FBS Launches the Flexmls® MCP Server, Enabling MLSs and Authorized Users to Connect Their AI Tools to Flexmls

FARGO, N.D., April 23, 2026 — FBS, the technology company behind Flexmls, today announced the launch of the Flexmls MCP Server, allowing the MLS and authorized members to connect and authorize the AI tools they already use to their Flexmls account.

Built for Security. Governed by the MLS.

Access to the Flexmls MCP Server is authenticated at the subscriber level using existing Flexmls credentials, ensuring that only active, credentialed subscribers of a given MLS can access that MLS’s data. Each MLS organization controls activation — either for all subscribers or on an individual basis — keeping data governance firmly in the hands of the MLS and authorized users. The Flexmls MCP Server is built on the open Model Context Protocol (MCP), the emerging standard that leading AI platforms use to connect to trusted external data sources.

With the Flexmls MCP Server, MLS members can connect their AI tools — including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini — directly to their Flexmls account, giving them the ability to ask questions in plain language and receive answers grounded in real, current MLS data. Market statistics, listing searches, data for market analyses, and productivity insights are all accessible through a natural conversation — sourced not from the internet, but from the MLS’s own complete, accurate, standardized listing database. AI is only as powerful as the data and infrastructure behind it. The combined strength of the MLS’s complete dataset and the depth of the Spark API makes that data accessible and actionable in a meaningful way.

The Flexmls MCP Server is one exciting step in a broader effort to enable MLS members to leverage AI in their real estate workflows in ways that actually matter – grounded in complete data, connected securely, and designed to deliver real insight that helps agents win with their customers.

The MLS Data Advantage — Now Available to MLS Members Through AI

MLS organizations have long served as the backbone of real estate markets, bringing competing brokers and agents together to aggregate, standardize, and maintain the most complete, accurate property data available anywhere. That data makes markets function, gives consumers confidence, and makes MLS subscribers the most credible real estate professionals in any market.

The Flexmls MCP Server extends that advantage into the AI era. For MLS subscribers, it means showing up to every client conversation with the full power of their MLS database behind them — answering market questions quickly, gaining insightful market analysis, searching listings instantly, and tracking their own business performance, all through a natural language exchange with their AI tool of choice.

For MLS organizations, the opportunity goes further. With the Flexmls MCP Server, the MLS itself can use AI to access its own Flexmls data — producing market reports, publishing local real estate intelligence, and deepening its role as the authoritative voice of real estate in its community.

“When grounded in real, complete market data, the experience changes. Interacting naturally with the full breadth of MLS data elevates both the level of insight and the confidence behind it,” said Kim Prior, VP of Product at FBS. “For subscribers, that shows up in better decisions, faster workflows, and more informed client conversations. For MLS organizations, it reinforces what they already are—the source of truth for the market. This is part of a broader focus for us: building AI capabilities that are practical, connected to real workflows, and ultimately help professionals better serve consumers.”

About FBS

FBS is the trusted MLS technology authority, serving more than 330,000 real estate professionals across North America through its Flexmls® Platform and integrated ecosystem, including Spark® API and Datamart. Built on open standards and designed for flexibility, FBS empowers MLSs to compete and lead while maintaining full ownership of their database as a strategic asset. 100% employee-owned and focused exclusively on MLS success, FBS delivers intelligent, AI-driven technology backed by decades of industry expertise. Learn more at www.WeAreFBS.com.

Subscribers expect their MLS to be the trusted source of real estate data in their market. Protecting that role and getting maximum value from your data starts with your MLS technology partner.

At the heart of every MLS is a fundamental responsibility to ensure accurate, timely data flows reliably to the real estate professionals who depend on it and into the tools used every day to inform the market and make it work.

That data isn’t just an operational asset. It’s the foundation of market transparency, cooperation, and trust.

Managing it well is one of the most important things an MLS does. With FBS, you have everything you need to do it with a single, trusted MLS technology partner.

You are the Data Stewards

This point bears emphasis, because the market is full of messaging that might make you think otherwise.

With FBS as your partner, your MLS controls its database. That control is already embedded in your agreement with FBS, and Flexmls, SparkAPI, and the Spark Datamart are built to reinforce it — not work around it. You determine how your database is licensed, who can access it, and how it flows through the ecosystem. That’s not a feature we’re selling. It’s the starting point.

What that means in practice: Your MLS has the ability to protect broker data and keep it flowing to brokers, agents, and authorized partners; maintain data integrity and compliance; support innovation through APIs and integrations; and protect the interests of your subscribers, all from within Spark API and the Spark Datamart.

Everything You Need, All In One Partner

We’ve designed Flexmls, Spark, and Spark Datamart to work together as a complete data management solution — one that keeps your MLS in the driver’s seat at every layer.

Flexmls is the operational core — where listings are entered, maintained, validated, and distributed. It’s the system of record for your market’s data.

The Spark API is how that data travels. Spark gives brokers, agents, and technology partners fast, reliable, standards-based access to listing data through a modern API layer. It’s built on RESO standards, supports IDX and VOW, and is designed to make data distribution simple without creating dependencies you don’t control.

Spark Datamart is the hub that connects Flexmls and the Spark API to the broader ecosystem of brokers, agents, and third-party developers — while keeping your MLS firmly in control of how that access is granted and governed. Datamart automates the setup of API keys, IDX, and VOW data feeds, so developers and agents can request and receive credentials without creating administrative burden for your team. It brings data licensing, pricing, and approvals into one secure space, supports hyper-local MLS fields that don’t always exist in standardized national data sets, and makes it straightforward for brokers to connect their preferred CRM, CMA, and other tools to your MLS data. Throughout all of it, your MLS sets the terms.

Together, these tools cover the full data lifecycle — from entry and validation, to distribution, to compliance — without requiring your MLS to introduce external vendors into that chain.

Before You Evaluate New Solutions

The MLS technology market is active, and new vendors regularly offer to help MLSs “activate,” “unlock,” or “take control of” their data. These messages are worth evaluating carefully — because your MLS may already offer more control than you realize.

Every MLS deserves to make vendor decisions from a position of clarity and confidence. For Flexmls customers, Spark API and the Spark Datamart are already part of your platform — giving you the tools to manage and distribute your data without the added cost, contract, or complexity of a separate vendor relationship. That’s not a feature you have to ask for. It’s built in.

When evaluating any new data-related solution, ask these questions:

• Do we have full management of our database outright — and does our current platform already give us the tools to manage it?
• How does this vendor’s model affect our control over data licensing, real-time distribution and access?
• What dependencies does this relationship create, and how are those governed contractually?

These are the kinds of questions MLS leadership and boards increasingly bring into vendor evaluations — and we think that’s the right instinct.

The Bottom Line

Your members built their businesses on the reliability and integrity of your MLS. Safeguarding the data that makes that possible is one of the most important commitments you make to them.

The MLS is the governing institution of its local real estate marketplace. Strong governance, reliable infrastructure, and clear accountability are what protect that role — not adding layers between your organization and the data you own.

FBS built Flexmls, the Spark API, and the Spark Datamart to support exactly that. If you’d like to explore what your current platform can do, or talk through how these tools apply to your specific needs, we’d welcome the conversation.

Have questions about Spark API, Datamart, or data governance capabilities in Flexmls? Contact your FBS account team.

FBS and Giant Steps Advisors have been spearheading revival of a non-profit initiative called Source MLS, which CMLS originated back in 2013. I wrote here and here about why now is an important time for the industry to bring that program forward again. Over the last year, Dan Woolley from Giant Steps Advisors (and Cloud CMA fame) has been building the technology for Source MLS and now I’m pleased to announce that FBS is the first to implement Source MLS in our Spark Platform for the benefit of our customers.

The Source MLS website does a great job of explaining the benefits of the program:

Source MLS is a non-profit organization that provides MLSs a common trademark badge and tracking technology to clearly identify everywhere listings are being displayed.

• The badge tells the world the data can be trusted.
• The tracking technology enables participating MLSs to provide invaluable analytics to brokers, agents, and sellers about where their listings are being displayed.

Together, they show the world the value of your MLS.

As the Source MLS web site also explains, there are three key parties and steps needed to implement the badge and tracking technology:

1. MLSs opt-in to the program by signing up at SourceMLS.org,
2. Data distribution systems like the Spark Platform add the tamper-proof Source MLS URLs to every listing; and
3. Data licensees display the Source MLS logo and trigger display tracking using the secure Source MLS URLs included with each listing.

The result is that the badge displays wherever your MLS listings are displayed and your MLS gets detailed analytics about where and how often listings are displayed. Below is an example of how the badge might be displayed on a listing. 

Call to Action for All MLSs: Sign Up at SourceMLS.org today! 

We encourage all MLSs to create an account at SourceMLS.org and you can then forward your key and developer documentation  to your data distribution partner (e..g, MLS Grid, Trestle, Bridge, etc.) so that you can work together to implement the Source MLS URLs for your data feeds. 

Importantly, though FBS has spearheaded this effort and is the first to implement it in the Spark Platform, FBS will have no role in the on-going management of the non-profit organization and the Source MLS program is open and free for all Data Distribution Systems to implement on behalf of their MLS customers. At the recent MLS Reset conference, Dan had the opportunity to speak with representatives from other Data Distribution Systems interested in implementing and the industry goal is broad adoption by as many MLSs and vendors as possible to help all MLSs show their value to the world. 

In considering whether to sign up, please read the MLS Member Agreement, which outlines the startup costs (a one-time fee of $0.10 per member) and how the non-profit is to be governed exclusively by and for MLSs. As you’ll see, the on-going costs of the non-profit will be paid by each MLS paying their pro rate share of those costs based on the number of listing views tracked by the system. Because the MLSs with the most views will be paying the most, the Board will consist of representatives from the top 3 MLS with the most views. In this way, the organization is to be governed exclusively by and for MLSs. 

For FBS’s Customers Using Spark

FBS’s MLS customers using Spark can find a timeline and action items here. 

FBS will be sending notice to all developers on March 12, 2026, of the change coming April 15, 2026, so they can be ready. With all that in place, on April 15th, you will start seeing analytics flowing into your Source MLS dashboard showing when, where, and how often listings are being displayed. You’ll also be able to access the analytics by downloading a CSV file and via an API Dan is working on now. Dan will be posting more details about that functionality on the SourceMLS.org web site, which is another reason to sign up for an account today. 

Please join us in this exciting program to continue to make the market work!

Expanded partnership delivers a streamlined listing input experience that reduces duplicate entry, improves efficiency and strengthens data consistency for members

FARGO, ND [March 11, 2026] – BeachesMLS and FBS have announced the launch of a new single-point listing entry solution, marking an expansion of their long-standing partnership and delivering a unified listing input experience designed to make listing entry faster, simpler and more consistent for MLS members, while standardizing data.

The new system standardizes listing workflows across platforms, delivering consistent, high-quality data no matter where it is entered. By standardizing fields, BeachesMLS is reducing manual corrections, minimizing rework and improving data consistency at the point of entry. Together with FBS’s Spark® Platform and Datamart, the unified approach is a major step forward in modernizing both member-facing tools and internal operations.

For members, the benefits are immediate and practical. The unified listing input experience reduces time spent navigating forms, speeds up data entry and increases data accuracy. The upcoming addition of Auto Assistant and Auto Assistant+ features will allow members to prepopulate most listing information automatically by pulling data from public records, geocode data, AI-detected features and previous listing history. This capability provides a significant head start with listing input, all while retaining the essential step of allowing members to review and confirm all data before publishing.

“This launch reflects our commitment to leading the MLS industry through innovation that truly serves our members. At BeachesMLS, we’re constantly looking for ways to enhance the listing experience, reduce friction and elevate data quality,” says CEO of BeachesMLS Dionna Hall. “By unifying listing input into a single, streamlined system, we’re empowering our members to work more efficiently while ensuring the accuracy and consistency that today’s consumers expect. When we improve the member experience, we ultimately strengthen the service they provide to buyers and sellers across our marketplace.”

Developed through close collaboration, the expanded partnership between BeachesMLS and FBS will focus on providing a solution that reflects real-world agent workflows. Using the flexibility of Flexmls and the standards-driven Spark API Platform, FBS delivered enhancements, including improved field organization, conditional logic that simplifies the process of adding a listing, expanded listing history, comp-only listings and a new audit trail that provides transparency and accountability throughout the listing lifecycle.
The single-point listing entry also gives members greater flexibility in how they choose to work. Agents can input listings from a mobile device or desktop environment, selecting the workflow that best fits their business, while the MLS maintains consistent data standards across the system. This balance of flexibility and control helps brokers and agents work more efficiently without sacrificing accuracy or compliance.

By consolidating listing input into one system, BeachesMLS is also strengthening its ability to maintain a database that more closely aligns with RESO data standards. Cleaner, more consistent data not only reduces downstream corrections and discrepancies, but also creates a stronger foundation for emerging AI applications and advanced analytics that depend on accurate, structured MLS data.

FBS CEO, Michael Wurzer, said “BeachesMLS’ leadership saw the need to unify and control their data to better serve their members, which is more critical than ever with AI creating new opportunities every day. Flexmls and the Spark API were built for this age of agentic AI and we look forward to partnering with BeachesMLS for years to make the market work for their members.”
This launch reinforces the expanded partnership between BeachesMLS and FBS and underscores a shared commitment to delivering scalable, member-focused MLS technology that evolves alongside the needs of the marketplace.

Single-point listing entry is now available for BeachesMLS members.

About BeachesMLS

Through innovative technology; meaningful business solutions; and exceptional customer support, BeachesMLS delivers the data and tools that power real estate across Southeast Florida. A subsidiary of Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors®, BeachesMLS serves more than 42,000 subscribers who represent buyers and sellers along 130 miles of pristine coastline. Committed to advancing professionalism, efficiency and long-term success, BeachesMLS equips its members with the resources they need to thrive at every stage of their careers. Learn more at RWorld.com.

About FBS

Nationally recognized and based in Fargo, North Dakota, FBS is the leading innovator and provider of MLS technology, currently serving 330,000+ real estate professionals on its premier Flexmls® Platform. Flexmls is one of many apps and software products built on the standards-driven Spark® API technology platform, the industry’s first and most utilized API. 100% employee-owned and with 47 years of industry leadership, FBS repeatedly achieves unmatched industry rankings for customer and user satisfaction, platform performance, and net promoter score (NPS). Learn more at www.WeAreFBS.com.

Kim has been recognized as a Trailblazer for advancing the MLS and driving innovation across the real estate industry.

FBS is proud to announce that Kim Prior, VP of Product, has been selected as one of RISMedia’s 2026 Real Estate Newsmakers in the Trailblazers category. This recognition honors real estate professionals who have made newsworthy contributions to the industry and positively impacted the companies and communities they serve.

Prior’s recognition reflects more than just a single year of achievement. During her 12 years at FBS, she has played a pivotal role in shaping the company’s growth, brand, and long-term strategy. Previously as VP of Marketing, and now VP of Product for FBS, Prior has helped position FBS as the MLS software and technology authority, supporting more than 150 MLS organizations and 330,000+ real estate professionals on the Flexmls Platform. In 2025, Prior continued to drive innovation with new initiatives designed to strengthen MLS organizations and expand the value they deliver to their members.

Michael Wurzer, FBS CEO, reinforced the recognition by noting, “Kim deserves every recognition and is especially appropriate to be recognized as a RISMedia Trailblazer. Kim has led FBS’s Marketing for years as we’ve blazed new trails in the MLS industry and now she’s leading our Product Team. Regardless of role, Kim’s leadership at FBS and on behalf of the MLS industry is well worth recognition.”

Prior’s work consistently reinforces the role of the MLS as a critical, trusted foundation of the real estate marketplace. By aligning brand strategy, product vision, and industry collaboration, Prior has helped ensure that MLSs remain strong, relevant, and member-focused in a rapidly evolving environment.

When asked about her thoughts around the recognition, Prior said, “I’m honored to be recognized as a RISMedia Trailblazer, especially in an industry and community I care so deeply about (and among so many dedicated colleagues). This recognition truly belongs to the entire FBS team. For nearly five decades, FBS has been trailblazing in the MLS technology space—not by chasing headlines, but by staying relentlessly focused on serving MLS organizations and the professionals who rely on them every day in making the market work. During the past 12 years, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside some of the most thoughtful, mission-driven people in real estate technology here at FBS. Together, we’ve aligned brand, product vision and industry collaboration around a simple belief: the MLS is the trusted foundation of the real estate marketplace, and it deserves technology and partnership that keep it strong, subscriber-focused and centered on delivering transparency and confidence to consumers buying and selling homes. I’m proud of the innovation we continue to drive, but even more proud of how we do it—listening first, building with purpose and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the 150+ MLS organizations and 330,000+ professionals we serve. This honor reflects the collective commitment of FBS to lead with integrity, think long term and keep pushing the industry forward.”

RISMedia, a leading source for U.S. real estate news and information, announced its 2026 Real Estate Newsmakers this month on RISMedia.com. The honorees were selected by RISMedia’s executive and editorial teams and represent professionals across seven categories: Influencers, Trailblazers, Futurists, Achievers, Crusaders, Luminaries and Hall of Fame inductees.

Prior and fellow honorees will be recognized at RISMedia’s Annual Awards Gala during the company’s 38th Annual CEO & Leadership Exchange, September 30 to October 2, 2026, in Washington, D.C.

Read Kim’s full RISMedia Recognition >

FARGO, ND [February 24th, 2026] – FBS, the trusted MLS software and technology authority, has announced a new partnership to bring Flexmls to the 13,000 subscribers of ROAM MLS, a statewide Multiple Listing Service serving real estate professionals across Louisiana. Through this partnership, ROAM MLS will leverage the Flexmls® Platform to advance its mission of delivering consolidated, statewide MLS services powered by the flexible, people-first technology FBS has built to help MLS organizations and their members thrive.

Formed through the collective efforts of Louisiana REALTOR® associations, ROAM MLS was built to remove barriers created by fragmented systems and regional boundaries. Its statewide approach provides participants with broader market exposure, consolidated governance, and a single set of MLS rules designed to support consistent data integrity and cooperation across markets.

The Flexmls Platform will support ROAM MLS participants with a secure, highly configurable MLS experience that adapts to local workflows while maintaining national standards. Designed with flexibility at both the MLS and user level, Flexmls empowers organizations to align technology with their governance, business rules, and member needs.

“Our newly established partnership with FBS will provide our members with an MLS platform that preserves many of the features and familiarity of their current native system while offering access to updated technology. This decision eliminates the need for duplicative add-ons, consolidates data into a single source, and provides our members with the opportunity for greater cost savings,” said Rhonda Reap-Curiel, ROAM MLS President.

FBS brings decades of MLS-focused experience and a people-first approach that puts MLS staff, leadership, and subscribers at the center of every decision. As a 100% employee-owned company, FBS is deeply committed to helping MLSs maintain ownership and control of their data, backed by innovative technology and the kind of service that keeps their partners coming back.

“ROAM MLS is unifying real estate data across Louisiana around a single, modern, flexible platform that dramatically reduces listing input time by automatically populating trusted property and media sources creating consistent and accurate data,” noted Matty Epstein, Director of MLS Sales at FBS. “FBS is proud to partner and execute on their vision for a more efficient, cooperative, and subscriber-driven MLS using Flexmls.”

About ROAM MLS

ROAM MLS, LLC is a Multiple Listing Service serving real estate professionals across Louisiana. Formed through the collective efforts of REALTOR® associations across Louisiana, ROAM delivers consolidated MLS services designed to support established business practices while expanding access to data across regions. With consolidated governance, a single set of MLS rules, and local Louisiana-based support and training, ROAM provides its participants with the tools, flexibility, and freedom needed to serve clients wherever the market takes them.

About FBS

Nationally recognized and based in Fargo, North Dakota, FBS is the leading innovator and provider of MLS technology, currently serving 330,000+ real estate professionals on its premier Flexmls® Platform. Flexmls is one of many apps and software products built on the standards-driven Spark® API technology platform, the industry’s first and most utilized API. 100% employee-owned and with 47 years of industry leadership, FBS repeatedly achieves unmatched industry rankings for customer and user satisfaction, platform performance, and net promoter score (NPS). Learn more at www.WeAreFBS.com.

Last fall, I announced that Kim Prior agreed to become FBS’s VP of Product and that meant we would need new leadership for our Marketing Team.

Today, I’m super pleased to report that Kim was successful in hiring Deborah Shipley to lead our Marketing Team as our new Senior Director of Brand Experience. Many of you likely already know Deborah as she led marketing and communications at REcolorado for over 11 years. In my post about Kim’s new role, I mentioned how much we “love to geek out on all things MLS” and, in just the short time Deborah has been with us, I’m happy to report that she’s an MLS geek as well!

We’ve only had a couple of 1:1s so far, but it’s already clear to me that Deborah has deep knowledge about our industry and relationships within the industry. I think we all know that the best part of the MLS industry is all the amazing people we meet along the way, and that’s one of the reasons people tend to stay in the industry even if they change companies or roles. The MLS industry is filled with people committed to helping MLSs succeed (aka “MLS geeks”) and I’m proud to have Deborah join the geekiest MLS vendor in the business.

For these same reasons, we’re also excited to announce that Sabrina Steffen has joined Deborah’s team as our Event Manager. Sabrina comes to FBS from Rapattoni, where she was the Marketing Communications Manager for 18 years! Sabrina’s vast experience and relationships helped her to be off and running on day one and I know you’ll all love to work with her on the many events we create, attend, and sponsor.

As I noted in my earlier post, Kim “conducted a world-class transformation of our marketing, elevating our brand to the heights it deserves.” I’m super confident that Deborah and Sabrina will build on that success for many years to come by telling FBS’s unique story with our shared passion for the MLS industry. MLS geeks for the win!

Industry recognition doesn’t happen by accident. It grows out of consistent excellence, meaningful contributions, and a deep commitment to helping MLSs, brokers, and agents succeed. At FBS, that commitment runs through every employee owner. Today, we have a special reason to celebrate. Becky Ferguson, Digital Adoption Manager at FBS, has been named one of WalkMe’s Top 100 Digital Adoption Professionals for 2025.

This honor is a wonderful moment for Becky, and it shines a light on what makes FBS unique. This kind of acknowledgement reflects the strength of our employee-owned culture and the impact our people make every day. Here’s a closer look at how recognition like this comes to life and why Becky’s achievement matters for our customers, our team, and the broader MLS community.

Recognizing Leaders in Digital Adoption

Digital adoption professionals help shape the future of exceptional user experiences and digital transformation success. They use digital adoption platforms (DAPs) to guide users, streamline learning, and turn digital tools into meaningful, confident action.

The DAPP100 celebrates the professionals who are leading this important work and driving measurable business impact. The list begins with open nominations and then moves into a voting period that allows colleagues, peers, and community members to recognize the people making a difference. Fellow FBS employee owners, who see the impact of Becky’s work every day, proudly cast their votes in support of her recognition.

More than 11,000 votes were submitted this year, creating a global show of appreciation for leaders in the field. The honorees come from Australia, Germany, France, India, the Philippines, Poland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and more. The DAPP100 is truly an international celebration of excellence, and Becky is right at home among this group.

How Becky’s Work Transforms the Flexmls Experience

Becky’s contributions touch nearly every real estate professional who uses Flexmls. As Digital Adoption Manager, she creates intuitive, in-system learning experiences that meet users where they are and guide them with clarity and confidence.

Becky’s thoughtful approach reshapes the way MLS members learn the Flexmls system. Whether someone is exploring a feature for the first time or deepening their understanding of the system, Becky’s work makes that journey easier and more intuitive. The guided help resources she designs and builds have helped create a smoother, smarter experience for agents and brokers across the country—significantly impacting the way Flexmls has been adopted by customers.

Becky’s leadership is strengthened by her active involvement in the broader WalkMe community. She takes part in educational opportunities, connects with other practitioners, contributes ideas, and continually works to expand her skills. This level of engagement and dedication is part of what makes her such an effective leader in digital adoption.

In Becky’s own words:

“I’m honored to be included in this year’s Top 100 DAP Professionals from WalkMe. My goal is always to make sure FBS benefits from every opportunity I take to grow, so I can support my colleagues, and ultimately, our 350k+ users. I imagine that my continued efforts to stay engaged and contribute within the WalkMe community played a part in being selected, but at the heart of it, everything I do is simply an attempt to be better for my fellow FBS employee owners and the customers we serve.

Even with this recognition, I know there is still so much more to learn about WalkMe and digital adoption, and I’m excited for the opportunity to keep growing.”

This blend of curiosity, strategy, and hands-on execution is exactly why she earned a place on WalkMe’s DAPP100 list. Becky stands out not only for her ideas, but for the real improvements our customers experience every day.

A Celebration of Ownership and Excellence

The impact of Becky’s work is felt across FBS. As Nathan Andrus, Director of Customer Success, shares:

“Becky brings an exceptional level of thoughtfulness and innovation to her work. She has reshaped how MLS staff and agents learn and engage with Flexmls, helping make the system more intuitive, accessible, and empowering for thousands of real estate professionals. Her recognition as one of WalkMe’s Top 100 Digital Adoption Professionals is a proud moment for all of us at FBS and a testament to the meaningful impact she has on our customers every day. I am deeply proud to work alongside her and continually inspired by the expertise and care she brings to our work in supporting our customer partners.”

Employee ownership at FBS is more than a structure. It is a mindset built on pride, accountability, and a shared desire to serve MLSs and their members with excellence. Becky’s recognition is a powerful reflection of that spirit. Her dedication strengthens Flexmls, supports MLS success, and represents the best of what it means to be an FBS employee owner.

As we celebrate this achievement, we also celebrate the culture that makes it possible. When employee owners bring passion, curiosity, and care to their work, excellence follows. Becky shows what that looks like in action.

Please join us in congratulating Becky on this well deserved recognition. We are proud, inspired, and grateful for the impact she continues to make on behalf of our MLS partners and the members they serve.

When a local story shines a light on local people doing meaningful work, it always feels a little extra special.

This month, FBS CEO Michael Wurzer and VP of Customer Experience Kendra O’Brien were featured in Fargo INC! Magazine’s October issue, a publication that celebrates leadership, innovation, and the many organizations shaping our community. The article, selected as the cover story, highlights what makes FBS unique, not just as a technology company, but as a 100% employee-owned business built right here in Fargo.

As Michael shared in the interview,

“We say we create owners in two ways—employee owners and homeowners.”

That simple statement reflects FBS’s long-standing purpose: empowering our people while helping millions of families buy and sell homes.

Nearly five decades ago, FBS began as a small software startup in Fargo. Today, we serve more than 335,000 real estate professionals through our Flexmls Platform, yet our foundation remains unchanged—collaboration, care, and connection to our community.

Kendra noted,

“Real estate is local. Every market has something unique, and our software has to honor that.”

That idea of balancing national standards with local flexibility is central to how FBS serves MLSs nationwide, and it’s a reflection of our belief that technology works best when it’s designed with people in mind.

The article also explores the power of employee ownership, a model that’s shaped FBS since 2005. Every FBSer shares in the company’s success, has a voice in how we grow, and carries a shared responsibility for our customers and each other. It’s a culture built on our core values: Respect, Freedom, and Opportunity.

We’re grateful to Fargo INC for sharing our story and honored to be featured in a publication that celebrates the community we proudly call home. The timing couldn’t be better, as we join businesses across the country in celebrating National Employee Ownership Month this October.

Read the full article and explore more of the Fargo INC! October issue here: https://issuu.com/fmspotlight/docs/fargo_inc_october_2025/40

Kim Prior joined FBS over 12 years ago and I wrote this at the time:

Kim brings a ton of experience to FBS from her prior executive roles at [Honeywell], OnBoard Informatics and Lyon Real Estate. Anyone who has met Kim knows she is very dynamic, straight forward, and simply gets things done. Kim shares FBS’s passion for delivering results meaningful to our customers, now and well into the future. We’re in this for the long haul and so adding doers and visionaries like Kim is critical to our success.

This statement leads directly to today as I’m excited to announce that Kim has agreed to bring her “dynamic, straight forward, simply get things done” passion for FBS and our customers to a new role at FBS as Vice President of Product. This is exciting to me personally because I simply love working with Kim.

As I do with all our executives, I have a weekly one-on-one with Kim. On the calendar, that meeting is scheduled for 25 minutes at 2 pm Central on Tuesday. But I purposely make sure I don’t have anything the rest of the day, because I know, more often than not, Kim and I will still be in deep discussion 2 or even 3 hours later. We both love the MLS industry and love to geek out on all things MLS. I’ve often said we should record our 1:1s as a podcast, because the discussion really is that good.

To date, Kim has been an Executive Vice President for FBS, focused on Marketing and special product initiatives like FloPlan. For those of you who knew FBS’s marketing before and after Kim joined us, you know that she’s conducted a world-class transformation of our marketing, elevating our brand to the heights it deserves. Though our long conversations necessarily focused on marketing, the reality is that marketing for a software company means you’re talking about the software. And that meant that we’re often deep in the details about FBS’s products. My joy in having these conversations led me to conclude that we needed to unleash Kim’s incredible passion, intelligence, and executive talent to bear on FBS’s products for the benefit of our customers. As the title says, we’re Prior(itizing) Product!

Since Kim has been with FBS for over 12 years, many of you may associate her primarily with FBS but she brought a lot of experience to FBS as well. When I first met Kim, she was an executive with Onboard Informatics, which was an innovator on deep data before deep data was cool. Before that, Kim worked with Lyons Real Estate in Sacramento, which experience is super valuable to FBS right at this moment in our industry. Before that, Kim led sales teams with Honeywell. At each level, Kim produced results. She’s produced amazing results for FBS’s marketing, and now she’s going to Prior(itize) FBS’s Products. I’m looking forward to even longer 1:1s!

Please join me in thanking Kim for taking on this new role!

P.S. Related to Kim’s move, we now have an opening on our marketing team and will soon initiate a recruit. Interested (and awesome) marketing leaders, stay tuned!

FBS, the creator of the Flexmls® Platform, is pleased to announce a strategic integration with Zillow. This integration introduces innovative functionality that simplifies and enhances the process of importing high-value, critical listing media into the MLS. This collaboration represents a shared vision between FBS and Zillow: to improve the agent experience and showcase the value of the MLS.

This initiative is one of many forthcoming partnership-integrations that reflect a broader commitment by FBS to improve listing quality, increase data depth, and streamline agent workflows, while strengthening the MLS value through licensing of listing media. This integration will begin rolling out to markets this fall. By focusing on integrations that prioritize both agents and the MLS, FBS reinforces its commitment to innovation and leadership in the industry.

At no additional cost to agents or MLSs, this new integration seamlessly imports listing media into Flexmls with a single click by agents using Zillow’s media link feature. Once transferred, the new Flexmls Auto Assistant displays the media clearly, making it easy for agents to confirm which listing media to include when creating or editing their listing.

“Media is essential to rich listing content, containing layers of data in addition to its consumer-critical visuals of a property. It’s critical that brokers and agents can efficiently incorporate high-quality media into their listings in the MLS so that data is available wherever consumers view listings,” said Tracey Kantrud, Senior Product Manager at FBS. “This integration with Zillow helps agents save time, enriches the MLS data set, and benefits consumers: a win for everyone.”

In addition to media link’s efficiency, Zillow helps ensure that the original high-quality media selected by agents is represented exactly as intended, preserving the full fidelity of the photographer’s work. This integration is designed to help strengthen the way agents present their listings and support sellers in marketing their homes effectively. Together with MLS-friendly licensing, this integration ensures that the imported media becomes part of the MLS compilation, reinforcing the MLS as the trusted source of real estate data that includes media in their markets.

“We’re committed to working alongside MLSs and their vendors to strengthen listing quality,” said Michael Lane, Vice President of Industry Operations and MLS engagement. “Together with FBS, we’re improving the listing workflow, making it both faster and more reliable. This is part of Zillow’s long-term vision to partner with the industry to provide the tools agents need to run a successful business while letting them focus on what matters most—their clients.”

As media providers continue to play an important role in the listing creation workflow, FBS is leading the way with open, standards-based integrations that boost agent productivity and elevate MLS value.

About Zillow Group:

Zillow Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: Z and ZG) is reimagining real estate to make home a reality for more and more people. As the most visited real estate app and website in the United States, Zillow and its affiliates help people find and get the home they want by connecting them with digital solutions, dedicated real estate professionals, and easier buying, selling, financing, and renting experiences.

Zillow Group’s affiliates, subsidiaries and brands include Zillow®, Zillow Premier Agent®, Zillow Home Loans℠, Zillow Rentals®, Trulia®, Out East®, StreetEasy®, HotPads®, ShowingTime+℠, Spruce®, and Follow Up Boss®.

All marks herein are owned by MFTB Holdco, Inc., a Zillow affiliate. Zillow Home Loans, LLC is an Equal Housing Lender, NMLS #10287 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org). © 2025 MFTB Holdco, Inc., a Zillow affiliate.

(ZFIN)

About FBS:

Nationally recognized and based in Fargo, North Dakota, FBS is the leading innovator and provider of MLS technology, currently serving 330,000+ real estate professionals on its premier Flexmls® Platform. Flexmls is one of many apps and software products built on the standards-driven Spark® API technology platform, the industry’s first and most utilized API. 100% employee-owned and with 47 years leading of industry leadership, FBS repeatedly achieves unmatched industry rankings for customer and user satisfaction, platform performance, and net promoter score (NPS). Learn more about FBS and the premier Flexmls Platform at www.WeAreFBS.com.

At FBS, we talk a lot about technology, innovation, and industry leadership — but at the heart of everything we do are the people who make it possible. Today, we’re thrilled to celebrate one of those people: Melanie Adams, Senior Support Specialist, who has officially reached a staggering 100,000 recorded customer calls in our modern tracking system.

That number alone is impressive, but here’s the thing: it’s not even the full story. Melanie has been part of FBS for 28 years, starting back when support calls were tracked on paper and bundled together at the end of each day. Her true call count is far higher — but regardless of the number, her impact is immeasurable.

A Steady Voice Through Decades of Change

When Melanie joined FBS, the Flexmls platform looked very different than it does today. Over nearly three decades, she has adapted to countless software updates, new features, and evolving industry needs. Through it all, she’s remained the same calm, knowledgeable, and reliable voice that our customers know and trust.

Kendra O’Brien, VP of Customer Experience, graciously notes:

“Melanie’s dedication to helping customers is nothing short of amazing! For decades, she’s been a steady voice of help to Flexmls customers. The product has changed a lot in that time, but Melanie builds and maintains system expertise and is reliably awesome.”

Colleagues Who Can’t Imagine FBS Without Her

Her teammates agree that Melanie is more than just a coworker — she’s a cornerstone of the Support team.

Jeff Stephens, Support Supervisor, shared:

“We don’t have the count from the paper-record days, but on modern record-keeping systems, Melanie has now taken 100,000 calls. Thank you for your decades of fantastic service to our customers, Mel!”

Brian Splichal, Support Manager, adds:

“Mel has been an integral part of the Support team at FBS for 28 years! Her commitment to helping customers is nothing short of amazing. We can’t thank her enough for the time she has dedicated to her position.”

Our Customers Say It Best

Customer feedback about Melanie is overflowing with gratitude, praise, and admiration. A few examples:

• “Melanie is the best, always so helpful, knowledgeable, and patient.”
• “She’s both the bee’s knees and the cat’s meow of support.”
• “She’s an asset to your company — I’d give her a raise immediately for her customer service skills!”
• “Melanie is so knowledgeable and makes my job much easier. I’m always happy when she answers my calls.”

It’s clear that Melanie’s impact goes far beyond solving technical issues — she builds trust, provides reassurance, and leaves people smiling at the end of a call.

A Milestone Worth Celebrating

One hundred thousand calls represent countless stories — agents trying to meet deadlines, brokers learning new tools, and customers simply looking for guidance. Through it all, Melanie has delivered the kind of customer experience that has helped make FBS a trusted partner for MLSs nationwide.

On behalf of everyone at FBS, thank you, Melanie. Your dedication, professionalism, and warmth define what customer service excellence looks like. Here’s to 100,000 calls… and many more to come.

At FBS, we believe that software doesn’t run itself, it’s the people behind the technology who make the difference. Our exceptional, ongoing, renewal rate of over 99% isn’t just a statistic, it’s a signal of deep trust, strong execution, and lasting impact of our partnerships and people. Across every region, the smallest boards to the largest MLS organizations renew their contracts with FBS because of our relentless focus on what matters most.

Innovation: Building for What’s Next

For over 30 years, FBS has been a technology leader in the MLS space. Our Flexmls Platform and Spark® API power real-time, all-the-time solutions built on national standards with local flexibility. We deliver powerful tech that simply works, and works simply, for over 330,000 real estate professionals.

Whether it’s being the the first MLS vendor to use webhooks to implement real-time data, launching time-saving AI integrations with Matterport and iGUIDE, or pushing the envelope on new ideas we help MLSs innovate confidently. This spirit of continuous improvement drives us to help our customers stay competitive in a fast-evolving marketplace.

Future-Focused with the MLS as the North Star

The real estate landscape is full of complexity and noise. MLSs don’t need more tools. They need a strategic partner who can help cut through the clutter and chart a clear path forward. From datashares and front-end-of-choice implementations to custom back-end integrations, we guide MLSs from the starting line to the finish line.

We understand that no two markets are exactly alike, so we never take a one-size-fits-all approach. Our team of dedicated employee-owners works side-by-side with each MLS to shape technology that meets their specific needs. Our solutions help MLSs grow their way, for the future, in ways that best serve their Brokers.

In just the last year, MLSs like MichRIC, ARMLS, Maine Listings, and Hive MLS have shown their trust in FBS and dedication to leadership by renewing with us.

“The FBS team has been like a family. They are conscientious of our needs and our visions to move forward in this industry. With their support I have no doubt we will enter a whole new world, allowing Hive to be the broker-centric solutions provider we envision.” says Daniel Jones, CEO of Hive MLS.

Partnership: Proven, Premier, and People-Centered

At the core of our success is a true spirit of partnership. Whether it’s a major market like ARMLS or smaller, boutique boards like Badlands Board of REALTORS, our approach is always the same: listen, collaborate, and deliver.

Some of our customers have been with us for more than 40 years, including Fargo-Moorhead Association of REALTORS, Muscatine Board of REALTORS, and Oregon Coast MLS. This longevity is not a coincidence, it’s the result of consistency, transparency, and shared vision.

And it doesn’t stop with MLSs. Partnership means working with other technology vendors to create new integrations and improve existing ones. Providing choices to brokers and agents allows them to better serve their customers and lead the way in the industry. Choices like iGuide and Matterport for listing media, rental tools from Rental Beast, online activity reporting from ListTrac, or location datasets from Local Logic are just some of the ways FBS leads the way through partnership, integration, and collaboration. Partnerships make the market work, and work better.

From open communication to owning and fixing mistakes, we build relationships based on mutual respect and responsiveness. Our employee-owners are passionate, accessible, and fully invested in every MLS’s success.

Service: Customer Success That Speaks for Itself

At FBS, our service philosophy is simple: be available, be responsive, and be excellent. With a CSAT score of 4.8/5, 94% of support calls answered in under a minute, and a current NPS of 76 (a score considered excellent), our results speak for themselves. In a recent T3 Sixty MLS platform performance report, FBS was listed as #1 in platform satisfaction, platform performance, net promoter score, key MLS features, and most likely for customers to renew.

We back our technology with real people who care deeply about customer success. Simply put, we succeed when our customers succeed.

Denise Libby, CEO of Maine Listings notes, “We stick with FBS/Flexmls because they’re more than just a vendor, they’re a true partner. Their technology is solid, their support team is always there when we need them, and they’re constantly evolving to meet the needs of our members. We know they’ve got our back!”

Purpose, Vision & Execution for Your MLS

We’re at a pivotal moment. As MLSs navigate changing policies, shifting technologies, and evolving consumer expectations, FBS remains 100% focused on helping them thrive. From bold innovation to steady, dependable execution, we’re in it for the long haul.

“FBS continues to earn our trust by delivering dependable, future-focused technology that aligns with our mission to innovate, lead, and empower the professionals we serve. They’re more than a vendor – they’re a true partner. In a time of rapid industry change, that kind of trusted collaboration is invaluable. It helps us stay ahead while staying true to what matters most: supporting our subscribers.” explains Matthew Consalvo, CEO of ARMLS, one of our largest MLS customers.

To every MLS that continues to place its trust in us: thank you. Your renewal is not just a milestone—it’s a powerful signal that what we’re doing matters. And for those thinking about a change, we encourage you to give us a call. Because when you start with FBS, you finish with success.

Choosing MLS Software? Start with Who Sticks Around

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We’re proud to announce that Kim Prior, Executive Vice President at FBS, has been presented with the 2025 HousingWire Marketing Leaders award—recognizing the most creative, strategic, and influential marketing professionals in housing. As the head of marketing at FBS, Kim’s leadership has not only helped shape the FBS brand but has elevated the entire MLS marketing space with clarity, credibility, and impact.

Strategic Leadership Across Brand, Product, Communications, and Industry Engagement

At FBS, Kim leads the full spectrum of marketing efforts from brand and product positioning to communications and cross-industry engagement. Over the past decade, her strategy has helped grow FBS from a boutique MLS software company into a nationally recognized technology authority. That evolution didn’t happen by accident. It was the result of strong vision, consistent execution, and deep alignment with our values as a 100% employee-owned company. Under her leadership, we’ve seen substantial growth, including a near doubling of the Flexmls® subscriber base while maintaining our 99% customer renewal rate, by putting people first.

Through initiatives like the FAN (Flexmls Advisory Network), enhanced in-product learning, and our annual CEO Summit, Kim has fostered deeper engagement between FBS, our partners, and the broader MLS ecosystem—ensuring the marketing function serves a real purpose while building real connection and long-term value.

Customer-Minded, People First

Kim’s impact extends to the heart of our work: MLS organizations and their subscribers. She believes marketing shouldn’t just enhance awareness. It should improve usability, trust, and adoption. Through her leadership, we’ve embedded meaningful educational tools and subscriber-facing resources into the Flexmls® Platform to better help real estate professionals deliver exceptional service with the most timely, rich, and complete data available.

This work is rooted in a deep understanding of both the market and the mission. Kim and her team regularly collaborate with Product, Engineering, Customer Success, and Sales to stay connected to real challenges and ensure our communications, and our platform, solve real problems for brokers and agents.

Supporting MLSs in Their Own Marketing Success

In addition to advancing the FBS brand and platform, Kim is passionate about strengthening the voices of MLS organizations themselves. She understands that MLSs play a vital role in supporting a fair, efficient, and transparent marketplace. MLSs need the tools and guidance to tell such an important story well.

Recognizing this need, Kim led the recent launch of MÁS (Marketing Add-On Services) to give MLSs access to professional-grade marketing content, rebranding support, and communication support from one of the most experienced marketing and communications teams in the MLS space. MÁS is more than a service. It’s a strategic partner, empowering MLSs to showcase their unique value without needing to expand internal resources. The same strategic rigor, customer focus, and collaborative spirit that define FBS’s marketing now support MLSs directly through MÁS, helping our customers not only implement their strategies, but elevate them.

Congratulations, Kim, on your well-earned HousingWire Marketing Leaders recognition. Your leadership lifts our brand, our customers, and the entire industry.

Read Kim's HousingWire Recognition

In real estate, media is more than table stakes for buyers and sellers. It’s also a valuable source of data that’s helpful before the listing is created and well after a transaction closes. High-quality visuals like photos, 3D tours, and floor plans are a critical part of how listings are presented and perceived. But they also tell the story of the property with tons of data hiding in plain sight, just waiting to be extracted. And too often, after a listing expires, that media is lost or degraded. Hosted 3D tours vanish and photos are removed, which results in the disappearance of valuable data and context. That’s how it’s always been. But not anymore.

At FBS, we believe media and media-data deserve better. That’s why we’re leading the way by raising the bar on how media and media-data are integrated, shared, and preserved within MLS systems.

Media Matters (And It Shouldn’t Be a Hassle)

First, let’s talk about managing media. For agents, it can be one of the most time-consuming parts of listing a property. Manually downloading files from the photographer, uploading them into the MLS, arranging them, and ensuring everything looks perfect is a process that eats into time better spent with clients. And with today’s technology, that long process is unnecessary.

At FBS, we’re doing a lot to simplify this process and remove the friction, making it faster, easier, and better for agents starting with the Photography Network. The Photography Network allows agents to grant MLS-certified photographers limited access to their listings in order to upload media. This results in faster, easier media uploads, and it streamlines the listing entry process while ensuring compliance with MLS media standards.

To address situations where media is removed once a listing goes off-market, we developed a tool that allows agents to mark photos as “Private While Off-Market.” This feature removes the photos from public view when a listing is no longer active, while still making them accessible to MLS members. It ensures valuable media remains available for CMAs and appraisals, while also protecting homeowner privacy.

The Ultimate Unlock: Streamlined Listing Entry & Supercharged Data

Our focus on media integrations provides more than convenience and simplicity. We’re partnering with the biggest names in real estate media, such as Zillow, Matterport, CubiCasa, and many others, to build direct integrations that simplify and speed up the workflow by expanding on current auto-pop capabilities.

By embedding media integrations directly into the listing process, we’re unlocking a new layer of data that:

• Autofills fields for the agent by pulling data from AI, past listings, public records, and trusted third-party data and media providers (we’re already doing this with Matterport and iGUIDE virtual tours!). This reduces manual data entry and saves valuable time.
  
• Encourages richer listing content, going beyond the bare minimum required fields.

With FBS media technology, MLSs gain smarter, more complete data while agents spend less time wrestling with listing entry. And the impact of higher-quality listing data going in? Better data coming out, paving the way for enhanced search capabilities, more targeted, effective searches, and future innovation (especially in the age of AI).  

The Power of Standards

What truly amplifies the impact of these integrations is our commitment to industry standards.

The RESO Common Format standard plays a key role by giving technology providers a common structure for sharing listing data. Because this standard follows the RESO Data Dictionary, data fields and formatting remain consistent. This allows FBS to auto-pop listing data accurately, even across MLSs with unique systems. In simple terms, it’s a consistent way to package and label real estate data so that systems like MLS platforms and third-party tools can easily understand, exchange, and use it. By aligning our integrations with RESO standards, we create:

• Faster implementation for vendors.
  
• The ability for more powerful integrations that evolve with the industry.
  
• Better compatibility across systems, enabling long-term sustainability.
  

FBS has been a champion of RESO and open standards for years (our CEO has been on the Board of Directors since RESO’s inception). These latest initiatives are a continuation of our belief that open, collaborative innovation moves the entire industry forward.

We work closely with our MLS customers to align their data models with RESO, and many have already completed overhauls to get closer to the standard, with more on the way. The payoffs are real and include more searchable fields for MLSs that data share, as well as easier and tighter integration with third-party software. The more RESO-aligned your MLS data is, the more you can take advantage of automated data population and advanced media handling.

FBS (and Flexmls) Welcomes You to a New Era of Media Innovation

When you combine RESO standards with the most powerful APIs in real estate, you get more than a nice-to-have integration. You get a transformational experience for MLSs, agents, and consumers, as well as a springboard for future innovation with the MLS at the center: The Media Masters. It’s a win-win-win—and at FBS, we’re proud to lead the charge.

We’re just getting started so stay tuned for more as we continue to innovate this space. Reach out to us to learn more!

Shortly after learning of the passing of Peter Shuttleworth, my sadness was overcome by feelings of immense gratitude for having known and worked closely with Peter over many years, both when he was CEO of Metro MLS in Milwaukee and also as an FBS Board member for many years after he retired. Peter taught me so much about the MLS industry we love so much, but, most importantly, he taught me and FBS the meaning of being partners in business and especially in this MLS business, which, like Peter, has its own character.

A lot of people throw the term partnership around easily but Peter was very intentional and selective when he used that term, which is one of the many reasons CMLS honored him by naming their annual MLS Executive of the Year Award after him (PDF). In creating the award, CMLS wrote: “Peter’s motto of, ‘You should always have a seat at the table to listen, participate and help shape ideas’ is an ideal that all MLS Executives should desire. When Peter retired he left a legacy of integrity, professionalism and resoluteness to serve as the standard for any MLS Executive to aspire to be.” Well said, CMLS!

As much as Peter sought to improve the MLS industry, he also loved it. He loved it so much that he spent decades evangelizing it in Europe and beyond with the international efforts through the NAR. He served on countless committees, not just to have his voice be heard but to bring leadership and the concerns and goals of his members to the broader industry. Like all great leaders, he deeply understood the needs of his members and was tireless in serving and advocating for them.

I first met Peter following one of the very first RETS meetings, in 1999 or thereabout. Our company, FBS, had been printing an MLS book (yes, an MLS book!) for Metro MLS and we had just released our new software, Flexmls. At that meeting, I recall advocating for our MLS customers, which, at the time, were all small MLSs. Peter heard about my advocacy from his CTO, Tom Curtis, and reached out to let me know he respected my views and advocacy. A year or so later, Peter and Tom invited me to present Flexmls for consideration by Metro MLS as their next MLS system. Even though Metro MLS was 5x bigger than our largest customer at the time, Peter and the Metro MLS leadership took a bet on FBS and Flexmls, and forever changed our trajectory as a company in the MLS industry, leading us from one of the smallest vendors to be one of the largest today.

Peter’s leadership and partnership continued after he retired from Metro MLS when he agreed to join FBS’s Board, which he served on for nearly 10 years. As a Board member, Peter relayed invaluable insights to our young team about early MLS technology and helped us deeply understand the cooperative nature of this business. Not only did he share his knowledge, he showed us what being a partner means. Below are several photos from the last in-person FBS Board meeting Peter attended. We were engaging in some fun competitive cooking contest, and, as always, Peter was giving his all with energy and joy. You will be missed and remembered well, my friend.

To Peter’s wife, Sherry, and his children and family, your loss is immense and all our hearts here at FBS are with you in missing and loving Peter. He and his suspenders will be lifting us all up in celebration of his life.

Oregon Data Share and Lowcountry Regional MLS are among the first to leverage MÁS, tapping into the FBS marketing team’s expertise to amplify their branding and member engagement efforts.

