“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.”
“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 Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) has announced its 2020 Executive Board and the results of its Board of Directors election for five open seats and other board appointments.
“RESO is attracting an unmatched pool of business and technology leaders who will help accelerate our vision of a streamlined real estate technology industry,” said Sam DeBord, CEO of RESO. “Our leadership team is devoted to a brighter future for real estate standards that foster the creation of technology as frictionless as using a mobile phone.”
Congrats to Katie Smithson and the rest of the new appointees.
2020 RESO Executive Board: • Rebecca Jensen, President and CEO, Midwest Real Estate Data LLC (MRED) – Chair • Michael Wurzer, President and CEO, FBS, Creators of Flexmls – Vice Chair • Suzanne Mueller, Chief Industry Relations Officer, realtor.com, Move, Inc. – Secretary • Richard Renton, CEO, Triad MLS – Treasurer
Representing Technology Companies, Developers, Partners & Consultants with revenue over $25 Million: • Chip McAvoy (Incumbent) – EVP Real Estate Solutions, Black Knight, Inc.
Representing Technology Companies, Developers, Partners & Consultants with revenue under $25 Million: • Mark Lesswing – Owner, Lesswing, LLC • Katie Smithson – Director of Enterprise Services, W+R Studios
Representing Multiple Listing Services and/or REALTOR® Affiliated Association with under 50,000 subscribers: • Rebecca Jensen (Incumbent) – President & CEO, Midwest Real Estate Data LLC (MRED)
Representing Other Associations or Groups: • Jeff Young (Incumbent) – COO / General Manager, Realtors Property Resource, LLC (RPR)
Appointed for 2020: • Suzanne Mueller, Chief Industry Relations Officer, realtor.com, Move, Inc. • Richard Renton, CEO, Triad MLS • Turan Tekin, Director, MLS and Industry Development, Zillow Group • Michael Wurzer, President and CEO, FBS, Creators of Flexmls
Appointed RESO Board Advisor: Scott Woodard – CEO, ShowingTime
Well, to be clear, a “self-published” author. But hey, you gotta start somewhere. I got my first run of books from the printer and have set up a website where you can buy them. Check it out.
You can also purchase the book on Amazon. But they take a hefty cut so ordering through my website ensures the money goes directly to the children. In this case, my children, not Jeff Bezos.
I would appreciate any way you could promote the site. Bulk discounts are available. So they make a great gift for your board of directors, or your favorite REALTOR. ????
Why did I write a book? I’ve had a few ideas of books I’ve wanted to write, and still want to write, but in the end, someone once said, “write what you know” so I took that advice.
And one thing I’ve learned, nobody writes a book alone. And I have a lot of people to thank. First off Charles Warnock. I had started to write this over 2 years ago, without much success, but things started to move once Charles came on board to help me stay on track, give me honest feedback, new ideas, and make anything I wrote even better. Thank you, Charles. I also have to thank Dan Woolley my co-founder and partner in crime for close to 30 years. I wouldn’t have one ounce of success if it wasn’t for Dan. Sharran Srivatsaa was gracious enough to write the forward to my book. I met Sharran through Rob Hahn and if you don’t know him you should, he has been a big influence on me and was very encouraging during this process. Stefan Swanepoel is a big inspiration and gave me a lot of great advice and honest feedback. Victor Lund saw an early draft and was very kind and gave me a blurb for the back of the book. David Charron was great through this whole process. He read a copy of the book early on and cheered me on. I think David was expecting a lot of f-bombs in the book, while my wife Jenn was telling me to take them all out! Also, I want to thank Brian Boero from 1000watt who was very generous with his time. Whenever I read anything that Brian writes, I almost always say, “God, I wish I wrote that”, or “I wish I could write that good.” Brian had some key feedback that helped us a lot. Go sign up for 1000watt’s blog now.
I have a lot of great stories, ideas, and inspiration from Brad Nix, Katie Lance, Chris Smith, Brad Inman and Tom Ferry in the book. I stole from the best.
I dedicated the book to Maggie, Eddie and Dan. Maggie and Eddie, along with Dan were my first co-founders at IRIS, LLC. We had no idea how to build and run a software company but Lightning -Easy MLS Access and Lightning CMA Plus laid the groundwork for everything in my career.
Last but not least I want to thank my family. Jennifer, my wife, put up with the clicking sounds of my keyboard on a lot of early Sunday mornings.
And thanks to all of you in this industry who have given me your friendship, support, and allowed me to do what I love.
W+R Studios’ Co-founder, Greg Robertson Releases Debut Title, The Art of the CMA.
New book helps real estate agents and brokers let go of fear and compete in a new world of proptech.
