Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

Over 1 million people used Zillow’s down payment assistance tool (powered by Down Payment Resource)

More than 1 million people have used Zillow’s down payment assistance tool over the last year

“Homeownership remains the American Dream because it is one of the most powerful avenues for building wealth, and a source of long-term social and financial stability,” said Rob Chrane, CEO and founder of Down Payment Resource. “Unfortunately, many people sideline themselves from buying a home because they don’t know that there are thousands of homebuyer assistance programs that may be able to help them overcome common affordability challenges, such as down payment and closing costs. By partnering with Down Payment Resource, Zillow is doing the important work of raising awareness about these programs while providing its users with a tool that could make the difference between continuing to rent and owning a home.”

Well, this certainly brought a smile to my face! I’ve been a big fan of Rob and his company, Down Payment Resource for a long time. Just to think that there are people in a house right now, maybe warming themselves by a fireplace, who were able to buy the house with information they gained from this service fills me with the holiday spirit. 🥹

RESO announces 2023 Board of Directors

RESO Announces 2023 Board of Directors Election Winners

“RESO has entered the 2.0 phase of its existence, not only with second-generation versions of the industry-standard RESO Data Dictionary and RESO Web API but with our entire approach to driving the industry forward,” said Rebecca Jensen, who was re-elected 2023 Chair of the RESO board and is President and CEO of Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED). “Our leadership team reflects some of the most tech- and business-savvy minds in real estate, and I am proud to serve alongside them as we continue to bring greater data transparency, consistency, accuracy, ease and speed to the industry.”

Congrats to all and looking forward to seeing what advancements Phase 2.0 will bring!

Restb.ai partners with two MLS providers

Restb.ai now has deals with two MLS providers, UtahRealEstate.com and the Miami Board of REALTORS. From the press release of UtahRealEstate.com

“URE will implement Restb.ai’s Advanced Tagging and photo Duplicate Detection solutions. These solutions will enable URE to focus on modernizing the listing input process through digitalization and photo tagging. URE intends to utilize Restb.ai’s Auto-Pop Listing API to streamline the listing input process for its members and bring new tools to the photo upload process.”

These new features are part of a new “MLS Suite” of tools announced back in September.

Restb.ai, the leading provider of computer vision and AI for real estate, announces the launch of its new MLS suite, a group of software solutions devoted to modernizing MLSs. The AI powered products were developed to assist Multiple Listing Services in automating the listing input process, providing WCAG & ADA protections for members of IDX/VOW websites and enriching and increasing the value of MLS data. “

Super cool tech. Congrats to Lisa Larson and the rest of the Restb.ai team.

MRED adds Lone Wolf’s MLS-Connect for zipForm users

Partnership introduces MLS-Connect® for automated data entry in subscribers’ transactions management systems

With MLS-Connect, subscribers can enter a listing ID into Transactions and watch as MLS information populates directly into transaction documents. This gives subscribers the means to quickly and accurately fill out forms while avoiding manual data entry and costly errors.

“We are pleased to introduce MLS-Connect to our subscribers,” stated Rebecca Jensen, MRED President and CEO. “Modern real estate is a fast-paced industry and it’s our mission to help our subscribers perform at the highest possible level. Introducing an innovative solution like MLS-Connect means they can do that.”

Great time saver for agents and brokers.

Milestones grows to 250,000 agents and loan officers

Milestones Surpasses 250,000 Agents and Loan Officers

 Milestones (milestones.ai), the all-in-one homeowner portal making it easier for consumers to buy, move, own, sell, manage and access mortgage services for their home, today announced that their product is now licensed to 250,000 real estate agents and loan officers, and their customers.

Milestones uniquely partners with real estate brokers, mortgage lenders, title companies, franchises, Realtor associations, and multiple listing services to offer the service to agents to better serve their clients.

I’m sure their recent partnership with CAR helped them get to this number. What Milestones is doing is not a new idea. Homeownership portals have been around for a while. I think what makes Milestones different is the talent they have attracted and a twist on the business model. I also think including loan officers in the mix is a smart side bet. The challenge for them going forward is upselling, which is always a percentage game.

Kim Roller-Hoereth joins CoreLogic

Welcome to the team

“We are thrilled to announce that Kim Roller-Hoereth has joined our CoreLogic team! As a real estate veteran with deep relationships across the industry, Kim has been a trusted sales and account rep to MLS organizations for many years. Welcome home Kim! #CoreLogicRES

Great news. Congrats Kim and CoreLogic!

Zillow acquires VRX media, includes a national pro photographers network

Zillow Group acquires VRX Media to create national photographer network, elevate listing media through ShowingTime+ brand

“Zillow Group (NASDAQ: Z and ZG) today announced it has closed on the acquisition of VRX Media. This real estate media marketing and services leader is known for its aerial drone photography, virtual staging, 3D tours, high-definition photography and fast-media delivery to clients, which is made possible through the company’s national professional photographer network. Zillow Group will continue to offer VRX Media’s services through the ShowingTime+ software suite.”

Smart, and obviously a move to help Zillow compete against CoStar’s yet-to-be-announced launch of the new Homes.com which is said to offer “listing enhancement” packages.

I had made a prediction on the Industry Relations podcast that CoStar might buy Matterport because Matterport had recently bought VHT Studios which also had a nationwide professional photographers network. I guess Zillow thought it was a good idea too.

MRED adds zipForm integration to connectMLS

Transactions, MLS-Connect added as connectMLS integrations

“MLS-Connect automatically fills out your forms, saving you the hassle of manually entering all your listing details. This alleviates data entry errors and saves time during the transaction creation process. You can also easily import or push data from your MLS listings into Transactions (zipForm Edition) to fill out forms faster than ever.”

Happy to see this integration happen. Big shout out to Jessica Richardson at Lone Wolf for helping make this happen.

Industry Relations Podcast: Co-mingling and CoStar: What you need to know

Is Zillow turning into the Craigslist of real estate? Just how accurate is the data on MLS websites, and should consumers be given a guarantee of accuracy? From predicting a possible depression to come in 2023 to debating the irrationality of lightsabers, this episode of Industry Relations covers the need-to-know issues in today’s real estate industry. Let’s go!

Watch us on YouTube!

Connect with Rob and Greg: 

Rob’s Website

Greg’s Website

Thank you to our sponsor: RentSpree

Visit https://www.rentspree.com/ for more information!

Read more about RentSpree’s expansion in the rental market here: https://www.rentspree.com/insights/the-untapped-money-potential-of-the-rental-market

This podcast is produced by Two Brothers Creative 2022

CMLS announces new board of directors

CMLS Announces New Directors for 2023

“The Council of Multiple Listing Services (CMLS), the professional trade organization that serves the Multiple Listing Services industry and represents 1.7 million subscribers, has elected new directors for 2023. They will assume their roles on January 1, 2023.

Brad Bjelke, CEO of UtahRealEstate.com (Utah); Jeff Bosch, CEO of IRES, LLC (Colorado); Shelley Specchio, CEO of MIBOR Broker Listing Cooperative (Indiana); Colette Stevenson, CEO of REsides, Inc. (South Carolina); and Rob Wagoner, Senior VP & MLS Director, Heartland Multiple Listing Service (Kansas and Missouri) were all elected to serve a three-year term on the CMLS Board of Directors.”

Great group of people! Well deserved. It’s going to be an interesting time in the MLS industry (what year isn’t it?) for these folks. Congrats everyone!

Sponsored By MLS Reset