On June 24th, 2011, the Greater Tulsa Association of REALTORS announced that their CEO Al J. Unser will retire on June 30, 2011, after 20 years with the association. Mike Cotrill, GTAR’s chief operating officer, will succeed Unser as CEO at that time. […]
Real Estate Technology is Shifting We are seeing a significant shift occurring in real estate technology that will impact our industry dramatically in the years to come. Like most shifts, it didn’t happen all at once but if you look carefully you can see the seeds of this shift many years back. Pressure builds slowly but when it reaches a critical point changes occur quickly and we believe for a number of reasons that is what we are seeing today. (Download new white paper) What’s Driving this Shift? […]
In real estate, QSC is the leader in Agent Ratings, but today, Facebook is raising the bar and having an impact on the online reputation of agents and brokers. Facebook is big, really big. In fact, it is the most heavily trafficked website in America. It is bigger than Google! And it has an impact on your broker and agent brand – especially if you do not have a facebook page. Although Google is the leader in search, Facebook is catching up and they have partnered with Microsoft Bing to deliver search results that are informed by your friends. When [...]
Google Real Estate Last July, search and technology giant, Google announced an agreement to acquire ITA Software for around $700 Million. ITA software is a company that cut its teeth in the travel industry powering websites like Orbitz and Kayak. Google has been struggling with supporting consumers in real estate search for many years. They have had many fits and starts, including Google Base. With Google Base, the company tried to aggregate listing data and sort it out. Google Base was a failure and they shut it down. Now with ITA Software, Google may be [...]
MLS System providers have been working hard on rapidly delivering a solution to support the NEW NAR policy for Franchisor IDX guidelines that is in place between June 13th and the NAR convention in November. Franchise Organizations lost the privilege extended to them at the last NAR meeting that permitted them to display broker listing data that would link to a franchise broker website. This is called Indexing. Non-Franchise brokers do not feel that the Franchisor – who is a third party and not an MLS member, should have these privileges. IDX data had previously [...]
Thanks to so many of you who requested Marilyn’s powerpoint presentation that was delivered at the MLS Cloud Conference hosted by the Houston Association of REALTORS. It has been a pain to email given the size, so it is posted here and you can download it. Contact Marilyn directly if you would like any details, narration or publishing permissions. […]
Dot MLS Domains In 2009, many of the most progressive real estate technology CEOs set forth to combine their efforts around providing an internet construct that allows consumers to know when they are on an official website powered by MLS data. The problem that consumers face today is that there are so many property search websites which claim to offer MLS data, but do not. Under the current Internet guidelines and provisions, it is nearly impossible for organized real estate to put an end to these false MLS claims that hoodwink consumers. To cure this [...]
In research we conducted a few months ago on behalf of the National Association of REALTORS®, we heard many agents express concern about the many REO homes they had seen that were not protected by lockboxes. They told us that many REO agents were using “Masterlocks” like the ones we used to have on our high school lockers instead. Agents were concerned about the safety of the home, not to mention the lack of professionalism that type of lock projected. According to a press release just released by SUPRA, Fannie Mae has informed its listing brokers and Asset Management Providers [...]
Broker Opt Out Buttton The practice of MLS data licensing gives rise to new questions in our industry. The question before us today is: What does Broker Opt-Out mean? WAV Group reached out to a variety of respected industry executives to get an answer to this question. None were able to cite a rule or a legal case that outlined a definition. Moreover, none were able to produce a definition in their MLS rules and regulations. As such, our industry faces a new opportunity. MLSs may define Broker Opt-out and Broker Opt-in as it relates [...]
Success Store for MLS Arroyo Grande, Calif., (June 13, 2011) – RE Technology, Inc. (www.retechnology.com), the #1 source for real estate technology information and education online announced Success Store™, a modern, next generation ecommerce tool designed specifically to make it possible for Multiple Listing Service Providers (MLSs) and Associations to generate non-dues revenue by selling real estate technology applications online. Today, MLSs and REALTOR® Associations are actively seeking alternative means for marketing additional products and services to their customers. RE Technology’s new Success Store™ has been specifically tailored to the unique needs to Associations and MLSs. The Success [...]
Generating Non Dues Revenue MLSs and Associations of REALTORS® are facing budget woes. The decline in the housing market created a cascading impact on dues revenue. The number of subscribers to MLS service has retreated to 2006 averages, coupled with membership losses to Associations of REALTORS®. In isolated real estate markets around the country, MLSs and Associations have become creative at building revenue streams outside of subscription fees and membership dues. Advertising is chief among them. As you have read in leading real estate media sources like RE Technology, Inman News and RIS Media, there [...]
FBS Flex MLS For those of you who attended the NAR Midyear Legislative meetings this spring in Washington DC, you may well understand that NAR Executive Committee passed a modification to the IDX model rules and regulations. Specifically, they altered the component of the rule that refers to the rights of Franchise Organizations to receive an IDX feed. Under the old policy, Franchise Organizations would receive a feed of all IDX listings. Under the new policy, a Franchise Organization may only receive IDX listing if an MLS broker as Opted In to sharing their listings [...]
