Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

Listing Bits Episode 72: Floor Plan Tech for Desktop Appraisals – with Jeff Allen of CubiCasa

Approximately 8 million appraisals were conducted in the US last year. By contrast, there are only 40,000 active real estate appraisers. So, it’s no surprise that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are exploring appraisal modernization initiatives like the desktop appraisal option.

But to make these alternatives to the traditional appraisal work, we need data in the form of an accurate floor plan. And we need it at scale.

Jeff Allen is EVP of Innovation Labs Clear Capital, a leading property valuation tech company, and President of CubiCasa, an easy-to-use app for automating the creation of real estate floor plans. On this episode of Listing Bits, Jeff explains how the barrier to entry to become an appraiser has sparked a total transformation of the industry.

He discusses his work helping GSEs test alternatives to the traditional appraisal, describing why floor plans are an essential part of ‘bringing the house to the appraiser’ and how he discovered the CubiCasa technology that automates the process. Listen in for Jeff’s insight on the copyright dispute over real estate floor plans and learn how to support the creative partnerships necessary for CubiCasa to scale.

What’s Discussed:  

How Clear Capital serves large financial institutions in the realm of property valuation

How the barrier to entry to become an appraiser has sparked a total transformation of the industry

Jeff’s work helping GSEs test alternatives to the full traditional appraisal

Why floor plans are essential in ‘bringing the house to the appraiser’

How Jeff discovered the CubiCasa tech for automating floor plans and how it works

The creative partnerships necessary for CubiCasa to achieve scale (e.g.: real estate photographers)

How the desktop appraisal option supports CubiCasa’s efforts to scale

The other major appraisal modernization initiatives coming from Fannie and Freddie

Jeff’s take on the current copyright dispute over real estate floor plans 

Connect with Jeff:

CubiCasa  

Email jeff [at] cubicasa [dot] com

Jeff on LinkedIn

Clear Capital

Resources:

10K Research and Marketing

Appraisal Subcommittee

Dodd-Frank

Desktop Appraisals

Vendor Alley

FloPlan App

Greg’s Post on FloPlan

Copyright Dispute Over Real Estate Floor Plans

Designworks Homes v. Columbia House of Brokers Realty

CMLS’s Amicus Brief on the Floor Plan Copyright Dispute

NAR’s Amicus Brief on the Floor Plan Copyright Dispute

Our Sponsor:

Cloud CMA for Brokers

Industry Relations Podcast: The Awful, Terrible, No-Good, Very Bad Week in Real Estate

On this week’s episode of Industry Relations, Rob and Greg take a look at some ongoing lawsuits within the real estate realm. They take aim at some lawsuits that shouldn’t have been dismissed and speak on some that definitely should be thrown out. They get into the intentions of the companies involved and how the Fair Housing Act can be overlooked unintentionally, but still have consequences for minority groups, elderly people, and disabled people. Listen to us on your favorite podcast player, Watch us on You Tube or listen below.

Listing Bits Episode 71: When an MLS Should Build Its Own Tech – with Faith Geronimo & Colleen Yasuhara of Hawaii Information Service

We’re baaaack!

I spend a lot of time at conferences explaining why MLSs, brokers, and franchisors should let the ‘professionals’ build their technology. And yet, there are real reasons why these stakeholders might want to design their own. 

So, when is it appropriate for an MLS to create its own tech stack rather than relying on a vendor? And what does the development process look like?

Faith Geronimo and Colleen Yasuhara are the CEO and COO, respectively, of Hawaii Information Service (HIS), the MLS provider for the islands of Hawaii and Kauai. On this episode of Listing Bits, Faith and Colleen explore HIS’s history of building its own technology and explain their decision to spend the last four years creating a new MLS system.

Faith and Colleen discuss the transition from their initial system, REsearch, to the new HIMLS, describing HIS’s partnership with software developer MEV and their experience working with a team of Ukrainian developers. Listen in to understand why the Russia-Ukraine conflict hasn’t disrupted the development process and learn how HIS leveraged research and user testing to inform the design of HIMLS.

