Have you been keeping up with the latest updates in MLS policies? Rob and Greg break down the key details of Bright MLS’s clear cooperation policy and NWMLS’s decision not to remove compensation data from their system. But it doesn’t stop there. They also dive into the potential legal consequences for fair housing violations and federal antitrust claims.
They also touch on the Department of Justice’s involvement, implications for the industry, and potential risks for Northwest MLS and other players in the market.
“It seems like Zillow and Redfin started a relationship with Microsoft to leverage innovative OpenAI technology to deliver some interesting consumer benefits to people searching for homes on Zillow and Redfin. It is hard to ascertain how this relationship started with Bing Chat and evolved into Bing.com/realestate providing a full listing display breaking so many MLS rules, that links out to advertisers, and points to Zillow and Redfin as the sources of the data rather than the brokerage or MLS. It’s not Zillow or Redfin’s data to give!”
Victor Lund, WAV Group
Great write up from Victor regarding the Bing controversy, go read the whole thing. Sam DeBord was the first to start posting about this and Marian at Inman News did a story as well. Good reporting.
Okay so let’s first let’s get something straight right from the top, Bing.com/realestate is a mother fucking real estate portal, not a search results page.
I can like properties
I can save a property
I can setup a saved search
I can see multiple photos (sans watermark) – WTF?
I can “claim ownership”
I can see an “estimated value”
I can even get a mortgage!
And it appears that Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com may be complicit in powering Bing. From Victor’s post,
“Here is how easily Zillow and Redfin can stop bing from accessing and republishing content – code courtesy of OpenAI “<meta name=”robots” content=”noindex”>.” Inventory is turning in 30-90 days in most markets, rendering search on Bing irrelevant in a short period of time. If current listings are not displayed to active home buyers in today’s tight market, consumers will abandon them. Of course, this would be a poison pill for Zillow and Redfin who rely on search engines for a significant amount of their consumer traffic.”
Victor Lund, WAV Group
Shout out to Homes.com for not being a part of this scheme, as Victor also points out.
But MLS organizations need to step up, more from Victor.
“MLS must protect the assets contributed by each broker, or firms will simply contribute their content to OpenAI for free, and access the listing content of other brokerage firms using OpenAI. CMA vendors like Inside Real Estate, Delta Media and dozens of others can stop paying $5 Million a year in Data License fees and access the data from OpenAI. An OpenAi driven CMA would work like Cloud CMAs revolutionary 1 Minute CMA, only it would be almost instant. Moreover, consumers could simply run their own CMA without a professional.”
Victor Lund, WAV Group
“AI” is the new “lion over the hill”. If MLS orgs want to protect their data licensing revenue you need to nip this in the bud now.
This partnership ensures that Trackxi’s cutting-edge deal and task tracking platform will be available to all members of these prestigious associations. Real estate professionals can now efficiently manage their deals from start to finish, streamlining workflows and enhancing transparency to clients and partners. Agents and teams can now cut down up to 90% of their time on routine tasks and communications while significantly enhancing their professionalism at the same time.
“We are committed to providing our members with innovative products and resources to help them thrive in today’s real estate market,” said DaVina Lara, CEO at bridgeMLS. “We believe that Trackxi’s platform will be a valuable asset to our members, allowing them to manage their deals more effectively and deliver exceptional service to their clients.”
Trackxi
Wonderful tool that is so necessary right now. Not only does it help agents be more productive and mindful but also helps them demonstrate their value to their clients. Congrats to Vijay and the rest of the Trackxi team.
“In 2023, nearly 40% of CRMLS’s Closed listings included concessions, i.e., monetary payments that a seller agrees to contribute towards the buyer’s expenses and other costs a buyer is responsible for in the transaction. Historically, concessions were only included in Closed listings. The new CiP fields will provide concession information at the listing level and be directly available in the MLS, so seller agents can fill them out when adding a listing. CiP fields will benefit all parties as those on the selling side can more easily market listings while those on the buying side receive a clearer idea of financial options.”