Developed by FBS, the MLS Software and Technology Authority, MÁS (Marketing Add-On Services) empowers MLSs to effectively tell their story, enhance their brand, and communicate their value—without the need to expand their internal teams. In just 30 days since its launch, MÁS by FBS has already helped multiple MLS organizations transform their marketing strategies, proving the growing demand for specialized communication support in the industry.

MÁS by FBS was designed to increase MLS marketing and communication efforts with branding, content creation, graphic design, and automated webinar solutions to meet their needs. “Our mission with MÁS is to help MLSs increase and amplify their communication efforts with subscribers and the broader marketplace both affordably and with expertise, especially at this important time” said Kim Prior, EVP at FBS. “Our marketing team understands the industry and has years of experience creating and executing multi-channel, multi-media, brand and product marketing campaigns. With MÁS, the MLS benefits from more MLS-centered professional marketing without the burden of additional staffing.”

One of the first MLSs to benefit from MÁS was Oregon Data Share (ODS), a collaboration of multiple Oregon MLSs and REALTOR® associations seeking a stronger brand identity. To modernize its identity while preserving its legacy, MÁS refined its logo, developed brand guidelines, and created a refreshed visual presence that reflects ODS’s evolution.

Similarly, Lowcountry Regional MLS turned to MÁS to solve a growing challenge—delivering consistent, high-quality training to members despite time and staffing constraints. By implementing a fully automated webinar system, MÁS streamlined registration, attendee communication, and content delivery, reducing manual effort while ensuring accessible, on-demand education for members.

“With the real estate landscape changing rapidly, it’s critical that our members stay informed without added barriers,” said Peter Pohl, Information Technology Administrator at Lowcountry Regional MLS.

“Right now, improving member training through automated webinars is particularly important because it allows us to provide consistent, accessible education at scale. With the real estate landscape evolving rapidly—whether through policy changes, technology advancements, or shifting market dynamics—it’s critical that our members stay informed without added barriers,” said Peter Pohl, Information Technology Administrator at Lowcountry Regional MLS.

“One of the key challenges this solves is ensuring that every member, regardless of their schedule or location, has access to the same high-quality training. It also helps us reinforce compliance and best practices without relying solely on in-person sessions, which can be difficult for busy professionals to attend. Automating this process means we can deliver timely, relevant content efficiently while also freeing up internal resources to focus on more strategic initiatives.”

Pohl noted his positive experience through the process. “FBS has been a fantastic partner in helping us leverage this at scale, ensuring that our members receive the training they need in a seamless and effective way.”

MÁS by FBS is off to a strong start and is moving forward with additional MLS projects to be announced soon.

At FBS, we know that high-quality listing visuals and media aren’t just nice to have. Rather, they’re an essential part of the consumer experience. And as technology has evolved, so have consumer expectations. Today’s buyers and sellers expect immersive, informative media experiences, way beyond photos. That reality drives our continuous innovation, ensuring our MLS customers and their subscribers (brokers and agents) have the tools they need to satisfy consumer demand. Enabling choice is essential for our customers to benefit from valuable media data. The Flexmls Platform supports floor plans from many different vendors.

We’ve enhanced the Flexmls Platform with a dedicated floor plan category, making it easier than ever for agents to include this critical media asset. As well as improving the visibility for listings with rich media making floor plans, videos, and virtual tours highly visible and easy to find. As consumers come to expect more rich listing media, we are creating enhancements to ensure that floor plans, videos, and virtual tours are treated as distinct and valuable media types.

We’re Just Getting Started:

Our broader mission is to empower MLSs with the best possible media solutions for subscribers, while making the MLS the masters of the data. That includes:

Bringing listings to life

Our enhancements are aimed at providing a comprehensive online multimedia visual experience of the listing, thus improving and enriching the homebuying (and selling) experience.

Giving agents choice

The Flexmls Platform accepts floor plans from ANY source.

Empowering MLSs to administer their own media provider program

The Flexmls Platform is equipped with tools and resources that make it easy. Our tools are pre-loaded with some of the industry’s most widely used media providers—giving agents and approved photographers a faster, easier, more error-proof way to upload media into MLS.

Seamless third-party media integrations that improve the process for agents

We’ve added groundbreaking integrations with iGuide and Matterport, allowing agents to use their virtual tour data to automatically populate room data. Most recently, we have partnered with Zillow and CubiCasa to develop additional integrations within Flexmls—which are coming soon. And, we’ll be adding more exciting integrations in the future.

As you’d expect, the MLS owns the data

Our contracts ensure that MLSs own their valuable data. By centralizing listing visuals—such as floor plans, virtual tours, high-quality photography, and more—MLSs strengthen their position as the definitive source of valuable real estate data.

More to come!

Future enhancements will continue to improve, speed up, and simplify media in the Flexmls Platform. We’ll introduce features that highlight listings containing additional media, such as 3D tours, and that also automatically link media to listings when obtained through integrated vendors.

The MLS, The Media Master:

FBS is committed to helping MLSs navigate the future by leading the way with meaningful, valuable innovation, such as data dominance and media mastery. We’ll keep you informed as we continue to build and implement powerful features through integrations and partnerships.

Recognizing Excellence in Real Estate Leadership

Each year, RISMedia honors a select group of real estate professionals who have risen above challenges, embraced change, and led with purpose. These Real Estate Newsmakers represent a cross section of the industry—leaders who have educated, inspired, and driven progress in real estate and MLS. While not everyone is formally recognized, their collective efforts shape the future of our industry.

This year, we are proud to celebrate three FBS employee-owners who have been recognized as industry crusaders, achievers, and influencers. Their dedication to advocacy, marketing excellence, and technological advancement exemplifies the FBS Way. While these individuals are honored by RISMedia, the recognition extends to our entire team—because at FBS, every employee-owner plays a role in making an impact.

Celebrating Our FBS Newsmakers

Philip Culver – Crusader

With a profound dedication to fostering a more inclusive and equitable future, Philip Culver is a visionary leader in the real estate industry. His work exemplifies a commitment to advocating for a better way. Through FBS’s CREATE program, Culver has championed a cause that transcends traditional real estate boundaries, impacting the lives of youth from underserved and marginalized communities.

By nurturing the next generation of tech professionals, he’s not only advocating for a better future for these young individuals—he is also contributing to a more dynamic and innovative real estate sector, advancing the industry through social responsibility and inclusivity.

Kim Prior – Achiever

Kim Prior is a marketing powerhouse and industry trailblazer, serving as Executive Vice President at FBS. With over 25 years of experience—11 and a half of those spent transforming FBS’s marketing strategies—Prior has become a driving force in the real estate tech world. From launching cutting-edge products like Launch for Flexmls customers, to developing the forthcoming Marketing-as-a-Service (MAS) platform for MLSs, she’s all about helping MLSs shine.

Known for her knack for storytelling, Prior doesn’t just market—she amplifies. This past year, she guided media strategies, hosted a wildly successful CEO brunch at the FBS Client Summit, and contributed to the Council of Multiple Listing Services (CMLS) with marketing best practices to help MLSs tell their stories loud and proud.

Michael Wurzer – Influencer

Last year, under the leadership of CEO/President Michael Wurzer, FBS expanded its MLS customer base and helped its 150+ MLS customers implement changes required by the settlement of class action litigation. Wurzer praised his team for their expertise and cooperation in supporting customers and guiding them smoothly through the transition.

Wurzer is dedicated to inspiring others in the field of real estate and providing valuable insights. He shares his perspectives on industry standards, emerging trends, and technological advancements on the FBS blog. With Wurzer at the helm, FBS has embraced a culture of employee ownership. The company has grown significantly while maintaining a dynamic startup spirit.

A Commitment to Progress

Philip, Kim, and Michael’s consistent dedication to innovation, leadership, and community-building illustrates the FBS Way in action. We’re so grateful for the recognition and we’re proud to lead the way. Congratulations to all honorees who have demonstrated perseverance and excellence in real estate. On behalf of all of us at FBS, we are inspired by your contributions. We look forward to the future of real estate amidst so many talented and experienced professionals!

In the real estate industry, having the right MLS technology partner remains crucial for success. Throughout 2024, FBS has continued to demonstrate why we’re the industry’s most trusted partner, delivering meaningful innovation, products, and services that matter while maintaining exceptional customer satisfaction.

Let’s Review Some Highlights:

In January we launched Launch, our SSO Dashboard—and we have already welcomed 22 new customers. Since its launch, the dashboard has seen multiple enhancements, including admin-to-member messaging, MLS option to display ads, segmentation, custom dashboard links, and application usage reporting for better ROI.

Throughout the year, the Flexmls platform saw significant enhancements. To call out a few, we launched deeper integrations with media providers, including iGUIDE and Matterport enabled, AI-powered autopopulation of key listing data. And we’ve given agents and consumers a new search experience on Android, mobile web, and portals. 

Five new MLS customers converted to the Flexmls platform, while we once again renewed 100% of our Flexmls contracts. For us, this is a meaningful indicator of satisfaction, trust, alignment, and continued customer support.  We’re thankful for our partners that continue to place their trust in our company and product. 

One of those renewals was a multi-year contract extension with Maine Listings. CEO, Denise Libby said, 

“We were happy to renew our contract with FBS!  They have transcended the vendor label and we feel they are truly a partner that we can work with to move the industry forward!”

And our partnership with Hive MLS was also extended with another multi-year contract renewal. CEO Daniel Jones said, 

“We renewed our partnership with FBS because their support crew resembles the “can do spirit” of the Hive MLS culture, and their platform embraces the ease-of-use that our Subscribers need.  Our partnership with our Participants and Subscribers demand that we provide only quality products in this ever-changing landscape, which reflects our philosophy towards growth and retention.”

Our dedication to industry leadership and support was demonstrated through ongoing sponsorships and collaborations, including our CEO, Michael Wurzer’s, continued participation on the RESO Board and our team’s participation in 19 industry events throughout the year. We also hosted our 25th Annual Customer Summit where we brought together more than 100 industry leaders.

In December, we introduced MAS, our agency-level marketing service—expanding our solutions for the MLS community and providing tailored marketing support to MLSs.

And, unsurprisingly, our Support Team had a 97% average customer satisfaction score, reflecting not just the quality of our technology, but the dedication of our employee-owners to delivering exceptional service and support to our members.

As we look ahead, FBS remains committed to innovation and excellence, driven by our unique employee-owned structure that ensures our success is determined by the success of our customers. Thank you to all our partners who made 2024 another exceptional year. Together, we’re not just serving the industry—we’re helping shape its future. Connect with our sales team, and let us help shape your future.

Natural disasters disrupt every facet of life, but in some cases, the need for housing becomes an immediate and pressing concern. Fires, hurricanes, and other catastrophes displace families, leaving them scrambling for temporary shelter. In the case of the recent, devastating fires in Southern California, countless residents now face urgent questions: Where will they live? How can they find shelter?

In collaboration with local real estate professionals, MLSs and their technology providers are uniquely positioned to play a pivotal and swift role in facilitating housing solutions during these crises.

The Fire Relief Rentals Solution

In response to the recent fires in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, FBS quickly partnered with affected MLSs to create a new “Fire Relief Rentals” property type within Flexmls. This tool allows agents and residents to identify housing options specifically available to displaced families, helping them navigate this challenging time.

This concept has roots in FBS’s past. In 2017, during the aftermath of the Thomas Fire, we collaborated with Ventura County Coastal Association of REALTORS® to introduce a similar property type. Each new disaster presents unique technical and logistical challenges. For example, implementing the Fire Relief Rentals for CRMLS during the Mountain Fire took about a week to complete, highlighting the technical and logistical challenges involved. Despite these hurdles, FBS’s dedication to quick action ensures solutions are delivered when they’re needed most.

For this latest effort, the Fire Relief Rentals property type was expanded to support residents and agents across multiple MLSs, including Santa Barbara, where dual-membership agents and displaced residents could access these critical resources.

We are always grateful to work with Ani Pollack, MLS Director at Santa Barbara Association of REALTORS® and MLS.  She cares deeply for her community and members and it always shines through.

The Power of Collaboration

The temporary Fire Relief Rentals property type offers flexibility that traditional listings often lack. Homeowners with properties for sale can list them as temporary rentals, landlords can make long-term rentals available for short-term use, and individuals can even offer spare rooms to help displaced families. While these listings may not always be comprehensive, they provide an invaluable bridge for families in need.

This effort underscores the strength of collaboration. MLSs identify local needs, while FBS provides the technical expertise to create timely, practical solutions. Together, we make a real difference for communities and real estate professionals during times of crisis.

How You Can Help

Whether through technical tools like Fire Relief Rentals or by contributing to community efforts, every action counts. There are many ways to help, including donating to organizations providing disaster relief in Southern California. Contributions can go a long way in helping families recover and rebuild their lives. Here are a few organizations:

• American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) https://www.aspca.org/
• World Central Kitchen https://wck.org/
• Los Angeles Central Corps – Salvation Army https://losangelescentral.salvationarmy.org/
• American Red Cross https://www.redcross.org/
• LA Times List of Local Resources
• Time Magazine – How to Help List

Our Deepest Condolences

We extend our sympathies to all affected by these recent tragedies. With employee-owners spread across the nation, we see firsthand the hardships caused by disasters and the resilience required to overcome them.

Natural disasters highlight the vital role MLSs play in their communities. They are far more than tools for real estate—they are lifelines. At FBS, we’re proud to stand alongside our MLS partners, offering swift and thorough solutions, compassion, and support when it’s needed most. Those are all attributes that run deeply through our roots as a company of employee owners.

At FBS, we’ve always been passionate about empowering MLS organizations with innovative tools and unmatched support. Today, we’re thrilled to announce our latest offering: MÁS (Marketing Add-on Services)—a custom marketing service crafted by MLS experts, for the MLS. MÁS is designed to support MLS organizations in their marketing and communication, helping them scale their efforts without the need for additional internal resources.

A Tailored Marketing Solution for the MLS Community

Marketing and communication are critical to an MLS’s success. Yet, these efforts often require significant time, expertise, and resources that not every organization has readily available. That’s where MÁS comes in.

MÁS combines decades of real estate and marketing expertise to deliver MLS-specific creative and communication services. Whether it’s content creation, rebranding, or automating webinars, MÁS offers customized solutions to meet the unique needs of MLS organizations.

“We understand the unique challenges MLS organizations face,” Kim Prior, EVP at FBS notes. “With MÁS, we’re excited to provide an affordable, scalable solution to alleviate these challenges while helping MLSs effectively engage their members and amplify their brand.”

Going Above and Beyond

MÁS by FBS provides ADD-ON MLS marketing services, above-and-beyond the routine marketing services already provided to Flexmls Platform licensees.

Why MÁS?

Unlike traditional marketing agencies, MÁS is built specifically for MLS organizations. We leverage our deep industry expertise to provide services that go beyond general marketing, offering tailored strategies and solutions that directly address the needs of our MLS customers.

With MÁS, MLSs gain:

• Custom design and branding services
• Expert content creation
• Marketing automation tools for better engagement
• The same dedication to quality and service excellence that FBS is known for.

Initially, MÁS will be available exclusively to our Flexmls customers, giving them a first look at this industry-first service.

A Strategic Advantage for MLSs

In today’s fast-paced ever-changing industry, clear communication and robust marketing are more critical than ever. MÁS helps MLS organizations enhance member engagement, strengthen their brand, and streamline their processes.

“There’s no better time than the present to bolster communication and amplify MLS brand marketing,” adds Prior. “MÁS is not just a service—it’s a strategic advantage for MLSs to thrive in an ever-evolving landscape.”

Learn More About MÁS

Ready to elevate your MLS’s marketing and communication efforts? MÁS is here to help you achieve your goals with expert support and content.

Visit mas.wearefbs.com to learn more about how MÁS can make a difference for your organization.

Learn MÁS

Yesterday, I published a post advocating for MLSs to shift from anti-commingling requirements to clear branding requirements, and mentioned that CMLS had tried this years ago with an initiative called Source MLS. Based on some subsequent conversations with folks who were involved in creating and promoting Source MLS, the primary reason it didn’t take off was that it was overshadowed by Craig Cheatham’s “you have 10 days” speech at CMLS in 2013, which was focused on, among other things, opposition to MLSs creating public facing web sites with member dues.

The tension between broker branding and MLS branding is something I anticipated in my post yesterday, which I addressed as follows:

[E]ach MLS should include in every license for display of listings a requirement that the listing broker and the MLS be clearly identified as the source of the listings. The MLS is branding the MLS compilation and the listing broker is branding the individual listing. These branding requirements can support each other rather than fight each other. Let me repeat this: Broker, agent, and MLS branding can work together and not against each other. This isn’t a zero-sum game and the branding serves the purpose of consumer awareness and transparency regarding the source of the listings.

What I can now add to this is that not only is MLS branding a value-add to broker branding, it is very distinct from the tensions caused between brokers and MLSs over issues like MLS public web sites, MLSs offering products that “level the playing field”, or other situations where MLSs pursue initiatives brokers see as “not the MLSs role.” In contrast to these situations, MLS branding on portals merely recognizes and promotes the distinct value MLS cooperation creates with the MLS compilation. At conference after conference this fall, this distinct value was recognized and promoted by speaker after speaker, including those like Robert Reffkin and Andy Florance who were seeking to eliminate certain MLS policies. Basically, everyone agrees that the MLS compilation has distinct value, and the only disagreement is how best to preserve that value.

So, let’s take a brave leap forward and assume for just a moment that we can find agreement that the MLS compilation has value distinct from the listings of any individual broker, and that this value is important to brand. (I know that’s a big leap for now, but bear with me.) I’m a big believer that visualizing what something controversial would look like is a great way to focus the discussion or debate. To that end, let me resurface a screen shot Andy Woolley from Homes.com shared with me today about how Homes.com surfaced its MLS Trusted brand along with the local or regional MLS brand. Now, there certainly may be newer ways technically or visually to implement this kind of design, but what I find is awesome about this is that it standardizes the MLS brand as well as provides an easy way to see the details regarding the MLS providing the listing. I also have to think there’s a way to marry this kind of approach with clear branding for the listing broker as well, so they’re not competing but rather support each other and make clear to the consumer the source of the listings, right?

Now, I do know there are all sorts of IDX rules about when and where the listing broker needs to be disclosed or not, but two things are important in that regard: (1) this is an opportunity to standardize that to make it easier and more effective for everyone to implement consistently; and (2) this is another case where applying IDX rules to portals likely is not the right approach. There simply are different concerns if a broker is displaying IDX listings on their own site than if a portal is doing it. I know many portals are now brokers so they can get IDX feeds, but this is a good case where the industry needs to get out of its own way so as not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

To sum up, here are the wins I see for everyone involved if we can take a fresh look at this issue:

• Consumers — There are several potential benefits for consumers:
  • Commingling — Most portals advocate for allowing commingling to make the search experience less complicated for their users. I haven’t studied this issue, so let’s just take this as a given for now that allowing commingling is consumer friendly.
  • Transparency and Trust — Presuming consumers want commingled listings, they also benefit from knowing the source of those listings, because there are all qualitative and quantitative differences, and transparency leads to trust.
  • No Watermarks — One valuable piece of feedback on my earlier post from one of the portals is that their consumer research shows that consumers really hate watermarks, because they often obscure something important in the photo. With the right branding design, perhaps MLSs will be less inclined to require display of watermarks on photos provided to portals. Importantly, this is also is a reason that portals seek feeds direct from brokers, because they don’t have such watermarks and this is why, in my earlier post, you see Homes.com not showing the Beaches MLS watermark whereas Zillow does; because, most likely, Homes.com is getting the feed directly from Douglas Elliman rather than through the MLS. So, this possibly could increase the adoption of direct feeds from the MLS as well.
• Brokers — As mentioned above, there should be a way to make broker and MLS branding support and enhance each other rather than conflict. In the screenshot above, adding the listing broker to the pop-up display or whatever other design option is deployed to provide the additional details, should make it clear to consumers the listing broker and MLS that are the source of the listing. Importantly, as noted above, even the most critical brokers recognize the distinct value the MLS compilation provides today and that continuing that value is important, and so an effort like this will do just that.
• Portals — Portals would benefit from serving consumers and brokers as noted above, and by having a standard way to display this important source information. Right now, each portal has to code all sorts of local exceptions to meet the individual MLS requirements, and that simply creates inefficiency and ineffectiveness, because no one knows where to look for the information.
• MLSs — Last but certainly not least, MLSs will benefit from a consistent brand on the consumer portals. Though the prior efforts were admirable, the reality is that they weren’t anywhere near the scale the portals provide today. CMLS’s effort with Source MLS really died before it got started because of the public web site furor. And, Homes.com certainly has a broader reach today than it did prior to the CoStar acquisition. But imagine if the win-win I’m envisioning came to pass and all the portals promoted a consistent brand for MLSs along with detailed sourcing information for the listing brokers and local or regional MLS? We’re likely talking about billions of impressions a year, and that has to have an impact over time.

Every MLS I know is searching for clear value propositions to their members, and the number one distinct value MLSs deliver today is the MLS compilation itself. Let’s stop hiding this value behind local rules that result in a mishmash of ineffective branding and start telling the story that everyone agrees is critical today.

In my post the other day about clear cooperation, I described the two presentations at the RISMedia CEO & Leadership Exchange event last September by Robert Reffkin of Compass and Andy Florance of CoStar as a 1-2 punch against clear cooperation and anti-commingling policies. The debates about clear cooperation have been all over the news, conference circuit, and social media, and I wrote about that here and here, but what’s been quiet and I wish wasn’t is discussion about anti-commingling policies.

Generally, I’m guessing the reason there’s been less news or uproar about anti-commingling is that many MLSs either didn’t have the policy to begin with or are eliminating it if they did, thinking the policy was no big deal either way. I have a slightly different take. I agree that portals and other sites should be able to focus on the best consumer experience, even if that means listings from non-MLS sources are commingled with listings from MLS sources.

Importantly, however, rather than simply eliminating anti-commingling policies, each MLS should include in every license for display of listings a requirement that the listing broker and the MLS be clearly identified as the source of the listings. The MLS is branding the MLS compilation and the listing broker is branding the individual listing. These branding requirements can support each other rather than fight each other. Let me repeat this: Broker, agent, and MLS branding can work together and not against each other. This isn’t a zero-sum game and the branding serves the purpose of consumer awareness and transparency regarding the source of the listings.

Right now it is interesting how different portals handle branding for the MLS, broker, and agent. For example, here’s a listing on Zillow showing the MLS brand for one of our customers, Beaches MLS, in the lower right corner of the primary photo, and then the brokerage (Douglas Elliman) is identified at the bottom.

Here’s the same listing on Homes.com, which doesn’t show the MLS brand in this case (though it does in others) but shows both the listing agent and the brokerage:

Perhaps most interesting is the listing detail page (versus the summary results page for Zillow and Homes shown above) on Realtor.com shows not only the listing agent and broker, but also a logo for the brokerage (Douglas Elliman) in the upper left corner of the primary photo on the listing detail page.

A better approach could be to combine what Realtor.com is doing above and what Zillow is doing on the summary results page, where the MLS logo is in the lower right; something like this:

Couple this is with more prominent and detailed disclosures about source in the body of the listing, and you’d have a much better branding campaign supporting both the listing broker and the MLS that are doing the work to create the listing and the MLS compilation. But what I think would be even better than showing individual MLS logos is what I suggested back in 2008, namely that MLSs should use and promote a consistent national or worldwide brand across all listing displays so that the true source of the listings gets cemented in consumer minds.

Importantly, there was — and remains — an effort by CMLS called Source MLS that could serve exactly this purpose but it hasn’t gained much, if any, traction. In exchanging some emails with Andy Woolley from Homes.com, he indicates local and regional MLS organizations insist on their own branding requirements rather than using SourceMLS or other consistent branding requirements. I think this is a huge mistake by MLSs. Not only is it very difficult for portals to implement, but it dilutes the overall branding effort. Source MLS is a great option and CMLS should be applauded for putting it together, and now I need to figure out why more MLSs don’t use it. Please reach out to me directly if you have any info on why your MLS doesn’t use Source MLS or what issues you see with this opportunity.

Certainly, each MLS has their own license agreement and is entitled to require the license terms it needs for its business, but this is a case where standardizing on something simple like the logo to be used and the positioning will drive the point home that MLSs are delivering value, which is more important today than ever. That is not an antitrust violation. This does not have to be a matter of MLS policy and certainly doesn’t need to be a matter of national MLS policy. But the more MLSs require a consistent brand from the portals, the better the consumer experience will become (because they’ll always know the source of the listings) and the stronger MLSs will become as they power all the major portals. As Saul Klein said recently on LinkedIn, it’s time.

The other day I posted some Unsolicited Advice About Clear Cooperation and, in this post, I want to follow-up on my promise to address some of the tired arguments trotted out in favor or against Clear Cooperation. Here we go:

• Sellers Want Privacy — Sure, some incredibly tiny fraction of sellers do, and, as James Dwiggins advocates, they should have it. However, the truth is that the vast, vast majority of sellers expect to see their listings on the popular portals and, when they don’t show or don’t show correctly, they are quick to call their agent and the agent calls the MLS to find out what the problem is. And I’m not talking about the general question of when the listing simply is missing entirely. These days, consumers expect real-time listings, which is one of the reasons that’s been a priority for FBS. If a listing isn’t updated nearly immediately on all the popular portals, our MLS customers hear about it, immediately. So, the idea that sellers want to wait days and days for their listings to show up on those portals is some fanciful thinking. I can just hear the phones ringing right now . . .
• Off-MLS Listings Is A National Problem — Private listings certainly have been a trend in many markets but the truth is that they are much more substantial in some markets than others. It is true that most markets across the country have been seller markets for the last decade or more, which exacerbates the prevalence of private listings (and FSBOs), but this isn’t equally true in all markets across the country and so the problem isn’t the same in all markets. Having been in the industry for decades, there usually are business cycles that make alternatives to the MLS (FSBO, exclusive listings, etc.) more or less popular, but those cycles come and go and the long-term benefits of the MLS remain.
• Without CCP, Big Brokers Will Wipe Out Small Brokers — If this were true, wouldn’t it have happened already? First, CCP has only been around since May of 2020, so why didn’t the big brokers wipe out the small ones before then? Were they less competitive or less knowledgeable and only now realized they could wipe out competitors without the MLS? Or why does CCP keep them from wiping them out today? The truth is that there are many MLS markets where there are dominant (I’m talking 30-40% market share in some cases) and they still participate in the MLS. Why? Because they know it benefits their customers. Could they pull out of the MLS and likely beat up on some of their competitors? Sure, but they don’t because it’s not a completely zero sum game and the overall stronger market from the MLS lifts all boats enough to justify the cooperation.
• Days on Market Should Be Hidden — This is the most bizarre claim of all. Of course, I get it, sellers get nervous when their house stays on the market too long and, certainly, there are bargain hunters out there that will search for listings that have been on the market too long. But the idea that hiding that data is going to change the overall market price for that property is just silly. To the contrary, showing the days on market will drive more traffic to laggard listings that will help price discovery, because the primary reason properties stay on the market too long is that they’re over-priced. Getting some offers will help discover the market price, and days on market can help bring offers to listings that are sitting on the market without them.

These are the big ones but I’m sure I’m missing some other arguments, so let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Just what everyone needs, another opinion piece about Clear Cooperation. I’m hoping my take is different enough to be of value, but I do realize it’s just my opinion, and so feel free take that for what it’s worth. Of course, since I was a practicing lawyer at one time, I want to give you the normal caveat that I’m no longer practicing and not giving any legal advice; this is just my opinion as a deeply interested industry observer for the last 25 years.

I’ll start by going back about a month or so ago to the RISMedia conference, during which I moderated a panel of MLS executives (Art Carter from CRMLS, Merri Jo Cowen from Stellar MLS, Brian Donnellan from Bright MLS, Richard Haggerty from Onekey MLS, and Dionna Hall from Beaches MLS). The primary topic of the panel was the experience of these executives implementing the NAR settlement of the commission litigation, including removal of the compensation fields, use (or not) of concession fields, and compliance. Toward the end of the panel, however, I asked a question about whether the executives foresee any changes coming for how their MLSs will set policy going forward, especially in terms of following policies from the NAR. The responses these executives provided is the basis for my unsolicited advice in this post, namely that the executives expected to have fewer national requirements and more local or regional options.

Though this response was not directly related to the controversy over Clear Cooperation, I believe the answer is the right one, namely that each MLS should craft their own policy for their specific market. Further, I’d love to see MLSs consciously try different approaches and measure the results. If the NAR wants to provide guidance or help to MLSs, it should be with resources to help measure the different results that undoubtedly will come rather than presuming a national policy can or should exist. Instead, let’s try to figure out what really “works,” recognizing that different stakeholders have different goals (i.e., what works for some may not work for others) and not all markets are the same. If any of you want to geek out on why I think this approach can be a benefit to the industry in dealing with regulators (and litigators), I discuss it at length in this episode of the Industry Relations podcast with Greg and Rob from a few years ago (in which I get to say cool things like Neo-Brandeisian antitrust, which should be friendly to MLS cooperatives, because Brandeis advocated for cooperatives in a variety of contexts to balance power).

Some may read this suggestion for a local or regional policy as me saying that I don’t think the goals of the Clear Cooperation policy are important, and that would be a mistake. There is no question that consumers (buyers and sellers) and their brokers and agents benefit by having a comprehensive source of market data like the MLSs across the country. In fact, I wrote a blog post recently outlining how MLSs in North America Are the Envy of the World because of the accuracy and depth of the data. There’s also plenty of data to support this proposition and calls by smart folks like James Dwiggins to develop even more data so the value of MLSs can be clearly disclosed to sellers so they can make an informed decision about whether to use a private listing network versus the MLS. Theses kinds of seller-informed exceptions are exactly the type of experiment I’d like to see different MLSs try. Do disclosures to sellers make a difference? Let’s try different disclosures and measure the results to find out. Anything less than such an evidentiary based approach is just opinion-based policy making, which is not productive, because everyone has an opinion and they’re all different.

The good news is this kind of experimentation is already happening with many MLSs trying a variety of policies that address concerns of brokers (and, presumably, their sellers) such as privacy needs, pre-marketing needs (e.g., Coming Soon or Delayed statuses to allow sellers time to get the property ready), and others. These different approaches are all based on MLSs listening to their broker customers and finding a compromise. I wrote a post a long time ago called MLS Is More Than Technology that posited that the success of MLSs is based on trust and representative decision-making, which is critical to establishing broad-based cooperation. This is where local and regional MLSs shine, because they can listen to their local participants and understand their concerns, try different policies, and figure out which ones work best for their market. As best practices are found through trying different approaches and finding what works best, those best practice very well should spread to other MLSs with similar market needs.

I think this kind of localized approach not only is the most practical from a business perspective, but also from a legal perspective. The reality is that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the The PLS.COM, LLM v NAR, et al case has already given plaintiffs in Clear Cooperation cases a massive leg up by ruling that plaintiff “adequately alleged a per se group boycott.” Though the Ninth Circuit left the trial court open to determine whether to apply a per se rule or not (and the case subsequently settled), the reality is this precedent is not good for the fate of the Clear Cooperation rule. If the NAR could bring or litigate a Clear Cooperation case in another Circuit or if, as James Dwiggins hints, the DOJ would support getting rid of office exclusives and keeping clear cooperation, the concerns about the Ninth Circuit precedent on Clear Cooperation might be different. As a general matter, I think a great goal for the NAR would be, sooner than later, to get one of these cases to the Supreme Court to decide once and for all that MLSs have many pro-competitive results for consumers. For now, though, battling every case as a per se case is a fight that’s going to be difficult to win. One bright light on this front is the recent dismissal with prejudice of West Penn MLS from a compensation case, because the MLS policy differed from the NAR policy by not requiring an offer of compensation (not even $.01). In light of these two cases, local and regional MLSs crafting their own policy rather than following a national policy that may or may not reflect local market needs could be beneficial both from a legal as well as a business perspective.

I have at least one more post on this topic that I’ll try to put out later this week, but I definitely want to address what I see are some of the tired arguments on these topics like whether “big” brokers will just wipe out the smaller competitors without Clear Cooperation and whether sellers really don’t want their listings to show on consumer portals like Zillow or whether that’s just a competitive wish of CEOs like Robert Reffkin of Compass and Andy Florance of CoStar, who provided a 1-2 punch speaking in separate sessions at the RISMedia event against Clear Cooperation (Reffkin) and anti-commingling (Florance). In anticipation of my next post, check out the links to the articles about their respective sessions and the arguments they made and then look for my next post later this week.

A few months ago, I wrote a post called Whether and How to Implement the Seller Concession Exception in the NAR Settlement, in which we said that (1) the RESO Data Dictionary fields regarding concessions are for tracking concessions on sold listings, not active listings, and so those fields are not applicable, which RESO subsequently confirmed, (2) MLSs might choose not to add any fields for concessions on active listings (as opposed to sold listings, where many MLSs already have concession fields); and (3) if they do add fields to active listings, we recommended adding two fields, an amount and type ($/%).

Over the last few weeks,there have been several announcements related to this topic, and so I thought an update post could be useful. Most directly relevant, two of the largest MLSs in the country, California Regional MLS (CRMLS) and Bright MLS, announced that they’ve added or are adding fields to track concessions on active listings. Click through on the links to read about the specific details from each MLS, because they’re slightly different in both terminology used and the workflow. Common to both, however, is that each include a numeric field for the amount of concession as well a field for the type of concession ($ or %).

Another recent development was that Northwest MLS announced that it was not going to opt into the proposed NAR settlement.  Again, please read the full announcement at the link provided to get all the details, but a key point made by Northwest MLS is that “the settlement agreement eliminates compensation transparency for buyers and restrains sellers’ choice by prohibiting sellers from making offers of compensation through the MLS. Instead, the settlement agreement allows for offers of compensation ‘off MLS,’ where that information is hard to find and not available to all buyers and brokers. That change is a step in the wrong direction and is detrimental to consumers and brokers alike.”

This quote from Northwest MLS’s announcement is directly relevant to a recent Real Estate News article about a couple of different companies trying to aggregate offers of compensation off MLS.  The article may be paywalled (I’m not sure) but, if you can, I encourage you to read it, and I’ll take the liberty of quoting from Jack Miller of T3 Sixty at the end of the article:

Just because you can create a platform for sharing compensation details doesn’t mean you should, noted Jack Miller, CEO of T3 Sixty. (Note: T3 Sixty and Real Estate News share a founder, Stefan Swanepoel.)

“People who are trying to work around the intention of the NAR settlement and the DOJ are really running a risk of further antitrust claims,” Miller said. “And I would say it’s unnecessary. What a seller and listing agent can do is they can say concessions are available to the buyer.“

(Emphasis added.) Related to the highlighted part of Jack Miller’s quote regarding concessions, I’ll add that Northwest MLS also announced that they’ll be revising their forms “to ensure that sellers are aware of an option that currently exists when listing a property for sale. In some instances, a seller may be prepared to pay compensation to a buyer broker, but may not be willing to offer a specific amount of compensation when listing the seller’s property for sale. A seller may instead ask that the buyer include any requested amount of compensation payable to the buyer broker in the buyer’s offer. The seller can agree to that amount or negotiate, just like any other term of the agreement.” This sounds similar to the field CRMLS is adding called “Seller Consider Concessions?” with yes and no as possible values, simply to indicate that the seller will consider offers from buyers contingent on the seller making a concession to the buyer in the amount of the buyer broker fees.

As outlined in my earlier post, there’s no requirement for an MLS to add any concession fields to the MLS and it could be advantageous to wait and see how sellers and buyers actually use fields like those discussed above. Will a question like “Seller Consider Concessions?” be enough? Will sellers want to pre-announce a concession amount or percentage on their listing?

I’ll end with a shameless plug here that, for FBS customers, one of the great advantages of Flexmls is that adding fields and trying out different approaches typically can be done directly within the MLS administration module of the system. We definitely want to coordinate field changes with you to ensure downstream data feed recipients are notified properly but, in times like this where flexibility is needed to adjust quickly, it’s nice to know that the system is, indeed, flexible to meet your needs.

Update: CMLS will be holding an MLS Matters webinar on best practices related to concessions. Members can sign up here.

We are excited to welcome four new customers to the Flexmls platform, Northwest Indiana Realtor Association (NIRA), Great Smoky Mountains Association of Realtors (GSMAR),  Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals (AMPI), and Ulster County Board of Realtors (UCBR).

Many elements comprised these customers’ decisions to select the Flexmls MLS platform, including the robust feature set, proven reliability, and easy customization that puts the power in the hands of the local MLS, delivering a system that feels custom-built. Also noted was the strong collaboration with FBS conversion staff.

We’re honored they chose FBS, and are excited to connect with customers, new and old, at our upcoming Summit in June!

You can read the full press release here.

This is the second post in what likely will become a series of posts about how MLSs can think about, interpret, and implement the required Practice Changes in the recent NAR Settlement Agreement. The first post was about MLSs implementing the option in Paragraphs 58(v) and 58.xiii(a) for brokers to make offers of compensation on their own web site for their own listings only. This second post is about the exception in Paragraph 58.xiii(b), which says:

[T]he Practice Changes in Paragraph 58 of this Settlement Agreement shall not … prevent … sellers from offering buyer concessions on a REALTOR® MLS (e.g., for buyer closing costs), so long as such concessions are not limited to or conditioned on the retention of or payment to a cooperating broker, buyer broker, or other buyer representative.

There are two related questions here: (1) whether an MLS should do anything right now to implement the seller concession option; and (2) if so, what data fields an MLS may already have or want to add to enable this option.

Let’s take the first question first, but do so in two parts. First, does an MLS need to implement anything related to the concession option by July, when the NAR expects NAR-affiliated MLSs to implement the Practice Changes? No, Paragraph 58.xiii(b) says seller concessions are allowed but MLSs are not required to add them. Waiting very well may be the most prudent thing to do as it has the advantage of allowing you to learn more about how the practice in your local market evolves in the years ahead from these changes and you also can learn from others that choose to move ahead to see what works best. Perhaps more to the point, if you’re wanting to mitigate risk, doing nothing with concessions at this time likely is the most pragmatic approach to lower the risk that concessions will be treated in your market as some sort of new commission field, which clearly is prohibited by the Settlement Agreement.

That being said, there also are reasons an MLS may want to move ahead with this option now. (1) If the local market already has a common practice for sellers to offer concessions, standardizing how that’s done in the MLS system is a good idea. (2) Given that the option exists in the Settlement Agreement, providing a clear mechanism in the MLS for brokers and agent to take advantage of the option might make compliance easier, because otherwise agents might be tempted to use open text fields like remarks that would then have to be monitored for compliance. (3) An MLS may want to implement this option as a comprehensive set of changes all at one time along with implementation of the other Practice Changes.

Okay, so let’s say you’re an MLS that wants to implement the seller concession option, how would you go about it? First, let’s look at the fields the RESO Data Dictionary has regarding concessions. There are three fields and, importantly, they all are directed at tracking concessions from the closing rather than when the listing is active:

• Concessions — Indicates whether or not there are concessions included in the sales agreement (i.e., Yes, No or Call Listing Agent).
• ConcessionAmount — The dollar amount of the concessions. If the concessions are made by the seller, some may subtract this value from the sales price as a means of calculating their own true price. If concessions are made by the buyer, some may add this amount to the sale price to create their own true price. Concessions made by both buyer and seller should be subtracted from each other, providing a net value. Details of this calculation should be added to the Concessions Comments field.
• ConcessionsComments –The comments describing the concessions made by the buyer or the seller.

There are several reasons these fields don’t quite fit the bill for an MLS wanting to implement concessions:

• Active vs. Closed — The RESO fields are all directed at tracking data from closed transactions rather than active listings.
• Net vs. Buyer vs. Seller — The field ConcessionAmount doesn’t says it’s to track the net amount of concessions from the buyer and seller, and doesn’t distinguish between the two.
• Open Text Field — The ConcessionsComments field is just an open text field, which would require a lot of monitoring given the condition in the Settlement Agreement that “such concessions are not limited to or conditioned on the retention of or payment to a cooperating broker, buyer broker, or other buyer representative.”

Given these issues, it’s pretty clear the existing RESO fields don’t meet the needs for active listings and they may well need to change for sold listings, as well, which is a good reason for me to prompt interested readers to join RESO to provide your expertise and input on issues like this. I know the Data Dictionary Workgroup is already receiving a lot of interest in this topic.

Given that the current RESO fields don’t meet the need, what’s next? First, as advised above, waiting to add such fields is a good option. However, if you’re really wanting to get going on this, here’s what FBS would recommend currently. We’re engaging in multiple conversations with our customers and others in the industry on this and so this may change, but here’s what we recommend currently if you don’t want to wait.

First, we recommend only adding two fields to active listings:

• Concession Offered to Buyer Amount — A numeric field tracking the amount of the concession being offered by sellers to buyers.
• Concession Offered to Buyer ($/%) — A select list with values of $ or % to specify whether the amount is expressed as a dollar amount or percentage.

Importantly, there is no open text field here, because of exactly the concern mentioned above, namely that it would be very difficult for MLSs to monitor such an open text field to ensure it complies with the condition that “such concessions are not limited to or conditioned on the retention of or payment to a cooperating broker, buyer broker, or other buyer representative.” Not only should an MLS not have any open text field related to these fields, the MLS should include the clear language from the Settlement Agreement that such concession amounts cannot “limited to or conditioned on the retention of or payment to a cooperating broker, buyer broker, or other buyer representative.”

Next, let’s look at concession fields for when a listing closes and the actual concession amounts and types are known. This latter point is important. On an active listing, no one knows what the actual concessions are yet, it’s just an offer being made by the seller to the buyer. Once the listing is closed, however, the actual concessions are know and those are the amounts that should be recorded in the MLS. In other words, you need additional fields for concessions at closing than what you have for active listings. Accordingly, FBS recommends adding the following four fields to closed listings:

• Concession to Buyer at Closing
• Concession to Buyer ($/%)
• Concession to Seller at Closing
• Concession to Seller ($/%)

These fields do not conflict with the current RESO DD fields that “net” the concessions, because separating out the amounts is more granular or specific than what RESO provides. Of course, you also could provide the net amount if you want, but there’s no RESO requirement to add a field if you just want to have the two more specific fields.

In terms of naming these fields, we also recommend you pay particular attention to how your market uses the terms “buyer concession” or “seller concession,” because we’ve been in multiple conversations where people use these terms interchangeably without realizing that each actually mean the opposite of what the other intends because the “from” and “to” are omitted. For example, standing alone, in some markets a “seller concession” could mean a concession from the seller and in other markets that phrase may mean a concession to the seller. Whatever label you use. make sure you’re being clear about who the concession is “from” or “to.”

I’ve also heard from some MLSs that want to provide more detail regarding the type and amount of concessions at the time of closing. If you think agents in your market will include additional detail, that’s great. There’s always a balance as to how much detail people will enter, but, if the data can be collected accurately, more is often better than less. That being said, if you do collect more detailed types and amounts of concessions, we’d also recommend having the aggregate fields mentioned above to make it easier for appraisers and others to use the amounts in CMAs or other valuations in a consistent manner.

That’s a long post but I hope you’ve found or will find it valuable. I’d love it if you could share below whether your MLS will be adding fields for concessions and, if so, what fields you’re adding.

On March 15, 2024, the NAR reached a settlement of two of the commission-related antitrust class actions. The Settlement Agreement, which remains to be approved by the Court, specifies several “Practice Changes” for MLSs and I wanted to write this post (and likely a few others) to discuss how MLSs might think about, interpret, and implement the required Practice Changes, which the NAR says will need to go into effect in mid-July of this year.

CMLS held an excellent webinar on the Settlement Agreement with Mitch Skinner (counsel to CMLS) and Ed Zorn (General Counsel to California Regional MLS) as panelists. I was fortunate to be able to a ask a question (thanks, Denee!) to Mitch and Ed specifically about Paragraph 58.v(b), which expressly allows brokers to display (presumably on their own web site) “(1) data or data feeds from a REALTOR MLS and (2) offers of compensation to buyer brokers or other buyer representatives but only on listings from their own brokerage” (emphasis added).

When I read this provision, the idea occurred to me that software like our Flexmls system could help brokers implement 58.v(b) by creating private fields (not shared or aggregated in any way with other brokers) for those brokers, and then include those private fields in the data data feeds for their own listings only. My reading was that making the fields private also would satisfy the requirement for MLSs to remove the fields from the MLS. By making the fields private to each broker, they could manage the fields using software they already use and know and data feeds they’re already processing, which benefits the broker, the MLS, and FBS. My question for the CMLS panel was whether they agreed with this interpretation.

Mitch and Ed both responded to my question that they were definitely against MLSs facilitating this option for brokers. Mitch said the language in the settlement requiring MLSs to remove all compensation fields precluded this and, even if “on the MLS” wasn’t crystal clear, the value of such a service by the MLS to brokers wasn’t enough to justify the risk to MLSs of future legal or regulatory claims. Ed agreed with Mitch that it wasn’t worth the risk for an MLS and said that CRMLS would not allow this because making offers of compensation simply was the old way of doing things and brokers need to embrace the new way, which is a combination of seller concessions, buyer representation agreements, and buyer’s making purchase offers contingent on the seller paying the buyer agent’s commission.

To be clear, I find this analysis by both Mitch and Ed to be well-reasoned and pragmatic, and I expect most MLSs will and should follow it. That being said, I wanted to write this post to explain why I asked the question in the first place and to try to further the conversation overall. So, let’s dive in to the language of the Settlement Agreement, shall we?

Let’s start with the language in Paragraph 58.ii., which prohibits “(a) making offers of compensation on the MLS to buyer brokers or other buyer representatives or (b) disclosing on the MLS listing broker compensation or total broker compensation (i.e., the combined compensation to both listing brokers and cooperating brokers).” (Emphasis added.) Related, Paragraph 58.iii. requires MLSs to “eliminate all broker compensation fields on the MLS“. As indicated by the highlighted language, key to understanding the scope of these prohibitions is knowing what the phrase “on the MLS” means.

Unfortunately, the Settlement Agreement does not define “on the MLS” (or “off the MLS”), even though these phrases are central to the practice changes specified. Fortunately, Paragraph 58.v. of the Settlement Agreement is instructive as to what “on the MLS” means, because it extends the general prohibition against offers of compensation beyond the MLS by prohibiting “any non-MLS mechanism . . . to establish or maintain a platform for offers of compensation from multiple brokers”. Based on this language, “on the MLS” means a “platform for offers of compensation from multiple brokers.”

This interpretation is hardly controversial, because the MLS is a cooperative platform for sharing listing information among many brokers. As noted above, this interpretation also is confirmed by subpart (b) of Paragraph 58.v., which expressly allows brokers to display (presumably on their own web site) “(1) data or data feeds from a REALTOR MLS and (2) offers of compensation to buyer brokers or other buyer representatives but only on listings from their own brokerage” (emphasis added). In other words, if the offers are not aggregated, they are not “on the MLS”.

This interpretation also makes sense because the claims at stake in the Settlement Agreement are antitrust claims against the cooperation among many brokers. The fact that the claims being settled are antitrust claims targeting cooperation is why Paragraph 58.xiii, which is the last section in the Practice Changes section, specifies that:

[T]he Practice Changes in Paragraph 58 of this Settlement Agreement shall not (a) prevent offers of compensation to buyer brokers or other buyer representatives off of the multiple listing service; or (b) sellers from offering buyer concessions on a REALTOR® MLS (e.g., for buyer closing costs), so long as such concessions are not limited to or conditioned on the retention of or payment to a cooperating broker, buyer broker, or other buyer representative.

(Emphasis added.) Important to note, this provision applies to all “the Practice Changes in Paragraph 58” and, therefore, inform what the provisions requiring MLSs to remove commission fields “from the MLS” mean.

Along these same lines, as CMLS itself has argued, offers of compensation by individual sellers or brokers are not illegal and prohibiting them itself likely wouldn’t pass antitrust scrutiny. Put another way, even if MLSs cannot aggregate offers of compensation from many brokers, an MLS also likely cannot prohibit individual sellers and brokers from making offers on their own web site, which is exactly the reason for the exception Paragraphs 58.v(b) and 58.xiii.

Of course, the point Mitch and Ed made on the webinar is that the even if this interpretation is technically correct, it’s not advisable for MLSs to provide this service, because even minimal risk of litigation is not justified by the value being provided. As noted above, after the last several years of living under the clouds of so much litigation and regulatory review in the MLS industry, this advice is well-reasoned and pragmatic. If I was a lawyer for MLSs, I’d likely give the same advice.

But I’m not a lawyer advising MLSs. Rather, I’m the CEO of a company building software and I want to look ahead to days where FBS and our customers can think broadly again about how to make the market work better for everyone. Despite all the claims that MLSs are per se anti-competitive, FBS continues to be a Champion of MLS that believes  MLSs are pro-competitive and that competition requires brokers, agents, and consumers to have options and choices. Is this particular issue the right time or circumstance to push for such options or choices? Let us know in the comments!

With so much happening in real estate beyond MLS control right now, understanding and dialing-in what can be controlled is by far a great use of energy. It’s a season of controlling the controllables! One thing an MLS can do is contract with the industry’s proven-best MLS technology partner + platform. We/FBS can help with that!

Now, more than ever, having the right MLS Tech partner can provide priceless peace of mind (and value). What makes FBS that “right” partner? A solid track record of concrete results that make a positive business impact and create value for MLS leadership, brokers, agents. Some of those results include: 

• Earning the highest levels of MLS customer & user satisfaction, both product & service.

• • Validation of FBS/Flexmls dominance in the industry, FBS came out on top, across the board, in the 2023 T360 MLS Platform Study. This cemented another year in consecutive decades of unrivaled customer service, support, and product ratings, underpinned by our unique employee-ownership culture. 

• • Wrapped 2023 renewing all but one Flexmls client contract while securing eight new MLS customers. Making existing customers happy while adding a new generation of client partners and software users is no small task. It takes focused effort, investment and results. This is a slide that Matty Epstein, our Director of MLS Sales recently shared with attendees at the 2024 Clareity Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona illustrating our impressive 15+ year performance.

