For those few people that didn’t think REMINE was serious about making a big splash in the real estate industry, think again! They just raised an additional $30 million in Series A Funding bringing their total investment to $48 million. I am anxious to see what kind of MLS innovation can be delivered with that big chunk of money!
Love the news from FBS! They have recognized that the move from one MLS system to another is not an easy process so they are helping out their MLS customers by doing the hard work to build the pre-conversion marketing materials. We all know that you have to SELL a conversion – there is going to be at least one-third of your market that is NOT going to be thrilled about a system move. Flex is now providing the marketing support of FBS’ in-house marketing team to provide content, email blasts, social media posts, webinars etc. to help MLS members [...]
I am so honored to be included in Texas REALTORS® Magazine article Real Estate Trends to Watch for in 2019. The industry experts quoted here have delivered some great food for thought about the best ways to be successful in 2019 and beyond. Check it out! By Ward Lowe February 01, 2019 Real estate is an industry of continual change. Four real estate experts talk about what to expect in the future and how to leverage your marketing, strategy, and technology to achieve more success. NOBU HATA Director of Member Engagement, National Association of REALTORS® REALTORS® and brokerages need to [...]
To improve a business, it is common to focus on customer expansion, or delivering a wider array of services that your customers will pay for. For the last three years, Multiple Listing Service has been focused on consolidation (more customers) as a way of improving the MLS. Before that, the focus was on non-dues revenue. Three untapped areas for growth where most MLSs have not been successful are rentals, new home marketing, and commercial real estate. These are enormous categories in the real estate industry that have been asymmetrical because of the MLS core basis of cooperation and offer of compensation.
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.
I love to see it when smart MLSs get together to make it easier for brokers and agents to sell more properties! The Northeast Florida MLS and Hernando County Association of REALTORS® are the latest to find a way to collaborate to make 20,000 listings available seamlessly now that 5 organizations are contributing data to one data share. These guys are also doing something else smart! They created a simple video to describe the relationship in simple terms so REALTORS® can take full advantage of the program. Check it out by clicking on the image below! https://vimeo.com/293605769 This type of [...]
I am so excited to share some exciting merger news with you! MLSLI, the largest MLS in New York State has merged with Hudson Gateway MLS becoming one of the largest MLSs in the country with approximately 40,000 members.
In any market, the transactions that define market trends are evident in MLS data more clearly than any other data source. However, third party companies like portals and public record firms have become the de facto source of market information to the major media outlets. A number of years ago, the Council of MLSs (CMLS) explored hiring a Chief Economist and a PR firm to position MLSs as the most valued source of market data. For a number of reasons, CMLS did not pursue the strategy, but did create a focus on establishing best practices for MLSs to effectively communicate [...]
Wow, just saw this and just HAD to comment. It’s rare that we see brokers go at each other so publicly about their competitive claims, but I have to say this letter is pretty interesting. The real estate industry is rife with hyperbole and marketing claims. Our industry’s preference of opinion over fact is one of the main reasons I started a research practice within WAV Group. The birth of business intelligence is allowing brokerages new ways to substantiate or refute claims like the article from Moxiworks shown below. Moxiworks is using MLS data married with BI tools to refute [...]
The role of a member of an MLS Board of Director is multifaceted, but divided in part to areas around voting control, and in part around strategic guidance. A trend emerging at the largest MLSs in the nation is to invite outside directors into the board room.
Congratulations to our friends at eXp REALTY for achieving yet another important milestone. In addition to doubling the size of their agent count in less than 1 year, they have been able to do it while keeping their employees very happy - not an easy thing to do! What’s the their secret? Here’s the secret sauce from where I sit. 1. Unique business model that focuses the money where it should be - in the hands of those creating value for the company - the agents 2. Consistent training and coaching because of centralized management support 3. Passion - [...]
The National Association of REALTORS® Chief Executive Officer, Bob Goldberg has been making some impressive moves this week. The first move is to send threatening letters to about 90 MLSs who have not adopted the RESO Standards or are not adhering to the MLS Policy required to maintain NAR affiliation. Some of the MLSs are being cited for not being certified with the RESO Data Dictionary and some do not yet have availability with the RESO Web API. While many MLSs still believe that RESO is not critical to their business, we hear from brokers regularly that they are requesting [...]
