Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

MLSage à trois

Bright MLS, CRMLS, and BeachesMLS Enter National Data Share Agreement

“The data share is an important step forward in Bright MLS’ and CRMLS’ previously announced plan (February 2022) to collaborate on technology solutions for the MLS industry. The data share among Bright MLS, CRMLS and BeachesMLS is the latest in several innovative joint ventures that Bright and CRMLS are leading, including REdistribute, which provides brokers transparency on the distribution and consumption of their data while ensuring fair-market compensation for its usage, and Nestfully, a new leading consumer portal developed and run by the residential real estate industry, the source of principled and pristine data for home buyers and sellers across the country.”

Ooh la la

Looking for a new gig?

Director, MLS Sales – Restb.AI

“Responsible for managing and overseeing MLS B2B sales in North America. Primary responsibilities will include designing plans to meet sales targets, negotiating deals, developing and cultivating relations with clients to maintain and grow customer satisfaction and retention. We’re looking for someone who loves working in a high-tech environment and is familiar with API, AI, cloud technology and SaaS. Candidate should be comfortable working in a dynamic environment without constant supervision.”

Data Services Specialist -realMLS

“realMLS, located in Jacksonville, FL, serves over 11,000 members spanning across 5 counties. Our membership base continues to grow as do the member’s needs. We are seeking a full time data services specialist to assist in evaluating data quality, establishing procedures, maintenance ensuring that all date meets industry standards as defined by RESO (Real Estate Standards Organization). In this role, you will be also assist with documenting, troubleshooting, and resolving any data related issues.”

The find out about these jobs or post a job, please visit the Vendor Alley Job Board.


Dave Howe named CEO and President of MetroList Services

MetroList Elevates Dave Howe to Chief Executive Officer and President

“The MetroList® Board of Directors announced the appointment of Dave Howe to lead MetroList as Chief Executive Officer and President. Previously he served as President, and with this announcement, Mr. Howe becomes the organization’s CEO/President. MetroList is Northern California’s largest Multiple Listing Service (MLS), operating in 13 counties. Dave succeeds Rick Trevino, who has stepped down from his CEO position due to health reasons.”

There are two stories here. One I’m completely happy to see happen, Dave Howe is now CEO/President of MetroList Services. I’ve known Dave for close to 30 years and it is great to see him rise up to this level. I’ve often called him “the hardest working man in the MLS business”, but this shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. In his career, he has learned from the best and shrewdest minds in the business starting with Tom Beede, Bill Miller, and recently Rick Trevino. Dave also served on the board of directors of CMLS and later as President. MetroList has a great staff and I know the transition will be smooth and they will find continued success with their new leader.

But the news is also a bit saddening. I know Rick was been struggling and fighting cancer for some time now. Even while dealing with these health issues Rick was still being recognized and named on the Swanepoel 200 list of the most powerful people in real estate. As he leaves MetroList to continue that battle it’s good to know he left on top. #fuckcancer

Industry Relations Podcast: Shifting Priorities of MLS Organizations

What are some of the shifting priorities at MLS organizations? Have you ever wondered what challenges MLS organizations are facing? In this episode on Industry Relations, Greg chats with special guest, Katie Smithson CRO at CRMLS to break down the transforming priorities within the field. Tune in for all the current industry intel and how MLS organizations are shifting priorities.

Nestfully PR mentioned in the show. 

CRMLS Press Release Styldod

Watch us on YouTube

Reach out to Katie either by email, Twitter: @katiebug621 or LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/katiemsmithson

Connect with Rob and Greg: 

Rob’s Website

Greg’s Website

This podcast is produced by Two Brothers Creative 2023.

CubiCasa

My thanks to CubiCasa for sponsoring this month of Vendor Alley. CubiCasa’s goal is to have a floor plan on every listing in the United States. Jeff Allen, CubiCasa’s President, explains it best…

“Floor plans are the only digital asset on a real estate listing that give buyers a true sense – at a single glance – of whether the home is the right fit for their family. Scrolling through reams of property data or clicking through a dizzying virtual tour can’t do the same thing. In fact, according to NAR Research, floor plans are the single most requested feature on a listing after only the default photos and property data.

You can read the entire blog post here => CubiCasa’s Epic Mission – A Floor Plan on Every Listing

They have already announced partnerships with Georgia MLS and New Mexico MLS

I love these guys and their mission, my thanks again to the team at CubiCasa.

CRMLS partners with Styldod

CRMLS Partners with Styldod for Advanced Image Analysis

“Styldod’s technology has proven to be amazing at sophisticated detection,” said Art Carter, CEO of CRMLS. “Styldod has served CRMLS extremely well as a staging product, so we’re confident that expanding our relationship to include business intelligence will be fruitful. We’re looking forward to how this new integration will empower agents and brokers with useful, harvested image data and help them avoid compliance issues.”

I’ve seen a demo directly from the Styldod team and this is some pretty cool tech. I’m looking forward to seeing how these photo recogintion software companies, including Restb.ai, go beyond the compliance use cases.