• Delivering reliable, secure MLS system-performance built on national standards with the flexibility to meet the needs of “local” business to help MLS subscribers best serve their customer’s needs.

• • Added to our impressive number of third party product integrations, increasing data depth, improving an MLS/Agent’s ability to serve local customers and sensibly embracing elements of AI. 
  • A groundbreaking collab with Rental Beast and Southwest MLS using the RESO WebAPI and Webhooks to build a new transport method delivering real time (sub 5-second) data transfer, saving time and server costs. 
  • Continued, industry-leading, reliability, security and performance of our technology systems. We keep the engines up-and-running so our MLS customers have peace of mind and our software users can get on with their work. No costly disruptions.

• Customer and user–informed product innovation that fosters success. 

• • Countless Flexmls Platform enhancements that continue to improve the daily user experience, making work easier and faster (it just keeps getting better!). 
  • Resources, tools and technology that keep MLSs in the driver’s seat regarding Media including a shared implementation toolkit & collaboration hub plus a simple-yet-powerful Flexmls feature-set that enables better, faster electronic collaboration between Agents and photographers/media providers. In the background, and not to be underemphasized, MLSs are securing MLS / consumer friendly media-licensing agreements, ensuring the free-flow and use of media-generated-data for the future. 
  • The launch of Launch, our new MLS dashboard, with Flexmls customers already live. 

• Industry Leadership for Industry Progress. The experienced, tenured and talented team of FBS employee owners are visible and participating throughout our industry in various initiatives to bolster the MLS. FBS employee-owners are experts who understand the MLS, member needs and the tech + innovations that can propel us all ahead. That deep knowledge shows up boldly in partnership with MLS and industry leaders, helping them innovate, evolve and adapt. 

FBS and the Flexmls Platform lead the way with results – over decades – that speak for themselves. As the only 100% employee-owned MLS technology company, we’re committed to continuing that track record of remarkable results for the long haul alongside our customers, earning our success through their success with products built for user success. Let’s control the controllables together! We’d love to welcome you as an FBS / Flexmls customer in 2024. Schedule a Flexmls demo today.

(A huge thank you to our awesome client-partners with whom we’re fortunate to collaborate with so closely. It’s an honor to innovate and solve problems together, creating success for you and collectively moving the industry ahead in meaningful ways. Consider this blog powerful, performance-data-validation: you and your members already have the best!)

Before you sign the dotted line on your next contract we want you to consider some important factors: security and reliability, two of the most critical elements of hosting an MLS system. Selecting a dependable Identity Provider (IdP) is important, especially as it relates to facilitating Single Sign-On (SSO) access to essential MLS applications. Without that, vulnerability and the potential for service disruption exists.

What’s an IdP & why is it necessary?

An IdP is the key that unlocks the door. It verifies user identity and is the gateway to multiple applications, providing user access with a single set of credentials. If you are licensing a product for your MLS that requires an IdP, (such as an add-on product that uses its own credentials and is not compatible with your existing MLS vendor), take the time to do your due diligence. For example, making sure you have a reliable IdP as the gateway to an SSO dashboard is an important step so that your members have uninterrupted access to their most essential applications.

Having an IdP that’s reliable is about more than convenience. It’s a matter of providing consistent access to applications, enhanced security, and a support team you can count on— all factors in subscriber/member experience and satisfaction.

What to look for in an IdP:

Uninterrupted Access (Uptime)

The dependency on an IdP for SSO access means that any downtime or interruption in its services directly impacts the accessibility of essential platforms. Agents who rely daily on MLS applications (like Flexmls) to do their job understand the importance of 24/7 access. If your IdP encounters technical issues or experiences downtime, it prevents users from accessing these important applications, disrupting workflows and delaying time-sensitive tasks. Making sure the IdP you’re using has redundancy backups and a consistent track record of product uptime is crucial to uninterrupted access.

Security

Security is a big concern in today’s climate. A dependable IdP should incorporate security measures such as multi-factor authentication and reporting on member tracking and password sharing. An IdP with a focus on security ensures MLSs a higher level of protection against unauthorized access, reducing the risks of potential breaches.

Dedicated Support and Proven Service

MLS administrators don’t have time to troubleshoot IdP issues and frankly, it shouldn’t be their responsibility. An IdP with a dedicated on-call team that is constantly monitoring system availability should be standard. Providers with a proven track record will offer dedicated customer support, quick issue resolution, and ongoing maintenance to ensure uninterrupted access to applications. This dependable support ensures that any technical issues are addressed quickly, minimizing disruptions and keeping MLS members happy.

FBS as Your IdP:

If you use Flexmls for your MLS System and have been looking at other IdP vendors to implement an SSO dashboard, check out the Launch dashboard by FBS. Launch provides MLS members with the convenience of a single sign-on for all their MLS-provided applications, while seamlessly integrating with the FBS IdP and other vendors. The Launch dashboard includes features like MLS-to-member messaging, application ROI reporting, and member education. Best of all, Launch comes with the peace of mind provided by FBS’s extensive and proven track record of reliability, uptime, and service spanning decades. With an IdP, Launch, and Flexmls from FBS, you’ll set your MLS and your members up for the very best in service, technology, and security. Interested? Learn more here.

Innovation or being first to market with a product or service is often challenging, sometimes fun, and usually proves valuable in the long run, after lots of hard work. At FBS, we know that all too well. Pioneering MLS-focused tech and service is in our nature and proven throughout our business history. (I’m not sure if that makes us: a) bold, b) brilliant, c) crazy or d) all of the above)!

Today, we have another fun first to share.

On the heels of the recent Local Logic and FBS integration-partnership announcement, yesterday, we announced that we’re the first MLS technology vendor to provide Local Logic’s vast neighborhood insights integration on both Flexmls desktop and mobile. I chatted with Tyler Decker, our Director of Product Management as I was creating the press release and he said it perfectly: “We know that real estate professionals need the greatest flexibility when accessing important property and neighborhood data so, we sought to deliver access to Local Logic’s information across mobile and desktop platforms.” That’s what it’s all about: convenience, flexibility, and access to the best data!

Delivering increased data-depth and more choices of best-in-class products for our MLS clients and +320,000 Flexmls subscribers is one of our primary product objectives. The Local Logic integration is one of many well-executed, third-party Flexmls integrations our MLS customers enjoy. Local Logic Co-founder & CEO, Vincent-Charles Hodder shared that, “2023 has been a pivotal year for Local Logic. Collaborating with FBS and integrating into the Flexmls platform is a major stepping stone in our continued growth. This partnership reaffirms our commitment to providing the real estate industry with the most innovative, powerful, and accessible solutions.” 

There are several Flexmls MLS customers in various stages of licensing discussions with Local Logic in addition to Beaches MLS and California Regional MLS (CRMLS), as described in September’s partnership announcement. When a Flexmls MLS customer chooses to license Local Logic, turning on the functionality is fast and easy. For additional details about Local Logic’s comprehensive suite of tools and services, or if you’re a Flexmls MLS customer who would like to license Local Logic’s intelligence integrated within your Flexmls System, please visit https://locallogic.co.

We look forward – and will – share the news on new and meaningful Flexmls product integrations with you.

RESO has announced the slate of candidates for the RESO Board elections, which will open for voting this coming Monday, November 13. I’m currently the Vice Chair of RESO and would very much like to be re-elected to the Board for another term as Director. There are many really excellent candidates this year, showing the vibrancy of RESO as an organization, but also making it more important for me to make the case as to why I want to continue as a Director and, if so honored, Vice Chair.

As I outline in my candidacy statement (PDF), three of the most important initiatives I’d like to advocate for as a Board member are:

• Improve the Data Dictionary — The RESO Board just ratified Data Dictionary 2.0, which standardizes many more enumerations for list fields. This version 2.0 will be the most significant update to the Data Dictionary in many years and it will require a lot of work for MLS organizations and their vendors to implement over the coming year. Something I’ve been stressing with the Board before ratification is that as good as the Data Dictionary is, there remains room for improvement to ensure that the implementations occurring now are as standardized as possible. To help with this, RESO created a new Fast Track sub-group to help create important feedback loops to improve the Dictionary as we all work to implement 2.0, so the standard is always getting better rather than cementing into implementations terms that we all can see need to change. Continuing to help the RESO Staff have the resources, policies, and volunteers to do this work is a key priority for me as a Board member. The next year of work will be super important for the long-term success of RESO and MLSs implementing the standard.
• Real-time All The Time — As a RESO Board member, I’ve been advocating for a focus on real-time data standards for the last two years and am excited to see that priority taking hold with proposals such RCP-028. FBS recently worked with RentalBeast to implement WebHooks for real-time exchange of rental listings and we hope this work continues to push the industry and the RESO standards toward real-time all the time.
• Media Update — I gave a presentation two RESO conferences ago on why media should be a priority for creating update standards, and I’m pleased to see that work happening, but there’s a ways to go and I’d like to continue as a Board member to continue to focus RESO’s attention on this need. Standardizing how media syncs to the MLS (like Bright MLS is now doing) from photographers, photography companies, brokerages, and others will create benefits for brokers, agents, and MLSs for many years to come, all while helping to keep the MLS as the source for aggregated data and media. This is a critical strategic objective for our industry with all the innovation around media and artificial intelligence.

I hope you see the importance of these priorities for RESO but I’d love to hear your priorities as well, so please comment below. If you or your organization are a RESO member, I also would very much appreciate your vote for me as a Director. As mentioned, there are a lot of candidates that would do a great job and so I hope my candidacy stands out for you so I can continue as a Director for another term.

Sincerely,

Michael

As legal and regulatory debates rage on in the United States over the value of multiple listing services (MLSs), a panel at the RESO conference in San Diego, called Crossing Continents: Global Standards Expansion, shared that the way MLSs aggregate and distribute real estate data is, in fact, the envy of the world. The panelists also shared how different countries in Europe, South America, and elsewhere across the globe are using RESO standards to build real estate software, and that development effort also is making it clear that these other countries would benefit from the data aggregation and quality practices of North American MLSs.

One of the panelists, Gissele Abadi, the CTO of Realtyna, said that in Europe, one or two portals typically dominate in each country, but the data in those portals is not accurate. The primary accuracy problems are duplicate and out-of-date listings. Because of these concerns, there’s a rising interest in Europe to form mutliple listing services (MLS) to increase data aggregation and accuracy.

To this end, the European Association of Real Estate Professionals (CEPI) is holding a conference called the International MLS Forum and has invited the CEOs of both RESO (Sam DeBord) and CMLS (Denee Evans) to give a joint keynote address at the conference to educate attendees about the benefits and operation of MLSs in North America.

As noted at the top of this post, this interest in forming MLSs in other parts of the world stands in stark contrast to the debates raging in the US about the value of MLSs. So let’s be clear: What organized real estate in the US has created is unique value that is critical to making the real estate market work. Without MLSs, consumers will have less understanding of the real estate market and there will be less competition. Moreover, the cost of marketing will be significantly higher as it is in Europe, Australia, and other countries dominated by monopoly portals that can set prices for advertising, whereas in the United States, advertising on portals is nearly free.

As the Vice Chair of RESO, I’m super excited by the international interest in RESO and MLSs, and look forward to seeing how this interest expands in the coming years to help real estate markets work better all over the world.

Third-party integrations within the MLS System have been a hot topic around conference circuits, in conversations, and of course, within FBS. Why? Because more and better top-tier product and service integrations improve, enrich, and enhance the local member experience and the services they can provide to consumers.  

At FBS, our goals around third-party-integrations are focused and clear: 

1. Increase Flexmls data-depth, accuracy, and flexibility through well-executed (deep, seamless, real-time-data), third-party integrations of top-tier products and services.
2. Implement thoughtfully and reduce the need for multi-platform navigation to make it easy on Flexmls users.
3. Be an exceptional partner (to MLS and third-party vendors) with premier technology and experienced, responsive staff capable of identifying and executing innovation opportunities that create MLS value.

That last one? The difference maker. We integrate with the intent to add the most value to the MLS and its members. 

We’ve proven these goals with nearly 100 live Flexmls integrations and continue to add more, most recently with comprehensive neighborhood insights via an easy plug-and-play Local Logic module, preliminary AI tools in Flexmls that support accessibility and also detect MLS photo compliance violation, and for our customer Southwest MLS (SWMLS) a recent integration with Rental Beast.

Here’s an illustration of our unique approach to seizing innovative opportunities. The Data Integration and Product teams at FBS partnered with SWMLS to set up the custom third-party integration between Flexmls and Rental Beast. At SWMLS, Rental Beast is being used to enter any residential leases which will then be pulled into Flexmls and available to members for searching and distribution via email subscriptions and syndication. Normally it could take anywhere from 3-8 minutes for that listing data to display in Flexmls, a timeframe worth celebrating as that’s a significant improvement from what used to be the norm – anywhere from 15 minutes to a day!  However, due to the innovative and persistent mindsets, teamwork, and technology between FBS, SWMLS, Rental Beast, and RESO they used real-time events to deliver data with two-way communication, reducing that data-display timeframe down to two seconds…faster than the time it takes to click the ‘refresh’ button on your browser. That’s real-time data synchronization. 

Why is this so important? When rental listings are entered into the third-party system, they’re instantly available for searching, subscription emails, and more within Flexmls. That speed and data accuracy is incredibly valuable. 

Of course, there were challenges and moments of uncertainty. When you’re doing new things, there is no roadmap or precedence, but that’s what makes the accomplishment so much more rewarding! The team ran into obstacles, learned, and made decisions along the way to pursue the best path forward. The results? Precedent-setting work worth celebrating! The cherry on top? Feedback from our valued client-partner, Southwest MLS.

“It is very important to me to have a partner that I can bring a vision to, discuss needs and concerns, and then be able to jointly deliver on that vision. The relationship I have with FBS fosters these types of projects, and in this case, allowed us to deliver an industry-leading solution,” said Richard Gibbens, Executive Director of Southwest MLS. Together, we lead the way! We are so grateful for the trust and opportunity to break new ground!

Want to hear more? You’re in luck!  Tyler Decker, Richard Gibbens, and Shawn Keller will be on stage at RESO on Wednesday, 10/25 talking about the project. We’d also love for you to join FBS as a Flexmls customer. You’ll quickly find that we set the benchmark for MLS Partnerships. It’s the FBS Way and it’s why we’re the proven, premier MLS technology provider – for decades. Some great input from Richard can be found on LinkedIn. Here are a few screenshots for your enjoyment ↓.

The real estate socials have been buzzing the last week or so about Howard Hanna’s recent decision to opt-out of IDX and switch to only using VOW feeds to distribute their listings and power their web site HowardHannah.com. Greg Robertson posted about it on Vendor Alley and then hosted a Twitter Spaces on the topic and Victor Lund published a post on the WAV Group blog as well.

My view is that, in the end, this likely is much ado about nothing, because sites will still be able to show the Howard Hannah listings via the VOW feed. Yes, VOWs require users to create an account and be logged in to see them, but sites like Redfin.com have proven long ago that there are effective ways to implement a combination of IDX and VOW experiences on a web site.

I think much of the uproar is that lots of sites rely on IDX only, including possibly some of the national portals, and so, for now, the listings are not showing at all on those sites. For example, at the time of me writing this post, 3301 E Derbyshire is an active listing on HowardHannah.com:

However, that same listing shows as “off market” on Homes.com, indicating that Homes.com has not yet implemented VOW feeds (you can see I’m logged in as “MW” below):

And Redfin.com, which is a combo IDX/VOW site, shows the listing and indicates that users need to login to see it:

One of the portal sites that has drawn the most attention in this case is Zillow, which also uses IDX (at least), but is still showing this listing even though HowardHannah is opted out of IDX:

In announcing the switch to VOW, Howard Hannah specifically mentioned that they’d still be sending listings to Zillow, so some folks on Twitter have speculated that perhaps Zillow is still showing the listing because they have a direct feed from Howard Hannah whereas other sites do not. However, as you can see in the above image, Zillow is saying the listing is coming from the MLSNOW data feed, and so I’m guessing this is just a case where Zillow may not have implemented the IDX opt-out requirement properly or, if they’re using both IDX and VOW feeds from MLSNOW, they’re not following the VOW rules to require login for such listings as Redfin.com does. (Update: Folks on Twitter have reiterated that Zillow is getting a direct feed from Howard Hannah and is showing MLSNOW as the source, because MLSNOW is facilitating the direct feed. If that’s true, I’d recommend showing Howard Hannah as the source.)

In the end, though all of this certainly points out the complexity of IDX and VOW implementations, sites like Redfin.com show that a combo approach can be implemented well and I’m sure sites like Zillow and Homes will follow suit as will lots of IDX vendors providing sites to brokers and agents such that this debate about IDX and VOW will once again fade into the background.

A potentially related article was posted in Swanepoel’s Real Estate News site about eXp, indicating they’ve been in discussions with CoStar about a partnership with Homes.com.

The article later refers to ” two or three other exclusive partnerships”, indicating that perhaps the discussions with Homes.com were for an “exclusive” partnership as well. This might be a stretch, but, for an “exclusive” to be possible, wouldn’t eXp need to opt out of IDX to prevent those listings from showing on other IDX powered portals like Zillow? Of course, as discussed above, even opting out of IDX wouldn’t prevent sites from showing the listings using a VOW feed as Redfin does, so it seems unlikely the negotiations are for an “exclusive” deal unless eXp was intending to opt out of MLSs entirely, which really would be news.

Regarding the question above about whether MLS policy allows a broker Participant to opt out of IDX and send their listings to a designated portal, I chime in to the Twitter thread at one point to mention that the right for broker Participants to send their own listings wherever they want appears to be covered by the mandatory NAR policy Section 18 Right of Participant to MLS Data Feed of Listing Content (Policy Statement 8.3), which says:

I also mention in the thread that FBS’s Spark Platform provides cost-free feeds to brokers of their own listings (though the MLS may still have a fee) and that includes contacts, saved searches, favorites, and other customer portal data in addition to listings. So, yes, brokers in MLSs using the Spark Platform certainly have the right and capability to send direct feeds of their own listings wherever they want. Is that better than IDX or VOW? I don’t think so but I think providing options to increase competition and experimentation on different models is important, and that’s what the Spark Platform has always been all about. Sites can implement direct feeds, IDX sites, VOW sites, and combination IDX/VOW sites using the Spark Platform, which makes it possible to automate compliance with opt-outs and disparate MLS IDX and VOW policies.

Let me close by referencing a Listing Bits podcast discussion I had a few weeks ago with Greg Robertson, Greg Fischer, and Andy Woolley from Homes.com/CoStar regarding Homes.com’s switch from direct feeds to IDX. In that discussion, I recommended that MLSs create new licensing options for portals so they don’t feel forced to use IDX or even VOW feeds when those really aren’t a perfect fit to their use case. Even where companies like Zillow or CoStar become broker Participants and are entitled to IDX and VOW feeds, if the above discussion shows anything, it’s that complying with all these varied rules is a lot of work (hopefully lessened by the Spark Platform) and MLSs could create more consistency and options for both brokers and portals at the same time by rethinking the licensing of feeds to portals.

Along these lines, there’s been quite a bit of discussion and even draft proposals to combine IDX and VOW policies into one and perhaps such an effort could differentiate the case for how national high-traffic portals (even those provided by broker Participants) are licensed the MLS data. Until there’s a clear policy that differentiates these use cases, we’ll likely continue to see independent decisions by broker Participants to opt-out of IDX and thereby creating an inconsistent experience for consumers and broker Participants alike. This is as good a time as any to dig in and differentiate and simplify these different use cases to create a more certain listing distribution platform for everyone.

Next week at the RESO Conference in San Antonio, I have a short session right before lunch on Tuesday in which I’ll be, “Making the Case for Prioritizing Media Update Standards.” I hope you’ll be able to join us for that and other sessions. So as not to be a spoiler, I won’t go into the details of my pitch right now but I’ll just say that media is central to the value of MLS compilations and that value proposition is growing and evolving with every new tech development such that now is a great time to be focusing on media management.

In this post, I want to touch on a few topics directly related to media but that I’m unlikely to be able to address fully during my session next week. First, because of the proliferation of photo enhancement services, with and without AI, we’re seeing more MLSs adding fields to their listings to track whether the photos include enhanced or altered photos or not. This is a super important topic and one that I encourage the RESO DD Workgroup to address soon to avoid MLSs implementing these fields in disparate ways.

The provenance of photos is a topic that’s much broader than real estate photos and there’s been a significant effort by Adobe and several other companies to create some standards around this topic. One result of those discussions is the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity, which provides: “An open technical standard providing publishers, creators, and consumers the ability to trace the origin of different types of media.” Adobe and some other companies have published the Content Authenticity Initative, which includes some implementations of the published standards.

Perhaps the easiest way to understand the above effort is to check out this Verify website, which has some examples of images with an interactive “i” in the upper right corner, which, when hovered over, shows the provenance of the image and allows you to click through to see more details. This approach is quite comprehensive and I think it may well be more than RE technology needs but it’s a good example of how seriously the broader technology and media industry is taking issues of provenance. It certainly would be cool to be able to click on any photo coming from an MLS and immediately see the source and edits made to the photo over time.

Though the above standards specifically say they are not intended to address licensing or digital rights management (DRM) issues, I also think that’s an important topic for MLSs to address. We’re seeing more and more MLSs adopt photography networks and I’ve written previously about that and how MLSs can promote standard licensing for media.

Directly related to both provenance and licensing rights is the rapid advance of machine learning in creating, modifying, and extracting data from images. You’ve no doubt seen on the various social channels examples of photos being created by AI imaging tools like Stable Diffusion or Midjourney. These tools are built by pouring millions of images into their ML models and now Getty Images is suing Stability (the creator of Stable Diffusion) for copyright infringement.

As I think about all of these developments, something that stands out for me as a potential opportunity is for the PropTech community to consider working together to create open source models that benefit the industry as a whole. There are efforts already underway to discuss open-source licensing related to ML-specific content such as OpenRAIL and some versions of these efforts could be instructive for real estate. For example, if MLSs are going to license images to third parties to enhance machine learning models, then shouldn’t those models be available to MLSs to use as well?

I certainly have more questions than I do answers but I think now is the time to be digging into these questions so we can lead the industry into the innovations that are as exciting as any I’ve seen in a long time. Those innovations raise awesome possibilities but also novel legal and business considerations. Working together we can find a clear path forward.

Earlier this week, I wrote a post highlighting the restrictive license terms Zillow has for their media services content (photos, etc.) and how important that is for MLSs to address. A few days later, Zillow updated their license terms and FAQ to add rights to upload media to MLS systems and to use the media in CMAs with this language:

Items 2 and 3 are the new terms. These additions are a significant improvement but MLSs need more clarity. Specifically, MLSs at least need the rights to distribute the media to others and create derivative works from the media. Also, though this likely is just word-smithing, agents need to be able to upload to multiple MLSs and not just “a Multiple Listing Service”.

It’s awesome that Zillow is aware of these issues and appears willing to work with MLSs to address the concerns. I’m hopeful they’ll address distribution and derivative rights as well, which are critical to the services MLSs provide their customers and the entire industry today. Even more important, however, is that MLSs establish an efficient way to work with all media providers and not have to address them one at a time like this. We look forward to working with all of our MLS customers on this important issue to ensure MLSs can foster innovation and the flow of media to brokers, agents, and their customers now and well into the future.

Last fall, right before the CMLS conference, I wrote a post about the importance of MLSs creating standard license terms for media uploaded or linked to the MLS compilation. There are several MLSs doing this to various degrees already through photography network programs, such as Beaches MLS in Florida, MetroMLS in Wisconsin, CRMLS in California, and likely others (I hope!).

Currently, I believe all of these programs are voluntary for both photographers and agents. The MLS encourages through education and promotion via MLS system changes and other methods the use of certified photographers who have agreed to the standard MLS license terms. In a CMLS Brings it to the Table session I did with Art Carter about a year ago, Art said that the voluntary CRMLS program has been very successful both in signing up photographers and also in agents selecting photographers in the network.

This is awesome news but I wonder if MLSs need to consider requiring license terms for all uploaded media. I think this question is front and center right now because Zillow and CoStar are ramping up their new “Listing Media Services” programs, including photography, floor plan, 3D Tour, and other services. In the case of Zillow, here’s what their FAQ says about the rights agents get in the media delivered:

And Zillow makes clear in the linked terms that they own all the media, including rights to derivative works, etc. The result is that MLSs wouldn’t have rights to retain the photographs after the listing goes off market, depriving it of rights to use the photos in CMAs, appraisals, machine learning, or pretty much anything else.

In the event anyone thinks this is just an arcane legal issue for someone else to figure out, check out the recent lawsuits in which CoStar is suing its various competitors for copyright infringement related to photos. Unless MLSs get license agreements in place with these companies that give them the necessary rights to use the media as part of the MLS compilation, there’s nothing to prevent these companies from suing MLSs for copyright infringement in the event agents upload media from one of these services with restrictive licensing terms.

The listing media services programs from Zillow and CoStar and likely others are just getting started, so now is the time for MLSs to develop programs to make sure the MLS obtains the necessary rights in the media being uploaded to the MLS systems from these systems. As I wrote last fall:

The opportunity for the MLS today is to serve it’s members doing what MLSs do best, namely aggregating and standardizing disparate content. There are many options agents and brokers can choose today for creating 3D scans, floor plans, and other digital content. Aggregating this disparate content under MLS-friendly licensing and quality standards is how the MLS will remain the value engine that makes the market work for years to come.

This can start with establishing a photographer network program like those MLSs linked above have done, and then evaluating whether such programs need to evolve to create standard license terms for all media uploaded to the MLS.

It’s easy to scroll past blogs and social posts highlighting exceptional corporate performance stats. After all, they’re just horn-tooting, corporate brag pieces, amIright? I’m guilty too!  But when it comes to companies with whom we contract to provide services to FBS or our internal teams, I’ll see past the humble brags and have a read. Understanding my technology partners (and their competitors) gives me insight into their focus, what’s important to them, and how they’re doing. In some cases, I’m compelled to pick up the phone and talk to my tech partners. I also appreciate when our customers call me and temp-check FBS! It’s good engagement that keeps us all sharp. 

At FBS, we’re focused on providing the MLS with the tools they need to make their market(s) work and MLS subscribers with a system that gives them precisely what they need, when and how they need it so they can efficiently serve consumers. That’s simply stated but challenging to execute. The overall data-feedback we receive tells us that our focus is largely aligned with our customers and software users. That doesn’t mean perfection. We don’t always win. We don’t always get things right. However, we always listen, learn and improve. As a 100% employee-owned company (every employee is an owner), getting it right for our customers is as much business as it is personal.

In calendar-year 2022, 100% of eligible MLS client-partners (nearly 75,000 members across 50+ MLSs) reaffirmed their trust in FBS with a Flexmls contract renewal. These 50 MLSs represent an average customer tenure of nearly 15 years. Simultaneously, we converted 5 new MLSs and accomplished numerous regional initiatives with existing customers. It was also an honor to be selected by our existing client, Charleston Trident MLS, to power their commercial business with a version of the Flexmls System adapted for commercial professionals. If I were to share additional 2022 key performance metrics, you’d quickly find that we’re achieving unprecedented and unmatched industry satisfaction rates, close to 100%, for elements that directly impact MLSs and MLS subscribers such as new feature and marketing communication tools, training, subscriber/end-user support, and more. 

We are proud of these collective accomplishments, grateful for the trust our client-partners placed in us. We’re also highly motivated to continue improvement and innovation in areas of opportunity so we can maintain the high standards we’ve set. FBS has a decades-long history of extremely high client-contract-renewals + new MLS account growth + innovation. With that growth-momentum, we’re serving nearly 320,000 Flexmls software subscribers across 155+ MLSs today. 

Our entire team of FBS employee-owners and candid, trusting, results-based relationships with our growing group of MLS client-partners are the heart of everything. Together, we learn, grow, and get better every year. Our software users (the boots-on-ground real estate professionals) also contribute. We’re constantly engaging them via a variety of methods, seeking input on past product enhancements and future concepts. Just for scale, in 2022, we conducted 270 unique, user interviews. MLS Leaders and Board members, I’d love to hear from you (temp-check us!) and so would our sales team. We’d love to share more about the value of FBS – our products, service and experience.

As we near the end of the year (how did that happen so quickly??) we are thrilled to share that once again 100% of eligible Flexmls contracts were renewed in the third quarter. These contracts account for 13,270 real estate subscribers and nine MLSs, with an average tenure of 11 years. We are honored when our customers choose to continue their decades-long partnership with FBS and the Flexmls platform, and we look forward to continuing to serve and support our customers and their members.

“We are excited to continue our partnership with FBS and the Flexmls platform. Their dedication to developing future-proof MLS software is unmatched in the industry. The combination of their customer-first approach and their employee-owned structure has served our MLS well in the past and we are putting our confidence in their platform for years to come,” said Lyle Irish, CEO and EVP at Knoxville Area Association of Realtors. 

Our goal remains to ensure our customers are at the forefront of technology and that they have the tools that allow their MLS to grow, adapt, and improve upon the service they offer their members. 

“Through their innovation, partnership, and commitment to making our members more successful, the team at FBS continues to solidify itself as the number one MLS software vendor. We are proud to continue our partnership and look forward to the future,” said Meghan Webber, CEO at Greater Lansing Association of Realtors. 

As we look ahead, we are excited to share more Flexmls enhancements focused on getting users in and out of the system as quickly as possible so they can focus time and energy on providing personalized service to their customers. Full steam ahead for FBS in the remaining weeks of 2022! Reach out to our Director of MLS Sales, Matty Epstein (mepstein@fbsdata.com) if you’d like to join the movement with an MLS partner that’s laser-focused on making our customers win.

For readers who are attending CMLS 2022 this week in Indiana, I hope you attend a session called The MLS Value Engine on which I’m a panelist with Mitch Skinner, Alon Chaver, and Ed Zorn. Even though the panel is a bunch of lawyers (or, in my case, former lawyer), I think it’s going to be a great discussion and well worth your time. Each of the panelists will have their own take on the topics, and mine is set out below. A regular caveat: The statements below are my own views and not those of the other panelists or CMLS.

For me, the key issue for this panel is what I see as a simultaneous threat and opportunity for MLSs to build on their central value proposition of being the best source of property data in their market. The threat is that there are many companies today trying to leverage the MLS to build proprietary (owned by them, not the MLS) data sets. All of these companies want to use the MLS to create an adoption network effect, while simultaneously retaining for themselves ownership rights to some or all of the data.

During the panel, we’re all going to try to avoid talking about specific companies but, for purposes of this blog post, I think an example will help explain the threat and also allow me to speak to some questions we know our customers have about our FloPlan product given recent announcements by our technology partner, CubiCasa.

FBS’s FloPlan product uses technology and service from CubiCasa to create floor plans, and we have a license agreement that is very MLS-friendly, including allowing the MLS control and revenue sharing from downstream licensing and distribution of the floor plans and related data. Recently, CubiCasa announced an offer for “free” floor plans but, as we all know, nothing is really free.

CubiCasa is offering the “free” floor plans as a loss leader so they can own the scans created and use them to create gross living area (GLA) floor plans, for which they’ll have the exclusive right to license to others. Agents and the MLS will get a very basic floor plan for free, but CubiCasa will end up being the exclusive owner of the GLA version, which, because of the recent Fannie Mae regulations requiring GLA, CubiCasa believes will be the critical piece of data for property valuations in the near future. In other words, if they’re successful, CubiCasa (and their parent company, Clear Capital) will own the best comp data, not the MLS.

We’ve been negotiating for months with CubiCasa to add the GLA version (and even the free version) of the floor plans to FloPlan, but we haven’t been able to come to agreement because CubiCasa insists that FBS (and our MLS customers) give up the MLS-friendly rights we have under our current license agreement.

This one example epitomizes the threat outlined above. Should MLSs promote adoption of a product — even one that’s free — when the product will create data owned and exclusively licensed by the other company with no control, revenue share, or other consideration for the MLS or its members with regard to that data? The short answer to the above question is no.

The longer, more nuanced answer to the question, however, points to the opportunity for MLSs when considering when and how to partner with new technology companies creating new ways of collecting property data. Creating the “value engine” (or network effect, flywheel effect, etc.) of adoption requires mutual benefits to all stakeholders or the value engine will never start.

To balance the stakeholder benefits, the first step is ensuring that the MLS understands the license terms for the content, including the right for the company (and the MLS) to create derivative works. The digital scans being created today are not only valuable for the core product they produce (e.g., a 3D tour) but also for the data that will be generated from that scan for many years to come, especially as AI and machine-learning advance.

In addition to understanding the license terms the agent, broker, and MLS receive, MLSs need to understand the quality of the products being created. Today, these scans are being used to generate square footage measurements, including gross living area, and so it’s critical to understand (so proper disclosures can be made) the accuracy of the measurements.

The opportunity for the MLS today is to serve it’s members doing what MLSs do best, namely aggregating and standardizing disparate content. There are many options agents and brokers can choose today for creating 3D scans, floor plans, and other digital content. Aggregating this disparate content under MLS-friendly licensing and quality standards is how the MLS will remain the value engine that makes the market work for years to come.

One of the most popular features of any MLS system is the listing alerts agents set up for their customers or prospective customers (or the consumers set up for themselves on a customer portal) to keep them up to date on what new listings or price or status changes have occurred in the MLS. The listing alerts often are set up before there’s a formal agreement or contract between the customer and agent or broker, but often the consumer is agreeing to some “terms of use” to access the listing alerts.

What if an MLS included something like the following as part of their terms of use for the consumer to access listing alerts or other data or benefits from the MLS system? Could this be a way for an MLS to educate consumers on how the MLS makes the market work with offers of compensation and perhaps even agree to those terms with consumers?

Consumer Terms of Use for MLSs

Thank you for being interested in accessing information from our MLS, which provides the most up-to-date and accurate information about the real estate market in the area we serve. 

MLS is able to aggregate the best data because we make the market work by bringing together agents for buyers and sellers and provide rules and options for how they can cooperate on your behalf by sharing data and commissions from sales. MLSs refer to this as “cooperation and compensation”, and it’s important for you, as a consumer (buyer or seller),  to understand how this works before you agree to use the MLS information we provide.

A key aspect of MLS cooperation and compensation – how MLS makes the market work – is that the agent for sellers of property often offers to share their commission on the sale with an agent who represents  a buyer for the property. This promise of commission sharing is important for buyer’s agents, who only get paid if the transaction closes. Agents for buyers are not working for free but they, like the seller’s agent, are only compensated if a transaction closes, and this is why the offer of compensation is important to making the market work.

Importantly, each seller may negotiate the commission they are paying their agent and offer to buyer’s agents and each buyer may negotiate what commission is paid to their agent as well by having a separate Buyer Agency Agreement. These agreements are between you and your agent as either a buyer and seller, and are completely separate from these Consumer Terms of Use for MLSs. 

By accessing the data in the MLS, you are not establishing any agency agreement or agreeing to pay any commission, but you are acknowledging that you understand how MLS makes the market work and agree that offers of compensation made through the MLS are an efficient and effective way to make the market work for you. 

There’s long been debate about whether MLSs should have direct relationships or connections with consumers, but this might be a way for MLSs to provide education and value to consumers before they contract with brokers so that when they are ready for such a contract, how the process of the MLS works is clearer to everyone involved and more options are available like those Northwest MLS recently implemented. What are your thoughts?

In support of our growing customer base, product lineup, and dedication to stellar service, the small but mighty FBS Sales team of 3 has expanded to 5. Living out our commitment to an environment of opportunity, we’re excited to announce the promotion of two existing employee-owners. 

After nearly 6 years of learning the industry and working with client-partners on events and marketing campaigns, Katie Kapel has joined the team as Business Development Manager. In this role, she’ll continue down the path of ensuring exceptional experiences for both new and existing client-partners. Katie helped bring home our Forbes Small Giant award; she’s passionate about FBS and has a history of going above and beyond for our customers. We’re excited to have her as an ambassador on the sales team!

Chris Evenson, formerly the Director of Customer Success for FlōPlan, will continue his work supporting client-partners with FlōPlan, as well as within Flexmls and SSO Dashboard projects. In his new role as Account Manager, he will also help to identify opportunities across FBS products and the ever-changing market. 

FBS’s vision is to be known as the best MLS software and services company, and that’s only achievable with employees who are respected, invested, and well-informed. We look forward to the contributions and impact of these two now and in the future.

Congratulations to Katie and Chris!

I’ll keep this short and factual: once MLSs start working with FBS and license the Flexmls Platform, they stay. Our 99% MLS client renewal rate validates that statement 🙂 

On the heels of an incredible 2021, where every customer eligible to renew their Flexmls agreement did, we’re closing quarter one with the same vigor. Representing 20,000 real estate subscribers and an average client-tenure of 16 years, 20 MLSs reaffirmed their commitment to the Flexmls Platform and FBS vision in quarter one of 2022. 

MLS contracts aren’t the only thing we’ve been refreshing this quarter: here’s a glance at just a few of the Flexmls user interface updates we’ve made so far this year. Energy is high at FBS, with no signs of tapering as we gear up for the in-person return of our favorite annual events: Homecoming (our all-employee celebration), and the FBS Summit. Here’s to an equally awesome Q2! 

The Finish Line

We’ve arrived at the last blog in our four part series dedicated to MLSs who choose to stay local and independent. If you haven’t read the first three blogs in the series (introduction, data sharing and regionalization) it’s a great time to check them out. We share real-world examples of how we’ve helped MLSs of all sizes work through data sharing solutions or regionalization in their unique market, providing key details about decisions, obstacles, challenges, and desired outcomes. Through these blogs, hopefully we’ve demonstrated how and why we are the optimal technology and strategic partner to provide the guidance, support, change-management training, and superior technology to help you find success and growth on whichever path you / your MLS chooses.

When is Staying Local and Independent the Best Option?

Goal: To grow a strong local and independent MLS for regions where there are specific factors, such as geography and unique housing markets (driven by tourism or high-end luxury homes), that require agents in the MLS to have a distinct skill set and deep market knowledge. Providing hyper-custom products and services is necessary to meet the unique needs of the region. 

What Made Sense for Santa Barbara

After reading the above, you might be thinking, but what about when data sharing or regionalization don’t make sense for my MLS? No problem, we’ve still got you covered. We have many customers who’ve found that success for them means staying local and independent. During a time when many MLSs were looking into data sharing agreements, our customer, Santa Barbara Association of Realtors (SBAOR), also looked at the option. Often referred to as the “Island of Santa Barbara” due to their unique location (an MLS region surrounded by Pacific Ocean, National Forest and rugged coastline), the region doesn’t allow for overlapping borders, and therefore data sharing didn’t make sense. While outsiders might have benefitted from a data share agreement, SBAOR’s Board of Directors decided that the benefits to their members of regionalization or data sharing were not there. At FBS, our team is proud to have worked with SBAOR for over two decades. Over that time, we have made ongoing adjustments to fields and tools within the system, keeping it efficient and meaningful  for their members. One example is how the unique needs of the SBAOR market drove us to develop customizable price ranges in some statistical reports. Ani Pollack, MLS Director at Santa Barbara Association of Realtors, shared, “Flexmls gives us a customized MLS system for our unique, local market. Third party integrations, privacy photo options, tailored broker tours, new property types, mapping and MLS districts are just a few of the features that work really well for our members and unique market.  With the help of FBS, we can stay strong and independent, and put the needs of our members first.”

From the Ocean to the Slopes

Park City, Utah is like Santa Barbara only in that local market and geographical dynamics are extremely unique to their surroundings. Inasmuch, it makes a lot of sense for them to celebrate that uniqueness and honor the market’s special and different qualities by remaining independent.  A big site for winter sports and tourism, Park City is a high-end luxury home market, where the median asking price is over $3 million. These differentiators make Park City a unique market compared to its neighboring regions in Utah. Because of this, selling real estate in Park City and similar markets requires intimate knowledge of the marketplace (current and past) and all of its nuances. And while all markets require REALTORS® to know the analytics and information behind the market (the asking price and why, property characteristics that go into that pricing, etc.), in Park City, there’s truly a unique depth of knowledge necessary. When Park City MLS users made the transition to the Flexmls Platform, adoption of the new product was no problem. The process was smooth. Subscribers welcomed the intuitive nature and additional robust  features provided by the Flexmls Platform. Because of Flexmls’s capacity for customization, Park City MLS users were able to get access to the precise tools needed to drill deeply into property details. In addition, the mobile app and client portal made agent-to-client communication and collaboration efficient, supporting out-of-town and out-of-state buyers common for the Park City market.  “Our agents can pull up stats useful to buyers or sellers with two or three clicks. The technology behind Flexmls allows for an incredibly customizable platform that can address the nuances of our local market,” explained Bob Bemis, MLS Director at Park City MLS. 

It’s All Our Jam

At FBS, our team is equally dedicated to fostering customer and subscriber success in local, autonomous markets as much as we are dedicated to supporting regionalization and data sharing initiatives. Why? Because our purpose is to help you make the market work… and that means different things to different MLSs.  In markets where MLS System customizations are a vital cornerstone for success, Flexmls continues to shine with technology that helps MLS Admins make lots of changes independently coupled with a team that’s just a phone call away to help understand and provide solutions for more complex challenges. Responsive, knowledgeable, and timely is our goal. “With Flexmls, every customer has custom fields and permissions to use to make the system work for their members. We serve MLSs with under 100 members and MLSs with more than 40,000 members, and they all have sustainable customization and the support and expertise of FBS staff built into their experience,” said Kendra O’Brien, FBS Director of Customer Success.

In Summary

If you know Matty Epstein, our Director of MLS Sales, you’ve probably heard him say, “MLSs are like snowflakes – each unique in their own way”. That’s a fact. At FBS, we’re well prepared to address each unique MLS with an experienced team and proven technology that’s always been ahead of the industry curve. Whether offering guidance to help you determine which path is best for your situation, helping navigate which fields to pick when consolidating, or implementing what’s needed within the Flexmls System to address what is most important and unique to your market and subscribers, we pride ourselves on bringing years of hands-on experience and insight, powerful technology, and reliability you can trust to ensure your success. CEO and President of FBS, Michael Wurzer, said it best, “FBS is and always will be a partner dedicated to the success of our MLS customers– no matter what that looks like. Whether data sharing, consolidating, or staying local and independent we have the team and technology to support your continued growth.” 

We’d love to hear from you and earn the opportunity to help you address your market’s needs and goals. Leave us a comment below. We welcome your thoughts, and we’d love to answer any questions you might have. 

We seek to provide meaningful content focused on MLS and making the market work. Subscribe to the FBS blog (if you haven’t already) and share it with your team members and peers. We love engagement, so please reach out any time along the way!

Back in The Day

Prior to 15+ years in real estate technology, I spent nearly 10 years working with a large Northern California Regional brokerage (1200+ agents, 12+ offices) in a variety of leadership roles. During my decade-long tenure, I led marketing and advertising, non-traditional business development programs, a global relocation operation and an ancillary software company that sold products to Brokers nationwide. I spent a lot of time in and around Leading Real Estate Companies of the World (LRE), the Employee Relocation Council (ERC) and the Realty Alliance. In addition to leading teams and divisions, in all of my roles, I spent a big chunk of my time interfacing directly with real estate agents. Each week, I’d travel to multiple office meetings and educate on a variety of topics including inbound and outbound relocation and our referral network, the Seniors program for SRES designated agents, best marketing practices, proprietary advertising programs, the web and how to effectively advertise on the web, in-house design resources, etc.. Easily the most fun and educational part of my job. I value this time in my career for giving me a full spectrum understanding of Brokerage Ops (agent recruiting and retention, financials, etc.) and the REALTORS®. The knowledge I gained has served me well in my more recent roles with real estate technology as I’ve been part of building, educating and promoting real estate technology solutions. Lately, I’ve been reflecting a lot on my time in Brokerage, specifically the years I spent running one of America’s most productive inbound and outbound relation operations, as we’ve developed and brought our FlōPlan floor plan product to market.

A Floor Plan that Changes the Game

FlōPlan is a floor plan app (and system) that enables an agent (or a delegate like team member, assistant, photographer, even homeowner) to scan a listing property with just a cellphone in less than ten minutes. With one tap, the scan is uploaded and returned back to the listing agent as a complete floor plan in less than a day for just $29 or less (for subscribers of MLSs who license FlōPlan from FBS, the cost is just $12 per scan). No training or special equipment is needed. It’s so easy that ANYONE can do it… including Greg Robertson’s teenage son and the grandmother of ex-MichRic-MLS Director-turned FBS-employee-owner, Nathan Andrus (you’ll have to ask him!). The real magic is that for the first time in history, agents can quickly, easily and economically put an accurate floor plan on every one of their listings with just a cell phone.

Today, I consider floor plans to be table-stakes-visual-media. Without a floor plan, listings lack meaningful information and impede (yes, impede) Buyers. Floor plans help Buyers parse through listings faster and with better visibility to make important, early-stage decisions. They help save critical time (very relevant in today’s market) and maximize in-person time investment for touring listings for both a Buyer and REALTOR®. A floor plan on every listing makes home searching better and easier for Buyers while helping Agents more effectively and efficiently serve sellers and buyers (especially if the Buyers are remote). Here’s where my Brokerage background comes back to tap me on the shoulder.

Relocation Nation – We Need to Transform the Experience

Recently, I was reviewing the United Van Lines 2021 Movers Study and was struck by the amount of interstate relocation happening during the pandemic. According to FinTech company Shyft, about 3 million people move interstate each year. I thought about how much easier the work of finding a home in another state would have been for those 3 million people if every listing they perused online had a floor plan. Back in the day, running a very active international relocation program, I experienced first-hand the challenges of remote/relocation Buyers who are inherently operating at a disadvantage. Usually, timelines are tight and it’s far more stressful than the usual local move. Some purchase without ever setting foot in a home while others painstakingly plan out a visit to their new region with their family to see available properties. I remember the work our relocation consultants and agents would do to help Buyers prepare for a trip to their new state to see properties. Literally hours on the phone, emailing (and yes, faxing) dozens of pictures and then walking the client through them in sequence to help thread together details of the home’s spatial layout. Can you imagine?! Tedious, challenging and just arduous. All of this can be remedied with one quick glance of a floor plan that instantly exposes the details: room locations, doors and windows, closets, relationships between rooms, etc.. I can easily imagine many hours, maybe even days of administrative labor being saved and new visibility gained where before it was one, big, blind spot. And, further, how much less stressful, exhausting and expensive would it be to narrow the number of properties to see during a visit with true confidence?!

People, Let’s Do This

With FlōPlan, the technology is readily available to scan and receive a completed, accurate floor plan that can be linked to a listing in less than one day for $29 or less, requiring only a cell phone. As an industry, we have no excuse for failing to meet the needs expressed by consumers for many consecutive years through the NAR’s annual Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends Report telling us that floor plans are one of the top three most valuable informational elements on a listing. EVERY listing needs a floor plan. Recently, I ran across a Facebook post by the great Valerie Garcia from 1000Watt that said: “Floor plans, people. Buyers want them always. It’s the single easiest way for you to up your game as an agent who knows their stuff. It’s 2022. They’re not just ‘nice to have’ anymore.” I’m guessing every single homebuyer agrees with this. We have the opportunity to make the experience markedly better for all players while improving the listing record (and entire markets) with very little effort or investment. How often do we get to say that? It’s rare when an opportunity to make powerful and meaningful change in our business is both easy and inexpensive. Kind of makes you pause and raise a skeptical eyebrow. But I promise you this one is for real – we have dozens of MLS clients already licensing FlōPlan from us and thousands of happy users*. We should take this “gimme” and run with it! People, let’s do this.

^{*Our current user satisfaction ratings are 99% with 99% of users saying they’d use FlōPlan again for future floor plans.}

Back in The Day

Prior to 15+ years in real estate technology, I spent nearly 10 years working with a large Northern California Regional brokerage (1200+ agents, 12+ offices) in a variety of leadership roles. During my decade-long tenure, I led marketing and advertising, non-traditional business development programs, a global relocation operation and an ancillary software company that sold products to Brokers nationwide. I spent a lot of time in and around Leading Real Estate Companies of the World (LRE), the Employee Relocation Council (ERC) and the Realty Alliance. In addition to leading teams and divisions, in all of my roles, I spent a big chunk of my time interfacing directly with real estate agents. Each week, I’d travel to multiple office meetings and educate on a variety of topics including inbound and outbound relocation and our referral network, the Seniors program for SRES designated agents, best marketing practices, proprietary advertising programs, the web and how to effectively advertise on the web, in-house design resources, etc.. Easily the most fun and educational part of my job. I value this time in my career for giving me a full spectrum understanding of Brokerage Ops (agent recruiting and retention, financials, etc.) and the REALTORS®. The knowledge I gained has served me well in my more recent roles with real estate technology as I’ve been part of building, educating and promoting real estate technology solutions. Lately, I’ve been reflecting a lot on my time in Brokerage, specifically the years I spent running one of America’s most productive inbound and outbound relocation operations, as we’ve developed and brought our FlōPlan floor plan product to market.

A Floor Plan that Changes the Game

FlōPlan is a floor plan app (and system) that enables an agent (or a delegate like team member, assistant, photographer, even homeowner) to scan a listing property with just a cellphone in less than ten minutes. With one tap, the scan is uploaded and returned back to the listing agent as a complete floor plan in less than a day for just $29 or less (for subscribers of MLSs who license FlōPlan from FBS, the cost is just $12 per scan). No training or special equipment is needed. It’s so easy that ANYONE can do it… including Greg Robertson’s teenage son and the grandmother of ex-MichRic-MLS Director-turned FBS-employee-owner, Nathan Andrus (you’ll have to ask him!). The real magic is that for the first time in history, agents can quickly, easily and economically put an accurate floor plan on every one of their listings with just a cell phone. 

Today, I consider floor plans to be table-stakes-visual-media. Without a floor plan, listings lack meaningful information and impede (yes, impede) Buyers. Floor plans help Buyers parse through listings faster and with better visibility to make important, early-stage decisions. They help save critical time (very relevant in today’s market) and maximize in-person time investment for touring listings for both a Buyer and REALTOR®. A floor plan on every listing makes home searching better and easier for Buyers while helping Agents more effectively and efficiently serve sellers and buyers (especially if the Buyers are remote). Here’s where my Brokerage background comes back to tap me on the shoulder. 

