Every agent and broker know they SHOULD have accurate square footage that they measured themselves or hired a professional for, yet many today still rely on square footage listed in public records without any verification of accuracy.
Our industry needs to find meaningful ways to support new thinking and innovation. I recently put myself in the shoes of a start-up and found out just how difficult it REALLY is to leverage MLS information. We have made it REALLY hard for the smart 16 year old in her garage to build the next big thing for a brokerage. Frankly, even well-established tech companies have major challenges working with more than 600 organizations. Refer to my commonapp article for more on that topic. Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of a tech start-up. They have built something interesting. [...]
I have been working with the Organization Unique Identifier (OUID) data from the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) for over the last nine months. RESO OUID data combined with other data sets for business analysis is critical for today’s enterprising brokerages. My task was to see how I can make it easy for others to access the RESO OUID and incorporate other data for analysis. The answer – Microsoft Power BI.
There is a progressive MLS leadership group that is fighting on behalf of brokers to make dramatic improvements in data management that needs broker support for their efforts. The group is called MLS Roundtable, made up of eight MLSs representing 300,000 brokers and agents. In an article published this week called Measuring Success for MLS Executives, Kathy Condon, President and CEO of Massachusetts regional MLS PIN scribes an eloquent synopsis of the status of migrating data feeds from the RETS transportation method to RESO Web API. She urges the industry to move forward quickly and responsibility. They need brokers to support the effort by encouraging more MLSs to focus their attention and treasury to RESO Web API adoption.
If you missed the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO.org) 2018 Fall Conference in Milwaukee, you should plan on attending the 2019 Spring Conference in Boise, ID. There were many informative and powerful sessions sprinkled throughout the conference. RESO is the only conference where MLSs, Brokerages, and Technology Companies collaborate under one umbrella striving to create a better industry. This time, there was one topic which resonated with Brokers; Just Say ‘No’ to Setup Fees.
CoreLogic shared some good news today. Their Trestle data distribution solution that provides MLSs with RESO compliant web API transmission capabilities was upgraded to Platinum-level certification. I am sure that they will be spreading the good news to their customers at the Council of MLS meetings that start in Orlando, FL tomorrow. Some MLSs who were on the fence about signing up for Trestle cited Platinum-level Web API as their demand. Now CoreLogic can hook them up with the highest standard.
If you believe that brokers are not engaged with RESO or data standards, think again. According to the recently published 2018 RESO Broker Survey, nearly 80% of brokers are either considering expansion or are in the midst of expanding into new regions.
Colette Stevenson is the CEO of Hilton Head MLS in South Carolina, a 42-year-old independent MLS, where she oversees an operation that manages over 20 real estate data services provided to real estate agents and facilitates $3 billion in transactions annually.
Last week I was introduced to a new application while working on a project with a client. The application is Airtable and has changed my view on using the standard spreadsheet and database tools.
It was a great week at NAR Midyear to re-connect with fellow colleagues, have sonorous discussions about the industry, and – of course – chitchat about the current controversial brew-ha-ha that seems to occur around these types of events. Over the last month – especially last week – I had the pleasure of talking to many real estate technology companies who provide products and services to brokers and agents. When the discussion would lead to back office architecture, the discussion was segmented into two groups.
When I was a young kid traveling in the car with my family, I would always see these signs “Truckers Welcome”. I didn’t understand why there was this special invitation to truckers. Wouldn’t everyone be welcome? As I grew older, I quickly realized the sign was to inform truckers there was ample parking space for their large rigs. Truckers had a big use case! As a trucker, if I wanted to visit a diner for a nice sit-down warm meal, I must have space large enough to safely park my rig. Diners caught on fast to this requirement and realized they could enjoy the revenue by creating a space for them to park. Once the parking problem was solved, they needed a method to entice truckers to use their parking and stop for a meal. Therefore, the signs!
RESO sold out its Spring Tech Summit in Denver last week three times, organizers said. Demand by industry tech and business leaders wanting to attend within the last two weeks forced the nonprofit to re-open registration twice until it pushed to capacity. The Real Estate Standards Organization filled the main ballroom to the brim, with just short of 300 people, at the hip Curtis Hotel in downtown Denver. Art Carter, RESO Chair and head of the largest MLS in the nation CRMLS, noted how far the organization had come in the last five years. One of the most vital breakthroughs: [...]