Industry Relations Podcast: Making Better Agents and Listings

Ever wondered how to get the most out of your listings and become a better agent? In this episode, Rob & Greg touch on the different technologies and marketing strategies that agents can use to get an edge in sales. Tune in for why Rob believes great photography is the best way and why Greg thinks it’s just putting lipstick on a pig and pricing is the best strategy.

UPDATE 1-26-2023

A representative of Homes.com has reached out and said that the new version of their website has rolled out and has been live for the last couple of months.  Though there has been no industry-wide notification and they have still yet to launch any of their much-touted “listing enhancement” products.   The new site features include:

  • Completely new tech stack with noticed speed improvements
  • Historical AVM chart with three models + average
  • Deeper set of property characteristics from MLS, 
  • New design, 
  • IDX data via Ten-X in 460+ MLS markets (no more supplemental data via ListHub)
  • New agent search with updated agent profiles (includes transaction history)
  • New Homes Pro dashboard for agents on the back end (full integration with Homesnap Pro), and agent-client instant messaging for collaboration

Watch us on YouTube!

Connect with Rob and Greg: 

Rob’s Website

Greg’s Website

This podcast is produced by Two Brothers Creative 2023

NAR wins case against DOJ

NAR victorious in renewed DOJ antitrust probe

“On Wednesday, Judge Timothy J. Kelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the earlier settlement terms are still valid.

“The government, like any party, must be held to the terms of its settlement agreements, whether or not a new administration likes those agreements,” Kelly, a Trump appointee, wrote in his ruling.

In 2020, the DOJ’s antitrust division agreed to a settlement after investigating the trade groups listing and agent compensation policies. The settlement proposed at the time included requirements for NAR to boost transparency about broker commissions and to stop misrepresenting that buyer broker services are free.”

Did anyone see this coming? Seems like huge news but not reading about it anywhere other than Real Trends.

Listing Bits Episode 76: Turn Your Clients into Lifelong Fans – with Rivers Pearce of Milestones

A solid fan base is what makes a rock band successful, and it’s no different for real estate professionals.

But most of us focus on the individual transaction and miss an opportunity to build long-term relationships with our existing clients and turn them into raving fans.

And that means missed opportunities for referrals and repeat business.

Rivers Pearce is CMO of Milestones, a homeowner management platform that helps agents and lenders turn single transactions into forever clients.

On this episode of Listing Bits, Rivers shares his background as a touring musician and transition to proptech, discussing how he built the lead generation department at BoomTown.

Rivers explains why agents should market themselves as a trusted advisor for all things home and explores how real estate professionals benefit from referring business to home service professionals and other local businesses.

Listen in for Rivers’ insight on nurturing relationships with your existing database and learn how Milestones can help you provide the kind of value that turns one-off clients into lifelong fans!

What’s Discussed:  

Rivers’ background as a touring musician and how he transitioned to proptech

How the skills Rivers developed as a performer translate to real estate and proptech

Rivers’ experience in building the lead gen department at BoomTown

How the way proptech supports real estate agents with lead gen has evolved over time

How Rivers thinks about using sphere of influence vs. portal aggregation to generate business

The opportunity to build relationships with homeowners that most REALTORS miss

Why agents should market themselves as a trusted advisor for all things home 

The benefit of referring business to home service professionals and other local businesses

How Milestones functions as a homeowner management platform for agents

How Milestones creates a custom maintenance plan for homeowners

How Milestones helps REALTORS nurture relationships with their existing database

Connect with Rivers:

Milestones

Rivers on LinkedIn

Rivers on Twitter

Rivers on Instagram

Email rivers@milestones.ai or ashley@milestones.ai for a 3-month free trial

Resources:

BoomTown

Mark Davison on Listing Bits EP042

Curaytor

CallAction

Agent Legend

Drew Meyers of Geek Estate

Tom Ferry

Our Sponsor:

Cloud CMA for Brokers

CoStar to purchase Realtor.com?

News Corp in Talks to Sell Real Estate Site For $3 Billion

“Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. is in talks to sell its Move Inc. online real estate business to CoStar Group Inc.

Move is the parent of Realtor.com and other real estate-related websites. The deal is worth about $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. The sale could be announced within days, one of the people said.”

After CoStar announced at a recent earnings call they had raised $750M for future acquistions Rob and I on our Industry Relations podcast tried to guess what they would scoop up. I thought we had a pretty good guess with Matterport. Matterport had recently bought VHT Studios. So we thought it would give them some killer IP and a network of photographers. Turns out Zillow took the bait and purchased VRX, and CoStar had bigger fish in mind. Although $3 billion isn’t that much money for CoStar, remember they bid $7 billion for CoreLogic.

Brings up a few questions. Will NAR approve? Or do they even have the say? If NAR was cool with handing the reins to Rupert Murdoch, then Andy Florance seems like a Boy Scout.

What about Homes.com? I’ve been wondering when the new website would be launched, and they recently had a big round of layofffs. Maybe Andy realized that it would take a hell of lot more money to get Homes.com (a distant #3) to compete with Zillow than it would take #2, realtor.com. And the whole “your listing, your lead” actually might play better under the realtor.com umbrella.

Your move Nestfully.

Sponsored By MLS Reset