Relocation Nation – We Need to Transform the Experience

Recently, I was reviewing the United Van Lines 2021 Movers Study and was struck by the amount of interstate relocation happening during the pandemic. According to FinTech company Shyft, about 3 million people move interstate each year. I thought about how much easier the work of finding a home in another state would have been for those 3 million people if every listing they perused online had a floor plan. Back in the day, running a very active international relocation program, I experienced first-hand the challenges of remote/relocation Buyers who are inherently operating at a disadvantage. Usually, timelines are tight and it’s far more stressful than the usual local move. Some purchase without ever setting foot in a home while others painstakingly plan out a visit to their new region with their family to see available properties. I remember the work our relocation consultants and agents would do to help Buyers prepare for a trip to their new state to see properties. Literally hours on the phone, emailing (and yes, faxing) dozens of pictures and then walking the client through them in sequence to help thread together details of the home’s spatial layout. Can you imagine?! Tedious, challenging and just arduous. All of this can be remedied with one quick glance of a floor plan that instantly exposes the details: room locations, doors and windows, closets, relationships between rooms, etc.. I can easily imagine many hours, maybe even days of administrative labor being saved and new visibility gained where before it was one, big, blind spot. And, further, how much less stressful, exhausting and expensive would it be to narrow the number of properties to see during a visit with true confidence?! 

People, Let’s Do This

With FlōPlan, the technology is readily available to scan and receive a completed, accurate floor plan that can be linked to a listing in less than one day for $29 or less requiring just a cell phone. As an industry, we have no excuse for failing to meet the needs expressed by consumers for many consecutive years through the NAR’s annual Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends Report telling us that floor plans are one of the top three most valuable informational elements on a listing. EVERY listing needs a floor plan. Recently, I ran across a Facebook post by the great Valerie Garcia from 1000Watt that said: “Floor plans, people. Buyers want them always. It’s the single easiest way for you to up your game as an agent who knows their stuff. It’s 2022. They’re not just ‘nice to have’ anymore.” I’m guessing every single homebuyer agrees with this. We have the opportunity to make the experience markedly better for all players while improving the listing record (and entire markets) with very little effort or investment. How often do we get to say that? It’s rare when an opportunity to make powerful and meaningful change in our business is both easy and inexpensive. Kind of makes you pause and raise a skeptical eyebrow. But I promise you this one is for real – we have dozens of MLS clients already licensing FlōPlan from us and thousands of happy users*. We should take this “gimme” and run with it! People, let’s do this.

*Our current user satisfaction ratings are 99% with 99% of users saying they’d use FlōPlan again for future floor plans.

When Is Regionalization The Best Option?

GOAL: Unifying and consolidating multiple, local, and/or regional MLSs into one larger MLS entity. Regionalization enables full market view and access in order to best serve consumers while preventing Overlapping Market Disorder (OMD), a condition that requires agents and brokers to enter listings into multiple systems and pay dues to each of those systems. Additionally, regional consolidation can result in improved pricing (as a result of higher membership) and access to more products, technology, and services for MLS subscribers.

Consolidating multiple MLSs is often a significant undertaking that raises a lot of questions along the way: What will the new system look like? What fields will be used? What rules will be decided? One thing is for certain: consolidation requires compromise, communication, and collaboration from all parties—MLS technology vendors included. Regionalization creates one set of rules and a single robust MLS system—a solution ideal for smaller MLSs wanting to join together for greater negotiating power and an ability to deliver high-value products and services to their members. At FBS, we use expertise to help answer the questions and provide guidance on solutions. Much like in cases of data sharing, our Customer Success team works very closely with MLS admins and staff from the moment they decide to regionalize, through onboarding to the Flexmls Platform—providing insights and expertise gained through years of experience and established best practices. At FBS, the North Carolina Regional MLS was one of the most extensive regionalizations we’ve facilitated.

North Carolina Regional MLS

A large, and unique project from the beginning, the North Carolina Regional MLS (NCRMLS) consolidation began with nine different associations from five different MLS vendors joining together in a single data format and Flexmls Platform. This is considerably larger in scope and scale than the typical consolidation. The key reason for their desire to regionalize was to remove barriers and make doing business easier for their subscribers. Because this was a larger consolidation, FBS Director of Customer Success, Kendra O’Brien, and Senior Customer Onboarding Manager, Melissa Feeken, traveled to New Bern, NC, to meet with representatives from the different associations to discuss and plan the best path to resolve data inconsistencies and set business rules to meet the needs of the new regional MLS. “There were some obstacles, as is normal with any project of this size. We ran into some issues getting access to data and had to update our schedule accordingly, which we did working in partnership with the leaders of the MLS and associations,” said O’Brien.

Once a plan was established to set up and customize the Flexmls system based on the new NCRMLS entity’s needs, the FBS Data Engineering team was responsible for acquiring, transforming, and loading data from the current platform into Flexmls. With so many associations consolidating, completing the work on time was important. “Our team does the necessary work to change and adapt the incoming data to how the MLS desires to use it going forward. With NCRMLS, we were working with and normalizing data from many more associations than usual. As of today, we’ve brought in over a dozen associations in various formats to support NCRMLS’s expansion in the region,” explained Troy Davisson, Director of Data Engineering at FBS.

The “Flexmls go-live” is usually when the work is considered complete, but for NCRMLS, the first go-live in January 2016 was just the beginning of a long series of projects, which has continued with several new associations added to NCRMLS since its inception. With each addition, the FBS team adds to the overall value and experience for NCRMLS members. With two more MLSs scheduled to join in 2022, we’re still not done!

Flexmls is uniquely suited for consolidation because we have tools that allow each association autonomy through association-level product customizations, while still unifying them all within one MLS system and one set of rules. “We continue to provide the most reliable, best-in-class tools available to support our REALTORS® in achieving their goals. We have always felt confident in our success with FBS as a partner. As new members onboard, they have no problems adapting to the easy-to-use, intuitive technology. It’s the platform that helped make us who we are. Flexmls found a way to give every one of us a voice in its robust platform,” said Daniel Jones, CEO at North Carolina Regional MLS.

Today, North Carolina Regional MLS is comprised of 15 associations and more than 10,800 agents (and counting) united under one MLS.

Beyond NCRMLS

Through the years, FBS has helped MLSs of all sizes and geographies find success through regionalization, including Arizona Regional MLS, Southern Missouri Regional MLS, Montana Regional MLS, and a current onboarding project with the Great North MLS among others. In 2020, we also helped with the Oregon Datashare which was working to form a regional using the RESO Platinum standard as their field base. The associations made decisions about how their data corresponded with those fields, and the conversion was extra efficient as a result. This hybrid option is a great way to maintain MLS autonomy while sharing one database and set of fields. Matty Epstein, FBS Director of MLS Sales, who frequently works with MLS Leaders as they start conversations around regionalization says, “FBS is a partner with our customers. Partnership is about doing what is best for the MLSs, and their brokers, and agents. If that means expanding the MLS’s footprint, sharing data with other MLSs, or staying autonomous, we have the technical and human experience to help make the market work!”

The Bottom Line

It may go without saying, but Flexmls is super flexible! We’ve always been proud of the product’s ability to conform to the market—not the other way around. Flexmls allows member associations to keep a unique, autonomous space while uniting them all under one MLS and a shared set of rules. In all scenarios, our team works closely with MLS staff to help guide and assist the business strategies of each individual customer. Questions for us? Leave a comment below or reach out any time! Have you read our other blogs posts in the Tales from the Wild series? We dive into other scenarios an MLS might face, data sharing or staying local and independent.

When is Data Sharing The Best Option?

GOAL: Expand access and reach beyond local; maintain local MLS autonomy and identity.

MLSs in large metropolitan areas seek data sharing between local MLSs to ensure that subscribers gain maximum listing exposure and listing access across the entire region while improving efficiency (eliminating duplicate listing entry, multi-MLS membership, etc.). Data shares create a more boundaryless subscriber experience while empowering all individual MLS parties to maintain their autonomy, enforce their own rules and run their own MLS system.

South Florida: Multiple MLSs and MLS Vendors

Such was the case in Southern Florida, where we (FBS) implemented a data share for our Flexmls® Platform customers between Miami Association of Realtors®, Martin County Realtors® and the Greater Fort Lauderdale Board of Realtors®, all of whom utilize different MLS vendors. Once the desire was established, the FBS team took action, providing input and advice on best practices, drawn on 20+ years of hands-on experience implementing complex data shares.

Greg Manship (@gregmanship), Senior Vice President of MLS and Data Integrations at Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors® explains, “In South Florida there was a need to lower the MLS boundaries that agents were up against when working with their clients. Once we had data sharing agreements in place with our neighboring MLSs, FBS expertly worked with us, our neighbors and their vendors to combine the data and make it available to our members in Flexmls. South Florida is an active market, making accuracy and timeliness of data critical. FBS and Flexmls provide that for us.”

Some of the unique elements associated with this particular data share project were: different MLS vendors, leadership from multiple MLSs, accurate replication of data and redistribution of that data in a standard format conforming with local business rules. To facilitate the data share, the Data Engineering and Customer Success Teams worked together to scope the project and outline the path forward, creating an established timeline. Then, the real work took place: analyzing data feeds from other vendors, working with our customer(s) to map the fields to their Flexmls database and then performing a data conversion. Work like this can take weeks (or more, sometimes, given the process and number of people/entities involved).

Beyond South Florida – Data Sharing Expertise

South Florida is one of many examples of FBS working closely with their Flexmls customers within a large geography, amidst many other MLSs (and MLS technologies), to implement data sharing for the benefit of subscribers (and their customers). To name just a few substantial initiatives, FBS implemented data sharing in Southern California, importing data from CRMLS into Flexmls and in another multi-vendor data share that stretches from Georgia to Michigan.

Data Sharing Between Flexmls Customers? Super Easy

FBS provides a unique (and free) data sharing feature built right into the Flexmls Platform. For two or more Flexmls customers sharing data with each other, the Flexmls Data Share is easy to turn on and is customizable by the MLS so MLS administrators can control which fields they want to share with the other MLSs. Real-time searching on the user side is simple and intuitive, and agents can easily select which MLS’s data they want to search from a dropdown menu. This solution easily and efficiently meets the needs of the participating MLSs. One of many Flexmls customers utilizing the Flexmls Data Share is a group of six MLSs in Pennsylvania that includes the Pocono Mountains Association of Realtors®. “Our MLS has been taking advantage of the Flexmls Data Share functionality for upwards of 20 years. Our members can see data from six neighboring Flexmls systems quickly and easily right in their familiar Flexmls system. This is a huge benefit to our members as it enables them to represent their clients across multiple MLS markets without needing to join multiple MLS organizations. It is also great to know that listings entered into our MLS will have exposure to agents in those other markets in the same manner,” said Nicole Murray, Association Executive at Pocono Mountains Association of Realtors.

The Bottom Line

Data sharing implementations have a lot of moving parts: people, data, technology systems. There are numerous technical-backend options that can be implemented to create a data share and each has its own unique challenges. FBS has a long history of successfully implementing complex data shares. Both team and technology ensure MLSs receive sound guidance and a well executed plan to support their needs, managed by professionals who communicate and collaborate along the way. The outcome? Thoughtfully customized solutions and happy customers. FBS Vice President of Sales, Dave Rifkin is often on the front lines of these conversations as they start to take shape with MLS leadership of Flexmls customers. He shares his confidence in FBS’s ability to help any MLS achieve their goals: “At this point, I know there’s truly nothing we can’t overcome with our team and technology. We do this a lot. Everyone works together to do what is best for our customers, supporting them through the process.” Thinking of a data share and want to talk through ideas and options? Don’t hesitate to reach out to us or leave a comment below!

As we’ve said above, each MLS is different and each solution unique. Check out our other blogs from our Tales from the Wild series where we focus on regionalization and local and independent MLSs to learn how FBS serves each customer’s individual needs.

Data sharing, regionalization, or local and independent — these are the options available to an MLS when it comes to a path for future growth. How do you know which one is best for your MLS and members? At some point, it’s likely every market and MLS will grapple with these decisions. Many factors need to be considered. Time and time again, FBS is relied upon as the partner to support these decisions with both the team and technology to make it happen. In a blog mini-series during the next four weeks, we’ll share some real-world examples, from markets all around the US, that demonstrate our ability to work closely in collaboration with our MLS partners to make their unique models successful for the MLS and members alike. You’ll also gain insight from MLS Staff and FBS staff involved with the work. No matter large or small, local and independent, regionalization or data sharing, we can help make the market work for your unique objectives, members and real estate customers.

Regardless of the model chosen, there will be challenges to overcome and problems to solve. It’s important to have a partner with the team and technology to help you overcome the challenges and get to the desired outcome. We hope by sharing our real-life stories of MLS growth, you’ll gain understanding and confidence in FBS as that MLS success partner. We love engagement, so if at any point you have questions or wonder how one of these models might work for your MLS, please leave us a comment below or contact us directly any time. We’d love the opportunity to connect, understand how we can help, and answer any questions.

Now, let’s check out our first blog in the series on data sharing. If that doesn’t sound like the right fit for your MLS, feel free to skip ahead and read about regionalization or local and independent.

Please consider subscribing to the FBS blog (if you haven’t already), share it with peers and check out the rest of our series.

I’m excited to announce that Jay Thompson has agreed to join FBS’s Board of Directors. I’ve known Jay since 2008 when we first launched Flexmls for the ARMLS market. At that time, Jay was a broker and a clear and strong voice on his blog, the Phoenix Real Estate Guy. Back then, there were quite a few of us who were exchanging ideas on our respective blogs and we often referred to ourselves as the RE.net. I look back on those times with great fondness, mostly because many lasting relationships were formed. I feel especially fortunate that one of those relationships for me was with Jay and that it has led us to this moment where we can now work together.

I appreciated Jay’s voice and thinking back then and my respect and admiration for him has only grown over the subsequent 10+ years. Not only does Jay bring the perspective of a successful agent and broker, but he also has served on the NAR’s MLS Issues and Policies Committee (2009-2012) and the MLS Technology and Emerging Issues Subcommittee (2012) and he  currently serves on the Board of one of our customers, Cape Cod and Islands MLS.

Of course, many of you also likely know Jay for his years working with Zillow Group, which Jay describes as “challenging, insightful, quite painful at times, and an amazing experience.” I hope to learn from Jay in the coming years how he developed such thick skin, because he always responded with respect, grace, and intelligence, even when others were losing their minds about ZG. Jay was never anything but himself through those years and I’m 100% confident that gives him a perspective that will help FBS craft an even clearer and stronger strategy. Honestly, I can think of no one person who brings more variety and depth of experience in real estate and technology than Jay.

FBS’s Board consists of eight directors, five inside (employee owner) directors and three outside directors:

• Employee Owner Directors
  • Philip Culver — Director of Project Management
  • Matty Epstein — Director of MLS Sales
  • Cal Heldenbrand — Chief Cowboy (if you know, you know)
  • Brandon Hornseth — VP of Engineering
  • Michael Wurzer (me) – Chair, CEO and President

• Outside Directors
  • Steve Malme — WW Health, Business Development for Amazon Web Services
  • Christy Spokely — Founder Extreme, LLC, and former Channel Manager and Director at Great Plains and Microsoft
  • Jay Thompson — Still and always Phoenix RE Guy

Even though we purposely balance the Board in favor of our employee owners, the outside directors provide us with critical perspective, experience, and insight, and I couldn’t be happier to have Jay join us in that role.

While in some ways 2021 feels like the longest year ever, in others, it’s moving lightening-fast. As we’re blazing through the last few calendar months in preparation for the New Year, I had to stop and acknowledge some of what we’ve accomplished at FBS so far. Results like this are celebration worthy but that’s not the sole intent of this post. I’d also like to highlight these from a business perspective. They are a powerful, unbiased testament to the value of the work we’re doing. Beneath the ever-changing surface, beyond the daily noise that can easily distract, at FBS, we’re laser-focused. We’re consistently learning, innovating, growing and delivering tremendous software and service value to our MLS customers and software subscribers. These are results that shine brightly and speak loudly. Take a look. 

Confidence to Renew Again and Again

This year, 100% of our MLS customers eligible to renew their Flexmls agreements, renewed. Being trusted and relied upon by 155+ MLSs (representing more than 300,000 Flexmls subscribers), some that have been clients for 3+ decades, is awesome and absolutely what fuels us. This isn’t a rare occurrence, either. I’d be hard pressed to find a timeframe where we didn’t renew 100% of eligible contracts and when I find those rare non-renewals, they’re always unique circumstances. How do we achieve this, year after year? 

Recently, Arizona Regional MLS (ARMLS) once again, renewed their contract with us. When I asked CEO, Matthew Consalvo about some of the drivers behind their continued trust in us, he had this to say: “As an organization, ARMLS strives to find ways to continually elevate the capability and value of services provided to our subscribers. One of the primary areas of focus for ARMLS is providing the tools our subscribers need to exceed their client’s expectations. FBS continues to be an active, responsive, and advanced partner in this shared goal.  We value tremendously the relationship and partnership we feel with the FBS Team, and look forward to a shared commitment of creative collaboration in the many years that come”. Three main contributors, echoed in Matt’s feedback:

1- Partnership and Collaboration. We build and nurture long-term partnerships underpinned by open communication and trust from consistently delivering on promises. With FBS, our customers gain a team of laser-focused employee-owners as collaborators who listen, engage and respond with action. When we make mistakes (which we do), we own and fix them – quickly. We also have a lot (a lot) of fun together; collaboration takes many shapes! 

2- Innovative, constantly-improving technology that’s laser focused on helping MLSs make the market work. Enabling geographic growth and choice through standards-built, API-powered, locally-customizable software, Flexmls with Spark API technology empowers subscribers to do their jobs and serve their clients as the local experts quickly, easily and effectively; accessing the richest, most accurate and comprehensive property data and ancillary software they love on any device. Driven home by Mike Smith, the CEO of Alaska MLS, another long-term customer who recently renewed their contract: “Alaska MLS is proud to again renew our relationship with FBS and continue to provide our members with an outstanding MLS platform. The team at FBS have been so easy to work with and are constantly innovating, ensuring our Brokers and Agents have a premium platform to support them”.

3- Unparalleled focus on our Customer’s Success: Seriously, those aren’t just fluffy adjectives. FBS service is notoriously personal and super responsive. Because we’re 100% employee owned, we are empowered to focus on that one outcome: customer success. To that end….

Keeping Customers Happy

This Year we’ve achieved incredible customer satisfaction. And again, this isn’t new. As wild as it may sound, these kind of customer satisfaction results are the norm for us. Our support team alone averages an NPS of 92 and answers 94% of incoming calls in less than a minute. Add to that a Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) score averaging 4.8 (out of 5). Those are powerful numbers. Translation? Problems SOLVED and subscribers back to focusing on their clients. When you couple that with purpose-built, rock-solid-reliable technology, awesome training and unmatched, professionally produced, multi-media marketing resources, our customers have the full spectrum of customer success resources at their (and their member’s) fingertips.

Growing (While Keeping Customers Happy)

This year we’ve already grown subscribers more than 10%. It’s a notable accomplishment to maintain existing clients (and keep a few hundred thousand software subscribers satisfied) year after year (for decades) as technology demands scale and evolve rapidly. It’s entirely another level to grow by double digits year after year for more than a decade in parallel to that incredible retention. Yes, we’ve done that too. In 2021, year to date, we’ve grown the number of subscribers on the Flexmls Platform more than 10%, to more than 300,000. Ask any MLS who has converted to Flexmls and they will attest: we work closely with their teams to navigate and deliver comprehensive system training and conversion support. Through the pandemic, more so, ensuring the utmost standards of sensitivity and care. I won’t be modest here, our conversion team is masterful, I’d bet to say the best in the business. While converting MLS Systems is challenging and there’s no way to completely eliminate that, our conversion and customer success teams are truly awesome, laser focused on ensuring the smoothest transition possible with processes, clear timelines and great communication. 

Innovating New Products that Build MLS Value Proposition (While Growing and Keeping Customers Happy)

This year we’ve launched and scaled a new product. Yikes – this blog is getting longer than I expected (sorry)! I’ll dive in more another day. We launched The FlōPlan System in late 2020 and today, it’s available to more than 250,000 of our Flexmls subscribers. Floor plans that improve the listing for less than $25 each, created with just a cell phone in less than 10 minutes. This product consistently earns a customer satisfaction rating of 99% and the accuracy ratings +95%. Unmatched.

Inviting YOU to Grow With Us

At FBS, we have something totally unique that’s grown annually… for more than 40 years. As a 100% employee owned company we have freedom unlike any other MLS technology provider. We have the financial and operational freedom to wholly focus on and invest in our work. Undistracted. That freedom breeds certainty and confidence in our work. We know we’ll be around for the longterm so we build relationships and MLS software products for the long term. 

We’d love to catch up with MLS Leaders this week at the NAR Conference and Expo to discuss how FBS can support the current and future success of your MLS!

RESO is conducting elections for open seats on the Board of Directors, and I’ve submitted my candidacy to be FBS’s representative on the Board, and I’d very much appreciate the vote of all RESO members! I’m currently the Vice Chair of the Board and very much want to continue the work we’ve been doing, which recently was recognized by Inman as an Inman Innovator and the MLS, Association, or Industry Organization of the Year.

The RESO team, led by CEO Sam DeBord, certainly deserves the credit for the recognition by Inman and the success of the organization over the last several years. The RESO team is one of the biggest reasons I’d like to continue as a Board member, because I firmly believe the work they’ve been doing is helping our industry to make the real estate market work better every day.

As I’ve said in my candidacy statement, “Standards work takes time, focus, and collaboration, and I’m committed to providing all three to RESO and the broader standards community if I’m elected.” I know all too well everyone wants (and needs) standards implementation to move faster, and I and FBS are very committed to making that happen, but I also think it’s important to celebrate successes along the way and to be realistic about the breadth of change and benefits standards are bringing to the industry. Standards work requires patience and perseverance as much as vision and strategy, and I hope I bring all those to the RESO Board.

In addition to experience with and commitment to standards, FBS brings a pretty unique perspective to the RESO Board as a MLS software vendor exclusively focused on the core mission of MLS organizations. FBS is owned 100% by our employees and our business model is clear and simple: Provide the best MLS software and service to our customers. We’ve been in this industry for over 40 years and have consistently grown to now serve over 300,000 agents in 156 MLS organizations across the country and internationally. We serve MLSs of every size and have a broad understanding of the needs of both MLS organizations and the many different organizations that need data from MLSs. As a RESO Board member, I hope to continue to bring this perspective and experience to the effort to make RESO standards better.

In my candidacy statement, I suggested three priorities for RESO for the coming two years:

• Real-time updates for replication,
• Increased utilization of Web API for use cases beyond replication, and
• Media management standards.

I’ll elaborate on these priorities a bit more here than I did in my candidacy statement, which I wanted to keep short.

First, let’s talk about replication, which is the dominant use of the RESO Web API today and likely will be in the future as well. Even though the Web API is a RESTful API intended for more real-time queries rather than replication or copying of the database, the Web API also can be and, in the vast majority of cases, is being used for replication, similar to how the legacy RETS standard has been used. That’s all fine but one of the challenges with any replication strategy is latency, and the reality is agents, brokers, and, most importantly, home buyers and sellers live in a real-time world today. Many vendors have done an awesome job of reducing latency, but I think it would be great if the community could collaborate on how to move everyone as much toward real-time data updates as practical.

Related to this, I’d also like to see the RESO community continue to explore ways to use the Web API for cases beyond replication. This was and is the original reason for a RESTful API and I believe there are many more cases where live queries can be very beneficial to the end-user experience. I understand the responsibility for the end-user experience is on those implementing the standards, and not on RESO itself, but I believe there is work the RESO community could do to identify, educate, and promote non-replication use cases that help improve the experience for MLSs, agents, brokers, and their respective customers.

Lastly, I believe RESO should prioritize what we’ve been calling a “listing update” standard, specifying a protocol for how third party software can add and edit listings in the MLS or other listing system. There’s already been quite a bit of work done on this front, but more work remains and adoption and utlization of the Web API has been the priority for the last few years. Now is the time, however, to increase the priority of listing update, and, to that end, I’ve been advocating to the RESO Board and the broader community that we can lay a strong foundation in relatively short order if we focus first on media management.

Many vendors, including FBS, already have APIs for media management, including photos, videos, virtual tours, floor plans, etc., but those APIs are not yet standardized. Perhaps more importantly, I believe the lack of standards has contributed to uncertainty by MLS organizations on how or if they should approve third parties to be able to use these APIs. The pandemic has shown us all unequivocally how important media is to marking the market work, and the MLS and RESO standards are critical to that effort. Now also is an awesome time to start with something like media, because it generally is easier to standardize than the deeper listing data set and success with media will help  us learn a lot and prepare for tackling other parts of the listing.

I’ll close on this last point by saying that, overall, I’d love to see RESO defining more narrowly focused outcomes important to customers that deliver results faster to the industry. If I’m re-elected to the Board, I will continue to push for results focused on outcomes important to the industry. This is an incredibly exciting time to be a part of the vibrant and productive RESO community and I hope you will vote for FBS to continue our leadership and advocacy as part of the RESO Board.

The other day, I wrote about the recommendation from the NAR’s MLSTEIAB (read the post to know what it means) for a best practice to “create with their vendors and leadership a written plan with a timeline and cost estimate to establish a native* RESO Data Dictionary (DD) compliant MLS.”

When I read this the first time (and as confirmed by multiple customers calling us), I read it as recommending that each MLS convert their local database to be the same as the RESO DD as much as possible to avoid or at least reduce the need to map the data from the local format to the RESO DD. In response to my post, Sam DeBord, who was present at the MLSTEIAB meetings, said that I was misreading the proposal:

[Y]ou can see how “without the need to convert it from some other format” might imply to some that the MLS is not allowed to convert it from some other format.

Having been in the NAR advisory board meetings, I can tell you that’s not the case. Rather, the intent was that the data consumers (broker participants) would not have to convert the data. Whatever transformations the MLS needs to perform internally is its business, as long as all outputs conform to standards. Clarification is probably warranted here.

There was a lot of discussion on Twitter following this, including some fun about how many statuses there are nationally, but a short summary is that, technically, no, the MLSTEIAB is not recommending all MLSs to convert their local system, mapping the local data to the RESO DD is just fine.

Though I have to say that’s quite a relief given that I was thinking the recommendation meant we were facing hundreds of MLS conversions if the best practice recommendation was passed, I also agree there are reasons more standardization would be useful. In particular,  there remain reasons, such as improving listing entry, to explore how and why so many differences remain locally and regionally. Are they being driven by local market needs or just local committee interpretations? I continue to advocate for narrowly focused efforts to explore when local rules and fields are important to the market, and when they’re not. We need to preserve the former and standardize the latter.

The NAR’s MLS Technology and Emerging Issues Advisory Board (MLSTEIAB) (gotta love those acronyms, right?) recently sent a list of recommendations for consideration by, I believe, the NAR Board of Directors. Among those recommendations was this one:

Best Practice: By July 1, 2022, MLSs should create with their vendors and leadership a written plan with a timeline and cost estimate to establish a native* RESO Data Dictionary compliant MLS for all listing content available to MLS Participants and Subscribers.

“Native” means all of the MLS’s data access services for Participants, Subscribers, vendors, designees, and other authorized recipients must be delivered Data Dictionary compliant data without the need to convert it from some other format.

I’ve gotten a few calls about this and have been surprised it hasn’t been more. Perhaps the lack of interest or concern is because the term “best practice” means optional? Or maybe everyone is just waiting to see if anything comes of it at the NAR meetings? Regardless, I thought I should take a moment to think out loud about it, because this is potentially a very big deal for MLSs and their vendors.

The first thing that comes to mind is that I’m kind of skeptical that any MLSs will actually be able to comply with it as written, which is that MLSs must deliver “Data Dictionary compliant data without the need to convert it from some other format.”

The first thought that pops into my mind is that I can’t think of any MLSs off the top of my head that even follow the RESO standard statuses. Instead, pretty much every MLS provides the “local MLS” status fields and then maps those to provide the RESO standard status fields. So, will all those MLSs have to conform their statuses to the RESO standard statuses as part of this project?

The next thing that comes to mind is that there are many, many cases (trust me, we’ve been mapping MLS data to the RESO DD for years) where MLSs have more detailed data than the DD supports. So, will those MLSs either lose that detailed data or will the additional details be added to the DD ahead of or as part of the conversion?

Honestly, thinking beyond these kinds of basic questions to the broader prospect of 500 MLS conversions in the years ahead makes me wonder what outcome is being sought by this proposal, and whether this is the best path to achieving that outcome? In terms of a plan, I’d recommend some basic cost-benefit analysis be the first step, because it’s hard to imagine an outcome that’s going to be achieved that justifies the costs, especially when the reality is that the RESO DD actually embeds within it the ability to map something as fundamental as status. And we also know that thousands of data consumers today are processing mapped feeds successfully today.

One of the key benefits I can see of having all MLSs be “native” (without data mapping) is for third party listing entry and updates to the MLS. If a third party wants to enter a listing, but they’re using the DD and that doesn’t have the same level of detail as the local MLS, that causes data loss or degradation, so having them the same becomes important. However, getting there on every field is a massive undertaking that raises very practical cost-benefit concerns.

To this point, instead of starting with some broad mandate about every single field, how about we start with some core categories like property type, status, location fields (e.g., address, city, county, school district, etc.), and media to see if MLSs can get native on those? These narrow categories would bring significant advantages and would be a great test to see if and how MLSs are able to respond to such a change before jumping off the bridge and being forced to blow out the data dictionary to accommodate all the MLS local field details or for MLSs to lose those details to comply with this policy.

In sum, if this proposal moves forward, I’m very hopeful a clear outcome is defined that justifies the scope of the project, and that at least the initial scope is limited to some of the fundamental categories that have proven most challenging so far.

I had a fun Twitter discussion the other night with Sam DeBord, Bill Fowler, Jon Breault, and Victor Lund regarding Sam’s advocacy on behalf of brokers for “one feed” for IDX, VOW, and back-office needs instead of separate feeds. Though Twitter doesn’t do a good job of threading the discussion, Sam’s tweet about a post on his personal blog was the start of the discussion.

In his post, Sam outlines that there’s an alphabet soup of related proposals: The abandoned LEAP and the new ADS (both from CMLS), REAL (from Zillow), and the original NOW (from a broker work group). In his post, Sam proposes to set all those aside for now and focus on the idea of “one feed.” This focus was well stated by Jon Breault:

This was echoed as important because apparently there are some MLSs that only provide broker back office feeds via FTP, which we all agreed is ridiculous, even though there doesn’t appear to be hard data about how many MLSs actually do this.

Much later that night, when my typical insomnia reared its head, I started thinking about some of the practical aspects of this idea of “one feed.” More specifically, I wondered what the actual language of the mandate for “one feed” would say. For example, would it enable a broker to insist on one FTP feed? Or would brokers be able to insist on one RETS feed, even though the industry is trying to encourage adoption of the RESO Web API?

This train of thought led me to thinking whether the mandate would restrict the “one feed” to the RESO Web API. If the demand from brokers for one feed is critical to innovation as advocated, this could be exactly the incentive brokers and their developers need to migrate to the Web API, which they’ve largely resisted so far. As I mentioned on Twitter, spurring adoption of the Web API through the proposed benefits of “one feed” would be awesome. What wouldn’t be awesome is having a mandate for one RETS feed or one FTP feed.

Even with one Web API feed, I wonder if, in the current state of the standard, that’s actually a benefit to brokers. Currently in the standard, there’s no option that I’m aware of to delineate in a single feed what fields are allowed for multiple roles. The fact that the rules and permissions for each role are different is the primary reason there is a different feed for each role today (i.e., IDX, VOW, back office). Without independent feeds, how will a broker/developer know the permissions and rules for each role? Will a single feed that doesn’t make those distinctions increase or complicate the compliance efforts from MLSs and broker vendors?

Sam points out in his post that RESO is working on adding role permissions to a single feed, but that isn’t the case today, so is it really more efficient and will brokers really benefit from one feed today? I’m skeptical of those benefits but, leaving that skepticism aside, what is clear to me is that the best chance for a “one feed” mandate to move the industry forward is if it is focused only on the Web API and excludes FTP and RETS.

Sam educated me about NAR process and indicates that any mandate proposal will be published and subject to review for about three months, so I look forward to seeing the actual proposal and encourage all of you to watch for it as well so we can continue the discussion.

P.S. As I mentioned on Twitter, I’m skeptical of the benefits of just focusing on “one feed” as advocated, because the alphabet soup of proposals include restricting the ability for individual MLSs to specify their own license terms. I agree there are opportunities for more standard IDX, VOW, or other license terms, but such standards should not trample on the rights of MLSs to craft individual pricing for specific use cases, whether that is volume pricing, derivative works, or other cases. The more limited proposal for “one feed” skirts this issue but that just seems to leave the hard work for later with very limited, if any, benefits today.

Wow, how is this possible? It seems we blinked and summer 2021 is on its way out. Our team has been so focused on creating and delivering value to our client-partners and the MLS community that we haven’t really come up for air. And although the results speak for themselves, I thought I’d highlight a few to accompany the formal press release that talks about our newest MLS client-partners.  

• We added 17,000 new Flexmls Platform subscribers in 7 MLS accounts through new contracts (that’s 6% new growth in 6 months) while 
• 100%* of existing MLS client-partners with Flexmls contracts that were up for renewal chose to renew (that’s nearly ⅓ of our awesome MLS client-partners!) and 
• We launched our latest innovation, the FlōPlan® floor plan creation app, to 78% of our Flexmls subscribers and IRES, our first non-Flexmls-Platform, FlōPlan System partner.
• All the while, we’ve averaged a CSAT (customer satisfaction) of 4.8 (out of 5) and an average call wait time of 49 seconds and
• Introduced Kari Autry as our new VP product, joining our highly experienced, executive team to lead an MLS-focused, innovative, FBS product strategy well into the future.

This growth and progress multiplies the opportunities to partner closely with MLS and industry, fueling innovation that’s laser-focused on supporting and promoting the MLS purpose and vision of making the market work, creating healthy competition through cooperation. 

Click here to read more about our recent new Flexmls Platform MLS client-partners. 

*excluding mergers

Using a corporation to buy and own real estate has been happening for a long time. Our family owns a lake cabin and many years ago I was given a copy of a book called “Saving The Family Lake Cabin“, which essentially provides advice for how to set up a limited liability company (LLC) to make it easier to pass along the real estate to your heirs and prevent fights among them. Buying real estate with LLCs also has been the practice of wealthy people who don’t want their ownership in real estate to be public.

But just recently, there are some new ideas that make it possible if not likely that owning real estate through corporations will become the norm instead of the exception. First, there are new companies like Pacaso (founded by Austin Allison and Spencer Rascoff, formerly with Zillow), which use LLCs to sell 1/8 to 1/2 shares of properties in second-home markets. They stress that this is way better than a time share and that it’s really ownership in real estate, even though it’s through an LLC.

The second concept is selling real estate using a non-fungible token (NFT) on a blockchain, as done just yesterday by Propy in conjunction with seen.haus. The NFT part is kind of just window-dressing to the LLC, which is doing the real work of owning and transferring ownership in the real estate involved.

For me, setting aside all the buzz-words, the most interesting aspect of these approaches is that these transactions all occur without any change in the public real estate records. As far as the local county or other governmental entity tracking the real estate ownership is concerned, it’s the same LLC owning the property regardless of the change in share ownership of the LLC. Given this, it will be very interesting to see if states or other governmental entities try to address this or not. If they don’t, we could well see a day where you have to check a blockchain somewhere to figure out who owns a parcel of real estate.

Some great discussion is happening in various forums around the topic of MLS data licenses, and how MLSs can best serve the industry. Some of that discussion is happening on Facebook, and I deleted my account there awhile ago, so I only hear about that indirectly and can’t link to it. Other discussion is happening on Sam DeBord’s blog and Rob Hahn posted a video as well as some content behind a paywall. And all this discussion is getting a lot more attention thanks to the podcast Greg Robertson recorded with me and Sam. I’m really appreciative of all the contributions and promotion of this important topic.

I have more to say about a variety of topics, but I wanted to write this post just to respond to some of the commentary linked above, including the Facebook discussion. The point made in the Facebook discussion is a valid one, that LEAP is not the vehicle for implementing or discussing license terms. I couldn’t agree with that statement more and so I wanted to clarify that I’m not in any way advocating that the NAR or CMLS or any other entity, through LEAP or any other policy, prescribe license terms.

To the contrary, my main point in my earlier post is that LEAP is problematic because it literally prevents MLSs from crafting individual license terms. LEAP proposes such a restriction by declaring unequivocally: “MLSs may not impose any limitations, restrictions or conditions on the use or display of the MLS listing content other than as specified in this policy.” I suggested instead that LEAP should make clear that MLSs are free to license the MLS content as each sees fit with language such as this:

LEAP recognizes that the MLS data is uniquely valuable for a variety of uses by Participants and that MLSs should create license terms to reflect and protect that value. Nothing in LEAP should be interpreted to prevent MLSs from creating or requiring licensing terms or agreements specific to each use case. Instead, LEAP simply requires that such terms be presented in a single agreement to simplify the licensing process.

Such a change would free MLSs to structure and negotiate license agreements independently, which will greatly reduce any antitrust or other concerns that national MLS policy at the NAR level might raise.

Turning to Rob’s video, he makes the point that licensing of MLS data perhaps is best accomplished through syndication by individual broker decisions in place of IDX. At a surface level, I agree with this suggestion, which is very similar to what I wrote back in 2011 in a post entitled “The focus for IDX should be the license agreement, not MLS policy.”  But, this suggestion really just begs the question of what are the license terms for such syndication and who creates and negotiates such license terms?

In the end, creating and negotiating such license terms is the job of the MLS and only the MLS can do this because the MLS owns the compilation. This is true as a legal matter and also a practical matter. Individual brokers and agents do not have the time, resources, or desire to review let alone negotiate license terms for every use of MLS data. That’s why brokers and agents belong to an MLS and so it’s the MLS’s job to do this for the benefit of all members.

Turning to Sam’s blog post, he makes the point that brokers are fed up with all the different requirements from different MLSs and LEAP is intended to resolve some of those differences. He further makes the point that, even if MLSs should negotiate more value for licensing MLS content, a policy like LEAP shouldn’t have to wait for that. Again, my concern with LEAP is not in its goal of making the process more efficient, my problem is that it throws the baby out with the bathwater with a blanket restriction on MLSs creating their own license terms.

If you’ve read this far, what likely is clear is that there’s a conflict here: How can MLSs have the freedom to create and negotiate the best terms while also not creating a mishmash of different license terms at a national level or running afoul of antitrust or other legal concerns? Put differently, how can MLSs work together to streamline licensing while retaining independence in decision-making? I have some ideas for this that I’m still thinking through, but let me just close this post by saying that addressing this topic is where I’d like to see LEAP focus. The language I suggested above is a start, and the next question is how can that language also accommodate some common terms to streamline the process for those acquiring and using data?

Resolving these concerns is not easy and will require work. My advocacy here primarily is for industry leaders to do that work. We need to dig into the details and the nuances and lay the groundwork for the years ahead. The MLS content is the lifeblood of this industry and so it is worth the effort, to preserve it, recognize the value, and create opportunities for MLSs to improve the content, platform, and competition in the future. As CMLS likes to say, MLSs make the market work. That’s a tall task but one I’m confident the industry is up to solving.

My last two posts (here and here) have been about the draft Listing Exchange and Access Policy (LEAP) being proposed to the NAR by CMLS. This post is a continuation of that discussion and makes the point that in its current draft form, LEAP doesn’t yet distinguish between display and other use cases for the data, including creation of derivative works like valuations, new types of media, or other products.

First, I’m unclear whether the LEAP draft proposal is complete or not, and I certainly don’t want to be critical of something still being worked on. So, if you’re one of the people working on LEAP, please know that I’m writing with the goal of improving the draft. With that in mind, in a section called “Uses”, LEAP provides:

Associations of REALTORS® and their multiple listing services shall enable MLS
Participants to display aggregated MLS listing content by electronic means in
accordance with this policy. MLSs may not impose any limitations, restrictions or
conditions on the use or display of the MLS listing content other than as specified in this
policy.

Taking this language at face value, MLSs may not impose any limitations or restrictions on Participants’ use of the MLS compilation other than with regard to display purposes as outlined in the document. There literally are no provisions I can find dealing with any uses other than display, which then leaves the catch-all prohibition against MLSs adding other terms to govern and that means there can be no restrictions on uses other than display. I’m hopeful this is because it’s still in draft and, as the draft already has a section called “Display”, I’m hoping they’ll add another section called “Other Uses” as well outlining specific terms for other uses.

Detailing how the MLS content can be used and the license terms for such uses really is critically important. Here’s my favorite example of why such provisions are important. It’s a press release from Zillow announcing a material improvement in their Zestimate derived from machine learning using photos. Where did you think the majority of those photos came from? How much do you think Zillow paid for the right to create derivative works from those photos, even before it became a Participant entitled to IDX and VOW feeds? Now that the Zestimate is a critical part of Zillow’s iBuyer program, how valuable do you think the improvement was?

One counter to this point might be, hey, now that Zillow is a Participant, they should get the MLS content for free just like every other Participant. What I’m suggesting is that no one should get the data for free and, most importantly, the value of the data for creating derivative works is entirely different than the value for display purposes. I’m sure we’ve all heard how data (and media are data) is the new oil, and that’s because it powers new products created by machine learning. Without data (especially trained, structured, and contextual data), machine learning is not possible.

I also can hear Participants saying, hey, this is OUR data, we should get it back for free. The problem with this is that there’s a huge difference in value between one broker’s listings and the collected listings of all brokers (i.e., the MLS). So, no, licensing the MLS data is NOT the same as licensing a single broker’s data. Not the same thing at all. This also is where the argument about who owns “the MLS data” comes full circle and consumes those who argue it should be provided back to Participants for free or a nominal cost. If that premise is held true, then every Participant basically is saying, yeah, I don’t care how much value other companies like the consumer portals generate from the collected MLS data, I just want it to be free for everyone.

Not only does this argument wildly undervalue the MLS data itself, it breaks the value chain of cooperation, because, sooner or later, Participants are going to stop cooperating when the value differences reveal themselves and the MLS will be accused of “giving away” all of our data. Have you ever heard that before? This is why I’m advocating that NOW is the time to start licensing the MLS content for the value it has and that such licensing terms need to be targeted at specific use cases and the value of such use cases.

Sam DeBord, a strong proponent of LEAP (formerly NOW), commented on my post last week  called “Look Before You LEAP” and then followed up with a post of his own called, “LEAP Forward: Six Questions to Answer on Brokers’ MLS Data.” In that post, Sam outlines the problem LEAP is trying to solve as follows:

Current policy on data access and usage is disjointed, complex, and unnecessarily burdensome. They want:

• • All of the MLS data
  • In one efficient data access method
  • With one holistic set of rules for usage

Any kind of data that a broker can get in the MLS’s primary user interface, the broker should be able to get, at a minimum, in LEAP. LEAP will be an MLS policy proposed to NAR to create this single access and usage rules model.

Cementing the point in the highlighted text, LEAP declares: “MLSs may not impose any limitations, restrictions or conditions on the use or display of the MLS listing content other than as specified in this policy.” In other words, if it’s not in LEAP, MLSs can’t craft license terms as each deems appropriate.

As I explained in my post last week, the text I highlighted above is the fundamental problem I have with LEAP, namely that it lumps all these different use cases together (IDX, VOW, broker back office) without making any effort at all to recognize that those uses are, in fact, quite different and accordingly require different license terms. Without recognizing these important differences, LEAP is not good policy and will make it more difficult for MLSs to create effective licensing terms that recognize the fundamental value of the aggregated MLS data for different use cases.

To address these concerns with LEAP, I recommend replacing the sentence above with the following to enable MLSs to craft licensing terms applicable to each use case:

LEAP recognizes that the MLS data is uniquely valuable for a variety of uses by Participants and that MLSs should create license terms to reflect and protect that value. Nothing in LEAP should be interpreted to prevent MLSs from creating or requiring licensing terms or agreements specific to each use case. Instead, LEAP simply requires that such terms be presented in a single agreement to simplify the licensing process.

Such a provision not only reduces antitrust concerns raised by the current draft policy requiring collective assent and agreement, but it allows MLSs to craft better license agreements that can improve cooperation through proper incentives, increase value to all Participants, and create a system for better data operations compliance.

The very first change I recommend for display licensing (as opposed to licensing for creating derivative works, which will be addressed in a subsequent post) is that MLSs should use some form of usage or value-based pricing. Just like most content licensing deals, a high-traffic site should pay more than a low traffic site. With all the major portals all becoming Participants these days it seems, such value-driven licensing is more important than ever and would go a long way to create incentives for more rather than less cooperation among Participants.

If Participants know that all data recipients are paying full value for access to the data and there’s real money involved as opposed to nominal licensing fees, they’ll be incentivized to cooperate with such uses. In contrast, if the value of the data isn’t recognized through usage or value-based licensing, Participants will continue to feel like they’re giving up their data for free and they’ll be incentivized to opt-out of cooperating.

In addition to creating incentives to enhance cooperation, value-based pricing incentivizes  MLSs to expand data licensing to more channels while also improving the efficiency and compliance of their data and licensing operations, all of which will directly benefit Participants and provide solutions to the problems identified by LEAP. In contrast, the current value-less licensing models make data and licensing operations just a cost center where there’s little benefit to expanding or making them better, and Participants suffer accordingly.

This fundamental shift in licensing will create a framework and opportunity for MLSs to expand and improve data licensing for the benefit of all the parties. Without this shift, however, the problems will continue no matter how many LEAPs are thrust upon MLSs and Participants. As I quipped to Sam on Twitter, “The license terms have been ignored for so long but it’s NOW time to correct it.” A value-based licensing model would enable MLSs to streamline licensing to a single agreement as LEAP advocates while recognizing the fundamental differences in value being created from such use cases.

I’ll wrap this up with the same preview of future posts I anticipate writing on this topic:

• How do license terms relate to the ability for MLSs, brokers, and agents to innovate and create new value?
• How do license terms help MLSs create long-term strategies that address the various mega-platform wars being waged?
• How do license terms that apply to everyone but distinguish according to usage or other criteria help reduce antitrust and related concerns?
• The above discussion is all about licensing the MLS content for display purposes, but an equally if not more important topic is licensing the content for other uses, which, in legal terms, are referred to as derivative uses or works. We all have heard how data is the new oil, right? License agreements need to distinguish these kinds of uses and license the content accordingly. Simply lumping all use cases together as LEAP does is a mistake.

This is a deep and nuanced topic, worthy of a lot of thinking and discussion. I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of it. Call me any time if you want to chat.

P.S. Greg Robertson reached out to me and Sam today to schedule a Listing Bits podcast on this topic later this week, so keep an eye out for that in the coming weeks by following Greg’s podcast on your favorite service.

Victor Lund wrote a blog post yesterday called “Brokers Need to Revisit VOW Websites” in which he outlines why brokers may want to opt-out of IDX in favor of a VOW-only approach on the web. I shared the article on Twitter, which started a conversation that veered into a topic I’ve been meaning to write about, namely the proposed (draft) Listing Exchange and Access Policy (LEAP) (PDF file) being promoted to broaden the existing IDX MLS policy so brokers can get one feed to serve all their needs (IDX, VOW, back-office, etc.). I believe this proposal will be considered at the upcoming MidYear Convention, so this seems like the right time to write a post about my concerns with LEAP in the hopes of keeping everyone from going over a cliff without knowing where you’re going to land.

The CMLS draft document summarizes LEAP as follows:

Listing Exchange and Access (LEAP) is a policy whereby participants are provided
access to all MLS content for the purposes of display (where authorized), distribution (where allowed), valuation, internal organizational needs, and working with customers. LEAP governs delivery of all data and content that a real estate brokerage would require to run a technology enabled brokerage firm including public facing advertising, a vibrant client only accessible virtual office website, as well as providing data for internal and external brokerage functions.

I applaud the goals of LEAP to simplify the process for Participants to get and use MLS content. We all know it can and should be easier. My concerns, however, are similar to those I wrote about in 2011 ahead of the MidYear Convention when franchise IDX, social, mobile and other changes to IDX were being debated. In that post, I said:

Now, let’s evaluate a potential solution that reduces the need for compliance by MLSs, focuses compliance where it should be on brokers and agents deploying the data, and creates a mechanism and incentive for everyone to amp up their compliance game, while also allowing for technological innovation without heartache and endless PAGs every few years.

The basic solution is to get away from thinking about IDX in terms of MLS policy and instead shift the discussion toward creation and enforcement of license agreements for the IDX data.  Many MLSs already have a strong set of license agreements pertaining to the IDX data and my basic argument is that as long as the license agreements are enforceable and enforced, all the questions regarding who is in control, who is responsible, and what can be done with the data should be answered without the need for an MLS policy on IDX.

The problem with LEAP is that it doesn’t appear to address license terms at all, instead it casts a broad policy that combines many different use cases (IDX, VOW, back-office, valuation, etc., etc.) without defining terms of use for any of them other than some basics about display. LEAP doesn’t prohibit MLSs from crafting such license agreements but the main point I made above is that the policies are redundant and potentially conflicting with such license agreements, which, if not approached comprehensively, will simply mean a continuation of the same process and access problems LEAP is trying to address.

On the surface, all of this discussion is made all the more complex by the fact that Zillow and other major national portals are now, or soon will be, Participants. LEAP doesn’t address this significant change in the environment in any way, but rather just accepts it and says to the industry, there’s nothing we can do, let’s move on. As an example, here’s a snippet from the Twitter conversation I linked to above:

My reply to Sam in the thread contains what I believe is a critical change MLSs should be implementing as soon as possible, namely that the license terms for MLS data for display purposes should be based on usage, which is the most common method of licensing content across many industries. The more you use the content, the more you pay.

