working as a REALTOR®, both as an agent and a broker; working in information technology outside the REALTOR® organization; and serving four years in the U.S. military. ABoR CEO Paul Hilgers commented on the announcement, “Tim’s extensive experience in evolving MLS organizations and his industry acumen will be [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:37-07:00August 3rd, 2015|MLS Insights, Press Releases|Comments Off on Austin Board of REALTORS® announces Tim Dain as new MLS Director

Change and Balance

WAV Group holds a quarterly webinar called the WAVes of Change. It allows companies and senior executives to get a one-hour overview of change that is happening in our industry. We wear a lot of hats in our capacity as industry researchers, investors, capital markets advisors, consultants, RE Technology publishers, and though our newest endeavor - WAV Group Communications. WAVes of Change webinars aim to pack all of this into a big ball and throw it your way so you can hit it out of the park in your business. Another way to look at change is innovation. Some call [...]

The Ones to Watch: Upstream, Broker Portal, and the Kid in the Basement

Historically, the words, “location, location, location,” have guided the real estate industry; but today, a strong argument can be made to suggest that, “portal, portal, portal” has replaced location as a symbol of mysterious change and almost certain disruption. Forecasters and trend watchers such as Stephan Swanepoel, Jeremy Conaway, and Steve Murray have, for several years, warned us we were witnessing the final unraveling of our increasingly dysfunctional status quo. Our collective tone-deafness to broker concerns, including their desire to own profitable businesses and control their listings, the endless wave of new third party portal competitors and the ever present [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:43-07:00June 10th, 2015|Main category, MLS Insights|1 Comment

Putting Marketing on Autopilot

Today, not a single agent among the nearly 3,000 that staff 170 RE/MAX of New Jersey offices is marketing a single listing. That’s because their marketing is on ‘Autopilot.” That’s the name of RE/MAX of NJ’s new marketing automation solution. Not one of their agents has to lift a finger to market a listing: It is being done for them, automatically, for every single listing. Autopilot creates, publishes and distributes both digital and print marketing material, including a printed “Just Listed” flyer and postcard, a digital ePostcard, a Single Property Website for the listing, a Virtual Tour and posts a [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:43-07:00June 10th, 2015|Main category, MLS Insights|Comments Off on Putting Marketing on Autopilot