Looks like my hashtag, “#PutItOnTheMLS”, which first appeared here, got some love on the cover of the latest issue of REALTOR Magazine.
It’s not the cover of the Rolling Stone, but I’m surprised how much this made me smile.
Coverage
Things that make you go hmmmmm…..
Musings on Defining Fundamental Problems
“One thing I’m pretty good at doing is seeing beyond the symptoms and identifying those fundamental problems. I don’t really know how I do it; I just kind of… see it and it makes sense and it makes the whole thing hang together.
So I thought I would muse on a few industry segments to try and figure out how I think of problems, and maybe along the way, provide something useful and valuable to you, the most educated readership in real estate.”
Must-read post by The Notorious R.O.B. A great perspective as we leave this decade and enter a new one on the challenges organized real estate faces.
We got nipple
As I head to NAR Annual in San Francisco I can help but remember back to NAR Annual 2003, also held in San Francisco, when I hired Fabio for a meet and greet at our eNeighborhoods booth.
We ran a full centerfold spread ad in REALTOR Magazine to promote his appearance. To this day I think its the only ad in REALTOR Magazine that ever showed full nipple.
So don’t believe anyone when they tell you not to follow your dreams.
#thanksstu
Bright MLS throws support to NAR’s 8.0 policy
Bright MLS, the region’s multiple listing service, on Wednesday announced a policy that requires all real estate agents and brokers in its system to submit the listing within one business day of marketing the property to the public. The policy is in effect now, but fines won’t be imposed on agents who break the rule until Dec. 1. The fines for noncompliance are $5,000 for the first infraction, $7,500 for the second and $10,000 for the third instance.
Washington Post
Bright MLS did make a slight edit to NAR’s 8.0 policy, allowing for one business day, not 24 hours, which I think is smart. The WaPo article is interesting to read. I always get a kick out of how main stream news covers issues in organized real estate.
And love Jon Coile’s quote, which I first heard Dave Liniger, co-founder of RE/MAX first say back in the day; “That’s like coming to a potluck dinner with just a fork.
Overall is great to see the larger MLS provider coming out and supporting NAR’s 8.0 policy. But I don’t find many addressing what I think is a core problem, Fair Housing. Maybe its too controversial for MLS providers to talk about.
See you in Boston!
I’m heading to Boston today and looking forward to seeing everyone.
I’m also going to be moderating a panel at the MLS Association Executive Session on Friday at the Hynes Center, Room 210 on the Second Level.
The session runs from 1PM to 3PM. I think they have the panel starting around 2:20PM.
The title of the panel is “Innovation and Options – The Grid, MLS Aligned, Bridge API, Spark Platform and Trestle“. I will be joined by…
Marc Hill from Realtracs talking about the The Grid.
Chris Lambrou from MetroMLS talking about MLS Aligned.
Jay Lee from Bridge Interactive (Zillow Group) talking about the Bridge API.
Matt Fowler from FBS talking about the Spark Platform.
Ethan Bailey from CoreLogic talking about Trestle.
I’m really looking forward to this and hoping it will be a good opportunity for everyone to get a better understanding of what each of these solutions can do for the MLS providers and their members.
Also we’ve recently updated our booth design so make sure to come by and take a look, we are giving away lots of free stuff.
Booth #333
See you soon!
Thoughts on NAR’s iOi Summit
I had heard about this event a few months ago, and had been asked if I was going to attend. I was skeptical about it, but when I received an invitation to apply to participate in the “pitch battle”, I went ahead and applied. As I previously mentioned I was surprised that we were selected.
The event was designed by Bob Goldberg, NAR’s CEO to bring the disruptors “inside the tent”. To foster “innovation, opportunity & investment”. Basically Mr. Goldberg wanted NAR to be part of the conversation.
Color me impressed. Not only was the event very well produced, but I enjoyed meeting and seeing other vendors, some old (like me) and some new in the space. I loved vendors pitching agent safety apps, new CRMs, new front end of choice apps, 360 photo apps to help with disaster recovery efforts, real estate photo augmentation, using lockboxes help with in-home medical care, and a way to level up agent performance. What I found most impressive is none of these new startups seemed to be making money by selling ads. Bliss!