I can’t say I’m an expert in content licensing outside of real estate, but I’m having a hard time thinking of content licensing where the cost isn’t driven by usage volume. For example, pretty much every RE site licenses Google or some other mapping content, and Google  charges based on usage. Similarly, APIs like Walkscore (owned by Redfin) are based on usage and other terms. Even beyond content licensing deals, all the cloud providers, such as AWS, Azure, etc., all have usage based pricing. Given this, why is it that real estate content is licensed without terms of use based on usage?

Now let’s anticipate some arguments against this. First, why should Participants have to pay for usage of the data they contribute to the MLS? Answer: Because the aggregate content has value independent of and greater than each broker’s own listings on their own. For so long, the MLS industry has hamstrung itself with this basic objection that the MLS should just be a conduit for the broker’s data. By creating the cooperation necessary to aggregate the data, the MLS is adding distinct value that isn’t available anywhere else, and that value should be licensed accordingly.

If MLSs would treat the aggregated content as the value it is with proper licensing terms, almost all of the problems LEAP is trying to address would go away. And, more importantly, there would be a sound basis for addressing the wide differences among the companies using the data. Let’s just be clear about this: There’s a HUGE difference in value being derived from the licensed MLS content by Zillow or Realtor.com versus a single agent IDX site. Treating those the same is crazy.

I also can see small brokers saying, hey, I can’t afford to pay more for my IDX site and this is just going to increase my costs. This doesn’t have to be the case. Pricing schemes could easily distinguish lower volume sites with free or low-fee pricing plans. But, again, it is a fundamental mistake to equate a lone agent’s IDX site (or even a franchise IDX site) with a national portal site. Those use cases are entirely different and should be licensed accordingly.

I also can hear larger brokers saying, hey, I’m contributing all my listings, I shouldn’t have to pay more or I should get paid. In response, I would say, yes, you’re right, you should get paid! There’s no reason the license fees couldn’t be returned to the contributing Participants in some prorated manner. This is beyond the scope of this post but it really drives the point home that proposals like LEAP throw the baby out with the bathwater, where the objection that Participants shouldn’t have to pay is preventing them from realizing the true value of the aggregated data. How often have you heard the complaint, the MLS is selling our data! The irony is this conspiracy theory has never been true but it SHOULD be true, and everyone who is contributing should benefit. More irony is that to the extent MLSs have fees for licensing, they are a pittance for the big portals and an obstacle for the smaller brokers and vendors. This is the problem LEAP doesn’t begin to address.

I know this post has already gone on for longer than most people care to read, so I’ll close it here by previewing a few other related topics that I’ll be writing about in the coming days:

• How do license terms relate to the ability for MLSs, brokers, and agents to innovate and create new value?
• How do license terms help MLSs create long-term strategies that address the various mega-platform wars being waged?
• How do license terms that apply to everyone but distinguish according to usage or other criteria help reduce antitrust and related concerns?
• The above discussion is all about licensing the MLS content for display purposes, but an equally if not more important topic is licensing the content for other uses, which, in legal terms, are referred to as derivative uses or works. We all have heard how data is the new oil, right? License agreements need to distinguish these kinds of uses and license the content accordingly. Simply lumping all use cases together as LEAP does is a mistake.

This is a deep and nuanced topic, worthy of a lot of thinking and discussion. I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of it. Call me any time if you want to chat.

Time… Precious Time

Buyer’s Agents have no time to preview new listings because they’re selling in a flash. And Buyers can’t get their hands on new listings fast enough! Together with photos, a buyer can make critical decisions faster and in today’s insanely paced market, it could mean the difference between getting the home ….or not.

Eliminate the Distance Handicap

Now more than ever, Buyers are purchasing homes from a distance, regionally and across state lines, without ever setting foot inside. A floor plan instantly shows them the layout, making spatial-sense of the photographs and helping them make more informed, confident decisions – faster. Floor plans are the best relocation tool!

Minimize foot traffic

With the pandemic still impacting major markets across the US, many people would rather not have Buyers in and out of their home. And many Buyers would prefer to narrow their list of homes to visit for the same reason. Floor plans help online buyers instantly understand a property’s flow, spatial relationships and room configurations so they can narrow their list of properties to those that fit their wants and needs.

Buyers and Buyer’s Agents should see your listing’s floor plan the moment it hits the market. Scanning for the floor plan when you take the listing OR when you take listing photos gets a floor plan on your listing the day it goes on the market. With the FlōPlan System, all you need is your smartphone and about 10 minutes to get it done. And if you’d rather your photographer, licensed assistant or team member scan the listing, no problem! The FlōPlan System lets you invite someone to do the scan on your behalf in just a few simple clicks!

“Freedom is not a state; it is an act. It is not some enchanted garden perched high on a distant plateau where we can finally sit down and rest. Freedom is the continuous action we all must take, and each generation must do its part to create an even more fair, more just society.” — John Robert Lewis – Freedom Rider, U.S. Congressman, Author

During the last year, I was part of a small, passionate, ad-hoc, team of FBS employee-owners who worked together to develop the CREATE (Creating Racial Equity Advancement in Tech Employment) mentorship initiative. CREATE extends the FBS core values of opportunity, freedom, and respect outward into society through an in-house initiative focused on providing mentorship and skill-building in basic computer science, programming and project development for economically disadvantaged and at-risk BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) youth throughout the US to help improve racial equity and advancement opportunities in tech careers. 

CREATE engages outside partners who work closely and regularly with underserved youth populations nationwide to provide a pool of program candidates. FBS employee-owners commit their skills, experience, and collective knowledge backed by financial support from FBS to help these young adults build employable skills, grow in self-confidence, and create a path towards a professional career 

The CREATE mentorship is a distributed, educational cohort that helps participants gain both academic understanding and professional experience. Participants work through an approved curriculum and complete projects along the way with coaching and guidance. Once participants gain enough experience, they’re paired together with an FBS Project Manager to complete a full, self-contained learning project, giving them the experience of creating and estimating tickets, breaking work into pieces, and collaboration. As participants mature into capable developers, FBS hopes to provide paid internships or entry-level opportunities and/or recommend the participants to industry colleagues for employment.

The program will start with a small cohort focused on computer science, programming and project development. Over time, as we learn and refine, the hope is to scale the number of mentors, participants, and disciplines (marketing, sales, development, etc), perhaps even expanding beyond FBS. 

Both human potential and opportunities can be stifled or limited by the environment around us. At FBS, we believe that by positively influencing the environment with education, communication and care, we can ignite human potential while cultivating self-confidence and providing key building blocks for a better future-outcome with increased opportunities.

Every day I’m proud to be an FBS employee-owner; today, even moreso. I’m humbled by the commitment of my peers and by the Developers, Project Managers and staff who will serve as CREATE mentors, developing and administering the youth curriculum as we get this off the ground. It’s one thing to have your core values on a wall somewhere, it’s something entirely different and thoroughly inspiring to bring them to life through thoughtful, focused action – with the intention to better others and the world around you. 

As we pursue this initiative, we’ll be sure to update you on progress, successes and lessons learned. We may even call on you to help!

I’m super excited to announce that Kari Autry is joining FBS as our new VP Product. Many of you likely already know Kari as she’s been the Director of Product and Marketing at CRS Data for the last ten years. Prior to CRS, Kari had product and marketing management roles at Pilgrim’s Pride and Caterpillar. Having both MLS industry experience and experience from other industries is a great combination that we know will benefit FBS and our customers.

Beyond the talent and experience Kari brings to FBS, Kari will fit in well with our employee-ownership culture as she’s constantly focused on delivering value for her customers. Lastly, it doesn’t hurt that Kari lives in and will work from Knoxville, which is one of our MLS customers and a great city to visit, so perhaps we’ll have some fun Flexmls Advisory Network (FAN) or other user group meetings there soon!

Please join me in welcoming Kari to FBS!

“It’s a relationship business,” succinctly said by my good friend Chris Carrillo on a recent Listing Bits episode.

I met Susan Young in 2007. Actually, if I recall the exact situation it was a Supra Party during Mid-Year and someone (those details are fuzzy) came up to me and said my “Aunt” was looking for me.

The individual walked me over to a group of people and in the middle of them was Susan. I laughed and said to the person, “I’m not Brian Young, I’m Matty Epstein.” Susan gave me a big hug and said, “Well, you are family now!”.

11 years later, we began working together at FBS. I had the pleasure of witnessing Susan chat with her industry colleagues as if they were her family, knowing all there is to know about their lives, latest trips, and so on. After all, the MLS business is a relationship business.

After 20 plus years in our industry, Susan will be hanging up her briefcase to enjoy an occasional rum runner in the Florida Keys, or an Ohio State Football tailgate with family, friends, and my ol’ pal Rex. All of us at FBS wish her the best of everything in her retirement.

Sincerely,

Matty Epstein, “your other nephew”
Director of MLS Sales

Ever hear that famous saying by John F. Kennedy, “The rising tide lifts all the boats”? When I think about how this phrase applies to real estate, data standards are the first thing that come to mind: applied universally, the experience improves for everyone. Floor plans can have that same positive network effect: while floor plans on just a few listings within a market won’t shift the overall experience, a floor plan on every listing will elevate the experience marketwide, for everyone.

Consider that consumers consistently rank floor plans in the top 3 things they expect from online real estate listings, right beneath photos and property information. Today, property information and photos are basic expectations. Why did we stop right there? If it’s the #3 most wanted, why do so few listings include a floor plan?

Technology Obstacles. Historically, floor plan technology has proven pricey and over-complicated, often requiring extra equipment, training and a decent time investment. Translation: too costly, complicated and cumbersome for mainstream.

The FlōPlan® System eliminates…no, obliterates the obstacles. With just a mobile phone, in less than 10 minutes, for less than the cost of a restaurant burger and fries, an agent (or agent- delegate) scans and uploads the scan from a mobile device. In about a day, they’ll receive a completed floor plan that’s easily linked to the listing within their MLS System. One phone. One scan. One-touch upload. Delivered and live in one day.

With the FlōPlan System, MLS leaders gain a new digital asset and a powerful, innovative member-tool that directly serves an clearly defined consumer need, capable of elevating their entire market and emphasizing (if not proudly showcasing) their unique core value of cooperation. A floor plan on every listing doesn’t just make the market work, it makes the market work better.

The FlōPlan System raises the tide and lifts all the boats. Now sure feels like a great time to lift all of the boats, for the industry. Together.

Get on board – email us for more information at sales@fbsdata.com.

Ahoy until next time,

– Kim

PS – Big shout out and cheers to MichRIC, going LIVE with FloPlan today!

It’s an exciting day at FBS as we launch the FlōPlan™ System (App + software) with our first client-partner, Fargo-Moorhead Area Association of Realtors (FMAAR). 

It’s official. Today, we are LIVE with the FlōPlan® System (App + software), formally launching with our first client-partner, Fargo-Moorhead Area Association of Realtors (FMAAR). FMAAR’s launch will be followed by additional market implementations in the coming weeks + months as we continue to quickly build out a robust launch schedule.

What’s Needed …Right Now.

As shared on the blog last week, we are truly excited to launch right now. With such strong demand for real estate tools that support virtual business, floor plans will support Agents in selling homes. FlōPlan brand floor plans are valuable as both a marketing tool for listings and a decision-making tool for homebuyers. With a floor plan on every listing, homebuyers get precisely what they need, instantly able to see layout and flow and quickly parse through listings online. Floor plans empower them to fine-tune a list of homes they want to explore further with their Agent with new facts and confidence – from the comfort of their sofa. Sellers are able to gain more exposure for their listing as consumers are more mindful about in-person walk-throughs.

MLS Win, Win, Win.

Focused on supporting the core value of MLS cooperation and making the market work, the FlōPlan System is purpose-built for marketwide adoption and the marketwide benefit of a floor plan on every listing. Elevating and enhancing the consumer experience, FlōPlan branded floor plans create a new digital asset and reinforce critical IP rights, with MLS, Broker and Agent in control of licensing + distribution. Your data, your decisions.

Fast, Easy and Affordable (we can’t say this enough).

No extra gear to buy. No training(s) needed. No confusing bundles. No clunky files. With just a mobile phone, in less than 10 minutes, for less than the cost of a restaurant burger and fries, just scan (or delegate the scan to an assistant, photographer or the homeowner) and upload your scan from a mobile device (iOS, Android). Get a completed floor plan that’s easily linked to the listing within the MLS System (any MLS System- not just Flexmls) in about a day.

One phone. One scan. One-touch upload. Delivered to you and live on your listings in just one day.

See for yourself as Fargo-Moorhead Agent Jodi Tollefson scans a listing in this short 2 minute video.

The timing and technology to elevate your MLS + market with exactly what consumers + agents want and need is here. We’d love to share a FlōPlan System demo with you – email us for more information.

sales@fbsdata.com

Until next time – cheers!

-Kim

So far, 2020 has proven a wild ride with a few too many big-drop-upside-down-loops for my liking.

One of the most unwelcome twists was the need to transition our annual client Summit from in-person to virtual due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I’m thrilled to say that we just concluded the final day of our first virtual Summit. Currently fueled by little more than copious coffee and a cocktail of adrenaline, joy and pride, I’ll keep this simple: I am incredibly proud of the experience we delivered to a record-breaking number of our client-partners. From the unique event platform, to the breadth and depth of content delivered to fun, participatory roundtables, we elevated “virtual conference” to “awesome Summit experience that just happened to be virtual” (made possible with the talent and contribution of many FBS employee-owners, led by Event + Experience Manager, Katie Kapel).

As we conclude Summit and integrate back into our daily lives, I wanted to share some parting thoughts. 

Each year at Summit, MLS clients, staff and Board members mix with FBS employee-owners for three days with the shared goals of collaboration, learning and personal connection (aka: fun). During the three days together, a lot of great information is shared (plus food and laughter). The valuable takeaways help guide our actions during the following months, and in the space between Summits, we continue to:

• Listen deeply for understanding 
• Engage thoughtfully and respectfully; exploring ideas, challenges and opportunities 
• Collaborate for solutions
• Commit and take action on our commitments

As I think about what’s transpired in 2020, I can’t help but feel the full presence of our unwavering commitment to you (our client-partners), to the MLS, and the overall industry. For decades, and more recently through the turbulence during the last four months, we’ve laser-focused on your success; delivering on promises made and leveling-up across the board. This year, amidst the challenging environment, we listened closely to your needs and have improved our responsiveness and service with member communication, providing more dedicated resources, expanding leadership to include more voices, and developing even more MLS expertise within our teams.

We’ve also shown consistent leadership and innovation, constantly refining Flexmls features and user experience, working with Rule 8/Clear Cooperation, providing education and leadership around DOM, swiftly delivering the first virtual open house solution (within days of pandemic restriction onset) and finally, delivering FlōPlan: a product necessary to navigate this new, virtually-driven real estate world that creates a new digital asset and reinforces IP rights for the MLS, Brokers, and Agents (your data, your decisions). 

We’ve done all of this with you, the MLS, beside us and as our true North. While I am certain we’ve made mistakes along the way, I’m equally certain that we’ll continue to listen vigorously, learn quickly and make things right, fully dialed into supporting your core purpose of cooperation to make the market work, fully vested in MLS success.

As Michael Wurzer emphatically shared at the start and end of Summit 2020, we’re here for the long haul; beside you on this journey of both expected and unexpected. We hope our actions instill continued confidence during this time of tremendous change, demonstrating the consistency, courage and forward thinking of a partner that will withstand the storm and lead with you, facing the future… together.

Kim Prior, EVP at FBS

Here we are…the inaugural FlōPlan® blog!

The excitement is building to a crescendo at FBS as we get ready to go live with our first two FlōPlan MLS client-partners: Fargo-Moorhead Area Association of Realtors (FMAAR) during the last week of July and MichRic (Michigan Regional Information Center) in early August.

It’s a great time to share more about FlōPlan and it’s powerful, one-of-a-kind value for the MLS, Agents and consumers.

Deeply Desired, Still Uncommon

Floor plans have been a popular topic (and highly desired) with consumers and Agents alike, appearing close to the top of the consumer’s “most wanted” list in consecutive annual NAR Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report. During recent months with impacts from the Covid-19 pandemic, that demand and desire has escalated as agents seek tools to help them help market listings and support the home search process remotely.

Despite clear desire and need, floor plan technology simply hasn’t taken off; a vast majority of listings still do not include floorplans. Why? Because until now, floorplan technology has proven neither easy or affordable enough to inspire mass adoption.

FlōPlan: the Evolution in Floor Plan Technology

FlōPlan™ evolves expensive and complicated floor plans with easy to learn and use mobile scan technology by CubiCasa. Wrapped in a modern, simple App and software experience created by FBS, Agents (or someone they invite via the software to perform the walkthrough) can scan a listing and upload the scan for processing with just a mobile device and in about 10 minutes*. In about a day, Agents receive their completed floor plan and can easily upload it to their listing in the MLS System – any MLS System (not just for Flexmls customers – but if you’re ready for a Flexmls demo at the same time, we’re here for it!).

*depends on property size

Huge Win for MLS

FlōPlan is a grand slam for the MLS: leveraging the core value of cooperation to create marketwide agent and consumer value, creating a new digital asset and maximizing data standards that expand meaningful, future opportunities.

The positive network effect of FlōPlan beautifully highlights and harnesses the MLS core purpose of cooperation to make the market work because a floor plan on every listing elevates the entire marketplace. The power of marketwide cooperation coupled with FloPlan’s affordability and simplicity makes this level of mass adoption achievable.

Like photos, the FlōPlan is a new digital asset, validating IP rights and creating new third party licensing opportunities with the MLS and Broker in the driver’s seat.

FlōPlan room labels are RESO Data dictionary room names, creating the future opportunity for the scan data to initiate a listing for the Agent and expanding opportunities for interoperability with other third party products.

Easy For Agents, Instant Gratification for Consumers, Meets a Timely Need

FlōPlan hits the technology sweet spot with no additional equipment, clunky software/editing or extensive training needed. With just a quick tutorial video, Agents have exactly what’s needed to create a successful scan. Mass adoption of FlōPlan elevates the online home search for consumers. Browsing online inventory is faster and more fulfilling. Buyers can parse quickly, instantly seeing property layouts and spatial flow, narrowing their favorites and in just a few clicks, reserving walk-throughs for properties that meet their needs and wants far more closely. Time with the Agent is more productive and satisfying. In our current environment with so much emphasis on social distancing, a product like FlōPlan supports the Agents in their work, maximizing efficiency and giving clients what they need.

All inclusive: World Class FBS Service + Professional Marketing

Our goal is to make you shine before, during and after the FlōPlan launch. We’ve developed an extensive customer success program that starts the minute you begin working with us. Experienced staff will work with you to set up your launch timeline, providing you with a professional marketing communication campaign and collateral that includes comprehensive launch messaging, social media content, videos and creative. You just cut, paste and send. Our support and marketing doesn’t end at the launch either. Post launch, we’ll engage directly with your members to ensure they have what they need for FlōPlan success, with checkpoints along the way. And if there’s ever a problem, you and your members have the market-trusted assistance of FBS’s world class customer support team and an on-line learning center with videos, tips and FAQs.

We’re Ready!

A floor plan on every listing cascades from the unique, cooperative core value of the MLS, through to the Agent and elevating consumer expectations market wide. It’s a super exciting time to get on board with FlōPlan as we’re filling our initial pipeline for the remainder of 2020.

We’ll keep you posted here with success stories and real-life FlōPlan experiences as we begin our journey to a floor plan on every listing!

Until next time…

-Kim

The NAR will be considering (or should I say adopting, as there’s really no question it will be approved) a change to MLS Policy next week as follows:

With the pandemic raging into 2020, all of our MLS customers are trying to figure out how to respond to member concerns. We’ve been working with all of our customers as fast as we can, trying to find the right balance between action and uncertainty. Two topics have been front and center: Open Houses and DOM.

Virtual Open Houses

Last week, as customers in multiple states were facing a variety of shut-down or stay-at-home orders, the risk from holding Open Houses became clear and so we created an option for MLSs to turn them off in Flexmls. Within a few days, however, it was clear our customers needed more of an answer than just shutting it down, so we worked the last several days to add a new Virtual Open House feature, which we’ll be launching for all of our customers tomorrow morning on Flexmls desktop.

When the feature is launched tomorrow, our MLS customers will have three options for Open Houses:

• In-Person and Virtual;
• Virtual Only;
• Off (neither In-Person or Virtual).

We expect most of our customers to set this to Virtual Only during the pandemic. Once the pandemic has lifted, they can then go back to In-Person and Virtual.

With the new Virtual Open houses, agents can schedule a Virtual Open House for a specific day and time-frame just like they do an in-person one, with the exception being that they’ll include a link to a service like Zoom, Skype, GotoMeeting, Google Meet, etc., for the location of the Open House. During the strict lock-downs in some states, agents can still hold Virtual Open Houses without even being at the property simply by holding Q&A sessions for those interested in the property and presenting the existing media they have such as photos, virtual tours, or  videos. The point of the Virtual Open House is to create that person-to-person engagement, even if you can’t be physically together or even at the property. Of course, if the agent has access to the property, doing the Virtual Open House there and streaming video would be super cool, too, but I just wanted to highlight that being there isn’t required to have a successful event.

Anyway, check your inboxes in the morning for an awesome announcement from our Product Marketing Team about this new feature and then keep an eye out for upcoming tutorials and videos from our team on how best to use this new feature. Who knows if Virtual Open Houses will become a thing or not, but I think it will be cool to see what develops!

Days on Market

The next major topic is days on market. Many of our MLS customers are considering “pausing” days on market, because marketing properties has become difficult, if not impossible, which practically means properties are withdrawn from the market. However, many agents don’t want to formally change the status to Withdrawn, because that usually means the listing will be removed from syndication. So, the idea is that pausing DOM addresses this conundrum.

The problem, however, is that pausing DOM distorts the accuracy of the data in the system. Years from now when the pandemic is hopefully a distant memory, we should be able to look back at the data and see the effect the pandemic had on days on market. If we see some markets where there’s no effect (because DOM was paused) and other markets where it wasn’t, that’s going to create a misleading picture. Another reason not to pause DOM is that no competitive advantage or disadvantage is created for any agent, the pandemic is impacting everyone the same. Lastly, the way DOM works in Flexmls, pausing DOM is way more complicated than one might think, so not messing with it really helps us out, too, and creates less of a chance for problems.

To this end, we were super happy to see that the largest MLS in the country, California Regional MLS, decided not to pause DOM and we encourage other MLSs to do the same. Of course, we understand each market needs to make it’s own decision on such issues and we’re here to support our customers in the best way we can, both with our best advice and with action you need to make your market work. Together, we’ll get through these crazy times and back to normal as soon as we can, with maybe some new Virtual Open House tricks as a bonus.

There are two trends in the MLS industry that FBS has been asked to participate in and there’s confusion about what we’re willing and not willing to do right now, so I’m writing this post to clarify that. I’m hopeful this also is an opportunity to expand on a discussion I started with my presentation at the CMLS conference before last when I outlined challenges with how vendors are implementing (or not) RESO’s Web API.

The first trend is what I think others in the industry have called “system of choice”, which is being explored by several large regional MLSs such as CRMLS in California (and even now in Lousiana, I believe), Northstar in Minnesota, Stellar in Florida, and likely others. The core idea of “system of choice” is that a regional MLS can remove an obstacle to consolidation if the regional agrees to support the “system of choice” of the MLS they’re trying to acquire.

For example, in Minnesota, FBS serves several MLSs that Northstar wants to work with, so they want to be able to offer that MLS the opportunity to stay with Flexmls to make it an easier decision to consolidate. This is a strategy that’s been successful for CRMLS and others, and FBS’s position has been and remains that we’re happy to continue to provide our system to our MLS customers either directly or through a regional effort as we’re doing in CRMLS for our customers in Ventura, Pasadena, and Palm Springs, or as we expect to be doing for our customer in Bemidji in partnership with Northstar.

The second trend is what I’ll call “agent choice” (or what others might call “front-end of choice”) where an individual agent in a regional can choose from any one of multiple front-ends, independent of the choice of their Association or MLS. The big difference here, of course, is that selling to individual agents is a much different business than selling to the MLS as a whole. Currently, FBS has a division called Broker Agent Services that is dedicated to selling IDX products to agents and brokers, but we have never sold Flexmls itself to individual agents before and neither the product is set up for that nor are our sales or support teams or processes set up for individual sales.

Importantly, FBS strongly supports the concept of “agent choice” and has for many years through our support of RESO standards and the development of the Spark Platform, including the Spark API and Spark Store. I’ve often said that the goal of RESO standards and the Web API is to put an end to the days of difficult MLS conversions.

Despite (or perhaps because of) our support for agent choice, I made a presentation at CMLS the conference before last entitled The Long Road to Standards. During the presentation, I made the point that the original vision for the Web API was for applications to do real-time queries of the API but that the majority of vendors implementing the Web API today are using it to replicate or copy the data to their local system. There are a lot of practical reasons for why this is the case that I covered in the presentation, but what’s important here is that replication means systems remain quite independent from each other, which makes it much harder for a user to switch from one system to another (“agent choice”) without losing data such as saved searches, user preferences, etc. The bottom line is that true agent choice remains more theory than reality.

Even if systems were using the Web APIs as they were fully envisioned, there remains a significant business question that has yet to be resolved, namely whether “agent choice” in MLS systems or front-ends is something that will be supported and supportable long-term by MLSs and vendors. Again, the concept of choice seems very sound. After all, choice creates competition and competition is good. That being said, how many systems can MLSs actually train on and support? And at what price point will such systems be offered and successful in the market? Selling to individual agents is a far different cost and value proposition than selling to MLSs as an organization, and businesses like FBS will have to do a lot of research and planning before deciding to commit to such a business model.

To sum all this up, FBS is 100% behind supporting our MLS customers if Flexmls is their “system of choice”, regardless of whether that’s part of a regional or not. We’re also interested in continuing to explore and even advocate for the idea of “agent choice” but we’re not yet convinced that the industry is ready — either from a business or technological perspective — to support such an approach for their members.  The years ahead will remain interesting as we explore these issues together, and so we hope all of our current customers and future customers consider FBS your partner in making the market work.

The Big Picture

Listing photos are great but much like puzzle pieces, they don’t provide a complete picture of the property until they’re “put together”. Floor plans bring the spatial-elements of listing photos together as the big picture, showing the relationship between spaces and rooms and delivering an instant, complete, picture of a property’s layout. Floor plans help Buyers envision themselves inside the home.

Better and Easier

Without a floor plan, the Buyer must do the heavy lifting of “imagining” the property’s layout, mentally stringing together individual photos to create a perception of the property layout. Oftentimes, as the front door opens, the perception they imagined doesn’t match the reality. That “missed expectation” wastes valuable time and can lead to disappointment. Floor plans eliminate the guesswork and neutralize the perception-reality gap by providing a concrete and instant visual depiction of the actual layout. With floor plans, Buyers are more informed and confident creating a more efficient and positive in-person experience between them and their Agent. Win-win.

Need to Have (vs. nice to have)

In today’s virtual-dominant environment (especially in our accelerated housing market), online home searching is the norm. Providing Buyers with the most complete and accurate property information so they can parse through many listings and make early decisions is central to their overall experience. A floor plan on the listing helps the Buyer instantly understand the property’s flow and decide whether it’s worth touring in-person or not. This saves valuable time and energy and creates a more positive in-person experience with their Agent.

The FlōPlan® System – The Best, Easiest and Most Affordable Solution

The FlōPlan® System is licensed at the MLS level so the entire market can benefit from a floor plan on every listing. Once licensed, the FlōPlan Team works closely with the MLS to provide professional marketing materials so the MLS can begin implementing a new standard for listings with floor plans as part of every listing taken. Using both AI and machine learning, the innovative FlōPlan System creates awesome floor plans overnight from 10 minute scans done with a smartphone; no training or extra equipment required. Easy, simple and affordable technology that makes the market work better for everyone and gives real estate customers precisely what they need.

Fargo, North Dakota – October 21, 2019 – FBS announces the launch of the latest product in the Spring® lineup: all-in-one websites for agents. For 40+ years, FBS has provided innovative technology and services to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and its members, including the late 2018 acquisition of Solid Earth’s Spring® software platform. In the last year, FBS successfully launched Spring MLS Portals to the MLS market. Today, agent websites are added to the Spring suite of products.

Spring IDX websites for agents were created with the busy, budget-conscious agent in mind. Director of FBS Broker and Agent Services, Michelle Carter explains, “The new Spring websites deliver on all of the essential agent website needs: powerful IDX home search with live data, a modern look, ease of use, affordability, lead capture, and agent branding options. Set-up and customization are easy enough that the least tech-savvy agent can succeed.” With hosting, site security, and custom domain name management included, agents can consolidate multiple vendors into one single solution at an affordable price.

Powered by the Spark® API, Spring IDX websites show live listing data so home buyers receive the freshest most comprehensive data available. 

Spring websites are available exclusively to Flexmls subscribers along with a number of other easy-to-use and affordable IDX solutions. Spring websites for brokers, complete with lead management, is set to release in 2020. For more information visit https://fbsproducts.com/products/idx-solutions/

About FBS:

Recognized by Forbes as a 2019 Small Giant and based in Fargo, North Dakota, FBS is a 100% employee-owned company providing industry-leading software and technology to real estate with Flexmls®, Spark®, FloPlan™ and Spring®. The leading MLS technology innovator and one of the largest software providers, FBS serves 240,000+ real estate professionals on its Flexmls® Platform. First to market, its Spark® API set the standard for industry API innovation. Spark showcases the value of data standards powering Flexmls Mobile, Spring and many other third-party real estate software products. FBS products are underpinned by 40+ years of experience and one of the highest customer service performance ratings in any industry, an NPS® of 84. Learn more at www.WeAreFBS.com.

Media Contact(s): 

Michelle Carter

(701) 499-0325

Fargo, North Dakota – October 14, 2019 – Continuing its 40+ years of providing technology and services that maximize the core value of Multiple Listing Services (MLSs), FBS introduces FlōPlan, game-changing floor plan and digital capture technology that empowers MLSs to create new value for members and consumers with a floor plan on every listing.

Every home has a flow. With FlōPlan, every listing can have a floor plan. As FBS’s President and CEO, Michael Wurzer, explains: “Very few listings have floor plans today, because they’re difficult and expensive to create. FlōPlan reverses this trend by making them cost-effective and easy to create, so that every listing can have a floor plan.” Wurzer continues, “Consumers and agents love floor plans because they instantly show how the home flows. With FlōPlan, the MLS industry will now be able to empower its members to deliver the floor plans consumers want.”

FlōPlan will be licensed to MLSs nationwide, with the goal of changing consumer expectations for what should be standard content for a listing. Wurzer says, “Innovations like FlōPlan clearly showcase the unique value of MLS cooperation to create the most robust, up-to-date, and accurate real estate data for agents and consumers. Our business is delivering innovation for MLSs and FlōPlan is a perfect fit that will change the industry.”

FBS’s FlōPlan software is powered by machine-learning technology from CubiCasa. It is already well-established and widely used by photographers, studios, and real estate agents around the world, with 500,000+ floor plans produced to date. CubiCasa Chairman, Zach Shelby, states, “We are extremely proud and excited to have FBS, the MLS industry’s leading technology provider, as both an equity investor and our exclusive channel partner for delivering our technology through FlōPlan to MLSs and other enterprise customers in North America and other select markets. We look forward to the future of an elevated experience where agents and consumers, nationwide, can expect a floor plan on every listing.”

The technology delivers quickly and affordably with no additional equipment or technical training required beyond a mobile phone and the downloadable application. Within 24-hours after the property is scanned, a FlōPlan is ready. FlōPlan’s marketwide value, ease of use, and affordability make it highly scalable, capable of transforming the vision of a floor plan on every listing into a reality. FlōPlan will be available in early 2020. Additional information is available at floplan.io.

About FBS:

Recognized by Forbes as a 2019 Small Giant and based in Fargo, North Dakota, FBS is a 100% employee-owned company providing industry-leading software and technology to real estate with Flexmls®, Spark®, Spring® and FlōPlan™. The leading MLS technology innovator and one of the largest software providers, FBS serves 240,000+ real estate professionals on its Flexmls® Platform. First to market, its Spark® API set the standard for industry API innovation. Spark showcases the value of data standards powering Flexmls Mobile, Spring, and many other third-party real estate software products. FBS products are underpinned by 40+ years of experience and one of the highest customer service performance ratings in any industry, an NPS® of 84. Learn more at www.WeAreFBS.com.

Media Contact: 

Kim Prior / FBS

Agents can ask Alexa, Assistant to tell them about their expireds, messages, hot sheet and more.

Albany, N.Y. – September 3, 2019 – Voiceter Pro, in conjunction with Staten Island MLS and FBS (makers of Flexmls, Spring, and Spark), has created a new voice tool for real estate agents. Agents will have the ability to ask Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant to tell them about their upcoming expiring listings, messages, broker opens, market statistics, the hot sheet, and more.

“We believe this new tool will revolutionize how agents interact with their multiple listing service,” said Miguel Berger, CEO and co-founder of Voiceter Pro. “Staten Island subscribers simply have to ask their favorite digital assistant to open Staten Island MLS to hear important business information to start their day or even while they are driving between appointments.” Berger explained that agents using the system will have to log in with their MLS credentials to securely access their business information. They will then be periodically asked to confirm their identity with a personal code. 

“We are excited to provide this new tool to our members to help them be more efficient and well-informed about their MLS activity,” said Sandy Kruger, CEO of Staten Island MLS. “Agents predominantly work in a mobile environment and voice interaction will allow them to operate more proficiently.”

“Voiceter Pro and Staten Island MLS have leveraged the power of standards and the industry-leading RESTful Spark API to create a voice interaction that will have a meaningful impact on the daily lives of agents,” said Matt Fowler, FBS executive working with Voiceter on integration. “Enabling applications that create efficiency and improve productivity for agents is exactly what we envisioned as we built out Spark and now we’re seeing it come to life with products like this from Voiceter Pro and many others.”

Staten Island MLS is currently in beta testing. Voiceter Pro’s MLS business intelligence tool is expected to be available to all Flexmls clients multiple listing services during the third quarter of 2019.

About Voiceter Pro:
Voiceter Pro, Inc., based in Albany, New York, is the leading provider of voice-powered applications for the real estate industry. The company provides multiple listing services, brokers, and associations with the tools they need to reach their audiences via the Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant platforms. Voiceter Pro is an Amazon Alexa Preferred Voice Vendor and a CoreLogic Alliance Network solutions provider. Learn more at www.voiceterpro.com.

For more information, contact:
Sal Prividera, Chief Operating Officer
Voiceter Pro
855-864-2324 x 711
sal@voiceterpro.com

About the Staten Island Board of REALTORS®:
Established in 1915, the Staten Island Board of REALTORS® (SIBOR) is the largest professional association in Staten Island. SIBOR exists to enhance the ability and opportunity of its members to conduct their business successfully and ethically and to preserve the public’s right to own, transfer and use real property.

Comprised of more than 2,000 members, SIBOR serves real estate agents, brokers and affiliated professionals throughout the borough and surrounding areas.

SIBOR is the provider of the Staten Island Multiple Listing Service Inc. (SIMLS), which works as a clearinghouse through which more than 250 local real estate firms exchange information on properties they have listed for sale. Together, its members participate in over 5,000 real estate transactions every year. SIBOR may be reached at 718-928-3220 and at siborrealtors.com.

About FBS:
Based in Fargo, North Dakota, FBS is the leading innovator of MLS technology and one of the industry’s three largest MLS technology providers, with more than 240,000 real estate professional subscribers. Its Flexmls® system is built on the Spark standards-driven technology platform and is the MLS industry’s first and most innovative Web API. Uniquely, as an employee-owned (ESOP) company, FBS staff has earned one of the highest customer service performance measurements in any industry (NPS Score Average 91). Press Contact: Nate Thoreson NThoreson@WeAreFBS.com

We recently hosted the 20th annual FBS Summit, welcoming 125+ of our Flexmls customers and users for 3 days of learning, collaboration and fun in our home state of North Dakota. At the Summit, we shared this video to demonstrate how ideas turn into new features at FBS.

In the video, you may have noticed a spot designated just for YOU on our team. Because every feature we work on is designed based upon data and user research, and you’re a big part of that user research, we need more of you!

Say hello to FUEL!
While we get feedback from many of our customers via surveys and suggestions, we also have a working group of users that have agreed to help us at a more detailed level. We call them the FUEL group, which stands for Flexmls User Experience Leaders. That’s where YOU come in!

We created the FUEL group because we value your input and your knowledge about how you get your work done. By understanding your unique perspectives and work patterns, we can create the best MLS tools.

Who are FUEL Members? Are you eligible?
Membership criteria/eligibility is simple: just be a Flexmls System user. Members represent various user roles, including MLS Executives and Staff, Brokers, Agents, Broker and Agent Assistants, and Appraisers.

What kind of commitment is FUEL?
Participation is voluntary, and there are no expectations that you participate in a set number of activities. As a FUEL member, you’re free to pick and choose when you engage to provide regular, structured feedback to the Product Team. We welcome you to be as active as your schedule allows. We strive to keep time requirements to a minimum, and provide as much information about the activity as possible so that you can decide if you can participate in any given activity. You may be invited to activities like usability studies, interviews, field research and/or online feedback sessions.

How do I join?
We’re glad you asked! We’ve made it easy. Sign up here and FUEL the change!

I speak for the entire team when I say we look forward to working with you.

Char Gust

Vice President, Product

The app is a powerful Customer Relationship Management (CRM) service that fits neatly into the Flexmls and Spring user experiences. It’s already been successfully tested with several MLSs.

Here’s How it Works:
The CRM app enhances Flexmls features by plugging in new ways to automate the Contact list. With Spark as the backbone, information flows seamlessly between Flexmls, Spring and iMaxCRM.

iMaxCRM schedules automated messages called Campaigns to a list of contacts within the system. Campaigns allow contacts to receive messages based on their “point-of-origin” (the system they came from). This feature allows brokers, teams, and agents to maximize the efficiency and scale of their operations. Communication and follow-up is fully automated during real estate market cycles. 

For example, consider this typical workflow: 

1. A customer finds a listing on a Spring MLS Portal or a Spring IDX website and submits a “Request More Information” form.
2. The portal/site saves the customer’s contact information to the Spark API and is immediately available on iMaxCRM. 
3. iMaxCRM automatically imports the contact and notes to the point of origin. 
4. Based on the origin, iMaxCRM automatically assigns the contact to an existing Campaign.

As specified by the Campaign, the contact receives an instant SMS/text message thanking them for registering. The text message is then followed by an email with information about the listing. After that, the automated Campaign continues to stay in touch with regular market updates, holiday messages and any other messaging that has been indicated within the Campaign settings. Inside iMaxCRM, contact information, and activity is available for review (this includes their Collections and Saved Searches). iMaxCRM also works with Zillow in the same way. 

For more information, watch this video, then click on iMaxCRM in the Spark Store within Flexmls to purchase iMaxCRM.

The industry-leading Spark API enables data to flow seamlessly between applications creating efficiency for real estate agents. Interested in integrating your App or software product with the Spark API? Start here! 

For more information about the Spark Platform, contact Matt Fowler mfowler@fbsdata.com.

Since 2005*, we’ve focused on building FBS as a sustainable, employee-owned company with the core values of freedom, opportunity, and respect. Our path to success has been paved with our purpose: proliferating ownership through our company structure (100% employee owned) and software products (real estate focused). We’ve walked that path with focus and in doing so, demonstrated that a software company can absolutely be built and scaled sustainably, honoring and retaining both customers and employees for decades through tremendous growth. Last night, we were honored in choosing that path by Forbes, named a 2019 Forbes Small Giant. One of 25 companies named.

A concept founded by Bo Burlingham and explained in his book appropriately titled, Small Giants, Small Giant companies are those who choose to grow with people and purpose above any other priority, striving to be the very best in their business category (rather than the biggest). There are six key qualities of a Small Giant company, the criteria by which all applicants are measured: purpose, culture, leadership, community, relationships, and finances. Although the name may imply, companies selected as Small Giants aren’t always “small” and include National brands such as Dansko, Anchor Brewing, Clif Bar, Basecamp, Uncommon Goods, and Dutch Bros.

Recently, the concept and general philosophy of Small Giant companies has expanded into something of a movement that includes other initiatives such as Zebras Unite and outspoken leaders like Jason Fried, Basecamp CEO and Founder and author of “It Doesn’t Have to be Crazy at Work“. The movement is based upon building sustainable, purpose-driven, people-focused organizations focused on quality, connection and cultivation as a path to success. This directly combats what’s frequently called a “work-ism” approach, largely profit-focused and identified by churn-and-burn, 24/7 hustle, quick-exit, more-not-better culture, frequently found in the software industry (especially start-ups).

Being selected by Forbes from hundreds of applicants as one of 25 Small Giant Companies in America is truly an honor for us. It validates the decision we made nearly 20 years ago to define and walk our own path paved with the goal of creating a sustainable, purpose-driven organization that creates owners before marketing mantras, cultural initiatives, twitter handles, and recognition like this existed. We are so incredibly proud to be a Forbes Small Giant!

*year FBS became an employee-owned company

Inman News is reporting that Remine has raised more money to compete with FBS, Corelogic, and Black Knight, based on the presumption that:

MLS platforms are all built upon a very closed architecture that frankly does not play nicely with other third-party technologies. . . . [A]ll of these MLSs don’t realize that a lot of their data and their [intellectual property] is buried in a closed system . . .   [I]n Remine’s MLS 2.0 system a saved search will be delivered over an open application programming interface (API) that the MLS will make available to agents. . . .

These quotes make me seriously wonder if Remine or their investors did any market research, because FBS has provided this functionality via its Spark API for years. Oh, and the Spark API provides by far and away the most robust functionality for third party integrations of any MLS software in the industry, and is doing so live in over 150 markets.

In stark contrast to the claim in the article that “if an MLS wants to change something about its MLS system, including integrate with a new tool, it has to ask that system’s provider and then get in line and wait,” FBS provides its customers with direct control of the Spark API so they can integrate with any vendor they choose, without having to ask FBS for anything. So, basically, based on the quotes in the article, Remine is investing $48M to create something we already delivered to the market years ago.

I don’t think API innovation is actually Remine’s focus. Rather, Remine’s focus has been on their up-sell to their “sell score” and related products that allow agents to target prospects. (Interestingly enough, I went to look for the pricing on Remine’s web site and it looks like they’ve taken it down. I wonder why?) These are cool tools but they are aimed at the broker and agent, not the MLS. Why do I say this? Because the “sell score” and similar products are ways for brokers and agents to compete with each other, and the MLS is about cooperation. Competitive products like “sell score” have a negative network effect in that the more agents use them, the less valuable they are to any one agent (imagine all the agents calling the same high “sell score” prospects).

The reality is that, as much as Remine might want to claim they’re creating MLS 2.0, to me it looks like they’re really trying to use the MLS to monetize the tools they want to sell to agents. In my experience, that’s going to be a tough sell to a lot of MLSs, who are pretty sensitive about their MLS vendors pounding away at their agents with marketing and sales tactics. And, if somehow Remine’s supposed innovation actually is about APIs, I’ll just reassure our customers that they already have the best API that puts them 100% in control of their and their members’ data. Problem solved!

Change: A Love / Hate Relationship.
Despite how much technology advancements have improved the overall experience of tech-related change, our resistance and subsequent sensitivity to it still exists. Perhaps we’re just creatures of habit and resistance is a natural part of the human condition, but let’s face it, we get cranky when people change things. Especially when we didn’t ask for it. It also seems that the more “core” the product is to the daily routine, the more change is an issue. Take for example switching mobile platforms from iOS/iPhone to Android. Not fun. Or a level down from that, what about unexpected app enhancements after your mobile phone installs an update? I call those app jump-scares. Follow me: it’s 7am and you’re at Starbucks with 12 zombie-eyed, impatient, caffeine-starved people behind you. You fumble for your phone, open the app and… the payment icon isn’t where it was yesterday on your Starbucks app. In that specific and uncaffeinated moment, that unexpected little “enhancement” is unwelcome. Even if it ends up being an awesome change, the fact that you didn’t expect it and stumbled to find it is just… irritating. You feel me now? Love that improvements are made, hate change (and hate the jump-scare type changes even more).

Ok, all contrasting jokes aside, the reality is that change in the technology space is constant and managing it is an ongoing challenge. As a provider of core MLS technology to 240,000+ real estate professionals, it was/is necessary to go beyond simply embracing it. It’s our job to deeply understand and figure out the most effective ways to manage it: both internally and externally, at both the platform and feature level.

Real estate professionals have their hands full, juggling a variety of time-sensitive and detailed priorities. Even seemingly “small” but unexpected feature enhancements or user interface changes to core technology can create chaos for them, resulting in dissatisfaction and flared tempers. But when an MLS makes the decision to replace their entire MLS technology platform? As they say in North Dakota, Uuuuuff-da. Indescribable pain. Even when the end-game is far superior technology and a better tool-set, the benefits are secondary to the pain of the change.

First, MLSs know and respect this. They approach technology platform changes cautiously and seriously; they need a compelling reason to take the leap. And the process by which that decision is made is long, detailed, and responsible.

Next, we (FBS) know and respect this. During the last 3+ decades, I’d like to think we’ve done a pretty good job providing that compelling reason to change via our Flexmls Platform and then following through with unmatched conversion training, personal support, and service. Through that, we’ve earned 154 MLS clients representing 240,000+ subscribers (and retained almost every client we’ve converted). But could we do more?

What We’ve Learned.
Through the years, we’ve been able to experience many conversions and can say without a doubt, MLSs that engage with members about the upcoming conversion to Flexmls prior to the conversion time-frame tend to have more positive conversion experiences. With this kind of well-timed, longer tail communication plan, members have multiple opportunities to become aware of the pending change, mentally prepare, and ask questions. Ultimately, stress and anxiety are minimized and there are fewer surprises. They become more engaged with the change. They learn why their MLS chose this new technology provider and what it means to them. They get to hear from peers across the country about how the change was a positive one for them. Heck, they may even get excited! All of this happens before the change is upon them. Inherently, that lends itself to more positive engagement in the overall system conversion, training, and transition from the old software to the Flexmls Platform. And they’re more forthcoming with constructive feedback that improves the system for all. Seriously, everyone wins.

It all sounds good, but how many MLSs have a full-stack, professional marketing team with experienced designers, writers, videographers, and communication managers at the ready to deliver this kind of campaign? Not many. Any? Suffice it to say, there’s a gap.

A New Solution.
Recognizing both the need and the gap, we’re introducing a new solution at FBS. From this point forward, pre-conversion marketing services will be included for MLSs converting to the Flexmls Platform. That means, in the gap between contract execution and the start of the MLS system conversion activity, we will support the MLSs as a marketing agency in the following way:

1) Engage in a discovery call with MLS leadership (or their marketing staff) to understand their communication goals around announcing the platform change to the industry and members. In cases where there are no goals, we’ll use our deep experience to help create goals that are relevant to their organization.

2) Collaborate to build a strong pre-conversion member and industry communication plan.

3) Provide a suite of marketing communication services in the form of professional marketing communication content and related collateral (videos, .pdfs, email templates, etc.) to support their efforts and help facilitate the plan.

Yes, this is absolutely more work for us. But this is the right work. It’s the kind of work that makes a palpable difference in outcome for our MLS client-partners, minimizing their stress levels and subsequently elevating the member experience. It’s the kind of work that helps real estate professionals ramp up quickly with less anxiety, getting back to the business of selling homes, faster. And quite frankly, it’s the kind of work that makes FBS a true business partner.

I’m super excited to work with MLSs making the transition to Flexmls in 2019 (and beyond), kicking off their journey with FBS, fully vested in success… from day one.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Until next time, be well,

Kim Prior

Quick P.S.: I’ll definitely share the results of this important initiative on the blog as we start to bring new campaigns to fruition.

No, I’m not talking about all the food I had over the holidays, I’m referring to a presentation called “Software Eats The Real (Estate) World” by Alex Rampell, a General Partner at Andreesen Horowitz, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. The title of the presentation is a reference to the firm’s tagline, which is a quote from founder Marc Andreesen (one of the creators of Netscape): “Software is eating the world.” The presentation applies this same “software is eating the world” thesis to the residential real estate transaction and describes how new companies such as OpenDoor, Zillow, and many others are attacking the value proposition of traditional real estate agents.

I had heard of the presentation a few weeks ago but didn’t have time to watch it, but I was prompted to do so again today after I listened to Greg Robertson and Rob Hahn discuss it on their recent industry relations podcast. As Greg says repeatedly, he found the presentation “humbling” in that, in his view, it highlighted with surgical precision the weaknesses of the real estate industry, especially agents. With this review, I felt like I had to go watch the presentation, and so I did.

The core theme of the presentation was that these new companies can do things with technology and capital that individual agents cannot, such as use analytics to estimate pricing or use capital to actually purchase the home to speed the transaction for the seller. To be clear, Mr. Rampell specifically says that agents “might not go away,” but his prediction is that they’ll “be under the rubric of companies.”

I definitely agree that agents becoming employees (e.g., as they are at Redfin) instead of independent contractors (as they are at the various large franchises such KW, RE/MAX, etc.) is an important trend to watch. Technology platforms are an important tool for improving services to buyers and sellers, and there’s no question that it is easier to get employees to adopt technology solutions on a broad scale (because, as the employer, you can require them to use it as a condition of their employment) than it is to get independent contractors to do so.  So, yes, agents becoming employees is a big trend to watch as are all the new and interesting companies described in the video.

What I found tired and uninspiring about the presentation, though, is all the carping about how terrible most real estate agents supposedly are and how over-paid they are because organized real estate supposedly hasn’t allowed the market to work properly. One of the most tired things was an early slide in which he reveals that they did some research in Washington state showing that the mode (the number that occurs most frequently in the series) of the number of transactions done by agents in a year is zero.