September 10, 2020 (HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA) – Software entrepreneur, blogger and podcaster, Greg Robertson has released his first book, The Art of the CMA. A 28 year veteran of the real estate technology industry, Greg is sharing his experience of helping create real estate’s most popular Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) tools including the recent Cloud CMA Live. Throughout his career, Greg has had thousands of conversations with agents and brokers nationwide on how they can leverage real estate’s most versatile tool, the CMA. The CMA is powerful in that it highlights their unique knowledge to compete both offline and online in a new world dominated by ever-changing business models and huge real estate portals.
“Artificial intelligence is just that, artificial, it’s not real” stated author Greg Robertson. “All real estate is local, and when it comes to something as crucial as pricing a home, nothing beats the eyes, ears, and nose attached to the brain of a good agent. There is far too much time and energy spent in the industry hating on real estate portals, iBuyers and new business models who are “trying to destroy us.” It is only when agents let go of fear that they can clearly see what a huge opportunity this new era in real estate brings.”
The new book includes a forward by industry thought leader Sharran Srivatsaa and bonus content of the results of the W+R Studios’ 2020 Survey of Best Practices for CMAs and Listing Presentations.
For more information and to purchase the book, please visit, http://TheArtoftheCMA.com. Bulk discounts for teams and brokers are available.
About The Authors The Art of the CMA was written by Greg Robertson with Charles Warnock. Greg has been in the real estate technology industry for over 28 years. He is the co-founder of W+R Studios, a privately held software company. Greg is on the “Power 200” (https://www.realestatealmanac.com/executives/), a list of the most influential people in real estate. He has served as a director on the Council of MLS (CMLS) (https://councilofmls.org/), an organization dedicated to improving the Multiple Listing Service industry. He publishes the popular real estate technology blog, Vendor Alley (https://vendoralley.wpengine.com/). He also hosts two podcasts, Listing Bits and Industry Relations. Greg lives in Huntington Beach, California with his wife Jennifer, their three kids, and dog Molly.
About W+R Studios Founded in 2008, W+R Studios is a privately held web software company located in Huntington Beach, California. The company focuses on creating the next generation of web-based software solutions for the real estate industry. Their flagship product, Cloud CMA, part of the popular Cloud Agent Suite, is licensed to over 500,000 real estate professionals all over North America. By providing a “less is more” approach to software design, elegant user interfaces, and using the latest in agile programming, W+R Studios’ software applications are at the same time powerful, yet accessible to everyone. Co-founders Dan Woolley and Greg Robertson have over 28 years of experience each developing and marketing real estate software solutions.
Zillow’s New Insight on the Unit Economics of the iBuyer
To this point, we assumed that the iBuyer model would target homeowners willing to pay for convenience and that the average consumer would continue to employ a real estate agent—and earn more money for their patience. But Zillow’s Q4 numbers reflect that homeowners can actually make MORE selling to the platform than they would with a realtor. So, how does this information impact the potential market share of iBuyers moving forward? And how will it affect the way agents do business?
Today, Rob and Greg are discussing the change in leadership at Zillow, debating the company’s performance under Spencer Rascoff and Richard Barton’s motivation to return as CEO. They explore the possibility of a merger between Opendoor and Zillow, uniting the former’s mastery of workflow with the latter’s proficiency at lead flow.
Rob and Greg also speak to Redfin’s potential to adopt the iBuyer model and the way of thinking shared by Redfin and Opendoor. Listen in to understand the full implications of Zillow’s Q4 iBuyer unit economics learn how the iBuyer market may impact the industry in light of this new information.
What’sDiscussed:
Barton’s motivation to return to Zillow as CEO
Zillow’s performance under Rascoff’s leadership
Opendoor’s complementary mastery of workflow
Zillow’s hiring of Arik Prawer to run iBuyer operations
The shared philosophy between Redfin and Opendoor
The implications of Zillow’s Q4 iBuyer unit economics
Gary Keller made a series of very bold claims when he announced the launch of the new KW tech platform at January’s Family Reunion conference, even going so far as to say that ‘the race to build the first end-to-end real estate platform is over and everyone else is competing for second place.’
Industry Relations Episode 32: Is Gary Keller Mismanaging Expectations for the New KW Tech Platform?
Today, Rob and Greg are discussing Keller’s comments, questioning the decision to set the bar so high and sharing Brian Boero’s take on Keller’s hubris as that of a master showman rallying the troops. Rob asks how we might measure the success of the KW tech platform and how much big-time investments in tech truly impact agent productivity.