What’s Discussed:  

HIS’s role as MLS provider for the islands of Hawaii and Kauai

HIS’s history of building its own technology 

How Faith & Colleen’s decision to build a new system on their own was influenced by their ability to integrate public records and MLS data

Faith’s take on why Hawaii needs 3 MLS providers

What Faith & Colleen learned in their research on MLS systems and how it informed the design of HIMLS

How the pandemic influenced the development process and allowed for rigorous user acceptance testing

The timeline for the transition from REsearch to HIMLS from 2018 to present

HIS’s partnership with MEV and how they built the portal and web API together before tackling the MLS

Faith & Colleen’s experience working with developers in the Ukraine and why they flew the team to Hawaii early in the process

How Ukrainian developers continue to work on HIMLS despite the Russian invasion and how they’re handling the conflict

Connect with Faith & Colleen:

The Story of HIMLS

Hawaii Information Service

Hawaii Information Service on YouTube

Faith on LinkedIn

Colleen on LinkedIn

Resources:

HIMLS Update on YouTube

Inman Connect New York

CMLS Conferences

Craig Pennington

Paragon

Matrix

Realist

RESO Web API

MEV

Alex Natskovich

Our Sponsor:

Cloud Agent Suite

NEW – Industry Relations – Inman Connect Pre-Show

This week on Industry Relations Rob and Greg pre-game for the upcoming Inman Connect conference in New York City. Greg will be attending and we make predictions on who is going to be there, what everyone will be talking about, and what kind of vendors he will see. The duo will be having a post-Inman Connect show once Greg returns home so watch this episode and see how much we suck at predictions! 

Resources:

Watch Greg’s MLS Rap: https://www.inman.com/2016/02/03/watch-greg-robertsons-mls-rap-2/

Enjoy this episode on your favorite podcast player.

And/or please subscribe to our YouTube channel today so we can be known as simply Industry Relations Podcast, and not: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrUi4dF6sAOpacTSkemskkw

Or just listen here:

NEW – Industry Relations Episode – Possible Future of Online Real Estate

This week on Industry Relations, Rob and Greg go head to head on MLS data. They debate whether the MLS industry will die with Zillow when Rob’s proverbial asteroid hits. Greg disagrees and wants to see a future between MLS and CoStar.

Enjoy this episode on your favorite podcast player.

And/or please subscribe to our YouTube channel today so we can be known as simply Industry Relations Podcast, and not: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrUi4dF6sAOpacTSkemskkw

Or just listen here:

NEW-Industry Relations Episode – The Insane Housing Market

This week on Industry Relations, Rob and Greg discuss the insanity of the current housing market. In our discussion, Rob gets heated about dollar devaluation and nominal inflation; and Greg tells horror stories of house flipping in California. We both agree on one thing though: we need to bring millennial homeownership above 50% before we see generational warfare. Join us!

Enjoy this episode on your favorite podcast player.

And/or please subscribe to our YouTube channel today so we can be known as simply Industry Relations Podcast, and not: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrUi4dF6sAOpacTSkemskkw

Or just listen here:

Industry Relations Podcast – ICYMI

Rob Hahn and I have been stepping up our podcast game this year. We have been pretty consistent uploading one episode a week since the first week of January. If you haven’t checked out our latest episodes you find them on your favorite podcast player.

I mentioned recently that we also launched a YouTube channel as well. Here are some of my favorites recently:

Marge vs. Brenda
Rob and I discuss how agents are still undefeated in the proptech wars.

When the asteroid hits
What will it take for CoStar (Homes.com and Homesnap) to win? Turns out it might be something catastrophic.

Wall Streets take on Online Real Estate with John Campbell
John Campbell is a super smart guy, with Stephens, a research company focused on covering real estate for Wall Street. Great discussion about why proptech/real estate stocks are down, and why he thinks the acquisitions of Homes.com and Homesnap are Andy Florance’s side bet against the MLS industry as we know it.

BIG FAVOR TO ASK:

We are trying to get our own branded YouTube channel, but we need 1,000 subscribers. So if you could go to our YouTube channel and hit the Subscribe button and click the bell it would really help! Tell your friends!

Hope you enjoy the conversations!

Industry Relations Episode 72: Marge vs. Brenda

Today Rob and Greg talk about Marge vs Brenda (don’t worry they’ll explain) How is the average real estate doing vs the top 10 percent? After things like the real estate stocks and the acceleration trends due to the pandemic, who is winning this epic battle? As they say the ‘internet is undefeated’ but is ‘Marge’ undefeated as well? Greg thinks she is, but what does the notorious Rob think? It’s a great discussion on this week’s episode of Industry Relations!