Greg and Rob thought this fact was particularly damning as well, because, well, why would you have someone who doesn’t do any transactions help you sell your house? Would you hire a surgeon who has never done surgery? Of course, the answer given by the very statistics they’re citing as so damning is that, in fact, no one is hiring those agents, which, of course, is why they have zero transactions. So, yes, there are lots of “agents” who aren’t doing transactions, but they also aren’t being hired. Now, don’t get me wrong, of course there are a few who hire Aunt Amy to sell their house because they want to support her in her new career even if she hasn’t sold a house yet, but that’s not the kind of inefficiency that’s going to attract billions in venture capital, at least not profitably. What would have been a lot more interesting is if they had studied the top producers to determine the value they’re providing and then analyzing whether these new services are addressing that same value proposition or not.

The other point the presentation makes over and over again is that individual agents can’t do what these companies can do, because they don’t have the capital or the technology. The comparison is always between the well-invested tech company and individual real estate agents, which seems like an odd comparison. Or at least a comparison that isn’t very familiar with the current state of real estate technology and the role of agents in making the market work.

As anyone can testify who has been in this market for very long, there is no shortage of companies that are creating and trying to sell technology solutions to agents, brokerages, franchises, and every other party to the real estate transaction. The marketing emails, calls, ads, and other promotions directed at agents and brokers is massive. The presentation does make the point that agents can have a difficult time figuring out which of these technology solutions truly has value, but I trust the market will do that work over time better than any individual company will in assessing the effectiveness of its own technology. As I mentioned above, having agents become employees may well turn out to be the best way to get adoption of technology on a broad scale, but that’s not the same question as whether agents are providing value today in the role they’re playing.

The presentation didn’t really touch on the role of the multiple listing service (MLS) at all and I think that’s a critical omission, because it is the cooperation of competing agents and brokers that makes the market work in the first instance. (Of course, as an MLS vendor, I’m completely biased on this point, but I think my logic holds.) Over the last many decades and certainly the last decade, there have been no shortage of those predicting the disintermediation of real estate agents and organized real estate. But the actual market (as well as courts) has consistently re-affirmed the competitive value of agents and organized real estate, over and over again, as companies like Zillow and Opendoor move toward working with instead of against agents and organized real estate.

I still have more to say on this topic, I think, but this post likely has gone on too long already, so I’ll just end it here and tease that I’ll be back with more in a future post. Until then, watch what you eat!

The way the Datamart works is similar to the “common app” approach in that each developer agrees to the standard Developer Terms of Use, which then incorporate by reference the local MLS rules and terms of use as well. Each MLS can upload additional terms of use and pricing for each data feed they offer (what we call a Data Plan), as well control who approves each request before the credentials are issued.

To request access to a Data Plan, the developer just selects the MLS and Data Plan they want through the Datamart, and answers a few questions. That application from the developer is then routed for approval to the broker, agent, and MLS, depending on what the MLS requires for approval. As soon as all approvals are provided, the developer is provided a bearer token to access the API for that Data Plan.

There are some differences from the “common app” approach for college, but there are quite a few similarities, especially around the concept of a standard developer terms of use supplemented by the rules and terms for each MLS.

Marilyn Wilson wrote a great post the other day advocating for a “common app” for data feed requests to MLSs, similar to what colleges use today. Marilyn goes into quite a bit of detail about how the college common app allows local variations, and that got me to thinking that the approach is quite similar to what we’ve implemented in our recently launched Spark Datamart. The Spark Datamart automates the data licensing process bringing MLS-created data plans (VOW, IDX, etc.), licensing terms, pricing, approvals and usage tracking together in one secure, convenient online space.

The way the Datamart works is similar to the “common app” approach in that each developer agrees to the standard Developer Terms of Use, which then incorporate by reference the local MLS rules and terms of use as well. Each MLS can upload additional terms of use and pricing for each data feed they offer (what we call a Data Plan), as well control who approves each request before the credentials are issued.

To request access to a Data Plan, the developer just selects the MLS and Data Plan they want through the Datamart, and answers a few questions. That application from the developer is then routed for approval to the broker, agent, and MLS, depending on what the MLS requires for approval. As soon as all approvals are provided, the developer is provided a bearer token to access the API for that Data Plan.

There are some differences from the “common app” approach for college, but there are quite a few similarities, especially around the concept of standard developer terms of use supplemented by the rules and terms for each MLS.

On a recent business trip, I was flipping through channels on TV and came across an interview by Dan Rather of Robbie Krieger and John Densmore, the two surviving members of the band The Doors. As a kid (and still today), I  really loved The Doors’ music and so the interview was immediately interesting to me, but my ears really perked up when Robbie and John were asked to describe why they thought The Doors had so much success.

They talk about chemistry and talent but then John Densmore hits on what he says might be “the key” for why they all gave “200%”. The video is only 2 minutes and I encourage you to check it out.

https://flexmls.wistia.com/medias/xh0tl2zsdz

We recently had the opportunity to participate with the Forbes Small Giants community to share some insightabout our journey as a 100% employee-owned company.  While we frequently mention our 100% employee-owned business model throughout our various marketing methods and channels, it’s been echoed back to us from our client-partners as a meaningful, valuable difference felt in our approach to relationships, collaboration, problem-solving, and service. Earning that personal feedback is the highest honor; human validation of customer happiness to accompany our unrivaled market-share growth and an incredible +99% client retention rate.

Speaking of retention, our employee retention rate since becoming a 100% employee-owned company 13+ years ago is +96% (amidst a 219% headcount increase during the same time frame). That’s a key factor in the stand-out, long-term, trusting partnerships we forge with client-partners and Flexmls software subscribers alike. The kind of longevity we have here at FBS fosters highly knowledgeable, well-seasoned professionals across all departments and teams. Employee-owners are always willing to lend a hand or mentor a peer to noticeably elevate the business experience.

The dynamics of an employee-owned company empower, challenge, and reward FBS staff in unique ways that influence how our team behaves and acts together. This cascades naturally through our relationships and experiences with client-partners, community and the industry-at-large, reaching beyond the actual software products. And that’s really the space where the difference can be truly felt. FBS is more than a software provider, more than an industry innovator. We’re a company of owners who are 100% vested in the success of our customers and industry – and that’s not something that can be changed. It’s in our DNA.

Until next time,
Kim Prior
twitter: @kimCprior

Welcome to two of our newest client-partners!

I am excited to share that FBS will soon welcome 8,000+ new members/Flexmls System subscribers and client-partners from Maine Listings and El Paso Association of Realtors (EPAR).

The addition of these two new client-partners is validation of our vision for the future of MLS based on standards, brought to life through our products and our personal approach to doing business. EPAR and Maine Listings shared their enthusiasm about licensing the Flexmls System with the Spring Portal, bringing the collective power and value of Spring, Spark, and Flexmls to their members (brokers and agents) and consumers alike. I’ve captured that here in a formal press release.

We’re honored they chose FBS, excited to learn more about their local markets as we work through the conversion, and super excited to welcome them personally at our upcoming Summit in July!

Until next time, be well!

Kim Prior

We’re counting down to our annual FBS Summit, assembling a fantastic agenda that helps to educate, engage, and foster meaningful dialogue with our client-partners. Today is the first of a few blogs I’ll share with some information about what’s to come in July.

If you haven’t already registered or checked out the site, the 2018 Summit theme is Together We Lead The Way, unique in that it is both aspirational and inspirational.

At the Summit, FBS and MLS leadership will share current, real, live-initiatives born from shared vision, common goals, and true collaboration. Attendees will hear about and see what’s happening right now, understanding how by working together, we have tremendous power to deliver future-focused solutions for our industry and consumers.

Kicking off some announcements of speakers and agenda topics today, I’m proud to share that we’ll have ARMLS CEO, Matt Consalvo and Metro MLS CEO, Chris Carrillo in attendance. Matt and Chris are longstanding, valued FBS client-partners who beautifully demonstrate collaborative spirit and industry leadership. Their recently announced joint venture, as described on their marketing site OurMLSDNA.com, perfectly exemplifies the Summit theme of leading the way together. Through collaboration, they discovered that they share both business and cultural “DNA”. Through an innovative joint venture, they plan to maximize the value of that shared DNA to benefit each other, brokers, agents, and consumers alike.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Matt and Chris and as you would expect, it was a super-lively, fun, and informative call. They may or may not have used a Milli Vanilli analogy – you decide.

Kidding aside, it’s an honor to have such bright and insightful associates. Here’s a little taste of what they had to share. Chris added, “We believe long-term success is accomplished by taking the foundation of what’s already contributed to our organization’s success, including our partners, and building upon that.  Why risk what made us special by abandoning our core in pursuit of something new, shiny, and unproven? To us,jumping into a one-size fits all anything is likely not the solution.” During our chat, it was clear that their new venture is about maximizing what’s shared and preserving what’s unique about each of their organizations including maintaining their individual, hyper-local approach. That’s a beautiful thing! Matt added great wisdom here stating, “So often, new industry entities want to be the sole lifeline to the MLS. But first things first, the MLS must be a strong entity all its own and from that place of strength, must be the architect of its own future, aligning with key partners who have a shared vision, who can help make their future aspirations a reality.”

Sound exciting? There’s a lot more where that came from, of that I am sure! Be sure to register for the FBS July Summit today!

Until next time, stay well!

Kim Prior

If there’s a surefire dynamic for a grand slam in business, it’s having: 1) a vibrant, action-oriented community (associates, co-workers, clients, etc.), 2) collaborative, trust-based partnerships with shared vision and 3) superior technology and/or strong resources necessary to bring visions to life. If you’ve got those, you can crush it.

A perfect example of a business grand slam is the hard work of our client-partners at the Ventura County Coastal Association of Realtors and Conejo Simi Moorpark Association of Realtors that recently earned them a 2018 Inman Innovator Award nomination.

In light of the mass-devastation caused by December’s Southern California wildfires (finally contained mid-January 2018), the two associations worked with their communities to assemble a list of available rental properties. But they didn’t stop there. They wanted to make that list easily accessible to displaced residents and decided to use their MLS system to make it a reality: that system happens to be Flexmls.

FBS Staff worked closely with the MLS Administrators to quickly get this new Property Type in place within the Flexmls System and the two Associations were able to respond to their critical, local market needs without delay. Action-oriented, engaged leadership super-staff (Associations) + great partnerships (FBS + the Associations) + Excellent tools (Flexmls) = Grand Slam.

Over the years, we’ve worked hard to deliver products that are future-focused, including the Flexmls System and the groundbreaking, standards-driven Spark API. True to its name, the Flexmls System affords the highest flexibility, empowering MLS staff to customize their MLS system to unique marketplace needs (business rules, new fields, pick lists, search templates, and field constraints).

In parallel, our personal, relationship-driven culture fosters collaborative partnerships with our clients and industry associates alike. We’re exceptionally proud of these core, fundamental FBS values for one reason: grand slams like this. It’s a beautiful thing.

Cheers to our friends for their nomination!

Until next time,

Kim Prior

Hello from the Broker Agent Services department here at FBS!

It’s likely the first time our team is posting here on the FBS blog to communicate with our MLS customers so, we want to start out with a quick intro to Broker Agent Services (aka “BAS”.)

BAS provides IDX subscriptions to Flexmls members with a line of products that integrate with Flexmls portals and contact manager, helping agents to create simple and affordable home search options for their website. In addition, we are committed to helping your agents understand the fundamentals of how IDX works so they can make smarter and more successful decisions about their online marketing strategy.

The home search/IDX market is crowded and constantly changing; it’s often hard to keep up. Likely you are approached with many questions regarding home search website tools and, since this is our wheelhouse here at BAS, we got to thinking about a way to make it easier for you to help your members understand what’s available to them and why that’s valuable to their business.

That’s why we have created for you your very own, online resource to help you communicate the benefits, features and best practices for IDX to your members. We’re calling it the MLSToolkit, a resource center to support you!

Head on over today to MLSToolkit.Net and you’ll find:

• White-labeled content to take and make your own – presentation decks with presenter notes, success articles, PDF downloads and infographics. Just add your own logo and contact info.
• A blog which will be populated weekly with posts designed to help you stay abreast of the issues that have an impact on your member’s Internet marketing strategies and best practices for IDX home search, lead capture, and much more.

And your new IDX home base is just getting started. Your feedback and suggestions will be an important part of developing MLSToolkit into what will be one of your most important member development resources.

Take a look at the site, and let us know what you think. We know it’s our first time using the FBS blog to talk to you all so please also check-out our training page at www.fbsproducts.com/trainings and see if there is anything else we can do to help you and your members. Feel free to e-mail our IDX Trainer, Mike Price mprice@fbsdata with questions and ideas!

Thanks for your support.

The title of this post is a quote from Jessie Diggins, a US cross-country skier who, with Kikkan Randall, recently won the Olympic gold medal in the team sprint event for cross-country skiing. If you didn’t happen to see this during the Olympics, here’s a link to a video of the final push that led to the gold. Go watch it, really, it’s worth it, even if you’ve already seen it.

When I saw this the first time, I literally cried, and I’ve watched it many, many times since, and tear up pretty much every time. I’m still not entirely sure of the reasons, because this Olympics was one of the first times I’ve even watched cross-country racing, so I hadn’t been following the athletes or known much about them.

Certainly, I was happy for them and amazed at their accomplishment, skill, dedication, and will to win. All of those things, for sure, but something deeper, too. That deeper truth the performance revealed for me occurred to me later, when Jessie published a blog post recollecting her Olympic experience and what I consider the theme of her post: “nobody ever accomplishes anything alone.”

She writes about her teammates, coaches, wax techs, ski suppliers, and many others. Sometimes when I hear athletes or others in the limelight expressing thanks and gratitude, I make the mistake of hearing those words as platitudes, what they’re supposed to say. But Jessie’s words ring so true and from the heart that they shine a new light for me on the gratitude of all athletes. I’ll never hear those words of thanks and gratitude from any athlete the same way again. Those words are true.

This point was driven home for me again by a blog post entitled “Standing on the shoulders of giants” by Hansi Johson, who I follow because he’s involved in the mountain biking scene in Duluth. Turns out Hansi also was involved in cross-country skiing in Minnesota, which is where Jessie is from (specifically, Afton, MN), and knew lots of people from there and so he wrote this, which really stirred me as well:

So while Jessie and Kikkan put that pedal down and made the impossible possible I saw those faces of old friends and heroes skiing past in my mind.

I thought of old high school teammates, I thought of past Minnesota State Meet Races I was in and the athletes the nordic ski athletes Minnesota turned out to the world. . . . I watched them all work and toil and succeed but never quite succeed at the highest Olympic level. Eventually, those folks though become the coaches and the mentors and they reached down to pick up other athletes. They kept pushing forward, they did not lose the dream, they just passed it on and on to the next kids in line. . . .

Incredible to think about those that came before and what it truly takes to create champions . . . . So for me while Jessie and Kikkan were draping the American Flag around themselves I had another thought. Some of my oldest friends were involved in this whole thing right that moment and if I was moved to tears, man they must be overwhelmed with this moment.

And there it is. Hansi saw not only the history but the beauty of the present moment extending well beyond Jessie and Kikkan to all those who came before, all those who helped them get there, and all those who would come after, as well. Truly, “no one ever accomplishes anything alone.”

Far from the world of cross-country ski racing, but still very relevant to me as the CEO of FBS, I can only hope that, like Jessie, I can bring grace and gratitude for all the contributions from our past, present, and future. With our 40 year anniversary, these thoughts are running through my head more frequently and I want to internalize them every day in honor of all of our employee owners, past, present, and future.

2018 is a special year for FBS, our 40th business anniversary.

I was prepared with a laundry list of impressive stats, facts and timeline-variables to proudly share but decided against that approach.

Because the dozens of boast-worthy moments spread brightly across our 40-year timeline are already clear. They speak for themselves daily through the words of our customers, the long-standing relationships we’ve built and our perpetual, unrivaled growth.

I decided instead to highlight the one consistent variable behind each and every remarkable memory that doesn’t get out in front too often. This moment seemed like the perfect opportunity to bring it front and center: that’s the people behind the results.

At FBS, our success is and has always been about valuing and respecting people, collaboration, communication and teamwork: FBS employee owners, client-partners, software users and the real estate community at large. Every accomplishment, memory or critical milestone is the result of people, from innovating and executing on ideas that solve industry problems to reliably serving the needs of subscribers and working through business challenges with determination. People are the center of everything.

So, during this, our 40th anniversary year, on behalf of all of us at FBS, I want to acknowledge what matters most: the incredible people woven through our rich history who have believed, contributed, trusted and challenged us. Collectively, you’ve inspired our dedication to the American Dream of independence through ownership during the last 40 years and are a catalyst for us to continue leading the way for the next 40+ to come.

We look forward to leading the way for years to come, delivering on our promise of product and service innovation, exceeding expectations.

Keller Williams has gotten a lot of people talking about their latest initiative stemming from their original Keller Cloud vision. Here’s Inman, Rob Hahn, Greg Robertson, and the real juice is in the comments everywhere but especially Facebook, to which, of course, linking is pretty much impossible.

Anyway, much of the controversy seems to be around Keller Williams’ apparent rejection of all “bolt on” technology and their vision for becoming a technology company building everything end-to-end. To the extent that actually is the vision KW is pursuing, I’d agree that’s ill-advised. No single company can or should build everything.

What I’ve always thought the Keller Cloud was going to be about was KW creating APIs that they would require vendors to adopt so that KW would be assured of standardized data that moves between all their applications and that they can leverage for whatever technology they want to develop in-house such as Kelle.

By the way, this is exactly what we’ve been advising our MLS customers to do: Invest in standard APIs that allow you and others to innovate while ensuring data portability, control, and ownership. This is what the “cloud” is about, allowing the market to work and innovation to flourish.

What is a mistake — and the same mistake I’ve seen the NAR make — is that, instead of focusing on infrastructure and building competitive and collaborative ecosystems, they decide to build shiny baubles. That’s a costly mistake.

I’m very excited to announce that Susan Young is joining FBS as a National Sales Executive. Susan will be working with the FBS sales team to promote Flexmls and the Spring products.

In addition to the dynamic, straightforward personality she’s widely recognized for, Susan brings breadth of industry experience to FBS from her recent-prior roles at Move Inc./Realtor.com and Real Safe Agent. Prior to the vendor world, Susan was a Sales Manager and Realtor(r) for Coldwell Banker as well as CEO of the Western Regional Information System and Technology (WRIST MLS) in Ohio.

Susan shares FBS’s passion for creating long-term customer success through building relationships and delivering meaningful results with personal service.

Depending on the weather, Susan will live and work from one of two home bases: Columbus, Ohio or Coral Springs in Southeast Florida. For leisure, Susan loves spending time with her husband, kids and many grandchildren. Please join me in welcoming Susan to the FBS family.

First, let me start with a relatively recent post, Why is the MLS so misunderstood?, in which I conclude that the overarching goal of MLS organizations should be to enhance competition through cooperation:

Our industry needs more competition at every level: brokers, agents, MLSs, Associations, technology vendors, franchises, etc. Every policy and strategic decision we make as an industry should ask the simple question of whether it increases or decreases competition.

With this principle in mind, let me revisit a few earlier posts that contain some ideas that I think could increase competition at a variety of levels:

• Universal Property ID — About a decade ago, I started advocating for a universal property ID and have written about it many times since. (Fortunately, RESO has made great progress on this front and I’m excited to see how that effort progresses.) I’ve advocated for a universal ID because content about listings today is created everywhere (not in a single single database), and linking all that data together would be really valuable.
• MLS Data Exchange (MDX) — Another decade-old idea that, in contrast to UPID, didn’t gain traction, was for a national MLS Data Exchange, which, in theory, would create competition among MLSs by allowing any MLS to be a national MLS. Though the MDX idea didn’t gain traction, the call for broad and deep data standards did thanks to RESO. While more work certainly remains for RESO (and those adopting the standards), the national standards path is one that promotes competition and, in time, will result in MLS services that erase boundaries and burdens for brokers.
• Standard Terms of Use — Lastly, about seven years ago, I advocated the industry to focus on standard terms of use for IDX and other purposes to continue to encourage cooperation through aggregation while also protecting the contributors’ interests in sharing the listing data for competitive purposes in service to consumers.

Though I’d frame some of these ideas differently today given some changes in the industry, I continue to think they are all ways to increase competition in the industry. This is the theme I’ve been writing about here on the FBS Blog for over ten years, and I continue to believe it is an important goal for our industry.

Most importantly, despite writing a lot of words, Rob never squares to the original question, which is whether a federally mandated database would really strip away from sellers control over where they can or must advertise their home for sale. That was the point of my post, because, unless the government were to go that far, the end result wouldn’t be substantively different than today. Sellers are in control today of how and where their homes are advertised either on their own as a FSBO or through a listing contract with a broker. The question I posed is why would the federal government take this right away from sellers?

With regard to Rob’s point that he was just tossing out “Black swan” ideas to encourage folks to think strategically, I applaud him for that. However, such “Black swan” thinking takes on an entirely different character when it is linked to and quoted in a news article that’s headlined by news about federal review of the real estate industry. Andrea’s reporting was excellent on the facts about DOJ and FTC but I very purposely wanted to counter the idea that the two things (DOJ/FTC review and Black swan ideas) should be linked.

I understand the desire to be provocative and get people thinking, and I understand the need to report the news and create compelling stories. But I think it’s equally important to think about the issues past the headline. Instead of thinking about the federally mandated database, my point is that you also need to think about the permissions for accessing that database, because stripping sellers of that right and allowing their house to be advertised all over the place without their right to control it seems incredibly unlikely and counter to the overall goals of accuracy and completeness proposed. Instead, some control is likely and the most logical place to put that control is in the hands of the seller, exactly where it sits today.

Lastly, Rob implies that I’m somehow sticking my head in the sand or being an apologist for the MLS industry. I’ll leave it to readers to decide whether I’m providing substantive analysis or being an apologist.

Andrea Brambila from Inman News reports that the DOJ and FTC have been requested to follow up on an earlier review of competition in the real estate industry, especially in terms of consumer and competitor accessibility to listing information. Though the DOJ and FTC haven’t yet confirmed any details, Andrea reports that the DOJ has confirmed a review will be conducted in the spring, which is timely given that the VOW consent decree between the NAR and the DOJ expires in November of this year.

The possibility of federal review probably is scary enough for most people, but then you add on to it wild-eyed speculation by lobbyists such as Daniel Castro of ITIF, a group Inman reports was partially funded by Zillow in the past, and pundits like Rob Hahn, about a federally mandated national listing database, and what was just scary quickly turns into all-out panic.

But let’s step back for a second, and think this through. There are two basic reasons this speculation is a lot of hullabaloo. First, consumer access to listings doesn’t seem like much of a problem today, let alone one justifying federal government spending (and, from the example of the now-shuttered AMP, we can easily see how a bureaucracy like the federal government would require a LOT of money to create a national listing database). Listings are on thousands of web sites, from ubiquitous national portals to thousands of IDX web sites. Second, as Glenn Kelman from Redfin made clear recently, the MLS creates opportunity for innovation and competition from brokers rather than hinders it. Putting these two things together, any review by the DOJ or FTC likely will find that availability of listing information is not a problem needing federal budget dollars to improve.

But, let’s pretend for a bit that the feds were going to fantasize about creating a national listing database. Once they had the database, the first question they’d have to ask is what would be the terms of use for accessing the database? Daniel Castro advocates for “open”, “free” and “unrestricted” access to listings, and cites Britain’s Open Banking APIs as an example of how such a system could work. The problem is that Mr. Castro fails to point out that in “open banking” bank customers strictly control who is allowed to access their data, the data isn’t simply allowed to be used by anyone who might want access to it.

Rob Hahn similarly speculates about a federally mandated national database that is “easily available to all data users, including consumers, Wall Street, government, and academia” but he doesn’t even attempt to address the question of what “easily available” means, including who would authorize that access.

So, the basic question remains, who would authorize access to the listing database and what would be the terms of use required for that access? If we apply the open banking model to real estate, the seller and/or listing broker would be the one to authorize access, which essentially is exactly what happens today when the seller either goes FSBO or hires a broker to market their listing for them. Now, to be clear, I know there are lots of nuances that people will be quick to put forth about whether the seller, broker, etc., should authorize access, but we don’t need to dive into all that here. The point simply is that the fantasy of  a federally mandated national listing database wouldn’t mean wide-open access for anyone to grab the listings and advertise them on any site they want, rather someone would be controlling access to the listings, which is exactly what happens today.

I also understand that improvements can be made to standardize the listings more and make APIs easier and easier to use, but, first, that’s already happening through RESO and, again, that’s not really the point. The point is that, even with the most efficient and standardized API in the world, there are still terms of use and approvals required for accessing the APIs, they aren’t going to be just set out into the wild for anyone to do whatever they want with them. So, in the end, just as I advised MLSs not to be afraid of no ghosts with AMP, I wouldn’t get too stirred up about the specter of federal intervention. Keep an eye out, just don’t get hung-over and fear the worst.

P.S. I also understand that sold and off-market listings present a different case, but that case isn’t terribly controversial, whereas the active listings is, so the above post is only concerned about the latter.

Each summer in Fargo, we host a client Summit that’s largely focused on product training and education. Annually, a high percentage of our clients attend; a diverse blend of executives, MLS administrators and trainers. We spend a few days together learning, connecting and of course, having fun. As a planner, participant and observer, it is hands down the event I look forward to most each year. The opportunity to build and foster personal connection is second to none. It’s also wonderful to see our Fargo staff get quality face-time with the clients they regularly interact with via email and telephone; it’s like dozens of mini-family-reunions all happening at the same time!

During the most recent July 2017 Summit, our marketing team spent nearly a full day talking with our MLS clients individually, on camera. The candid feedback we received was awesome, providing us with a lot (A LOT) of meaningful, valuable content from a broad cross-section of customers. (Sidenote: I have tremendous gratitude for everyone who had the courage to stand in front of the camera, endure the lights, equipment, etc. and speak from the heart – thank you!)

Culling the hours and hours of content was no small task because all of it was so incredibly great. We had a hard time cutting anything. To remedy the situation, we developed a series of mini-videos and client vignettes. Each video has a specific focus relevant to the MLS, Association executives and Board members. We’ll be sharing these throughout 2018.

In this blog, I’m sharing two videos. In the first video, we asked our client-partners a few open ended questions with the goal of understanding their individual experience with FBS as a core technology partner. Our goal was to let those experiences speak for themselves and showcase our valued customers. The second video? Well, that’s for sheer entertainment. It’s a short “blooper” reel where you can get a laugh watching your peers show their silly-side.

We hope you enjoy, find it valuable and pass it on!

Until next time, stay well.

Kim Prior

(PS -1: If you have an FBS or Flexmls story to tell, reach out to me kprior@fbsdata.com)

(PS – 2: Major shout-out to Katelyn and Danna from our marketing team for exceptional recording and production work!)

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Yesterday (January 10, 2018), the California Association of REALTORS® hosted a live Facebook video panel about MLSs. The panel was filled with excellent leaders from the MLS and brokerage communities, and the discussion was robust and in-depth. Equally fascinating were all the comments rolling along below the video. (For those who use Facebook, here’s a link to the video, though I have no idea if it will work or not, because Facebook linking is weird.)

For example, one of the most common threads in the comments was from brokers and agents saying that the biggest concern with the MLS is taking the data back from Zillow, etc. Several commentators even said MLSs were rolling in the dough from having sold off the listing data to everyone. Of course, these commentators are wrong. We work with over 150 MLSs across the country from mega to tiny, and, to my knowledge, they all require the brokers’ permission to send listing data anywhere. And very little, if any, money is involved.

(Side note: This misunderstanding by brokers and agents as to how “syndication” works through the MLS has even prompted us — based on input from a customer — to re-label our syndication function to the more generic term “broker distribution” in the hopes that fewer people will misunderstand what is happening and who controls it.)

Another significant misunderstanding of “the MLS” was perpetuated by the host, Joel Singer, who kept asking the question to the effect of (not an exact wording), “Does anyone disagree that if we were to start over that one database be the best approach?” Even with Joel asking this question multiple times, no one on the panel said anything and so it seemed like everyone agreed, which I’m quite confident wasn’t actually the case.

Rebecca Jensen was quick to point out that brokers have just as many problems dealing with all the different MLS licensing agreements, fees, and requirements as they do with the different data formats, so a “single database” all by itself doesn’t solve the problem. Later in the discussion, others pointed out that new data elements (e.g., green/sustainability fields) are coming forward all the time and a few commented that a single database would make adopting quickly to such changes harder, but, again, the basic proposition put forth as a challenge by Joel was never directly questioned.

Meanwhile, I’m sitting in my office in frigid Fargo, ND, screaming at my monitor and imagining my words freezing and exploding as they crashed into the screen only to disappear with no one but me to hear them. I guess I should have commented on the Facebook thread but that was roaring on about Zillow, etc., so it all seemed pointless.

Back to the “one database” issue, I’ve written before in the context of RPR and Upstream why “one database to rule them all” is a non-starter in this web age (think links, not silos). Leaving aside that a “single database” concept ignores all the technological advancements of the last thirty years or more, it simply isn’t practical in any way (there are thousands and thousands of listing databases today, not just the 700 or so MLS databases) and, most importantly, it ignores what I think is the most fundamental purpose of the MLS: Enhancing competition through cooperation.

This last point is most important. I think the entire industry has made a mistake in defining MLS by reference to cooperation. Instead, I think the industry would be better if we declared that the goal of the MLS is to enhance competition. Without a doubt, cooperation is the means by which competition is enhanced, but more competition is the goal. This idea — coopetition — is hardly new and, in my mind, it is the true goal of the MLS industry. (This is why I think CMLS’s “Making The Market Work” campaign is so brilliant. Without directly saying the word, the focus is on helping competing brokers to create the market and markets are all about competition.)

An example of how this emphasis on competition as the goal is important is that we can avoid pitfalls like focusing on a “single database”, which would be anti-competitive, slow-moving, bad technologically, and generally impractical. Instead, we focus on standards work like RESO is doing as way to make sense of all the crazy ideas competition creates.

Our industry needs more competition at every level: brokers, agents, MLSs, Associations, technology vendors, franchises, etc., etc. Every policy and strategic decision we make as an industry should ask the simple question of whether it increases or decreases competition. Period.

P.S. This post is already too long but I need to add one more thing. Many of the comments in FB were to the effect that agents “need protection” (I presume from Zillow and others) and I can see how that’s confusing given that many Associations do form to “protect” the members. But, even if that is part of the role of the Association, it should not be the purpose of the MLS. This is just another way that the MLS is misunderstood.

P.P.S. I also need to give a shout-out to Greg Robertson for his post related to this topic, Speaking MLS.

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RESO recently announced both the results of the Board election as well as the election for officers, and I’m excited and thankful to announce that I was re-elected to the Board and also elected as Vice Chair by my fellow Board members.

I also want to congratulate the others elected to the Board and officer positions, and thank them and everyone else who ran for their contributions to RESO. The growth of the standards effort would not be possible without such a strong commitment from the community.

Looking ahead to the next year, as I noted in my candidacy statement, three of the most important priorities I see for RESO are:

1. Establishment of a standard API for updating listings (and related content) in MLS or other databases;
2. Determination of whether replication of MLS data should remain a standard or best practice for the development of applications, and, if so, creation of a standard for streaming updates that makes replication easier and more efficient to start and maintain for all parties; and
3. Increase utilization of Data Dictionary and Web API implementations.

Of course, other Directors will have different priorities and I’m excited to work with them during the upcoming strategic planning and Board meetings to define those priorities and together chart the course for RESO in the years ahead. So much work has been done to lay the foundation for standards but even more exciting work lies in the years ahead. I’m grateful for the trust the RESO community and Board has put in me and I look forward to earning that trust in the year ahead.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/fbs-in-the-news/ Mon, 11 Dec 2017 20:16:16 +0000 http://wearefbs.com/?p=545 Continued]]>

I’m happy that FBS has been in the news last week with our Spring® acquisition and this week we’ll be sending out a press release announcing the long-term renewal of our contract with ARMLS, our largest customer, for our Flexmls® System and Spark® Platform. These are significant events in the life of our company and it’s good to tell the world our story.

That being said, I struggle with public relations. First, the process feels kind of old to me, where we craft a press release (which is hard to do in your “own voice”), put it out “on the wire,” and then conduct some interviews with reporters who try to re-tell our story from a few quotes. Understandably, the reporters and news organizations inevitably end up telling a slightly different story than we’d tell, because they are not FBS and they have different views and needs than we do. That’s not a criticism, just a fact, and why I think it’s a little weird in this day and age of self-publishing that we’re still reliant on this model.

The other challenge I have with public relations is that it’s hard to know what is “news worthy.” FBS has never been one to publish a press release every time we renew a contract and the fact is that FBS has the best renewal rate in the MLS industry, so we could publish a lot of press releases about renewals. Even though we’re incredibly grateful to all of our customers for the trust they put in us with every renewal, putting out lots of press releases about every renewal just doesn’t fit with who we are.

In this regard, I tweeted out a link the other day to a Food and Wine article about some of the great places to eat in Fargo. In talking about the underdog status of the food scene here in Fargo, Mark Bjornstad of Drekker Brewing said:

“We hear that quite a bit. It probably comes from being located in Fargo and our approach to selling beer—letting it speak for itself. But being underrated also keeps us under the radar and all the more special for the customers that have found us.”

“Letting it speak for itself,” that seems to fit FBS’s approach to public relations better than traditional press releases. That being said, as we grow as a company, I understand more than ever that we owe it to all of our employee-owners and our customers to tell our story in a meaningful way. So, we’ll likely still issue a press release now and again when the moment warrants, but I’m hopeful we’ll write here at the FBS Blog more often so we can tell our story in our own voice and let the work speak for itself a bit more.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/reso-board-elections-2018-2/ Mon, 27 Nov 2017 19:58:46 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=6915 Continued]]>

RESO is once again conducting elections for the Board of Directors, and this year my seat is up for election and so I’m hopeful you all will vote for me to continue the mission of creating, adopting, and utilizing standards to increase competition and innovation in our industry.

Though much work has already been done, right now is a critical time for RESO to prove the value of real estate standards both in and beyond our industry. We’ve all done a great job of creating and implementing the new data dictionary and Web API, but much work remains to increase utilization of these future-proofing technologies to solve key MLS and broker pain points like overlapping market disorder. Providing a single-feed and single-entry of data are the key problems we’re working to solve, and I hope you’ll support me in my candidacy to continue this important work.

The list of candidates is really impressive this year, with a huge turnout for the one MLS seat available this year. Last year, I advocated for Michael Bustamante and he’s running again this year, so I’ll again reiterate that I think Michael has a great mind, is very collaborative, and has a lot of experience with MLS technology. But all the candidates running for the open MLS seat are really great, so you really can’t go wrong with your vote. I’m just super excited that there is so much interest in RESO from the MLS community!

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/fbs-and-solid-earth-partnership-to-integrate-spark-with-spring/ Mon, 26 Jun 2017 20:26:11 +0000 http://wearefbs.com/?p=552 Continued]]>

PRESS RELEASE:

MLSs Gain Ability to Quickly Deploy Consumer Portals, Deliver Better Leads to Members

FARGO, ND–(Marketwired – Jun 20, 2017) – FBS, the creators of the industry-leading Flexmls System and Spark Platform, announced a partnership with Solid Earth to build their Spring Consumer Portal on the Spark API, an integration that will give Multiple Listing Services the ability to create and quickly deploy hyper local consumer portals in their marketplaces, delivering better quality leads to its members for the first time.

Just as FBS previously announced a partnership with AgentSquared Instant IDX websites powered by Spark, this new partnership with Solid Earth’s Spring is yet another demonstration of the growing popularity of Spark and FBS’s intention of working with technology innovators to offer the very best tools and resources to real estate professionals.

Michael Wurzer, CEO of FBS said, “Once complete, the Spring built on Spark integration brings the plug-and-play dream to life creating a better, more collaborative experience for both consumers and agents. Instead of the consumer house-hunting experience being separate and disconnected from the agent experience in the MLS, with this integration, we’ll join them together through the Spark API, all without duplicate entry or effort by the agent.”

Matt Fowler, Chief Executive Officer of Solid Earth, describes this partnership and subsequent integration work as “the most exciting change to the real estate space since IDX.” He elaborates upon the powerful reach of the benefits with a potential real life scenario: “Imagine a consumer searching an MLS-powered consumer portal with hyper-local content specific to their region — whether in the Midwest, mountains, or on the coast — and now the consumer wants to work with an agent. Instead of the agent having to duplicate that search and customer information to set up a subscription and listing alerts in the MLS system, that same consumer search and contact information is immediately available to the agent in the MLS system, all without duplicate entry. While this kind of automation is available in many industries already, until now, it has been elusive in real estate. With Spring on Spark, FBS and Solid Earth will bring automation to real estate.”

The first MLS set to launch Spring powered by Spark is the Staten Island MLS. Sandy Krueger, President/CEO of the 1,800 member MLS and CEO of the Staten Island Board of REALTORS®, which owns the MLS, said, “It’s exciting to be at the forefront of where MLS technology is heading. Most importantly, we are creating new value for our members and their clients through the Spring MLS solution in collaboration with the FBS Flexmls and its Spark API to fuel real time data to our site.”

Wurzer and Fowler both note that Spring can serve as both a consumer portal and an alternative MLS system for agents. “We’ve had discussion in our industry for several years about offering a ‘front end of choice,’ well, the future is now,” Wurzer said. Wurzer also notes that when purchasing Spring, MLSs and Brokers already licensing the Flexmls system can produce an entirely unique user experience and deploy a consumer facing website “without worrying about how to handle data feeds, as the Spark API does all the work for you.”

Fowler points out that many MLSs have struggled in creating consumer-facing portals because third-party website providers often do not know how to handle the deployment of comprehensive, real-time MLS information. With FBS and Solid Earth’s long-standing history in the MLS space, they confidently address the challenges while admirably demonstrating how once-competitors in the space can work harmoniously to create a better future for the industry as a whole. “The Spring platform delivers an attractive and engaging consumer site that follows the Fair Display guidelines while the Spark API gives you fully tested, reliable, and real-time MLS data to fuel the site. MLS customers get the benefit of decades of experience working intimately in and with the nuances of the MLS.”

Spring portal sites allow MLSs to provide members with an array of features including blog posts, RSS feeds and tweets, so that consumers see one set of property data, social and blog content, and members see another set. The consumer-facing website is designed to drive higher quality leads directly to MLS members instead of the big national portals. New Flexmls licensees (converting from other MLS software systems) can purchase Spring in the same contract, deploying Spring with Flexmls, once the integration work is complete.

About FBS, Creators of Flexmls
FBS is the leading innovator of MLS technology and one of the industry’s three largest MLS technology providers, with more than 200,000 real estate professional subscribers. Its Flexmls® system is built on the Spark standards-driven technology platform, and is the MLS industry’s first and most innovative Web API. Spark fuels real estate professionals’ businesses collaboration tools with a mobile-first approach that delivers timely and accurate real estate information. Uniquely, as an employee-owned (ESOP) company, FBS staff has earned one of the highest customer service performance measurements in any industry (NPS Score 84). Based in Fargo, North Dakota, discover more about FBS at www.flexmls.com.

About Solid Earth
Solid Earth has been in the real estate software business for more than 19 years and is located in Huntsville, Alabama. Publishers of the LIST-IT MLS system and the Spring Portal Platform, Solid Earth now serves more than 90,000 real estate professionals nationwide. Spring is an API-driven user interface to MLS information using innovative, patented technology. Significant markets include: Dallas, TX; San Diego, CA; Indianapolis, IN; Statewide Vermont and New Hampshire; Staten Island, NY; Birmingham, AL and about a dozen other US cities. Discover more at www.solidearth.com.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/josh-darnell-joins-fbss-board-directors/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/josh-darnell-joins-fbss-board-directors/#comments Mon, 19 Jun 2017 22:00:19 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=6700 Continued]]> I’m really excited to announce that Josh Darnell has been appointed to the FBS Board of Directors. You may recall that Josh joined our Development Team in 2015 and he’s been helping us build our new desktop customer portal since then, as well as recently help us collaborate with RESO on the new Web API Update specification. As I mentioned in 2015:

Many of you likely know Joshua from his work with several other companies in the industry, including Heartland MLS, Terradatum/Homeseekers/FNRES (back in the XMLSweb days), and as the founder of Kurotek Consulting, which has worked with Clareity Security and others in the MLS industry. . . Joshua brings a wealth of industry knowledge to FBS as well as world-class development expertise, specializing in Ruby on Rails development (as well as Java and many other platforms), which is the core development platform for FBS’s Spark API and Flexmls Web MLS and IDX products.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to highlight what I think is an incredibly cool part of FBS being an employee-owned company. Because we’re employee-owned, we also want employee-owners to be on the FBS Board, and so we have three inside and three outside directors to balance the Board. In addition to myself, the two other employee-owner directors are Cal Heldenbrand and now Josh. Prior employee-owner directors have been Greg Kilwein (our VP of Development, who just vacated his seat), Jaison Freed (VP of Hosting), Josh Murray (API Development Team Lead), and Matt O’Brien (Senior Web Developer).

As the Trustee of our ESOP, I appoint both the inside and outside directors, but, for the inside directors, my selection is informed almost exclusively by a vote of the employees. For example, in the vote Josh just won, we had eight candidates vying for the seat. This level of interest and participation by employees in the future direction of FBS is critical to our success as an employee-owned company, and so I’m very thankful for everyone’s participation.

I also want to say thanks to our outside directors as well, who currently are Peter Shuttleworth (former CEO of MetroMLS in Milwaukee and a CMLS Hall of Famer), Steve Malme (Senior Director at Microsoft), and Christy Spokely (CEO of Extreme CRM). We’re incredibly honored to have such experienced, articulate, and passionate Directors leading FBS.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/josh-darnell-joins-fbss-board-directors/feed/ 2 https://wearefbs.com/blog/special-day-fbs-reflection-gratitude-positive-anticipation/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/special-day-fbs-reflection-gratitude-positive-anticipation/#comments Tue, 16 May 2017 19:59:32 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=6644 Continued]]> Last month I spent a special week at FBS headquarters and felt it was worth sharing some of the pearls.

The highlight was an evening focused on FBS employee-ownership (FBS is a 100% employee owned company). It was our first all-employee gathering and we flew every single FBS employee into Fargo to be together for the big event.

During the evening, we discussed the industry, its evolution and the exciting future opportunities ahead. We honored our rich history: a tapestry of stories, anecdotes and milestones that have shaped us. We recognized our growth, acknowledging employee-owners who have been with us for more than twenty years while awarding ownership to a new generation of vested employee-owners. We honored our CEO, Michael Wurzer, for his 20-years of leadership that has meant so much to so many along the way. Suffice it to say we laughed and learned, ate and drank and mingled with team members from across the building and across the United States.

This celebration was memorable for so many reasons but one thing was resonant: our past, present and future are bound together by our shared core values, which in part are: we embrace the responsibilities necessary to gain the freedom, opportunity and respect of ownership. We are empowered to exceed our clients’ expectations with innovative products and services. Unlike so many things that constantly evolve in a software business, our core values are a timeless constant that grounds our actions, responsible for four key accomplishments that are uniquely FBS.

1. Our ability to retain nearly every MLS client-partner we’ve ever signed spanning decades of concurrent, significant business growth.
2. Our reputation for innovation and service: making sure our customers are satisfied, earning us the highest client and end-user satisfaction ratings year after year after year.
3. Our truly personal approach: Solving business complexities beside our client partners, with open ears and sleeves rolled-up creating deeply cherished trusting, personal relationships.
4. Our dedication to positively impacting how real estate software users do business with their customers: By improving workflow and addressing mobile with powerful solutions, the Flexmls System has doubled the size of our user- base during the last 4 years. Add to that our dedication and support of industry progress on whole.

In closing, it’s necessary to speak about our CEO, Michael who has been at the helm of FBS for the last 20 years. With his leadership, we have realized these great accomplishments and feel excited about what is to come. With one foot firmly planted in today and the other striding somewhere off in the future where few people can see clearly if at all (let alone find some footing), Michael’s intellect, vision, passion and dedication are both humbling and inspirational.

The exclamation point on all of this is that while Michael surely sets the course for “the FBS Way” as CEO, the company is comprised of owners, each empowered with the freedom and opportunity to lead …right beside him. When you step back and think about from any perspective, it’s exciting: FBS is a company of owners and leaders vested in the future and empowered to act. That is a powerful differentiator to anyone seeking partnership or employment with an organization of leaders built for the future.

Cheers to the FBS family (including our extended family of client-partners), and to the future journey ahead!

Until next time –
Kim C. Prior

 

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/special-day-fbs-reflection-gratitude-positive-anticipation/feed/ 2 https://wearefbs.com/blog/dodge-ball-mls-standards/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/dodge-ball-mls-standards/#comments Fri, 21 Apr 2017 19:08:31 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=6608 Continued]]> More than a few people have read my post the other day as somehow “picking sides” between Zillow and Upstream, or, worse, even slamming the work of those who created the RETS 1.x Update specification or the Bridge Compose product. That certainly was not my intent.

The point I was trying to make is simple: We need one standard to be required for update, not two, three, or, heaven forbid, more. Importantly, RETS 1.x Update has never been required by RESO, it’s always been optional, and, to be clear, FBS has not implemented it yet, because we haven’t had requests to do so until recently.

And now, of course, RESO is focused on developing the Web API to replace RETS 1.x, and so there’s a very real possibility that FBS could be faced with implementing two standards, which we’re strongly opposed to doing. This conclusion isn’t a comment on 1.x update technology itself and certainly not any judgment about those who created the technology, it was simply a recognition of the direction the industry is headed along with our plea for a single path forward.

Something else that came through clearly in the comments to my post was that other vendors have already implemented RETS 1.x, which, of course, means they’re going to have to implement more than one standard if the Web API is the way forward. I agree completely that existing implementations of RETS 1.x argue against requiring the Web API update and so we’re open to that conversation. Let’s have the discussion, but the goal has to be clear, we need to agree on a single path forward for what standard is to be required.

As humans, we all love to compete and take sides, and it’s even tempting to put RESO in that category, as if it’s in a competition with Zillow, Upstream, etc. The truth is that RESO does not exist independent of its members and RESO is only as good as the cooperation of those members. So, FBS was NOT picking sides between Zillow and Upstream, we’re saying, hey, set down your dodge balls for a moment and pick one standard so that we can get to work implementing it.

Over many years, FBS has invested millions of dollars to support the standards efforts (including RETS 1.x), and we think it is high-time that the industry get solidly behind these efforts to return some of that investment so that we’re not constantly having to support multiple standards. Again, I’m looking forward to seeing you all next week in Austin and working together to provide the leadership the industry needs.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/dodge-ball-mls-standards/feed/ 1 https://wearefbs.com/blog/hyping-short-term-tech-gauzy-lights-vegas/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/hyping-short-term-tech-gauzy-lights-vegas/#comments Thu, 20 Apr 2017 07:57:34 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=6598 Continued]]> Zillow is undoubtedly providing a good party for lots of MLS leaders in Las Vegas this week, including many of our customers. I love a good party and I applaud Zillow for reaching out to MLSs to educate them on their solutions.

What I’m not so fond of is the short-term technical direction being pushed by Zillow simply because they’ve decided they’re in a race with Upstream. Look, I get it, Zillow doesn’t want to see a repeat of the Listhub debacle and so countering Upstream is important to them.

To do that, Zillow bought Bridge Interactive, which has a product called Compose that Bridge created many years ago to solve a problem in Atlanta where there are two MLSs requiring duplicate entry of listings. Zillow’s thinking is that because Compose is being used in Atlanta and a few other markets, they can use it to beat Upstream to the punch and corner the broker listing management market.

But this strategy is a purely short-term play that benefits only Zillow and is a really bad idea for everyone else involved, especially MLS vendors like FBS. The reason is that Bridge’s Compose product uses an old version of RETS update that soon will be replaced by the new RESO Web API update. Implementing both the old and the new update method at this stage simply wastes valuable time and energy and distracts everyone from the long-term solution.

I was super-excited to read the other day that Upstream is willing to work with MLSs to implement a robust sync API. This is the right approach and RESO is actively developing such an update standard. Zillow, Upstream (via RPR), FBS, Black Knight, Docusign, Redfin, and several other key vendors are all involved in creating this new specification for all vendors instead of just catering to one.

Again, I understand Zillow’s desire to beat Upstream to the punch. But we owe a duty to our customers and the industry not to get caught up in all the hype like the press release Zillow issued today saying that, among others, Georgia MLS and First MLS in Atlanta are using Compose to enter listings, which I’m pretty sure has been the case for about ten years. That’s old news, not a new development.

The reality is that there is no emergency here, no fire in the theater, and no reason to shove a short-term solution down the industry’s throat. I’m looking forward to seeing Zillow, Upstream, and many others at the RESO meetings next week in Austin so we can move forward with a long-term solution that benefits our entire industry.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/hyping-short-term-tech-gauzy-lights-vegas/feed/ 9 https://wearefbs.com/blog/creating-mls-networks/ Wed, 01 Feb 2017 20:42:15 +0000 http://wearefbs.com/?p=565 Continued]]>

The discussion going on about MLS here at the FBS Blog, Notorious R.O.B., Vendor Alley, and GeekEstatereminds me of the fun from about ten years ago when the RE.net was a thing. Seriously, I think the discussion is valuable and hope it keeps going.

First, I want to thank Greg Robertson for including me on his Listing Bits podcast. Greg and I had a great discussion about “the staying power of MLS” and I encourage you to check out our discussion and subscribe to Greg’s Listing Bits podcast on iTunes, as I’m sure he’s going to have a lot of great discussions ahead.

Next, Sam DeBord wrote a valuable guest post on Rob Hahn’s blog, entitled MLS Without Borders, the Consolidation Endgame?, in which Sam advocates for national MLS data sharing. Awhile back, I wrote about a similar idea that I called MLS Data Exchange (MDX), and I still think the core concept is valuable. Of course, the devil is in the details and, as Sam says, we raise more questions than answers, but hopefully the ideas move conversation in a positive direction.