Rob and Greg also explore the idea that introducing new tech serves to ‘stop the bleeding,’ keeping agents and agent teams from leaving for tech centric brokerages like eXp. Listen in for insight around the performance of traditional brokerages that put big money in tech and learn why Rob believes the industry should stop fighting the last war and shift its focus to capital.
What’sDiscussed:
The hype around the launch of the Keller Williams consumer app
Boero’s take that Keller’s hubris is necessary to ‘rally the troops’
How we might measure the success of the KW tech platform
The dismal numbers reported in Realogy’s recent earnings call
How much tech investments truly impact realtor productivity
Why Rob believes the industry needs to focus on capital vs. tech
KW’s potential to systematize agent marketing through software
At Inman Connect, the top movers and shakers in real estate come together to learn about the latest technology and explore what’s next for the industry. And in 2019, the hot topics include disruptors like Compass and eXp, the impact of data aggregators on the MLS, and the relevance of franchisers in light of tech centric startup brokerages. So, what are the most interesting conversations happening at the conference this year? And what SHOULD we be talking about?
Today, Rob and Greg are sharing the highlights of Inman & CEO Connect (live from the lobby of the Marriott Marquis), discussing how the conference focuses on the intersection of real estate and technology and what predictions Inman has gotten right over the years. They speak to Brad Inman’s interview with Rob Reffkin, Ben Kinney’s talk knocking brands like Compass and eXp, and the conversation among brokers, franchisers and tech company CEOs regarding the MLS. Rob asks why no one is talking about Redfin, and Greg predicts when the industry will recognize it as a significant force.
Then Rob and Greg snag Sam DeBord, Managing Broker and VP of Strategic Growth for Coldwell Banker Danforth in Seattle, to get his take on Kinney’s advice to brokers and the research around stock options and franchise loyalty. Listen in to understand why franchises need to make their value offerings more obvious and easy to use—and learn why Greg believes the mortgage space is ripe for disruption.
What’sDiscussed:
The highlights of the Inman Connect conference in NYC
How technology has (and has not) impacted real estate
Brad Inman’s interview with Rob Reffkin at CEO Connect -Leak of Pacific Union acquisition -Concerns re: data aggregators
Ben Kinney’s criticisms of brands like Compass and eXp
When the industry will recognize Redfin as a significant force
The talk among brokers and tech CEOs around the MLS
The tech community’s struggle re: cooperation and compensation
How Inman called the rise of the iBuyer model
Kinney’s advice to brokers on prepping agents for a market shift
Sam’s insight on the research around stock options and loyalty
Why franchises need to make value offerings easy to use
Now more than ever I feel that RESO has a lot of momentum of helping the industry crack the problem of standards. Many people have led to this stage. I credit Jeremy Crawford for really transforming RESO from a small group of dedicated members to a large industry powerhouse made of people from all roles of organized real estate to help push standards further.
I’ll also give credit to Art Carter and Rebecca Jensen. Both prodded (shamed?) a lot of us to be more involved. Art was also key in the hiring of Sam DeBord. Sam brings a business acumen to the RESO leadership that I believe is a crucial step in helping make standards a reality.
At the time of his hiring, I wrote the industry needs to “step up and give Sam and RESO our full support.”
That time is now. I’ve heard that NAR budget for RESO is less than $300K a year. That is shocking. When I think of the millions of dollars spent on RPR, AMP, and Upstream it boggles my mind. Less than $300K?
The arguments for standards in real estate data don’t need to be re-stated here, but to keep this momentum going, RESO needs proper funding. Membership dues and events can only do so much.
In the most recent episode of my podcast, Industry Relations, I recapped the biggest new events of the decade. One of them was the accession of Bob Goldberg to the role of CEO for the National Association of REALTORS. Bob has stated and has delivered on the promise of being more inclusive, wanting to be a partner to new technology companies, and therefore keep NAR members in the mix. I can’t help but think the role of standards fits perfectly into this message.
So on Christmas Eve and the second day of Hanukkah, all I want is for NAR to bring RESO funding to a level where they can do the work needed to bring standards to life.
We know that Compass is built around technology and that the real estate company has a shit ton of money—$4.4B, to be exact. But what else do we know about the tools and resources Compass offers its agents or the direction the company might take moving forward? Lucky for us, the firm’s most recent vision statement was published online, and while it was incredibly inspiring, the presentation also raised a number of questions.
Rob and Greg welcome special guest Sunny Lake Hahn, partner at 7DS Associates, to offer a broker’s perspective as they discuss the Compass vision statement. Greg offers an overview of the presentation, covering the suite of products and services that Compass offers their agents and CEO Robert Reffkin’s inspiring personal story and message of empowerment. Sunny explains why she was impressed by the company’s COO offering for agents as well as their technology feedback loop.
