MRIS and Trend Take Next Step Down The Aisle

Courageous, Unselfish,  Forward Thinking, Thoughtful – those are the adjectives that Association shareholders, brokers and agents are using to describe the merger of Metropolitan Regional MLS and Trend MLS. In an announcement today, the firms announced that they are now offering a combined data feed. This means that any technology service provider can get one data feed from both markets, reducing the costs associated with managing multiple feeds and normalizing data. Unified Feed is Designed for Participant Brokers Rockville, MD and King of Prussia, PA – Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. (“MRIS”) and The Delaware Valley Real Estate Information Network, [...]

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

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|0 Comments

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|0 Comments

RESO Enables Real Estate Technology Innovation Through Standardization

 Four Major MLS Firms Adopt Data Dictionary Morrisville, NC – June 4, 2015 – The real estate industry’s Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) is fast becoming the industry’s “innovation enabler and cost-saver,” as technology firms serving the real estate industry will be unleashed as property data becomes standardized by the nation’s estimated 850-plus Multiple Listing Service (MLS) firms. Driving the welcome change is the National Association of REALTORS® mandated deadline for the adoption by Realtor affiliated MLSs of the RESO Data Dictionary by Jan. 1 of 2016 – just six months away to ensure industry adoption on enabling standards. Four [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:43-07:00June 4th, 2015|Main category, Press Releases|0 Comments

MRIS & RealEstate Business Intelligence Announce New Executive Leadership

Heithaus Named Chief Evangelist & VP of Sales of RBI & Hill Joins MRIS as VP of Marketing ROCKVILLE, MD (November 6, 2014) — MRIS, the industry-leading Mid-Atlantic Multiple Listing Service (MLS) that facilitates nearly $125 million a day in residential real estate transactions, is pleased to announce new executive leadership for its organization and its subsidiary RealEstate Business Intelligence, LLC (RBI). Bringing more than 30 years of real estate industry experience, John L. Heithaus will assume the position of Chief Evangelist and Vice President of Sales for RBI. Heithaus, a third generation real estate professional, brings a deep perspective [...]

By |2018-09-11T08:27:16-07:00November 7th, 2014|Main category|0 Comments

Agents Love MLS Newsletters

When RE Technology was founded by WAV Group partners in 2010, the goal was to provide an information resource inside the MLS system that would sharpen agent understanding of technology in real estate. We will forever appreciate MRED, MRIS, MLSListings, and MFRMLS for introducing the first 100,000 users to the service. Today, 91 MLSs and over 700,000 users have access to RE Technology as a member benefit. Because technology companies sponsor the service, there is never charge to the MLS or the broker or agent. The concept behind RE Technology is to support MLSs at delivering insightful information about technology [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:00-07:00September 3rd, 2014|Main category, Marketing, MLS Insights|1 Comment

Building Support Into Your Software

Technology companies are constantly battling usability in real estate. Among our user ranks, we find a great human challenge – the 55-year-old real estate professional. This is the customer. There are some firms that do it right, and others that do it wrong. I recently saw a great example of software done right, and it is worth sharing. The example illustrates how you can improve software usability by putting help options immediately next to software fields and button functionality to explain them to the user. One of the most difficult software solutions for usability in real estate is the listing [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:05-07:00June 24th, 2014|Main category, MLS Insights|0 Comments

The Triad of Consumers, People, and REALTORS

There were a few very interesting articles in the Washington Post this week. Unlike industry commentary about the Zestimate, this one took place in public. The Washington Post stirred the pot a bit, as only the politically divided would do so naturally. The battle was epic. At 5:30 AM, David Howell of McNearney Associates published a piece titled “How Accurate is Zillow’s Zestimate? Not very, says one Washington-area agent. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/where-we-live/wp/2014/06/10/how-accurate-is-zillows-zestimate-not-very-says-one-washington-area-agent/ At 5:31, Stan Humphries, Zillow Chief Economist responded in his article titles “How Accurate is the Zestimate? Zillow says the tool is helpful when used the right way.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/where-we-live/wp/2014/06/10/how-accurate-is-the-zestimate-zillow-says-the-tool-is-helpful-when-used-the-right-way/ You [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:10-07:00June 12th, 2014|MLS Insights, Press Releases|2 Comments

MRIS Seeking Seasoned and Strategic Director of Marketing

Director of Marketing, Communications, Events & Education Position and Company Overview Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. (MRIS, Inc.), located in Rockville, MD, is the largest real estate information service in North America serving the information needs of nearly 40,000 real estate professionals in the Mid-Atlantic. The company helps facilitate over $60B in residential real estate transactions each year and provide breakthrough technology designed to create value and innovation for the real estate industry. The company offers a leading edge suite of real estate marketing tools and technologies to its customers available both via subscription and a la carte purchases. MRIS [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:13-07:00April 25th, 2014|Clients, Main category, Marketing, Our Services|0 Comments

MRIS Tackles Coming Soon Listings

MRIS is among the few multiple listing services in the country that manage their own listing input system.  Keystone, developed, owned and operated by MRIS, gives MRIS the ability to respond directly to subscriber needs for innovative listing management tools.  Often, third party vendors have a difficult time responding to local market needs, in particular when it comes to listing input solutions.  Based on market research, MRIS has been, and continues to, progressively update and enhance Keystone using a phased approach. Keystone provides an easy to use intuitive user experience to input and maintain listing data and facilitates the easy [...]

RBI Goes Nationwide With CoreLogic

rbiEXPERT is now being launched nationwide through a partnership with CoreLogic. MLSs interested in this service should contact RBI or CoreLogic to reserve placement in the integration schedule. RealEstate Business Intelligence, or RBI is a subsidiary of Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, or MRIS. The company was formed to meet the market analytic needs of roughly 40,000 subscribers to the MLS system in the Mid-Atlantic States – Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, parts of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and West Virginia. Their premium product, rbiEXPERT allows professionals to slice, dice, visualize, and share real estate market trends with their buyers and sellers in the [...]