David Charron, Chief Strategy Officer for the newly-formed mega-MLS Bright MLS, commented on Sam’s post, saying:

Great post! The objective can never be ‘bigger’. It must always start with faster, better, smarter, cheaper all of which may/may not result in bigger. The important thing here is for contiguous markets to have the discussion. Invite all of the stakeholders (Associations, MLS’, brokers and agents) to chime in. Regardless whether the decision is to create something new or let the band play on, smart people get together, ideally suspend judgement and make the call.

I can’t stress enough the importance of this point from David. There are markets where consolidation makes all the sense in the world and others where it doesn’t, even in markets where the MLS is small or even tiny. In fact, there are tons of markets with small MLSs that are doing an awesome job and wouldn’t benefit at all from consolidation. Analyze, discuss, and make the call. Great advice.

I also want to highlight Drew Meyers’ response to my post, specifically his argument that “agent/broker cooperation (based on trust) already exists, independent of the technology being used to facilitate that cooperation. It would still exist even were a new technology platform to emerge to facilitate the business currently taking place using the present day MLS.”

I definitely agree with Drew that cooperation exists independent of any particular technology, but Drew goes on to presume that the trust created by the MLS would continue even without the MLS. The problem with this analysis is that the MLS works with brokers and agents to create the terms of use, if you will, that outline exactly what it means to cooperate. Without the MLS, therefore, the cooperation necessarily goes away and the question then looms, who establishes the rules on which the brokers will cooperate? Zillow terms of use? Not likely. No, without the MLS, there literally is no cooperation among competing brokers. And, as Sam says, that’s the end game.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/more-tired-and-erroneous-propaganda-about-the-mls/ Thu, 26 Jan 2017 20:44:53 +0000 http://wearefbs.com/?p=568 Continued]]>

This last fall at CMLS in Vegas, Rob Hahn made a presentation about the future of MLSs. I meant to write a reply back then, but it slipped my mind, so I’m thankful that he revived his presentation just yesterday in a blog post entitled, “The MLS Is Not Doomed! But Most of Them Are“.

In his post, Rob states another tired piece of propaganda about MLSs, especially smaller ones (i.e., the ones he thinks are doomed):

. . . the tiny MLSs are doomed because they don’t make enough money. Therefore, they cannot offer enough value to their customers.

There are multiple errors in this conclusion:

• First and most importantly, the core value of MLS is cooperation, which doesn’t require lots of money, it requires trust from the competitive participants and an organization able to maintain that trust.
• Second, as I wrote about ten years ago, MLS Is More Than Technology.
• Third, the analysis Rob provides to back up this conclusion compares an MLS organization to media companies like Zillow, etc., which make significant R&D investments in technology. The problem with this comparison is that an MLS and their broker participants and agent subscribers are purchasers of technology, not creators. As purchasers, they will benefit from technology investments made by others, not be hurt by them. As before, technology doesn’t create cooperation and so it doesn’t threaten the MLS, it can only help.
• Last, the conclusion ignores the significant standards effort from MLSs through RESO, which address many of the technical challenges posed by bordering MLS organizations.

Lastly, as a way to summarize the first three points, let me respond more directly to this fuller quote from Rob’s post:

The total annual revenues of a 150-person MLS, if they’re charging around the industry average of $30/mo for the MLS, is $54,000. Can it even afford a part-time CEO? Or a couple of paid interns, for that matter?

I mean, seriously, how could that MLS offer anything other than the barest of bare minimums on old, outdated systems with barely any customer support? What about compliance? Web API’s? Mobile access? On some fraction of $54,000 per year? How?

This argument is one that particularly shows a lack of understanding of how MLS organizations and their vendor partners work together. FBS serves hundreds of MLS organizations, from mega MLSs like Arizona Regional to the super tiny in Williston, ND. Regardless of size, FBS provides everything Rob mentions, including the most robust and standards-compliant APIs in the industry, a full mobile suite, customer portals, and much more.

Further, we do all this profitably and sustainably. FBS has been a software vendor in the real estate industry for 40 years, which proves pretty well that the business model is sustainable. FBS reinvests almost all of its profits in continual improvements to our products. For example, well before the industry was thinking about APIs, FBS was busy investing capital to create them. The result of that investment is that, today, we can offer any of the brokers participating in MLSs using Flexmls a standard API access through a single set of credentials to all the MLSs in which they participate, including both the tiny and mega-MLSs.

And, of course, the APIs we provide enable hundreds of other companies to invest in technology to serve the broker participants and agent subscribers for both the tiny and mega MLSs, which means that they have many, many choices of how to invest their money to build their business and compete effectively in their market. So, how exactly are the tiny MLSs doomed again? Is it because of technology? I don’t think so.

What could doom MLS organizations, large or small, is a failure to implement standards. Let’s imagine, for example, that we get to one of the mega-regional structures postulated at conferences, such as 30 MLSs by 2030 or whatever. If those MLS organizations don’t adopt and follow standards, then the brokers on the borders will be just as frustrated as they might be today, if not more so. The point is that the number and size of the MLS organizations is not what’s going to determine success of the organization, but rather cooperation through local participation and standards implementation.

Lastly, let me make another point I’ve made before that I think bears repeating: Market forces ultimately will determine the optimal size of MLS organizations, not a consultant or other high overlord trying to configure the industry from the distant heavens. Having been in this business for a long time, I’ve seen consolidation efforts come and go and I applaud them every step of the way. But the core focus always will be on doing what’s necessary to sustain cooperation in the local market, and sometimes that means an MLS needs to pull away from a regional and sometimes it means they need to form a bigger one. The importance of standards is they help erase differences even as the need for local cooperation requires changes to the size of the MLS, from tiny to mega or vice versa.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/mls-isnt-just-conduit/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/mls-isnt-just-conduit/#comments Wed, 25 Jan 2017 23:32:46 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=6476 Continued]]> My post from yesterday is generating a bit of discussion on Facebook, which prompted me to think about another aspect of Rob Hahn’s post that disturbed me, specifically:

product mix, governance, business models… all of these things need to be thought about if the MLS is no longer the destination but the conduit of advertisements.

What troubles me about this line of thinking is that I believe it’s exactly the same propaganda Zillow Group, Realtor.com, and even brokers want everyone to believe. Hey, the MLS is just the conduit for the broker’s listings, and doesn’t provide any distinct value, so why should we pay the MLS more than a nominal fee? As I said on Facebook, what a bunch of BS!

Want proof? Simply ask ZG or any other portal whether they’d rather have an opt-in or opt-out syndication feed from the MLS. The cost of going broker to broker to get them to opt-in is a great measure of the value created by MLS cooperation, which no other entity has yet replicated.

The challenge facing the industry now is that portals and brokers have beaten down some MLSs into starting to believe this propaganda. Sure, the broker owns the listing but, again, a single broker’s listings are not nearly as valuable as the aggregate, which is valuable beyond and distinct from any individual broker’s listings. Put simply, this is why the MLS is the goose that laid the golden egg, so go ahead, keep hammering away folks, until you kill it.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/mls-isnt-just-conduit/feed/ 1 https://wearefbs.com/blog/mls-isnt-just-a-conduit/ Wed, 25 Jan 2017 20:47:04 +0000 http://wearefbs.com/?p=571 Continued]]>

My post from yesterday is generating a bit of discussion on Facebook, which prompted me to think about another aspect of Rob Hahn’s post that disturbed me, specifically:

product mix, governance, business models… all of these things need to be thought about if the MLS is no longer the destination but the conduit of advertisements.

What troubles me about this line of thinking is that I believe it’s exactly the same propaganda Zillow Group, Realtor.com, and even brokers want everyone to believe. Hey, the MLS is just the conduit for the broker’s listings, and doesn’t provide any distinct value, so why should we pay the MLS more than a nominal fee? As I said on Facebook, what a bunch of BS!

Want proof? Simply ask ZG or any other portal whether they’d rather have an opt-in or opt-out syndication feed from the MLS. The cost of going broker to broker to get them to opt-in is a great measure of the value created by MLS cooperation, which no other entity has yet replicated.

The challenge facing the industry now is that portals and brokers have beaten down some MLSs into starting to believe this propaganda. Sure, the broker owns the listing but, again, a single broker’s listings are not nearly as valuable as the aggregate, which is valuable beyond and distinct from any individual broker’s listings. Put simply, this is why the MLS is the goose that laid the golden egg, so go ahead, keep hammering away folks, until you kill it.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/mls-cooperation-creates-value-for-all-brokers-not-just-one/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/mls-cooperation-creates-value-for-all-brokers-not-just-one/#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2017 20:48:43 +0000 http://wearefbs.com/?p=573 Continued]]>

I attended the Inman Connect Conference in New York City last week, where there was yet another panel posing the so-tired question, “Is the MLS Doomed?” I’m not going to dive into the panel itself, which did a fine job, but rather I want to comment on two blog posts from Rob Hahn and Drew Meyers over the weekend that followed-up on the panel.

Both blog posts are great examples of what leads so many down the well-worn path of predicting the death of the MLS, namely a fundamental misunderstanding of the value MLS delivers. MLS creates value through cooperation of competing brokers. The mistake so many make in analyzing the future of the MLS is they misunderstand either the source of MLS cooperation or the nature of it.

For example, the analysis in Drew Meyers’ post suggests a few technology tweaks could replace the MLS. However, as I explained in my post MLS Is More Than Technology about ten years ago (yikes, 10 years flies), cooperation is based on trust, not technology. The simple reason Zillow Group (ZG) could not replace the MLS is that, as a competitive advertising entity, they won’t get all the competitors to cooperate.

In fact, ZG’s very public strategy to focus only on Premier Agents makes it very clear that they have no interest in working with all brokers, they understandably just want to work with those willing to pay them the big bucks. Of course, one could argue that, eventually, ZG’s Premier Agents some day will be the only agents left, creating a de facto “MLS,” but that ignores the diminishing returns of an advertising platform like ZG in any given market. Competing brokers automatically will seek out alternative platforms in order to compete in a less bloody ocean and that competition naturally lessens the cooperation. The bottom line is that competitive advertising portals like ZG are not designed to create cooperation, and so they will not replace MLS, regardless of the technology involved.

Let’s move on to Rob Hahn’s post. Rob says, “The core value proposition of the MLS is that it is the lawgiver which regulates the behavior of real estate professionals to each other.” Again, the core value of the MLS is cooperation, not the rules themselves. The rules are the agreement that comes from and creates the cooperation, but that doesn’t mean the value of the MLS is from the rules themselves. I think the failure to make this fundamental distinction results in people thinking of the MLS as a burden instead of a value.

Next, I’ll address the point in the title of this post: “MLS Cooperation Creates Value for All Brokers (and Agents and Consumers), Not Just One.” Distinguishing between the value of cooperation (all brokers) and the needs of one broker (competition) is critical to any analysis regarding the future of the MLS. Typically when folks like Drew and Rob analyze the value proposition of the MLS, they do so from the perspective of a single broker or agent, but that ignores the core value of the MLS, which is the cooperation among the individual brokers and agents.

A simple example might make this point more clear. Many in the industry express concern or confusion about how Upstream is going to the impact MLS organizations, but Upstream, by definition, will not reduce the value of the MLS because it is an individual broker product and not a product that provides aggregated data from all the brokers in the MLS. Undoubtedly, many individual brokers will benefit from Upstream and Upstream will be integrated with the MLS for those individual brokers, but the product is not intended to and cannot replace the MLS itself because it only deals with the data for each individual broker, not the entire MLS. Again, as ZG found out following its blow-up with Listhub, the MLS aggregation is fundamentally different and more valuable than the listings of any one broker. Thus, by serving all brokers through cooperation, the MLS creates value that doesn’t exist anywhere else and is not replaceable by serving anything less than all brokers.

Let me wrap up by calling for an end to all conference panels prognosticating about the death of the MLS. I think we’ve all heard that debate enough and what’s a lot more interesting is what MLSs are doing to improve the incredible value created by cooperation. I’ll write more about that in the coming months, but, for now, let me proclaim once and for all, “The MLS is Dead, Long Live the MLS!”

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/mls-cooperation-creates-value-for-all-brokers-not-just-one/feed/ 1 https://wearefbs.com/blog/vote-for-reso-board-of-directors/ Mon, 05 Dec 2016 01:12:00 +0000 http://wearefbs.com/?p=577 Continued]]>

For RESO members, voting for new members to the RESO Board of Directors is happening right now. If you’re listed as the contact for your organization, you should have received an email with a link to place your vote.

As a sitting Board member (not up for re-election), I haven’t previously advocated for any specific candidates, including myself. In part, because the entire slate generally is qualified and each candidate would bring an interesting perspective to the Board but also because advocating for some and not others creates challenges working together within or outside of the Board.

This year, however, the slate of candidates for the MLS category is quite large and so I thought it couldn’t hurt to highlight a few folks I think would be great, namely Chris Carrillo, Michael Bustamante, and Kurt von Wasmuth. All the other candidates are great as well but these are the three for whom I think you should vote.

As President and CEO for Metro MLS in Milwaukee, Chris brings a lot of experience as an MLS leader and also brings a national perspective through his leadership efforts with CMLS and the NAR. (Full disclosure, Metro MLS is an FBS customer.)

I got to know Michael Bustamante when he was with Southwest MLS in Albuquerque (also an FBS customer) but he’s now the MLS technology lead for the St. Augustine and St. John’s Boards of REALTORS in Florida (not an FBS customer). Michael brings a ton of experience in the MLS industry, understands both broker and MLS needs, and is forward-looking while simultaneously being very focused on creating working and workable implementations.

Last but certainly not least, I advocate for Kurt von Wasmuth from RMLS in Portland. Kurt not only brings MLS perspective as the President and CEO for RMLS but he also brings a software development perspective as RMLS creates their own MLS software. Essentially, you’re getting two for the price of one with Kurt!

In sum, I encourage you to vote for all three of these MLS leaders as they are exactly who we need leading and advocating for RESO!

P.S. If there were four open positions, I’d advocate for Nick Fowler, who took Michael’s position in Albuquerque. Nick doesn’t bring as much experience as the other three candidates but he has a strong MLS background and a fresh perspective I think would be useful, and he’s certainly someone to look for in future elections!

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/explaining-broker-mls-technology-options-including-upstream-amp/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/explaining-broker-mls-technology-options-including-upstream-amp/#comments Tue, 10 May 2016 14:40:23 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=6124 Continued]]> Inspired by Gregg Larson and Matt Cohen’s recent post on the Clareity blog, and many questions from our customers about Upstream and AMP, I decided to take my own shot at trying to explain how these concepts fit into the overall technology landscape for brokers and MLSs today.

First, here’s the diagram I put together. Second, please read the explanation below the diagram to get the full picture. (If you copy the diagram, please try to link back to the post so anyone else looking at it can have the benefit of the textual explanation. Thanks.)

 

Many Competitive Choices

Matt and Gregg did a great job at documenting the nuanced differences between the data provided and moved by Upstream, AMP, Trestle, and Corelogic, and so thankfully I don’t need to dive into those details.

Instead, my primary goal with this diagram is to show that brokers and MLSs have multiple competitive choices for technology solutions. In the case of Upstream and AMP, respectively, the key point being made by the diagram is that Upstream is a broker product/choice and AMP, in contrast, is an MLS product/choice. In both cases, there are competitive options available to both brokers and MLSs.

Undoubtedly, Upstream and AMP both have the goal of getting 100% of all brokers and all MLSs to choose their products, but the point of the diagram is that achieving that goal is subject to healthy competition from many companies and products. I think a lot of the fear and uncertainty about both Upstream and AMP is the unspoken sense that somehow these options will be forced or mandated on brokers and MLSs, thereby replacing everything else, but that simply is not (and cannot, without violating antitrust laws) be the case. Instead, there are and will remain many competitive choices and the battle for market share will be fierce, all to the benefit of brokers, agents, and MLSs.

Let The Data Flow

In addition to showing the choices available to brokers and MLSs, the diagram also shows some data flows. In particular, the diagram shows how Upstream is intended to allow a broker who chooses to use it to send their data (listings and more) to multiple MLSs as well as other software they use (back-office, forms, transaction management, advertising portals, etc.).

Importantly, Upstream is a broker product and so the data flow is specific to that broker and does not involve the MLS aggregation. Accordingly, the diagram shows that Upstream does not send data to IDX vendors or others needing the entire aggregation of MLS data for a given market. Of course, the good news is that MLSs and their vendors have already covered that need, allowing brokers many options for including their data in IDX feeds or to syndicate to a wide variety of portals.

Separating the Front and Back-Ends, Including APIs

The diagram also shows how AMP, by itself, is not a complete MLS system, but rather is only the back-end system (i.e., the MLS property database and the rules governing the database). If an MLS chooses AMP, they’ll also choose one or more front-ends (the user interface software the agents and brokers see in their browser or on their phone) to create a complete system usable by their members, similar to current offerings from companies like FBS, Corelogic, and Black Knight.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether MLSs or their broker and agent customers actually want to choose more than one front-end or not, but, as the diagram shows, there is lots of competition currently on the back-end through many competing API solutions. API stands for application programming interface, which essentially is a set of instructions for how software developers can program their system to interact with the back-end database or other service offered by the API provider.

For example, AMP will offer an API to the front-end developers so they can retrieve MLS and other data from the AMP back-end. Similarly, FBS’s Spark API offers a robust set of services to allow other developers to access listings, membership info, CRM data, saved searches, subscriptions, favorites, and any other data in the MLS system to eliminate duplicate entry and propriety lock-in.

Trestle from Corelogic and Retsly from Zillow also will offer some form of API to access the back-end databases they provide, which I understand include listings as well as public records. Both of these are relatively new offerings and undoubtedly will be positioned by their respective companies as capable of serving many different needs, just like Spark and AMP.

In fact, one of the key advantages of an API-first approach is that APIs can be used for whatever purpose the data owner (brokers) wants to authorize, resulting in innovation now and long into the future. So, while the diagram above shows the APIs in the current context of supporting the MLS front-ends, none of the APIs are limited to that particular use.

For example, a broker could easily use one of the APIs to power their public web site or better integrate their back-office, transaction management, forms, and other systems. In addition, the APIs also are not limited in where they can receive data from, so they could easily aggregate data from many MLSs and other data sources to provide new and innovative products.

RESO Standards to the Rescue

Looking at the chart above, one could easily get overwhelmed and say, whoa, how are all these different options going to work together? The good news is that the industry has thought well-ahead of this need with the creation of RESO, the data dictionary, and the new Web API specification.

A critical question brokers and MLSs should have for any vendor offering one of the solutions above is whether the solution is or will be compliant with the RESO standards. This is critical to ensure that your data can easily interoperate with any other system, which, in turn, is critical to ensuring you don’t end up choosing a system that locks you and your data into a proprietary solution.

Another critical benefit to RESO standards is that it should enable mixing and matching of various front and back-end solutions. I don’t want to make it sound easy or fool-proof (because it isn’t and won’t be), but, in theory, if a system like AMP follows the RESO standards for their API, then any front-end that also follows the RESO standards should be able to connect to and use that API. Again, this is in theory and the devil most certainly is in the details when it comes to developing on and implementing a standard, but the only hope of inter-operability and choice is through an industry standards effort like RESO.

From Concept to Reality, Only Time Will Tell

One last point here is that Upstream and AMP are still in development and likely won’t be in live usage for quite some time. As I wrote a few weeks ago, all the brokers and MLSs I’ve worked with in the past won’t (and shouldn’t) consider a solution until it is proven in the marketplace. This is all part of the competitive process and, as those concepts are developed, undoubtedly we’ll see many new and different offerings come to the market as well to further enrich the competitive landscape and the choices available to brokers and MLSs.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/explaining-broker-mls-technology-options-including-upstream-amp/feed/ 2 https://wearefbs.com/blog/173-percent-growth-spark-api/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/173-percent-growth-spark-api/#comments Fri, 06 May 2016 02:01:13 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=6112 Continued]]> Ahead of the NAR Midyear Conference next week, the PR teams at many vendors are busy pushing out press releases about new APIs, including Zillow with Retsly and Corelogic with Trestle, so this seems like a good time to report on the strong growth of our very own Spark API over the last several years.

More specifically, the Spark API has grown 173% to serve over 150 MLSs and 185,000 agents right now and we expect that growth to continue through 2016 to over 200,000 agents. To date, we’ve achieved this growth by more than doubling the market share of the Flexmls system, adding over 80 new customers and well over 100,000 new agents.

This growth doesn’t include a variety of large MLS data shares we’ve implemented. If we include those, the current coverage expands to over 250,000 agents. Regardless, I’m pretty sure this means the Spark API currently is one of if not the largest MLS aggregation available through a single API.

Perhaps more importantly, because we’ve sustained this growth organically by adding new Flexmls customers, the Spark API not only includes listing information for all these customers but also what I think is the more valuable data for brokers and agents, namely saved searches, contacts, and portal activity data (e.g., favorites, messages, etc.). What this means is that, in addition to being the biggest, the Spark API also is the deepest MLS data repository and the only API that truly allows developers and MLS providers to have a front-end of choice.

Lastly, an important distinction between Spark and several of the APIs being touted in the media these days is that the Spark API is live right now and growing actual usage every day. I like the look of hockey sticks.

Of course, FBS itself is the largest consumer of the Spark API, which has allowed us to build new mobile and consumer portal applications, as well as many other new features in Flexmls, all while maintaining interoperability across platforms for saved searches, contacts, and all the other data. But the most beautiful thing about the Spark API is that any other developer can access the same data to ensure that brokers, agents, and MLSs no longer need to double-enter data and are never locked into a proprietary data system again.

Lastly, inspired by Greg Robertson’s recent post, I’ll be writing some predictions of how I see the Spark API and the legion of followers impacting the industry over the coming years. As our VP of Marketing Kim Prior likes to say, stay tuned!

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/173-percent-growth-spark-api/feed/ 1 https://wearefbs.com/blog/friday-flash-reply-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/friday-flash-reply-2/#comments Sat, 30 Apr 2016 03:00:57 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=6084 Continued]]>

Brian Boero from 1000Watt often is flying home on Friday evenings and takes that opportunity to reflect on the week in a blog post he calls the Friday Flash. Today, his Friday Flash is about MLS software:

Big Industry Question:

Why do MLSs often seem threatened and behind the times even though what they do is really valuable?

Clear Answer:

Because the software on which they run on is really dated.

Brian goes on to issue a few caveats, saying the issue is “nuanced” and may be the result of MLSs and vendors not being paid enough, but nonetheless concludes that “agents are feeling the pain” and, worse, “trying to figure out how to fix this requires submerging oneself in the sort of mind-clouding industry esoterica only about 7 people on the entire planet understand.”

This post caught my attention for several reasons. First, for once I’m also flying home on a Friday evening and have the time to write this reply. Second, I’m scared I might just be one of those seven people he’s talking about. Lastly, whereas usually I’m nodding my head yes-yes-yes as I read the Friday Flash, tonight I’m thinking, eh, not quite.

Even though we’re an MLS software company, I can agree with Brian that MLS software, as a class, tends to be complicated and dated. For example, here’s a screen shot from the agent side of our Flexmls system. The interface is complex, dated, and focused on serving the professional agent and not the consumer.

Where I disagree with Brian is that I don’t think this interface in any way poses a threat to the MLS or makes it “behind the times.”

Instead, I think those questions have to be asked and evaluated in the context of the core value proposition of the MLS. As I wrote in a post nine years ago (time flies!) called MLS Is More Than Technology, the core value of an MLS is creating cooperation among competitors. and that value is not about technology.

In fact, though I risk delving into esoterica of the MLS here, the reality is that many brokers and agents do not want the MLS to provide their competitors with a consumer-oriented interface that “levels the playing field.” This isn’t about money or fees (at least not directly) but rather about preserving cooperation, the first order of business for the MLS.

In this regard, I think a strong case can be made that, with respect to their core value proposition of creating cooperation among competitors, MLSs are not behind the times but rather have been leading the effort for decades with collaborative efforts like RESO and CMLS. Indeed, as Brian mentions, the web has been changing broker attitudes about the value of cooperation, resulting in new initiatives like Upstream and Broker Public Portal, both of which excite FBS a great deal as we believe they validate our significant investments in the Spark API, mobile products for agents and consumers, and even new portal interfaces we’re launching soon.

A few years ago, consumer-focused interfaces like this may have met with resistance from some brokers fearing a leveling of the playing field, but, today, I’m hopeful new opportunities abound for MLSs and their vendors to extend the value proposition of cooperation further than ever before. By supporting industry standards through RESO and CMLS with platforms like the Spark API that allow brokers to leverage the MLS aggregation to compete in ever new and interesting ways, I believe MLSs are continuing to strike the right balance between cooperation and competition that is essential to the foundation of the residential real estate market.

Welcome to the esoterica (and cheers to the other six people in the world who care about this post)!

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P.S. I’m returning home from the T3 conference, where one of the more interesting panels involved two national economic strategists who made the point that residential real estate is the foundation of our economy and critical to future growth. On my flight home tonight, this point was driven home in spades as I watched The Big Short. If you haven’t seen it, do. And then reflect on the value created by the foundation of cooperation established by MLS organizations today.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/friday-flash-reply-2/feed/ 1 https://wearefbs.com/blog/are-mls-spooked-by-amp/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/are-mls-spooked-by-amp/#comments Sun, 13 Mar 2016 01:44:00 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=6012 Continued]]> My friend Greg Robertson from WR Studios is at the AEI conference this weekend and posted this to Twitter:

One thing is for certain, MLS providers are spooked by AMP. #aei2016

— Greg Robertson (@gregrobertson) March 12, 2016

This immediately brought to my mind the lyrics from the Ghostbusters song:

If you’re spooked by AMP, give me a call and we’ll dig out the old proton packs to dispel your fears.

In all seriousness, what’s become very clear over the last several months is that AMP is one of many competitors in the MLS software market. Nothing more, nothing less. Dale Ross has been clear about that as have other presenters for AMP at the Inman Connect conference in January.

What this means is that AMP isn’t something to be worried about, rather each MLS will be able to consider choosing AMP as their MLS vendor on the same basis it would consider choosing FBS, Black Knight, Corelogic, or any other vendor. That’s an opportunity, not something to fear.

The typical vendor-selection process takes 12 months or more to complete. Since AMP hasn’t gone through this process at all yet with any MLS, the reality is that, for most MLSs, AMP won’t even meet the most basic criteria for consideration for at least 12 months. In fact, most MLSs we’ve worked with over the last thirty years or so wouldn’t even begin to consider a vendor that hasn’t already installed successfully in multiple markets, which likely is going to take years for AMP to achieve. This isn’t a criticism in any way, it’s just a fact: Without any live customers, most MLSs won’t and shouldn’t consider AMP in the competitive mix and so MLSs have nothing to consider or certainly worry about right now.

Once AMP is qualified to be considered by being successfully installed in multiple markets, that’s when the competition begins. Importantly, this isn’t something for MLSs to be worried about, either, rather it’s an opportunity for them to compare the features and functionality of AMP against their current system and others that have been proven in the market.

Given AMP’s primary pitch so far, I think this competition is where things really get interesting. First, AMP advocates an API-driven approach to MLS systems following RESO standards. Given that RESO is an industry-standard all vendors implement, however, it’s hard to understand how this is an advantage for AMP. To my knowledge, all the major MLS vendors support RESO standards and so any front-end that works with AMP would also, by definition, would work with any other RESO-compliant vendor. This is why standards are so important.

To this end, I’m proud to say that FBS is and has been the industry leader in API-driven MLS systems with the Spark API, which is live right now and offers the most comprehensive API available from any vendor, including RESO Data Dictionary support, contacts, saved searches, prospecting feeds, and much more. This isn’t a promise or proposal, this is a live system delivering real value to our customers and partners today.

In addition, the Spark API will help all of our customers comply with the NAR mandate to implement the RESO Web API by this summer (July 2016). What this means is that the Spark API will be fully RESO compatible and so, again, by definition will work with and support any third-party application that AMP ultimately supports. The only way that won’t be true is if, for some reason, AMP itself is not RESO-compliant, which I can’t imagine being the case.

Other than the RESO-compliant API, AMP’s primary promise is the public records data it has licensed from third parties like Black Knight. I guess the idea is that this public records data will be the foundation for the MLS system. The only problem with this is that, to date, very few, if any, MLSs have found that third-party public records data from RPR to be of sufficient quality to replace their existing public records systems. In other words, MLSs already have higher quality data than what is available through RPR and the quality differences are significant enough that “free” from RPR hasn’t been able to overcome the extra cost the MLS is already paying to acquire the higher quality data from others.

In the end, of course, once AMP is installed in a few markets and ready to be considered more broadly by MLSs as an option, each MLS will have to evaluate the RPR data and the AMP RESO-compliant API against their current system and those of the other competitors in the market. Is there a cost advantage? A data advantage? An API advantage? Only time following actual implementations will tell that story. Until then,
don’t be afraid of no ghost.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/are-mls-spooked-by-amp/feed/ 3 https://wearefbs.com/blog/the-allure-of-conquest-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/the-allure-of-conquest-2/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2015 18:42:02 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=5795 Continued]]>

Rob Hahn replied to my post about RESO and Universal Property IDs by suggesting:

If the existence of “so many different property data sources” is the problem, the solution could be eliminating all the different property data sources. Screw collaboration; conquer them instead. And then, once conquest is done or at least well underway, whoever is the winner can come out with — you guessed it — the Universal Property ID which is identical to the Property ID they’re already using.

This idea of a single-source, all-encompassing property database is an alluring mirage. Worse, it’s a mirage that ignores or distracts from the opportunity to create something better, the win-win I discussed in my post and which Rob apparently doesn’t believe is possible.

First, the mirage of conquest. As I said in my first post on this topic, “As the web itself proved long ago, the creation of data by humanity far outstrips our ability to centralize it and so the best we can do is figure out how to link it together.” No matter how alluring the concept of centralization and conquest is, the reality is that data always has been, and is now more than ever, created in a de-centralized way. The most effective method of harnessing data ever invented so far is the world wide web, which provides methods for linking disparate sources of data together.

Rob thinks I wrote the post about Universal Property IDs because, as an MLS vendor, I’m nervous that RPR MLS will take over the entire industry and become a “Data Borg” eliminating the need for anything else. This misses the main point. I’m not worried about competition but I am worried about the lack of it. I’m worried that instead of focusing on creating an environment to foster competition and innovation, the industry might be seduced by the mirage of a monopoly. The history of market economics has proven quite unequivocally that fostering competition results in long-term growth and prosperity, and that monopoly and centralized control result in stagnation and, potentially, death.

Policy decisions at the cooperative level (governments and even trade associations like the NAR, RESO, and others) can have a huge impact on competition and so the industry needs policies that encourage competition, not reduce it. That’s why I’ve long been passionate about RESO, because standards enable competition. This is the genius and beauty of standards, like HTML, HTTP, and RESO. Standards, when well-crafted, enable and even encourage competition, creation, and innovation, instead of inhibiting it.

Importantly, however, standards only work when they’re adopted and adoption is a long process that’s really just starting in our industry. My fear is that the long road to standard adoption makes the mirage of a monopoly solution even more palpable and attractive. A monopoly would be bad, and so that’s why it’s important that the standards process work. (If you want to know what I mean by “bad,” check out Rob’s ultimate conclusion in one of his comments to his post, where he posits the result of his conquest approach is a regulated monopoly. I’m not 100% sure if he’s being tongue-in-cheek with that comment, but a regulated monopoly is about the worst outcome I can imagine.)

Second, let me briefly address how the mirage of conquest can distract from the opportunity to create something greater. Rob argues that the real estate business is entirely a zero-sum game and so nothing will be added by a Universal Property ID or other cooperative efforts. I think this is wrong on a few fronts. First, if the data available can be improved (more accurate, complete, etc.), that can reduce risk and costs, both of which can increase the number of transactions overall (lower risk and costs, even incrementally, make transactions possible that previously were not). Second, more generally, increasing competition will result in more innovation, and that innovation can create new, bigger and more efficient markets, which means it’s not always a zero-sum game.

 

 

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/the-allure-of-conquest-2/feed/ 1 https://wearefbs.com/blog/reso-and-openid-connect-the-future-of-your-identity-2/ Mon, 26 Oct 2015 22:36:15 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=5768 Continued]]> As I mentioned yesterday, I’m at the RESO conference in Austin this week. In addition to the session on Universal Property ID, I’m also excited to hear FBS’s very own Cal Heldenbrand give a presentation on OpenID Connect, which is a new identity management standard being advocated for adoption by RESO to solve many of the login and identity management pain points we have across the industry.

Below is an article Cal wrote explaining a bit about OpenID Connect and its advantages to the real estate industry. If you happen to be in Austin, you also should check out Cal’s presentation on the last day of the conference. Identity is central to, well, everything, so this is an incredibly important topic.

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By Cal Heldenbrand

You’re all likely pretty familiar with the options many web sites have offered for years to login to the site with your Google, Facebook, or other credentials. Here’s an example from Sears:

Even though the changes visible to us on the front-end have been relatively minor, a majority of the large Silicon Valley companies have been doing something amazing under the hood in creating a new, open standard called OpenID Connect that powers these options for users.

OpenID Connect is supported by Google, Amazon, Microsoft, PayPal, eBay, IBM, and many more, all of which have worked together to create the standard. Some of the key advantages of OpenID Connect are that you can own and control your identity easier than ever before, you’ll have fewer passwords to manage, identity can be federated across disparate vendors, and your favorite mobile apps and web sites can work better together.

In this post, I’m going to discuss how OpenID Connect and the benefits it offers applies to real estate technology and why RESO also should adopt this standard. First, let’s look into the access controls you can have.

Google has implemented OpenID Connect with its federated identity system and so you may have seen the new options under your Google profile for managing your authorized accounts. You can see who you’ve allowed to use your identity using Google’s sign-in and, more importantly, it shows you what level of access you’ve granted and allows you to revoke that access at any time. For example, here’s what an authorization to Stack Exchange looks like:

At any time, a user can decide to remove the authorization. The website no longer has access to account information like name, email address, and phone numbers. In the history of the web, this has rarely been an option. When a user is in control of their identity, they have the power to say, “No thanks, I don’t want you to have my personal information.”

Applying this to real estate, using OpenID Connect will allow members of the MLS to use their MLS credentials to sign into any of the other web sites or apps they use and select which aspects of their identity are given to a website or product. Don’t want to give out a phone number? Uncheck the box. Want to remove properties from an IDX website? Revoke access.

The benefits also go beyond identity ownership to improving how different companies work together using federation. The term federation, just like SSO, is a broadly defined concept, but it’s similar to SSO in that it provides implicit access to other websites with a single log in. Without diving too far into the technical details, federation also gives a single login session the ability to access other identity providers as well and allows your identity to travel with you to all of the places that you’re authorized to be.

What benefit does federation provide in the real estate space? Think about overlapping MLS markets, where agents belong to multiple MLSs, often with different systems, requiring different logins and passwords. OpenID Connect provides a solution to that problem with federated identity. With a federated identity, MLS members can log into several MLS vendors by entering a single password, one time. Furthermore, that one authentication could be used to log into other real estate sites, with each site only authorized to access the content the member authorized and, at any time, the member can revoke that access.

In addition to providing amazing benefits for the end users, OpenID Connect is easy to use and quick to implement for software developers. Our current methods of SSO integrations can take several weeks to complete. With OpenID Connect, that process turns into minutes. For most applications, there is no programming required to add a new identity provider. In addition, because OpenID Connect is a well-defined standard, adding an MLS system authentication option to a website is the exact same process as adding Google, or Amazon, or Microsoft. It really is “plug and play,” with no strings attached.

Another benefit is mobile integrations. We all know that today’s world is mobile and that mobile apps are more frequently accessed that many of the web sites we use. OpenID Connect also significantly improves integration of web sites with mobile companion applications by allowing a single authentication to give simultaneous access to both a mobile native app and a website. For example, if a user logs into a CMA product’s mobile app and authorizes access to the MLS listings, a subsequent log in at the CMA website could now have the same authorization to access the listings without having to ask again.

To fully test out how easy OpenID Connect is to work with, I applied to certify our Spark Platform implementation and was granted certification on in early October. Of course, developers who just want to use the standard don’t need to go through this process but we wanted to fully vet the process and get our Spark Platform and Flexmls systems ready to rock-and-roll with OpenID Connect so we can start to provide our customers some of the many benefits discussed above.

For all of the above reasons, OpenID Connect is an excellent standard ready-made for real estate and so RESO should adopt this standard as well. There are a lot of proprietary, vendor lock-in compatibility problems in the real estate sector, and OpenID Connect is the perfect vehicle to start breaking down those barriers for the benefit of our mutual customers.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/linking-upstream-and-reso-with-universal-property-ids-2/ Mon, 26 Oct 2015 20:02:11 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=5766 Continued]]>

I’m just about to travel to Austin for the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) fall meeting. Some of the sessions I’m most interested in are the workgroup and general sessions on Universal Property ID. I’ve been advocating for a long time for Universal Property IDs, but I think it’s more important now than ever given the emergence of initiatives like Upstream.

Most of my readers likely are familiar with Upstream but, in the event you’re not, you can find excellent background information from this article by Craig Cheatham posted on Inman and this post by Victor Lund of the WAV Group (PDF linked in article). From Craig’s post on Inman:

The purpose of Upstream is to provide brokers with an efficient tool for managing their data, assisting them in working with their MLS(s), their vendors and their internal applications.

This concept — providing a central source to help brokers manage their data — is powerful and has a lot of people excited about the possibilities. As an MLS vendor, we at FBS are excited, too, to work with the Upstream APIs as they become available and we already have some ideas about how we can help our customers wanting to use Upstream by connecting the Upstream APIs with our Spark API and Flexmls systems.

As we think about working with Upstream and the main goal of connecting disparate systems used by brokers, the need for a Universal Property ID seems central (pun intended). Universal Property IDs would be like hyperlinks on the web, which is the glue that allows different sites to connect with each other. With a Universal Property ID, connecting the same property across disparate systems and databases is not only possible but relatively easy. Without a Universal Property ID, connecting the disparate systems is fraught with error.

Currently, the UPID RESO workgroup (this link requires you to be a member of RESO, so join up!) is working on a framework for creating and finding UPIDs. Central to the framework is the reality that there are many sources of property data and that each brings with it a different level of accuracy and confidence. Because there are so many different property data sources today, an industry-wide and cooperative effort like RESO is critical to defining and promoting adoption of the framework.

Today, the reality is that no 100% complete and accurate “national property database” exists, even though many companies talk about having a goal for such a database. This isn’t a criticism of what’s available today, just a recognition of the reality that none of the so-called national property databases are 100% complete or accurate. For example, Zillow and RPR both have large property databases but both entities recognize how important MLS data is to continually improving their data. Similarly, local county and other governmental entities also are constantly creating new and improved property data as well and we know that mortgage companies, title companies, and many, many others have valuable contributions as well.

Imagine for a minute if all of these entities worked together to create a Universal Property ID framework so that the framework would constantly learn and improve itself. That type of cooperation is very powerful and has the potential to create win-win scenarios for everyone, instead of just being satisfied with zero-sum games.

Importantly, cooperating on such a framework does not require anyone to give up their proprietary databases. Upstream and RPR can continue to build their repository, as can MLSs, Zillow, Corelogic, and many others. The beauty is that, despite competing with their proprietary data repositories, Universal Property IDs provide a common way to connect the data when desired and authorized. Each competitor will continue to assert their unique advantages for their customers, resulting in no one repository becoming a 100% complete and accurate source of property data, but the UPID framework provides the potential to link all the data together.

As the web itself proved long ago, the creation of data by humanity far outstrips our ability to centralize it and so the best we can do is figure out how to link it together. This is a great goal for the RESO UPID work group and so that’s why I’m most excited about those sessions at the RESO fall meetings this week.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/ownership-the-american-dream-and-our-purpose-at-fbs-2/ Fri, 11 Sep 2015 21:00:23 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=5724 Continued]]>

One of the most important responsibilities I have as CEO of FBS is articulating our purpose both to employees and customers. In other words, why is our work here important?

Internally, we crafted the following core value statement quite a few years ago, and I’m still proud of it:

FBS is committed to creating an atmosphere of respect, freedom and opportunity enabling employees to exceed our clients’ expectations with innovative products and services.

These core values of respect, freedom, and opportunity were central to our decision to become a 100% employee-owned company back in 2005. We believe that being an owner of the company is the ultimate form of respect but it also is critical to freedom and opportunity for our employees. Without a doubt, helping each employee become an owner is a big reason why our work here is important.

Of course, the software we create for the real estate market also directly fosters ownership and a book I just finished reading, The Citizen’s Share, explains how broad-based citizen ownership of land/property was critical to the foundation of our country and that this is a good reason why more companies should use broad-based employee ownership to foster the same freedom and independence we value in our country.

The book covers a lot of the history of the framing of the constitution and how critical broad ownership of land was to creating the freedom and happiness central to our Constitution. For example, here’s a quote from Washington:

Men are better pleased with laboring on their own farms, than in the workshops. Even the mechanics who come from Europe, as soon as they can procure a little land of their own, commonly turn Cultivators. . . . I rejoice in the belief that intellectual light will spring up in the dark corners of the earth; that freedom of enquiry will produce liberality of conduct; that mankind will reverse the absurd position that the many were made for the few and that they will not continue slaves in one part of the globe, when they can become freemen in another.

President George Washington, fragments from drafts of the first inaugural address, April 1789

The book further emphasizes why “the founders of the new democracy considered it important that every citizen have an ownership stake in the economy, which in those days meant ownership of land:

American republicans valued property in land primarily because it provided personal independence. The individual with direct access to the productive resources of nature need not rely on other men, or any man, for the basic means of existence.”

The central idea of broad-based citizen ownership of land being critical to the values of the Constitution was at the heart of such landmark deals as the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, funding of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and the Louisiana Purchase, all of which resulted in the vast distribution of tracts of land to individual citizens. Again, the point is simple but critical: Ownership is key to freedom and democracy.

At the foundation of our country, land was the key resource to own. Today, land remains a critical part of the American dream as is home ownership, but share ownership in corporations has become equally important, and it’s in this way that FBS’s two core purposes are related into one: We help create owners. The software we create, along with our MLS, broker, and agent customers, helps create owners of real estate, and our company helps create employee-owners.

I couldn’t be more proud of what we’re doing here at FBS and, like our Founding Fathers, we want to create something that lasts and I’m confident that our core purpose of creating owners will help us do just that.

P.S. A local startup site here in Fargo, Emerging Prairie, published a fun article about how I consider FBS to be a “35-year old startup”, because we’re always trying new things. I hope you check it out.

 

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/reso-aint-no-pooh-pooh/ Wed, 06 May 2015 23:09:58 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=866 Continued]]>

“And the one system vendor with great longevity and respect in the industry pooh-poohed the idea saying it would never work.”

— Bob Bemis, recalling my reaction to his idea for a new national MLS database back-end

Last year at the NAR MidYear conference in D.C., Bob Bemis asked if I’d be willing to get together to discuss an idea he wanted to bounce off me. I readily agreed as I loved brainstorming ideas with Bob when he was CEO for ARMLS (FBS’s largest customer) and was interested in what he was working on now. When I met with Bob, he was accompanied by Tim Dain, Executive Director of SIRMLS, and Mitch Skinner (MLS attorney extraordinaire).

We chatted for about an hour regarding a topic near and dear to my heart and one discussed here on the FBS Blog for many years now: The Future of the MLS. More specifically, Bob outlined for me much of what he’s now written about at length in a four-part blog post series here, here, here, and here. You should read all four parts but, for convenience, I’ll summarize the core idea as “plug-and-play” MLS, where the MLS would support multiple “front end” systems and offer MLS members more choice and less lock-in.

As Bob mentions in his posts, the idea of plug-and-play MLS isn’t new. What Bob and Tim were proposing was to bring this idea to life by creating a new national database back-end (and relevant APIs), and they were looking for vendors (like FBS) who might be interested in writing front-end software to this new back-end. In part 3 of his series, Bob recalled that I “pooh-poohed the idea saying it would never work.” I can understand how Bob reached that conclusion from our conversation, because I did say FBS wasn’t willing to commit at that time, but I think it’s important to the overall discussion to lay out my response in a bit more detail, so that’s what I’m going to do here.

First and foremost, my recommendation was that the best way to get industry-wide cooperation on writing software to a common API was through RESO, which was then and still is making great strides in moving industry standards forward both with the Data Dictionary and the new Web API. When Bob described their desire to set up a new national database, I thought one of two things would be true from such an effort:

1. To deliver the game-changing evolution they’re seeking, the new organization would need to build a critical mass of customers and developers, thereby becoming the de facto standard, which is what RESO was already busy doing; or
2. The new MLS offering would be just another vendor offering among the many of us already competing in the market for MLS software.

If the first was true, then I didn’t know why this new effort was needed when RESO was already well along the path of building consensus around the data dictionary and the new Web API. If, on the other hand, the new effort was just another MLS system, re-writing our software to work with their back-end wasn’t compelling until they reached critical mass, which would be a long time, if ever. This is likely the point where Bob concluded that I was pooh-poohing the idea and saying it would never work, but really what I was saying was that RESO was already trying to build consensus and create the standards, innovation, and competition among vendors they were seeking and so their support of that effort seemed like the best approach rather than creating yet another MLS system.

Of course, all of that could have just been me being a competitor in the space and looking out for our own self-interest, but I don’t think so. First, I am on the RESO Board of Directors and believe strongly in the long-term strategies and benefits of standards in our industry. There is no question that the implementation of the Data Dictionary over the coming year will provide incredible benefits to the industry as a whole and for many years to come. Similarly, having a modern API will be very helpful as well. All of these issues RESO is already working on will increase innovation, lower costs, and provide broker, agents, and real estate customers more choice, largely fulfilling the vision outlined in Bob’s four-part series.

However, let’s dig in a bit more on that vision, because I think there’s some reality-checking that’s important here. The proposal is that RPR will create some APIs (presumably RESO-standard APIs) that other vendors will then use to write front-end software. As Bob writes in part four, the vision is:

“For vendors, new markets will open into which they can sell their products and services. Gone will be the closed monolithic system where only the primary vendor in a market was permitted to offer services. With some slight modifications to conform to the data and schema standards and to use the APIs for access, the CMA module from an FBS system, the farming system developed by Paragon, the CRM system developed by Stratus, the prospecting and lead management system in Matrix all could run just fine on the new, open and accessible database. Third party, non-MLS system vendors would no longer be challenged to write new code for every MLS system that comes along or convert their products when the MLS changes system vendors. The database would be the same across all systems.”

I’d like to challenge two parts of this vision:

First, though improvements can be made through more and better standards (see above), MLS systems of today generally are not closed. In fact, most MLS systems, including ours, integrate any and every product the MLS desires. Want a different CMA? No problem, choose from Cloud CMA, Toolkit, Top Producer, etc. Public records system? No problem, choose from CRS, RPR, Monsoon (Arizona), MMT (Florida), Realist, RPR, and likely soon Zillow or others. IDX vendors? Dozens and dozens of choices. Want a native mobile app? Check out Mobile Realty Apps, Goomzee, Homesnap, Flexmls, and likely many others. So, this old mantra that there’s a dearth of products or competition in the real estate tech space is overblown at best and deceptive at worst. To be clear, will data standards and better APIs reduce some of the complexity and cost involved in developing real estate software? Sure. But I don’t think there’s a revolution or even much of an evolution that’s going to happen there, no matter who hosts the back-end MLS database.

Second, re-writing a front-end to work against a different back-end is no “slight modification” to the software. Even the best architected systems, using all the latest MVC and object-oriented frameworks to ensure proper code re-use and reduced coupling of the back and front-end requires a LOT of work to re-write. Put simply, plug-and-play here is just a myth and the likelihood of FBS’s CMA and Paragon or Stratus’ CRM plugging into the same system are little to none, because re-writing those systems to work on some new back-end is not practical.

What is practical is what happens every day in the MLS world: The data gets replicated from the MLS RETS server to the third-party software server so that the third-party software can do its thing on its own copy of the database. There are many reasons replication is necessary, here are just a few:

• To differentiate their offering, IDX vendors want to supplement the data with demographics, etc., and yet they need the data in the same database for efficient queries;
• Broker portals and sites like Zillow or Realtor.com simply won’t contemplate having their systems and company performance dependent on something they don’t control;
• Vendors doing statistical and other analyses need local copies to do their thing;
• The many, many vendors who have already written their systems to work against a local copy of the database have little to no incentive to re-write their systems against a new API; and
• Many, many other reasons.

The point simply is that replication of the MLS database is the overwhelmingly dominant method of writing third-party software today, there are many good reasons for that, and the practical reality is that isn’t going to change anytime soon.

If you want proof of this proposition, let’s look at the poster-child for the plug-and-play vision, Cloud CMA. Cloud CMA is one of the few apps in the industry today that doesn’t replicate data to power its solution. However, when Dan Woolley set out to build their latest project, Cloud Streams, they quickly concluded the only way to do that was to have a local copy of the database. Once they had that local copy, a brain-storming session they had raised the possibility of building a lightweight MLS front-end, but that project was built on the replica, it wasn’t hitting an API. From conversations with Dan, I know he’d love for Cloud MLX to work as a front-end for every MLS system, but my guess is that, to do that, they’ll need to replicate, even if there were awesome APIs available today. (See below regarding innovation.)

I know many in the industry have a vision for forcing all third-parties to use an API and ending replication, but I’d suggest that isn’t practical and should not be a strategic focus. Without a doubt, new vendors just getting started writing software will find all sorts of interesting and creative uses for well-designed APIs and standardized data sets from MLSs. RESO is dead-right in focusing on those issues, especially standardized data. There may even come a time when the new APIs become the pre-dominant method of creating new products and delivering software, but I doubt it, and, even though this post already is really long, I want to explain why as I believe the answer is central to the innovation (and evolution) question at the heart of Bemis’ four-part series (as well as the recent missives from Rob Hahn on the same topic).