CRMLS
CRMLS has taken the leadership position on these “CiP” fields. Very smart of them to launch prior to the deadline. This will give them some real world experience on implementation and make necessary adjustments if need be.
“NAR’s removal of compensation transparency from the MLS pushes consumers and brokers to make secret deals off MLS, inviting deceptive practices, discrimination and unfair housing. Depriving buyers of information about the transaction risks harming buyers, especially those buyers who are already disadvantaged, including first-time home buyers and members of protected classes. Prohibiting offers of compensation in the MLS also unnecessarily restrains the seller’s choice and absolute right to offer compensation to a brokerage firm representing the buyer. “
Bob Morse Joins dynaConnections as Senior Account Executive, Bringing Over Two Decades of MLS Software Expertise
“In his new role, Morse will leverage his wealth of experience to cultivate and strengthen customer relationships, ensuring exceptional satisfaction, and identifying strategic opportunities for growth. Morse’s deep understanding of the MLS industry positions him as a valuable asset in guiding dynaConnections towards continued success.”
“Effective Monday, April 8th, Garry Marsoubian will assume the role of CEO at MLS Now, bringing with him a wealth of industry knowledge and leadership acumen. Marsoubian’s tenure coincides with significant changes within the MLS landscape, driven by recent class action litigation settlements. With his proven track record, Marsoubian is poised to navigate these transitions with confidence, supported by John Kurlich, one of the most respected COOs in the MLS industry.”
“This collaboration is set to equip Property Panorama’s vast network of agents and brokers with a one-click solution to Local Logic’s advanced insights directly within their virtual tours and digital marketing solutions, offering an unparalleled understanding of locations across the United States and Canada.”
Local Logic
Property Panorama also made some recents upgrades to their dashboard to include:
Account activity feed to track your news and subscriptions
Drag and drop photo management
Full Support for transparent and PNG images and logos
Fully Optimized for Mobile and Desktop
Streamlined Navigation
Re-imagined page layouts to better organize your tools and data
“I think I’ve figured out the solution. From now on, the last three digits in the list price represent the basis points the seller is willing to offer a buyer’s agent. $595,250 = 2.5%. It’s elastic from 0% to 9.99% and legal proof. Is the DOJ going to crack down on how sellers price their property? 🤯”
Vendor Alley Reader
The reader only wished to be identified as a “strikingly handsome and incredibly intelligent industry expert.”
Anybody else getting a ton of calls/texts/forwards from your “non-real estate” friends about the NAR settlement? My friends are saying that a lot of their social media feeds are crazy with anti-REALTOR messages. Mostly in their social media feeds, with a ton of memes and “quick takes”. I think all of us are still digesting these changes but in the end as Redfin CEO, Glenn Kelman wrote in a recent blog post (NAR Settlement: Kaboom!) “…perception is reality…”
“Even if the letter of the settlement allows for cooperation, how the settlement is perceived may still re-shape agent attitudes about cooperation, and consumer attitudes about fees. The result could be that agent-to-agent cooperation on fees is weakened but not killed. “
Glenn Kelman, Redfin
I want to say upfront that I think NAR did a tremendous job on the settlement for their membership. But, and I may be beating a dead horse here, this feels like another miss in messaging/marketing from NAR. Based on what I’ve seen on Twitter and elsewhere NAR took everyone by surprise, even at their own event, AEI.
It’s unfortunate that NAR kind of screwed their local and state association executives, tying them up in an AE conference today saying nothing until the news broke about the settlement, causing them to scramble to release communications to their members. While at a conference.…
How about pumping the brakes a bit? Create some good content that puts a positive spin on things. Give all those assets to share with your local MLS and associations (so they can pass it on) and mirror that with some sort of nationwide “we hear you” campaign.
But releasing the news when all of their association leadership was offsite? Plus, has anyone seen anyone from NAR in the national news?