Rob, Greg and Sunny debate whether Compass can provide a consistent user experience, describing how the company does offer continuity in terms of tools, resources and consumer-agent interaction. Greg shares his take on why wooing agents with a payout might be problematic, and Rob speaks to Compass’ potential play to generate revenue through preferred vendors. Listen in for Sunny’s perspective of Reffkin’s emphasis on female entrepreneurs and learn more about what differentiates Compass—and what makes it just like all the other brokerages.
What’sDiscussed:
Compass’ strategic decision to publish their vision statement
The suite of products and services Compass offers their agents
CEO Robert Reffkin’s inspiring personal story and message
Sunny’s insight on the value of Compass’ tech feedback loop
Compass’ contract provision around using the tools provided
Why Compass cannot guarantee a consistent user experience
How Compass can provide continuity in terms of resources
Greg’s take on why wooing agents with a payout is problematic
The potential for Compass to leverage the ‘referral economy’
Sunny’s view of Reffkin’s message on female entrepreneurs
Sunny’s idea for brokers to execute on the COO offering locally
Michael Wurzer is 100% confident of one thing: The MLS creates value in the real estate market that doesn’t exist in any other way. No one else has created enough trust to generate that same level of cooperation among competitors. And rather than being a scourge to brokers, Michael argues that the MLS powers the market. That unique value prop is the reason why he believes current trends will prove the value of the MLS—not kill it.
Michael is the CEO of FBS, the leading innovator of MLS technology. He has 22 years at the helm of this highly-respected real estate software brand which was named one of Forbes2019 Small Giant companies. On this episode of Listing Bits, Michael addresses the trend toward off-market listings, sharing his take on why it’s not a threat to the MLS. He weighs in on the potential creation of a ‘vendors association’ that would afford prescreened developers access to real estate data.
Michael also discusses the likelihood of consolidation in the MLS vendor space, tech adoption in the employee versus independent contractor models, and the importance of data in light of high agent churn. Listen in for insight around the value of integration among real estate tech vendors and learn Michael’s take on the role of the MLS in creating choice for its members.
What’sDiscussed:
How standards are key in making software easier to build
The trend toward off-market listings and its impact on the MLS
The idea that pocket listings are a kind of DIY-Upstream
The resilience of the MLS community and its unique value prop
The creation of a ‘vendor’s association’ to prescreen developers
Why ShowingTime’s acquisitions of CSS is a holy shit moment
The likelihood of consolidation in the MLS vendor space
Tech adoption in employee vs. independent contractor models
The importance of data in light of high agent churn
Why SaaS marketing techniques don’t work in real estate
The value of integration among vendors and with the MLS
The role the MLS plays in creating choice for its members
Look into your crystal ball and ask about the future of real estate. A venture capitalist’s vision of the industry eliminates agents entirely in favor of the data a tech company can provide. A number of brokers are hoping to go back to the future and once again serve as the gatekeepers for real estate listings. Meanwhile UpstreamRE can’t seem to get a clear picture of its future at all. Will software ‘eat the real (estate) world’ as the recent a16z video suggests? Will brokerages find a way to regain control of their listings? Will UpstreamRE ever nail down an objective?
Rob and Greg start their review of recent real estate news with a discussion of the humbling Andreessen Horowitz video exposing the obvious flaws in organized real estate. They cover Alex Rampell’s argument against the narrative of agent as ‘trusted advisor’ and his thesis that metrics will eventually replace agents. Rob describes how technology might impact the future number of real estate agents and how much consumers will be willing to pay for guidance from a professional.
Greg shares his frustration with the ‘obvious BS’ surrounding UpstreamRE’s breakup with NAR, offering his take on why the alliance didn’t work and the new narrative around the company’s purpose. Rob and Greg both deliver their predictions regarding who UpstreamRE’s new vendor might be and how MLS providers may view the project’s latest pivot. Listen in for insight into the futility of broker efforts to regain control of listings and learn why UpstreamRE’s new vendor may want to ask for their money up front!
What’sDiscussed:
The Andreessen Horowitz video on organized real estate
Alex Rampell’s argument against the ‘trusted advisor’
The prediction that metrics and data will replace agents
Mike Delprete’s insight on loss aversion in transactions
Money and partnerships vs. execution in tech startups
The impact of tech on the number of real estate agents
Why UpstreamRE’s partnership with NAR didn’t work
The new narrative around UpstreamRE’s objectives
Rob & Greg’s predictions re: UpstreamRE’s new vendor
How MLS providers may view UpstreamRE’s latest pivot
The futility of broker efforts to regain control of listings