Watch us on YouTube or listen on your favorite podcast player

Industry Relations Episode 71: Creating the Bloomberg of Real Estate

Rob and I have been doing our Industry Relations podcast for a few years now and the feedback is always great. This year we decided to kick it up a notch! First, we are going to be more consistent, once a week. So far we have been keeping to that schedule. Secondly, we are starting to incorporate video, see above. Lastly, we are also ramping promotion via social media.

So make sure you like and subscribe to our Industry Relations YouTube channel and click that bell!

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook.

And of course, you can still listen to the pod on your favorite podcast player.

We are also looking for the right sponsor. So if you want to benefit from all these recent changes we would be happy to discuss. Get in touch!


On episode 71 of Industry Relations, Rob and Greg talk about creating the “Bloomberg of Real Estate,” with special guest David Blum. David Blum is the co-founder of ‘Plunk’ where they are working to bring the next generation, real-time analytics platform to residential real estate. What does the future of this prop-tech company hold for the real estate industry? Rob Han and Greg Robertson are your hosts for the re-launch premiere of the Industry Relations podcast! Learn more about David Blum and the exciting work they’re doing for the future of residential real estate at www.getplunk.com.

What’s Discussed:  

What’s Plunk’s value proposition?

How many vendors are trying to solve the home value proposition?

How Plunk gets “ground truth” on the valuation of a home.

Creating the ticker tape of the price of a home

What is the definition of accuracy?

Connect with Rob and Greg: 

Rob’s Website

Greg’s Website

Resources:

Project Ketchup: iBuying Is Just Fine, Zillow Was Not

Zillow launches retooled Zestimate that uses AI to analyze photographs and ‘see’ value in homes

Our Sponsors: 

Cloud MLX

Notorious VIP

Industry Relations Episode 70: The MLS’s Role in Building Tech to Facilitate Cooperation – with Justin Landon & Ryan Castle

On episode 66 of Industry Relations, Rob and Greg discussed the potential repercussions of ending mandatory compensation. And Rob asserted that without cooperation and compensation, the value of the MLS lies solely in its data and technology tools.

How did those comments sit with MLS leaders?

Justin Landon is the CEO of the Lexington-Bluegrass Association of REALTORS, a 4,000-member MLS based in Lexington, Kentucky. Ryan Castle serves as CEO of the Cape Cod & Islands Association of REALTORS, a 3,000-member MLS serving Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket. On this episode of Industry Relations, Justin and Ryan join Rob and Greg to share their argument against the assertion that the value of the MLS is tied solely to buyer’s compensation.

Justin and Ryan describe the work they do to ensure that listing agents follow data compliance guidelines, explaining how the MLS has evolved to become a catalyst for the adoption of technology and a distribution mechanism among agents and consumers. Listen in for insight on why compensation is usually offered even when it’s not required and learn about the MLS’s role in building technology that facilitates cooperation.

What’s Discussed:  

Justin & Ryan’s argument against the assertion that the value of the MLS is tied solely to buyer’s compensation

The work MLSs do to ensure that listing agents follow data compliance guidelines

Why MLS teams need to know the areas they’re serving

How the MLS has evolved to become a distribution mechanism among agents and consumers

Why Rob suggests that MLSs need to invest in developing their own technology if compensation ends

The MLS as a technology provider vs. catalyst for the adoption of technology

Why compensation is usually offered even when it’s not required

The relationship between compensation and the steering problem in real estate

The potential to add reverse auto prospecting and rental data to the MLS

How NAR’s focus on the distribution of data provides an opportunity for MLSs

The MLS’s role in building technology that facilitates cooperation

What we need to do to prevent the government from making the MLS a public utility

Connect with Justin:

Lexington-Bluegrass Association of REALTORS

Connect with Ryan:

Cape Cod & Islands Association of REALTORS

Connect with Rob and Greg: 

Rob’s Website

Greg’s Website

Resources:

What if Mandatory Compensation Goes Away? on Industry Relations EP066

MLS Grid

Buyside

RealScout

FloPlan

Our Sponsors: 

Cloud MLX

Notorious VIP

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