BoxBrownine won the “Pitch Battle”. And KW Labs won the Hackathon. You can read more about them here.
And true to his word, Mr. Goldberg did bring in a few heavy hitting investors to the conference too. Of course Mr. Goldberg couldn’t help himself in touting NAR’s own success in the investment arm of his organizations, Second Century Initiatives and REach. He interviewed Ron Hirson, Chief Product Officer from DocuSign. Which recently went public and made NAR a small fortune.
As Mr. Goldberg hit the stage to wrap up the conference, I was thinking about what was missing about the event. And then it hit me. Zillow. I heard nary a mention about Zillow from any of the presenters, or startups in attendance. Not from some sort of mandate, but just…because.
Which to me was the most impressive. Bob Goldberg did seemingly the impossible. He held a tech conference where nobody was talking about Zillow.
RPR lays off 10% of staff
Dynamic changes on horizon for Realtors Property Resources®
“NAR CEO Bob Goldberg established a clear vision for the Association and RPR moving forward,” said Young. “RPR’s core mission is clear, ensure that REALTORS® remain essential to the transaction through access to tools, features connected to nationwide parcel-centric data and reports. RPR’s growth in the future will be driven by programs which refocus the RPR team to develop a deeper understanding of the daily life and business of agents and brokers.”
Over the course of several months, RPR conducted internal assessments of its technical processes, organizational structures and strategic initiatives. As a result, the platform will reduce its overall staff count by 10%, allowing it to meet its 2019 budget directives, while reimagining its market level communications and support programs with its network of broker, MLS and association partners.
See you at NAR iOi Summit this week
A few weeks ago I received an invitation to apply to compete in the “Pitch Battle” at NAR’s inaugural “iOi Summit“. I thought it was a long shot but maybe good opportunity to get the word out about Cloud CMA’s new feature, Cloud Investor Connect. Surprisingly I made the cut. I’m told there were over 100 applications, but they choose only 16 to compete.
CRMLS, MRED and SFAR have sponsored to another portion of the event, a hackaton.
So if you are going to be in SF, I leave tomorrow morning, drop me a line.
Whistleblower claims RPR’s code is “very fragile” and “garbage”
Andrea Brambila writing for Inman News…
Former contractor launches crowdfund campaign to sue RPR
“He worked on RPR’s core platform — the property database — not Upstream, but chuckled upon hearing that one reason RPR was chosen as the vendor for Upstream was because the company planned to build on its existing technology to create Upstream.
“They had to start from scratch because they couldn’t use a lot of the code from RPR because it was so bad,” Komar said, noting that that was likely a reason for Upstream’s delayed launch.
RPR’s technology is “very fragile” due to its “poorly architected system” and “poorly written” and “non-optimized” code, according to Komar.
In his opinion, RPR would have no chance of selling the platform. “Anyone who did their due diligence would give them a failing grade,” he said.”
I tell you who’s not “chuckling”, NAR members. Over 230 million dollars later, RPR and Upstream have both crossed over and have become Greek Tragedies at this point. Somebody should write a book.
Mark Lesswing out at NAR
Letter from Bob Goldberg sent out today….
With the creation of our Strategic Business Innovation and Technology (SBIT) team, it became increasingly clear to me that NAR’s need for a Chief Technology Officer and the advanced skill level that Mark Lesswing provided was no longer required, so we have eliminated that position as of today. Making reductions in the workforce is never easy, and I trust that you will join me in acknowledging the great contributions Mark made to NAR over the past 17 years and in wishing him great success in the next chapter of his career.
Mark is an incredibly talented guy with an enormous curiosity and really one of the nicest people I’ve met in the industry. I always enjoy seeing what the guys at CRT are working on. I have a CRT Labs sticker on the MacBook Pro I’m writing on now.
These transitions are tough, but sometimes the best thing too. Good luck to Mark on his continuing adventures.