Innovation and competition go hand-in-hand. At the heart of competition is differentiation. You compete by offering something different and hopefully better than your competitors. In the real estate software world, that might mean better data, better user-interface, better service, or better ideas. When you want to innovate and compete, that often means you need an API service that allows that and, frankly, it means you need that API service to be different than it is today. This need is a weakness in both the “one backend to rule them all” approach being urged with RPR-MLS as well as with RESO. The practical reality is that an API from a single source will never be able to innovate fast enough to support all competitors and so those competitors will need to create their own APIs.

I’ve written before that this very reason is or should be a death-knell to the idea of a monopolistic back-end MLS, as it will surely squash innovation and competition instead of creating it. A more important and less obvious question, however, is what does this need for differentiation say about RESO and the attempt to create standards? Does that effort also hurt innovation? My answer is no.

The only way standards would hurt innovation and competition would be if they somehow were seen as a pre-requisite to new development. The reality, however, is that standards, when developed properly, are a reflection of best practices among existing competitors that lower costs and friction for others. Sometimes the “standard” is a de facto standard because one vendor has prevailed but, in the case of real estate software, the standards process is a cooperative effort among competitors. The objective is to reduce barriers (and costs) wherever possible, not to dictate how competitors implement their solutions.

This is why RESO has been and continues to be so focused on getting data standards implemented. Data standards are the foundation for any other standard, such as saved searches, which will open the door to easier vendor conversions, more integrations and data transportability. Without standard data, the costs of implementing software in the real estate industry will be higher than they need to be and time to market will be longer for existing and new solutions. With standard data, solutions will be less expensive and faster to implement. Those are the objectives outlined by Bob Bemis, Rob Hahn, and now RPR-MLS, and it is for that reason I urged Bob to focus on RESO instead of creating yet another MLS vendor.

With all that being said, I welcome RPR-MLS to our MLS vendor competitive landscape and look forward to their first launch. But they are just that, yet another competitor and the real industry-wide evolutionary innovations will continue to be pushed by RESO and supported by all competitors. That’s nothing to pooh-pooh.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/fbs-welcomes-nikki-baldwin-to-brokeragent-group/ Thu, 09 Apr 2015 19:49:04 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=5498 Continued]]> We’re thrilled to welcome Nikki Baldwin as the Flexmls IDX Trainer and Specialist on the Broker/Agent Team. With a 25+ year real estate background, Nikki was most recently the Training Manager for RPR. Prior to that, she worked with an MLS vendor and, in two Associations. Throughout the span of her real estate career, there’s been a common thread: her passion for helping Realtors do their jobs the very best they can.

What was it specifically that drew Nikki to FBS and, this position focused on Flexmls IDX?

It was the opportunity to help Agents nurture the lifeblood of their business: long term client relationships. Nikki was inspired to work with FBS to help Agents maximize their Flexmls System in conjunction with their IDX website to bolster lasting relationships with their clients.

Flexmls IDX provides real-time Flexmls IDX Home Search to Agents for their own websites in a variety of formats and price-points. Flexmls has it covered: from a simple Plug-in to a Plug in specifically for WordPress websites with enhanced SEO to an API for Developer building custom websites for Agents and Brokers. While an IDX website is a must for all real estate Agents and there are many choices out there; An IDX website that’s linked to the Agent’s MLS system is tremendously valuable. How simple is it when the tools to nurture the relationships that start on the Agent’s website are already part of the Agent’s daily routine – in their MLS System? There’s nothing more to learn and no additional system to log into. With the Flexmls System, it’s easy. (And Nikki is going to show you how to get the best out of it!)

As part of the Training and Support Team for Flexmls IDX, Nikki’s priority will be teaching Agents how to maximize the benefits of an IDX website that’s integrated with their Flexmls System. Working from her home office in Arizona, she’ll host webinars and travel to in-person trainings at MLS and Associations giving practical and valuable hands-on advice to ensure Agents understand the tools they have.

When I asked Nikki what she was most excited about, she replied with: “Our (FBS) products set the standard, providing Agents and Brokers with intuitive, powerful IDX solutions that enhance their consumer relationships; I am excited to empower them with these tools by teaching them how to use them as a natural part of their every day business.”

Nikki’s first webinar for Agents will be on April 22nd (time and formal announcement will follow on our website and social media; we’ll be offering specials for new customers, too so be sure to check back!).

If you have any questions about Flexmls IDX or, wish to purchase Flexmls IDX for your website now, contact our IDX team directly at: 800-437-4232 x108 OR idxsales@flexmls.com.

 

Welcome Nikki and, until next time – be well,

Kim Prior

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/death-by-thousands-of-feeds/ Sat, 28 Mar 2015 03:47:25 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=876 Continued]]>

As Zillow Group works feverishly to get direct agreements with MLS organizations, the challenge of negotiating license terms acceptable to the MLS has led some to suggest that the easy answer might be for the MLS just to give each broker RETS credentials for their listings (and only their listings), which they could then share (yes, you heard me right, share a single set of credentials) with whatever site the broker wants. To protect itself, the MLS would require the broker to sign a legal agreement saying the MLS was absolved of responsibility and all sorts of other well-crafted legalese.

In other words,  the MLS would be trying to wash its hands of the syndication mess by turning it over to each broker via their own personal RETS feed from the MLS, which would now be managing hundreds or thousands of these feeds, accessed by RETS credentials freely shared by brokers with whoever they want without any knowledge by the MLS of who has or is using those credentials. This approach is wrong-headed at nearly every turn and brings to mind the old saying, “death by a thousand cuts,” only now it’s death by thousands upon thousands of feeds.

This “thousands of feeds” idea is what I’d call form over substance in that it’s really just another way to allow the broker to opt-in to sending their listings somewhere. The MLS is still the source of the data (its coming from the MLS RETS server, after all) and so the MLS will still be pestered with support questions about the data, only worse because the MLS won’t have any way to know who the broker has authorized to access or use the data. Can’t you hear the calls now, “Why is my listing on site XXX not up to date?” Unfortunately, the MLS won’t be able to answer because it won’t have any idea.

As an MLS vendor providing support to MLSs, we know all too well that MLSs, as service organizations, are dragged into these problems whether they have legal responsibility for it or not. Pointing to some legal agreement absolving the MLS of their responsibility doesn’t go a long way toward solving the actual problem, which is the data being sent far and wide with no one really knowing where or who is using it or for what purpose.

No, the answer to the syndication challenge is not for the MLS to try to wash its hands of the situation but rather to use an MLS-directed and broker-controlled opt-in syndication platform, such as what FBS provides through its Flexmls system. Such a system allows each broker to control what sites get their listings while also allowing the MLS to manage the feed to each destination. Instead of thousands of individual feeds to each destination, the MLS provides one feed that only contains the listings of the brokers who opt-in (or don’t opt-out) to sending their listings to that site.

There’s no question this approach is better from a process, management, efficiency, and security perspective, but what about the legal or licensing perspective? After all, the reason this “thousands of feeds” approach is being floated is because some MLSs are not willing to agree to terms being required by Zillow Group or other portals. Given this, how can the MLS provide a syndication feed via opt-in? The answer is the same way the MLS can provide the broker the individual RETS feed. All the MLS would have to do is type into the “terms of use” box in the syndication platform the same legal disclaimers it has in the “thousands of feeds” agreement. The legal result is exactly the same — an agreement between the MLS and brokers where each broker is responsible for the terms on which they are licensing the data to the portal when they opt-in — yet the support nightmare of the thousands of feeds is avoided.

I don’t want to end this post simply by advising against this thousands of feeds idea, because I think there’s an opportunity for MLSs to improve the syndication experience for the brokers and for MLSs. For the last several years, MLSs have left syndication to companies like Listhub and Point2. Now, however, MLSs have an opportunity to seize control of this critical function, empower their brokers, create competition among the portals, and leverage the incredible value the MLS has created by getting competitive brokers to cooperate with each other. Instead of washing their hands, MLSs should seize this opportunity to create a win for the industry.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/14-years-of-gratitude-growth-and-inspiration/ Wed, 18 Mar 2015 03:50:36 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=879 Continued]]> Each year as the Clareity Annual MLS Survey results are released, FBS is honored to consistently earn top customer satisfaction ratings. This year, for the 14^th year in a row, we’re once again proud of our high ranking. In 2014, 100% of our customers rated us positively for both staff and end-user satisfaction; and, “excellent” ratings outweighed the “good”.

As we reflect, three things really stand out:

First, we’re grateful to our customers for trusting and inspiring us while giving us the opportunity to rise up to new challenges, solve problems and, increase member value, year after year.

Second, customer voice drives development and improvement at FBS. We welcome feedback (in all ways) and, definitely absorbed the specific input on areas of improvement in this year’s Clareity Survey. Keep it coming and, we’ll keep getting better.

Third, As employee owners in a 100% employee-owned company, each of us are vested in, empowered to and passionate about delivering the absolute best products with the most personal, professional service possible. That owner-mentality infuses our culture and is part of everything we do. Customer satisfaction is the true measure of how well we’re doing. Consistent results like this inspire us as we forge ahead!

To our customers, FAN (Flexmls Advisory Group), industry counterparts and friends: cheers to another great year. We’re proud to serve you, grateful to hear from you and excited about what’s come.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/announcing-sold-listings-settings-flexmls-system/ Tue, 03 Mar 2015 23:03:08 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=5438 Continued]]> This week, the Flexmls® System will provide MLSs with two new settings to control the availability of Sold listings on IDX: “Allow sold listings on IDX” and “Limit sold listings on IDX to those sold within the last three years”.

These settings help customers in two very important ways.

First, as per The NAR, via Inman News coverage, “multiple listing services must now allow brokers to display a minimum of three years of sold listing data on their non-password-protected websites”, with the only exception being non-disclosure markets. With these new settings, MLSs can now comply with The NAR mandate in one simple step: e-mail a request to the FBS Customer Projects and Relations team (cpr@flexmls.com). They will enable the Sold listings on IDX.

Boom – one e-mail and done.

Second, from a Broker and Agent perspective, the display and accessibility of sold listings directly from the MLS on an IDX website is very powerful and, creates a clear, competitive edge. Currently, third party listing portals utilize tax records (and possibly other local public sources) to present sold information on their websites. Because of this, there is an unavoidable time delay between the actual sold date and, when it appears on the third party website. With the sold listing information coming directly from the MLS, the Broker and Agent’s website will serve up the most reliable and timely sold property information, in advance of the third party websites. Consumers get a real-time view of what’s happening in the marketplace and, can make their decisions based on fresh, reliable data from their local Broker and Agent. That’s something to cheer about!

The Flexmls® System: helping MLSs facilitate industry change while helping Agents look awesome with their customers!

Help us share the good word to Brokers and Agents about this great new enhancement.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/flexmls-for-iphone-v1-7-new-enhancements/ Thu, 26 Feb 2015 04:11:03 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=886 Continued]]>

Flexmls for iPhone  v1.7 enhancements are available on the App Store today!

This next version of Flexmls for iPhone includes a number of usability enhancements and, new features that make working on-the-go faster and more convenient.

Two of the major enhancements are:

1: The ability to edit listing price and, listing expiration date and,
2: Access to third party public record Apps.

Also in 1.7 you’ll find:

1. Listing Search and Display enhancements:
   • Rental listings display the High Season Price
   • Search by Listing or Selling Association
   • “My Listings” includes Office and Company options
   • “Tour of Homes” schedules display on Listing Detail view
2. More client collaboration conveniences:
   • Improved sort order on collections
   • Share larger sets of listings with one click
   • Remove listings from collections
3. Ease of Use improvements:
   • Faster log-in: we remember your username and support Touch ID
   • Easier viewing of photo captions
   • Refresh contacts with a pull-down or button tap
   • Last selected Search Template is remembered
   • Call listing Agent instantly with clickable phone numbers

 

Look for the v1.7 in the iTunes store in the next few days.

We hope you are enjoying the ongoing enhancements to Flexmls mobile Apps and welcome your feedback at ILoveMyFlexmls@Flexmls.com.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/investing-in-mls-for-the-long-term/ Tue, 24 Feb 2015 04:34:19 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=890 Continued]]>

I wanted to take a moment amidst all the syndication turmoil to write about how pleased I am that some of the long-term investments we’ve made over the last several years are now starting to bear fruit. Building products based on a long-term vision for a future that’s anything but certain is scary. Despite all your best efforts, there’s simply no way to know if the software will prove valuable or not.

I want to highlight two long-term investments we’ve made — Spark and Syndication — that are now proving to be very valuable for our MLS customers. We first built syndication options into Flexmls Web way back in 2008/2009. At the time, however, the major portals didn’t use RETS as we required. Instead, they all had proprietary formats that allowed companies like ListHub and Point2 to deliver solutions by implementing them all.

For our part, FBS kept pushing RETS, including when, as then-Chair of RESO, I wrote an open letter to the portals encouraging them to adopt a syndication standard, which ultimately resulted in the RESO Syndication Payload. Over the years, these and the efforts of many others on behalf of RESO started paying off as the portals joined and started working with RESO.

As the portals started adopting RETS, the syndication tools we had built into Flexmls Web long ago became useful for helping brokers send their data to the portals. Of course, with ListHub and Point2 having jumped into the vacuum in a timely manner, there still wasn’t much of a market need for our syndication options and so adoption was low. But that’s all changing now and our investment long ago is proving valuable to our customers now.

Another significant investment we’ve made over the last several years is in the Spark Platform, which from the very beginning has been about promoting the RESO Data Dictionary. Several years later, this investment is paying off for our customers big time as the NAR is now requiring MLS compliance with the RESO dictionary by January 2016.

The significant effort we’ve put into Spark and Data Dictionary compliance means we have a massive head-start for our MLS customers in this industry-wide standards effort. Of the initial 166 core fields required for compliance, we already have the vast majority mapped across all of our 150+ customers and we have well-established tools and processes in place to work with our customers to map all the required fields by the deadline. Not only do these long-term investments allow us to deliver value to our customers in a timely way, they allow us to do so at no additional charge to them.

What’s even more exciting to me is how these two investments are likely to come together over the coming months as well. As dictionary compliance comes into place, we’ll be able to provide syndication using the dictionary standards as well, which will result in easier, faster, and more accurate syndication of data under broker control. This is the long-term vision we had back in 2008 when so much of this started, and I’m very grateful to all the other companies and leaders pushing RETS forward for the long-term future of our industry.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/flexmls-has-your-syndication-needs-covered/ Mon, 23 Feb 2015 20:23:27 +0000 http://wearefbs.com/?p=759 Continued]]>

Many of our customers have been contacting us concerned about the recent announcement that, as early as next week, Listhub will stop sending listings to Trulia. Fortunately, as I wrote last May, Flexmls has long included options for our MLS customers to give brokers control over where to send (syndicate) their listings.

Update: Trulia has posted an option for MLSs or brokers to authorize them to use an IDX feed from Market Leader. We advise against this approach for MLSs, because it takes away choice for individual brokers. We also advise against it for individual brokers, for all the reasons outlined in this post from Mitch Skinner of the Larson Skinner law firm.

We already have several customers using the Flexmls syndication tools to provide their brokers customers control of where their listings are advertised. For example, the Arizona Regional MLS, which wrote this blog post about the Trulia/Listhub news, saying, “we have you covered” with the syndication tools in Flexmls. Similarly, the Northeast Florida MLS wrote a blog post today saying, “with Flexmls, the broker maintains complete control over the decision to send listings to Zillow.Com/Trulia.com.” This will be accomplished direct from your Flexmls login. We encourage all of our customers to use these same tools, included at no additional charge, to help brokers respond to the fast-changing syndication landscape. The Trulia/Listhub news is just the most recent and Listhub also is ending its feed to Zillow in April.

One approach we’ve seen a few MLSs choosing and caution against is simply providing Zillow or Trulia a RETS feed for the entire MLS and then trusting them to filter out the listings of brokers who do not participate. One of the key advantages of the Flexmls syndication tool is that it interfaces directly with the Flexmls RETS feeds so the portals only receive listings for brokers who have approved (either by opting-in or not opting-out, depending on the MLS settings). This is a better long-term strategy as it ensures that the listings of brokers who do not approve are not accessed by the portals. In the rush to replace the service provided by Listhub, many MLSs will be tempted to provide a generic feed but we encourage all of our customers to take the few days needed to set up the broker options in the system.

Another short-term solution being proposed for the Trulia feed going dark next week is that Zillow (which now owns Trulia) will just add Trulia to their syndication network and provide listings to Trulia. For brokers sending listings to both Zillow and Trulia, this approach could provide a short-term solution but it does not work for brokers who do not want their listings to go to Zillow. Prior to Zillow acquiring Trulia, Trulia had done a good job of distinguishing their value proposition to brokers and so some brokers decided to work exclusively with Trulia. These brokers need to be able to choose to send listings to Trulia without also being forced to send them to Zillow.

The differences among the portals brings up another significant issue FBS is working on solving. We soon hope to provide our customers and brokers with an easy way to compare the license terms among the portals to allow them to make the best possible decision about which portals provide the most value with the least risk.

For example, there have been significant differences in what each portal is willing to agree in terms of how and where to display the listing agent and broker, how and where ads are sold around the listing content, and what level of clarity they’re willing to provide regarding what they’re going to do with the listing data. All of these issues should be crystal clear to the brokers deciding who gets to use their listings and for what purposes. We believe this transparency will create competition among the portals and result in better offerings for brokers. Broker choice is the fundamental objective in listing syndication and we’re pleased to offer such choices now and to be working on making the process even easier in the near future.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/joshua-darnell-joins-fbs-2/ Mon, 16 Feb 2015 13:45:49 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=5314 Continued]]>

I’m excited to announce that Joshua Darnell has joined the FBS development team. Many of you likely know Joshua from his work with several other companies in the industry, including Heartland MLS, Terradatum/Homeseekers/FNRES (back in the XMLSweb days), and as the founder of Kurotek Consulting, which has worked with Clareity Security and others in the MLS industry. Joshua also has been active previously in the RESO community.

Joshua brings a wealth of industry knowledge to FBS as well as world-class development expertise, specializing in Ruby on Rails development (as well as Java and many other platforms), which is the core development platform for FBS’s Spark API and Flexmls Web MLS and IDX products.

One of the most rewarding aspects of being part of an employee-owned company is the opportunity to attract and work with the most talented people, and that’s why I’m most excited to have Joshua joining our company. Please join me in welcoming Joshua to FBS!

P.S. Joshua will be working from his home in La Jolla, California. Can you imagine why?

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/announcing-flexmls-for-android-available-january-12-and-a-new-video-overview-of-the-flexmls-mobile-suite/ Thu, 08 Jan 2015 04:46:26 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=897 Continued]]>

I’m excited to announce two related things: first, a new video we had produced explaining our overall Flexmls Mobile Suite of products; and second, the availability of Flexmls for Android next Monday, January 12 (check out our webinar scheduled for launch day!), as the latest addition to our Mobile Suite.

Here’s the video explaining our Flexmls Mobile Suite:

 

And here’s a video highlighting the features of Flexmls for Android:

Flexmls for Android has the same core feature set as Flexmls for iPhone, namely:

 

• • Search — One tap search to find listings nearby your current location or draw on the map to narrow your search. Filter your searches using the same quick search templates setup in Flexmls Web.
  • MLS# and Address Searches — Easy to use MLS# and Address searches.
  • Hot Sheet — Run the hot sheet to stay up to date.
  • Gallery, List, and Map Views – Scroll through search results and see all photos for each listing in a gallery view. See listings on list and map views.
  • Detail View – Access all the details for each listing, including showing information, documents, supplement, and more.
    
  • Action Bar – Each listing has an action bar so users can quickly recommend the listing to a client, save to a cart, share by email and see showing and agent information.
  • Contacts and Carts – View and manage your contacts and listings.
  • Data Sync With Flexmls Web – Your searches, contacts, and carts all sync with Flexmls Web.
  • Quick Launch — The same powerful and easy to use Quick Launch available in Flexmls Web, allowing you to search for listings, contacts, other MLS members, and more through one simple text box.

Flexmls for Android also includes a new feature called map clusters. Map clusters group large sets of listings together into clusters to make the map easier to navigate and particularly zoom in. (For developers reading this, we’ve also made map clusters available in the Spark API.) If map clusters prove successful in Flexmls for Android, we’ll be adding them to all of our products.

We hope all of our Android users enjoy and are productive with Flexmls for Android (don’t forget to check out our webinar on launch day this coming Monday!) and look forward to continuing to build out our Flexmls Mobile Suite in the coming year!

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/flexmls-idx-first-to-gain-security-against-screen-scrapers/ Wed, 03 Dec 2014 04:51:11 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=901 Continued]]>

It’s no secret that data theft and misuse is a problem in our industry. As the subject of countless articles, expensive lawsuits and most recently, the impetus for the creation of Redplan™, (described on their website as: “an association owned and run by its members for the purpose protecting the intellectual property of member companies, promoting the common interests of the real estate information industry and keeping its members informed of pertinent issues”), the impact of real estate data misuse is significant and far-reaching. One major component of data misuse is screen scraping of IDX websites. When listing data is “scraped” or copied from a website, it is often used as content on unauthorized websites or, in other unauthorized manners, violating copyright and creating other negative issues. Screen scraping can (and does) happen on any website displaying listing data.

In 2013, Clareity Consulting Chief Technologist, Matt Cohen wrote a blog that laid out the need for an industry-wide solution with important criteria for evaluating solutions available. In the end, he announced Distil Networks met that very specific criteria and endorsed them as a preferred partner for industry professionals seeking protection from screen scraping.

Here at FBS, we’re focused on delivering the very best product supported by world class service. Naturally, providing the highest level of security is part of that equation. To this end, we’re proud to be the first MLS provider to implement Distil’s powerful product as an extra security layer protecting Flexmls IDX websites.

Here’s the scoop:
According to Distil, the system works like a protective shield and blocks malicious bots in real time while blocking malware and competitors that try to scrape or copy website data without permission when served up on Flexmls-powered websites. Charlie Minesinger, Distil Director of Channel Partners says: “Blocking IPs and using rate limits to protect your online data is obsolete. With Distil Networks and FBS, the MLS and their brokers can rest assured that their data, photos, and copyrights are protected by state of the art technology in the arms race against bots. FBS is now first to market with web-scale platform protected from mischievous bots – no more form spam, click fraud, malicious traffic, nor content/data theft.”

Jaison Freed, FBS Vice President of IT underscored that statement: “Working with Distil Networks, we are able to provide our customers with a public-facing product that allows them to make the MLS data available while protecting it from screen scrapers on that site. MLS organizations can take comfort in knowing that when their data is served up via Flexmls-powered IDX websites, it is protected against scraping.” Additionally, Jaison explained that Distil’s product also provides the FBS network infrastructure with an additional level of protection; traffic from “bad actors” is not allowed in, thus ensuring that resources are only used to serve legitimate customer requests.

We recently shared the good news with Matt Cohen and here’s what he had to say: “MLSs have spent millions of dollars going after screen-scrapers in court – and that’s just going after the ones that have been careless enough to be caught. It’s much more effective just to stop the theft in the first place. By implementing anti-scraping technology, FBS has taken an important first step in protecting its customers’ intellectual property in the MLS system, including client collaboration and framed IDX. Kudos to FBS for being the first major MLS vendor to implement anti-scraping for all its customers. Now it’s up to the MLSs to make sure that their own public listings site (if not being protected by FBS) is protected, and members (and their tech vendors) are doing the same on sites where they display listings. It’s already VOW policy to implement this type of security, and now that the MLS is protected, IDX sites can be similarly required by the MLS, under existing IDX rules. FBS is setting a new standard for MLS data security and providing the basis for an MLS to require their IDX vendors, RETS feed users, agent/broker sites, and portals to have comparable protections on their websites.”

This added layer of security is administered and managed by FBS, (no action is necessary from Flexmls IDX clients).

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/welcome-greater-chattanooga-and-greater-antelope-valley-associations-to-the-fbs-family-2/ Wed, 08 Oct 2014 15:47:46 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=4544 Continued]]>

We’re excited to welcome Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors and Greater Antelope Valley Association of Realtors into the FBS family! Formal release below.
-Kim

---

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Two more Associations select the Flexmls system highlighting powerful Mobile suite, system capabilities and personal service as major decision factors.

October 8, 2014 – Flexmls® welcomes 2 new clients into the FBS family: Greater Antelope Valley Association of REALTORS and Greater Chattanooga Association of REALTORS. The addition of these Associations, adds nearly 3800 new Users to the fast growing Flexmls system. While both had individual reasons for changing systems, there were definite similarities around selecting Flexmls.

Greater Antelope Valley Association of REALTORS headquartered in Palmdale, CA with 2300 members, will be converting from the Rapattoni MLS system to Flexmls. Citing “leading edge technology” as the overarching reason for the shift to Flexmls, CEO Pamela JS Vose stated, “Although major change is often tough on members, ours are truly looking forward to this change and the benefits they will receive through Flexmls including the exceptional search and mapping capabilities, availability of statistical reports, user simplicity and the exceptional value of Flexmls mobile.” Vose also mentions positive feedback from other Associations as important: “We spoke with other Association executives also using Flexmls and they told us about the outstanding customer service they receive. It was refreshing to hear, because personal service has become somewhat of a lost art in our society. Knowing that we will receive great service and support through the transition along with the leading technology and flexibility that empowers Admins to make changes on the fly that Flexmls provides has us all looking ahead with excitement”.

Greater Chattanooga Association of REALTORS, headquartered in Chattanooga TN with nearly 1500 subscribers, will be converting from Solid Earth’s List it system. President Vickie Trapp said, “We wanted a partner with technology that stays ahead of growing industry demands. Specifically, we were looking for a powerful mobile application, new mapping features, expanded search fields and modern marketing tools. Flexmls was able to accommodate all of our wish list and then some while ensuring the kind of personal service and support we desired”. Byron Kelly, MLS President, cited Flexmls system flexibility, user- scalability and the feedback of industry peers as important factors as well. “Flexmls is simple for the less seasoned Realtor but full of bells and whistles for the more veteran agents diving into the system while allowing us the control we need at the Admin level to make necessary changes on the fly. When we spoke to industry peers about MLS system providers, we realized it was time for a change. We’re looking forward to more of the pride of ownership level of service we’ve experienced so far and, the positive shift to Flexmls technology in our conversion”, said Kelly.

Flexmls VP of Sales Dave Rifkin and, Senior Account Manager, Matt Epstein both share that excitement. Epstein stated, “I’m excited about welcoming Greater Chattanooga and Greater Antelope Valley Associations into the FBS family. Both of these Associations and their teams value Flexmls technology and, the very personal service we provide as an employee-owned company. Partnerships created on shared values often last for a long time and, we’re looking forward to that bright future together.”

FBS is a 100% employee-owned company that’s proud to provide personal service, future focused development and standards-driven, innovative products. FBS’ Flexmls® system (web, mobile, IDX), is built on the standards-driven Spark API platform, connecting real estate professionals to their customers through great collaboration tools and real-time information. The Flexmls® system is used by 130+ MLSs representing 130,000+ Brokers and Agents. For 30+years FBS has led the way in standards-driven innovation. Through ongoing investment and continued innovation, FBS is 100% prepared to deliver excellence that MLSs and their members can trust for the long term.

Media Contact: Kim Prior: 701.499.0347 OR kprior@FBSdata.com

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/flexmls-for-iphone-v1-6-coming-soon/ Wed, 24 Sep 2014 18:23:57 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=908 Continued]]>

Apple now allows app vendors to include a 30-second or shorter “preview video” in the App Store to entice users to download the app. We’ve just submitted version 1.6 of Flexmls for iPhone to Apple for approval and so we took a stab at the preview video. We learned 30 seconds is very little time to demonstrate software.

https://youtu.be/d4NtJJApuEg

Look for the new version to hit the app store in the next week or two (depending on Apple’s review queue). The new version has some really great usability improvements and new features, including:

Easier and Faster “Map Search”:
– Combines the previous Nearby and Quick Search into a single search called Map Search.
– Just one tap on Map Search and you’ll see nearby listings
– Simplified “Draw on Map” directly on the initial map view without going to another screen
– Filter by any other criteria from your quick search templates directly from the map search

Improved Filtering:
– Filter searches by Open House and Tour of Home dates
– Filter searches by particular offices or members

Better Security with 2-step Verification:
– This version now supports 2-step verification, which you can turn on in Flexmls Web under Preferences and Security.
– We strongly encourage you to add 2-step verification to your account to protect your account and because it allows you to be logged into at least three devices (desktop, tablet, phone) at one time without logging you out of the other sessions.

Improved View Options:
– Select and email listings right from the “List View”
– Select and share directly from a more streamlined “Map Summary View”
– Improved “Detail View” allows you to move to the next or previous listing

Improved Action Bar:
– Re-designed to better prioritize actions and show existing recommended and favorite listings when you’re viewing listings for a particular customer

Simplified Hot Sheet:
– Now filters are on a separate filters page making for a cleaner view

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/mobile-that-saves-time-and-helps-agents-shine-flexmls-for-iphone-user-feedback-2/ Tue, 02 Sep 2014 17:50:38 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=4458 Continued]]>

I’ve most recently blogged about how Flexmls® for iPhone, (our first release from the Flexmls® Mobile App suite), delivers the very best experience for Agents. That means, delivering fast access to comprehensive MLS information. With the recent release of Flexmls® for iPhone, we’re starting to hear feedback from Users. I love being able to share their direct input.

Adam Schwend from Coldwell Banker Evergreen Realty is currently using Flexmls® for iPhone and anxiously awaiting the release of Flexmls® for Android. Here’s what Adam had to say:

“The best thing about Flexmls® for iPhone is that I have the entire MLS at my fingertips. I don’t have to haul out my laptop or go through a bunch of steps on my phone to try to find the info I need. As a REALTOR®, I’m always working to maximize my time so I can spend more time selling and less time having to deal with all the details. This App allows me to have all the information that I need at all times; I don’t have to go searching for it.

There are two huge parts of Flexmls® for iPhone that make my life so much easier. First, sometimes listing-sheets disappear or I’ll print the wrong one out. No problems when I have this App because all of the information is right there. Second, the awesome feature of having all the MLS members’ contacts; I don’t have to worry if I don’t have someone’s office number, cell number, or email. I have all of it without having to go searching.

My principal broker (who doesn’t have an iPhone) often asks me for information when we’re out on showings or listings together so I am excited for the release of Flexmls® for Android!”

Flexmls® Apps, powered by the Spark Platform, provide the most comprehensive and up-to-date information (including contacts and saved searches) and real-time synch’g across systems (mobile and web). The Agent experience is seamless, fast and efficient giving them what they need, when they need it with search templates they are accustomed to.

We’re excited about showcasing (and demo’g) the new Flexmls for iPhone App at the upcoming CMLS conference in Huntington Beach with MLS executives.

In the meantime, we’d love to know: what do you think about the new Flexmls® for iPhone App? Or, anything you’d like to ask? Email me at kprior@fbsdata.com.

MLS executives interested in a Flexmls® demo prior to CMLS? Don’t hesitate to contact Dave Rifkin at drifkin@fbsdata.com!

Be well until next time –

Kim Prior

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/flexmls-continues-mobile-app-launch-strategy-with-new-mobile-web/ Sun, 24 Aug 2014 23:27:49 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=914 Continued]]>

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Following successful Flexmls® for iPhone release, FBS launches new Mobile Web furthering comprehensive mobile strategy.

August 22, 2014 – FBS launches “new” Flexmls® Mobile Web on following successful launch of the Flexmls for iPhone App, setting the bar for mobile MLS.

The “new” Flexmls® Mobile Web and native iPhone App are the first releases from the Flexmls® Mobile App suite which when complete, will include Flexmls® for iPhone, Android, Tablet (all native) and Mobile Web. The native Apps and Mobile Web deliver a seamless mobile MLS experience sharing the same design aesthetic, providing full access to MLS data (including customer information and saved searches) and, real-time data synch between systems, all made possible the Spark API foundation that powers the Flexmls® system. Some of the key shared features include: Quick Launch (entire MLS system can be searched from one place), Quick Searches and full access to MLS data including, all saved searches and favorites. One of the most powerful benefits of the system is real time synch; Agents can start working on their iPhone and then access the work they started immediately on their laptop via Flexmls® Web.

Customer feedback on the native Flexmls® for iPhone App has been overwhelmingly positive so far; FBS expects the same strong reception with the “new” Mobile Web. Agents have tweeted, directly emailed and phoned in the accolades. Recently, after sharing accolades on Twitter, Jeremy Hart, an Associate Broker with Nest Realty, contributed to a Flexmls blog post citing simplicity and fast access to everything he needs as major win-factors in the new Flexmls for iPhone App. FBS CEO Mike Wurzer has taken calls from existing MLS executive clients complimenting the company on the impressive work, too. “I’m really excited to see our mobile investments paying dividends for our customers. Today’s agent needs and deserves the best possible mobile MLS products and that’s what we’re delivering”, says Wurzer.

Flexmls® is on a major growth trajectory and will add 35,000 members to its current roster with conversions completed in 2014. These impressive growth numbers are coupled with the best customer retention in the business. Both variables are attributed to FBS’ future-focus and consistent personal approach to service, more recently to their laser focus on delivering the pinnacle mobile experience via native Apps and the underpinning standards-driven Spark API platform.

“We’re delivering the pinnacle mobile MLS”, says Kim Prior, VP Marketing and Spark Platform Evangelist. “The underpinning Spark API plus native development was the only path to deliver this truly unmatched and seamless user experience: full access to all MLS information, real-time sync across systems and shared design”, says Prior.

FBS is a 100% employee-owned company that’s proud to provide personal service, future focused development and standards-driven, innovative products. FBS’ Flexmls® system (web, mobile, IDX), is built on the standards-driven Spark API platform, connecting real estate professionals to their customers through great collaboration tools and real-time information. The Flexmls® system is used by 130+ MLSs representing 130,000+ Brokers and Agents. For 30+years FBS has led the way in standards-driven innovation. Through ongoing investment and continued innovation, FBS is 100% prepared to deliver excellence that MLSs and their members can trust for the long term.

Media Contacts: Kim Prior kprior@FBSdata.com OR Katelyn Midtbo kmidtbo@fbsdata.com

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/under-the-hood-series-flexmls-apps-we-love-it-when-users-tell-the-story/ Wed, 20 Aug 2014 23:31:44 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=917 Continued]]>

So far, I’ve explained the importance of a standards-based API structure and illustrated how “plugging” systems into that structure provides significant edge. Today, I’ll bring mobile apps into the conversation and share feedback from one of our users.

The suite of Flexmls Mobile Apps will include Flexmls for iPhone, Android and tablet (iPhone is launched and available in the App store, Android and Tablet are still in development). These are native applications; powered by the Spark API, (Flexmls web and mobile are both powered by same data platform). This provides speedy access to the full MLS experience (including customer information, favorites and saved searches).

That means Flexmls mobile apps will be:
1. Fast. Because the user-interface is already downloaded on the device, only the data must be refreshed (a web app has to reload the entire page on most requests).
2. Easy to use. Agents know their MLS system; mobile will look and behave the same.
3. Powerful. Same search power as web. Data synchs across systems in real time.
4. Time saving. You can start on your desktop and finish in the car or on the plane.

But don’t let me tell you that – after all, I’m the marketing person; you know, the one responsible for promotion? Allow me to introduce you to Jeremy Hart. Jeremy is an Associate Broker with Nest Realty, in Blacksburg, VA. He loves cool apps, powder deep snow, and bourbon, (according to him, not necessarily in that order!). Most importantly, he’s not part of our marketing department and can provide real-life, unbiased input.

Recently, Jeremy tweeted about how happy he is with Flexmls for iPhone. It prompted me to connect with him personally to understand the specifics around his tweet and here’s what he had to say:

“What I love most about the about the App is its’ simplicity. When I need to do a quick- search for a property, I just type in the address and the app starts to automatically populate. I don’t have to click through and filter a bunch of stuff to get a quick result. It’s precisely what I need when I’m mobile.”

I also asked Jeremy what problems the App has solved for him and he answered that by saying it enables him to be on-the-go with all the answers: “When I’m out at a house, I need answers fast: whether seeing what’s for sale around us (and showing instruction), or, looking up something quickly to answer a question. Flexmls on my iPhone is quick and intuitive for those times when I’ve left my tablet at the office, don’t have the showing sheets with me and still need to get the job done.”

He finished the conversation by telling me that simplicity and speed make Flexmls for iPhone a great tool for him: “It’s about simplicity. Sometimes, App creators try and overcomplicate things by making apps do too much. Flexmls for iPhone gets me what I need when I need it”.

Thank you Jeremy for the great feedback about Flexmls for iPhone. It’s great to hear validation that we’re hitting our goals: delivering products that empower you to easily collaborate with your customers on the go, in real time, with accurate information!

Until next time, be well.
Kim Prior

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/big-updates-to-flexmls-mobile-web-coming-wednesday/ Mon, 18 Aug 2014 23:34:28 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=920 Continued]]>

On August 20 (this Wednesday), we’ll be releasing a major new update to Flexmls Mobile Web, furthering our overall strategy of using the Spark API to power a suite of mobile applications providing a consistent user experience and data across multiple platforms, including Flexmls for iPhone and now Flexmls Mobile Web as well. (For Flexmls users, click here to register for a webinar on the new features.

In addition to bringing to Mobile Web the same design aesthetic as Flexmls for iPhone, this update to Mobile Web includes some major new features:

• Quick Launch — The same Quick Launch functionality available in Flexmls Web and Flexmls for iPhone is now available in Flexmls Mobile Web. Quick launch is both incredibly easy to use and powerful. Using a simple text box, you can access all the data in Flexmls with a few words or even letters. Want to access a recent search, just click in the box and suggestions will appear. Want to look up a listing? Just enter the MLS# or address. Want to start a search? Just type (or speak!) a few terms like Active, Residential $300k+, 4 bed, 2 bath, and just start your next search. Want to lookup another MLS member or one of your contacts? Just type a few letters and you’ll be prompted with matches. Quick Launch is great on desktop but even better on your phone because it allows you to access so much so quickly and easily.
• Quick Searches — All the same Quick Search templates you use in Flexmls Web are now available in Mobile Web as well, providing a familiar experience with all the same power you’re used to on the desktop.
• Saved, Recent and Favorite Searches — All the same saved, recent, and favorite searches you have in Flexmls Web are now available through Mobile Web.
• Edit and Save Searches — Searches you edit and save in Mobile Web are now available when you return to your desktop or laptop, and vice versa. You can start a search on your desktop or laptop and finish it at your client’s house on your phone!
• Customer Portals — Your customers accessing their customer portals also will see the new user interface as well.

As mentioned above and written about previously by me (here and here) and even more recently by Kim, the investment we’ve made in building out the Spark API to cover not just listings but also critical customer data like saved searches, contact information, favorites, and more, is now starting to pay off for our customers by powering our mobile suite of applications.

We have a lot more coming toward the end of the year with customer portals being added to Flexmls for iPhone, an Android version, as well as major updates to customer portals on Flexmls Web. As Kim loves to say, stay tuned!

P.S. Don’t forget to register for the webinar!

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/under-the-hood-of-flexmls-how-an-mls-system-built-on-a-standard-api-structure-is-the-path-to-collaboration-information-and-self-salvation-2/ Mon, 11 Aug 2014 11:00:34 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=4342 Continued]]> I was inspired to move faster on this next piece after the recent Inman article about MFRMLS and their focus on a listings API to enhance innovation, data licensing and more (sidenote: big, emphatic hooray for decisions like this!).

As I touched on yesterday, the Flexmls system is a real estate information and collaboration ecosystem and the Spark API platform is the engine beneath the hood. (MLS) customers, brokers and approved developers can “plug in” products and “play” with Flexmls users: one platform, many systems.

Explaining it this way reminds me of the American muscle car mantra, “there’s no replacement for displacement” loosely meaning: the engine really dictates the true power of an automobile. You can add on aftermarket bells and whistles but ultimately engine size is the key factor to power. Oh, I digress. (And, now you all know my affinity for American muscle cars!)

Why is it so important (as in crazy-vital), to have an MLS system like Flexmls that’s built on a standard structure?
Because the free-flow of (rule-based) data between many systems and a seamless experience between many interfaces makes life better for everyone, including consumers (CMA, CRM, lead gen, mobile, marketing, MLS Systems, etc.).

Innovation is faster and easier. Client-brokers and (MLS approved) third party developers can leverage Flexmls to create and plug in, easily.

— Our new native Flexmls Apps mobile product suite is a perfect example

— Brokers can plug the products they endorse for their agents into the platform and customize

— Developers can write code once and then, enjoy interoperability between their products and Flexmls users.

Data synchs with stuff that’s plugged into the platform.

— Agent enters information into one system (Flexmls, their CRM, any other system that’s plugged in) and the data flows between all

— If a lead gen system plugs into the platform, lead information flows directly into the Flexmls CRM (or any plugged-in CRM)

A system that serves real estate stakeholders will be more effective if built with their rules and standards married to great technology

Breaks down dissention-causing information silos between stakeholders

Dramatically improves workflow (eliminates disparate systems that don’t talk to one another)

Lowers the cost of and inspires innovation

Provides choices, customization and control for brokers and agents

Has a positive impact on how agents engage with information and customers

We recently launched Flexmls for iPhone, the first in a suite of powerful, native-developed mobile Apps and API-supported features and enhancements that include: Flexmls Mobile Web; Flexmls for Android and Tablet and Portals 2.0, a revamped and supercharged version of our popular client-collaboration portals. My next post will focus on the Flexmls native mobile App suite, powered by the Spark API.

Until then, be well!

Kim

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/flexmls-for-iphone-is-hot/ Fri, 08 Aug 2014 23:43:00 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=927 Continued]]> I’m pleased to announce that a hot sheet function (by far the most requested feature by current users) is now available in Flexmls for iPhone version 1.5 on the iTunes app store.

The hot sheet allows users to specify a time frame, locations (including drawing on the map and your current location), and property types. You can then view the results using the list, gallery, or map views, with the same sorting and action options (recommend, save to cart, email) as are available through searches. We hope everyone finds this new feature valuable.

Next up, we’ll be adding customer portal and instant notifications to the app.

     

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/one-year-later-understanding-and-marketing-under-the-hood-2/ Wed, 06 Aug 2014 20:07:15 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=4304 Continued]]> The 13 months that I’ve been with FBS have been rather incredible.

In my time here, I have learned so much, and am still peeling the onion. I’m consistently blown away by the prolific brilliance of our team. It’s a joy to work with talented folks and shared mindsets. There’s a proactive focus on understanding where the business, stakeholders and consumer are headed and subsequently, focusing company efforts around initiatives that move products ahead thoughtfully, with the customer’s success at top of mind. Service is a genuine priority (and it’s genuine service). The focus on quality is tremendous; I love the commitment we have to our customers to get it right. Marketing (what I do) is a fascinating and dynamic challenge.

We’re recognized for delivering a great MLS system (Flexmls) and often called out for the unique features that set us apart from the competition. Our results speak to those factors: growing market share, unmatched retention and strong customer feedback. But there’s more to it than meets the eye. At FBS, the real magic happens behind the scenes through the personal service we provide and the Spark platform that powers our Flexmls system. The Flexmls system is our attention grabbing, sexy, muscle car but it’s what’s under the hood (the Spark platform) that makes for a convincing ride, compelling handling and an awesome experience overall. What’s under the hood closes the deal.

But sexy cars and bells and whistles are easy to market! Engines and drive trains? Well, they’re intrinsically… less sexy. There’s that “dynamic challenge” I referenced earlier!

Truly understanding the Spark platform and the empowerment it creates are key to grasping the comprehensive (and growing) Flexmls value proposition to MLS, Broker, Agent and consumer. Buzz-word filled collateral, press releases and drip emails aren’t the answer; understanding how the big stuff comes together with Flexmls is the answer. So I’m going to start painting the big picture.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be posting a few blogs: high level enough to keep your attention and deep enough to get the key details across. I’ll share why FBS will be the necessary future partner for MLSs and brokers, explaining the Flexmls real estate business ecosystem, powered by Spark (going under the hood). I’ll share how what we’ve developed (and are developing) will bring consumers and Agents closer than ever before through the best information available that flows freely through many systems, powerful native mobile applications fully synch’d with Web and brilliant collaboration tools created with the customer in mind.

So stick with me on the marketing journey. I promise to keep it interesting, at the very least!

Next up: How Flexmls, powered by Spark, can provide brokers and agents with more choices and the best real estate information possible to deliver an unmatched customer experience.

Until the next time – Kim Prior

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/saturdays-are-mobile/ Tue, 24 Jun 2014 19:35:10 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=934 Continued]]>

In Flexmls Web (our desktop and tablet system), the overall traffic pattern peaks during the week with each weekend showing slightly lower traffic. In contrast, one of the not surprising but nonetheless interesting patterns we’re seeing in the traffic numbers for our new Flexmls for iPhone app is that the peak traffic day is Saturday, when agents are out showing homes and meeting with customers. I’m guessing this pattern will continue even more strongly when we roll out the customer portal version of the app later this year. Overall, the increased traffic on mobile on the weekends shows why designing and developing mobile-specific applications is fundamental to MLS software today.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/mls-rules-source-of-salvation-or-ruin-2/ Tue, 24 Jun 2014 20:12:10 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=4241 Continued]]>

Rob Hahn has a post up on his blog showing videos of entering a listing in two MLS systems and comparing that to entering a listing in Zillow and Trulia. Rob introduces the videos by writing, “[H]ere, in 4 million words (or equivalent thereof) is one main reason why the MLS is on a death spiral” and then concludes, “[y]ou watch the videos and tell me which one you would rather use for the mundane, yet critical, task of adding a new listing into some database.”

There are several problems with Rob’s comparison but they all boil down to the MLS rules and the comparative lack thereof in ads placed on Zillow, Trulia, or other ad portals. Obviously, if you’re trying to get someone to enter an advertisement, you care less about data quality than you care about quantity. That’s not to say the ad portals don’t have any data integrity checks or that every MLS rule is perfectly designed or implemented, but comparing the user interfaces for these two different functions misses the main point.

The fundamental question facing the MLS industry today is whether the MLS rules are the source of salvation for the MLS or their ruin. As I’ve written previously, the argument for salvation goes something like this:

• Brokers are competitors;
• MLSs help competing brokers cooperate through rules;
• Cooperation allows for aggregation of data at critical mass;
• The cooperation and aggregate data is the value delivered by the MLS;
• Rules, therefore, are necessary to the MLS value proposition.

A corollary to the above is that advertising portals do not elicit the same cooperation and so cannot replace the MLS.

The counter-argument that MLS rules are or will be the ruin of MLSs is as follows:

• There are too many MLSs and too many rules, creating inefficiency for brokers trying to compete across market boundaries;
• The advertising portals do not have to obey the rules and so can offer a more innovative, streamlined, and national experience;
• The national scope, efficiency, and innovation of the portals will replace the rule-laden MLSs.

A corollary to the above is that the industry needs fewer MLSs and all will be well, such that the NAR is now “raising the bar” for Associations in an attempt to weed out the smaller ones.

If you’ve been reading my previous posts here on the FBS Blog, you know that I believe that MLS Rules are the source of value and not ruin. In fact, I’d say those who want to mess with the MLS rules should be wary of killing the goose that laid the golden egg. To understand this point, simply recall all the turmoil surrounding IDX and VOWs over the years, including the threats of many brokers to withdraw from the MLS if the rules are not structured to their liking. Striking the balance of the rules among competitors certainly is hard (and constantly evolving) work, but this is the value the MLS brings and failing to recognize that value is an error.

That being said, I fully recognize the inefficiency caused by disparate rules and so have put my own time and that of FBS to work for the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) to reduce those pain points wherever possible. MLS organizations and their vendors have been making great progress on a standardized data dictionary and new APIs for retrieving that standardized data. The promise of these efforts is to allow the flow of listing data, saved searches, CRM data, and more to drive innovation instead of proprietary lock-in.

For example, as I wrote about recently, FBS has released Flexmls for iPhone, built on the Spark API, which allows for transportability of saved searches, CRM, and portal information, in addition to listings. Without these types of standardization efforts, the rule and data disparity among MLSs could very well result in ruin or death of the MLS but, if that’s the case, the result will be less broker control, not more, as the advertising portals or other resulting monopoly or oligopoly will create the rules to benefit their interests and not those of the brokers.

The path for MLSs should be clear: Stay focused on creating and enforcing rules to support cooperation among your brokers but also work toward standards whenever possible. This balanced approach creates a limitless future of innovation and cooperation that is the very definition of life, not death, for the MLS.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/zillow-mls-isnt-coming-soon/ Sat, 14 Jun 2014 19:49:52 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=942 Continued]]>

Zillow is great at creating buzz, there’s no doubt about that, and their new “coming soon” feature is the latest. Others have written pretty extensively about this already, and I wrote about it indirectly over seven years ago (wow, how time flies).

Here’s my short take:

• Zillow is an advertising site;
• Brokers are competitors seeking to differentiate their offerings;
• MLS requires cooperation and critical mass;
• Advertising fosters competition more than cooperation;
• Without cooperation at critical mass, Zillow or any other advertising portal is not an MLS.

Without a doubt, Zillow could be an MLS and MLSs could cease to exist. Market forces to date, however, indicate that’s not likely.

If broker competitors were going to cooperate en masse with a portal, why hasn’t it happened yet with all the opportunities presented? Zillow long ago abandoned its mission to disintermediate brokers and agents as the market also made it clear that brokers and agents add value. Enough value, apparently, that Zillow and Trulia can be valued in the billions of dollars on the basis of revenue from brokers and agents. Those same market forces and competition will result in brokers doing their own thing, with the result being a lack of critical mass anywhere — except the MLS.

As I wrote seven years ago:

The representative decision-making process of the MLS is what allows for the broad cooperation necessary to create critical mass in terms of data sharing. Without this, I believe we’ll simply have a mishmash of data strewn here and there, with no possibility of a national repository or any other useful portal. The MLS embraces the duality of competition and cooperation, and strikes a limited balance that enables critical mass to be established. This feat should not be underestimated.

Everyone knows the data quality on the portals remains abysmal and I don’t see quality data coming soon or ever given the competitive nature of brokers.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/flexmls-for-iphone-v1-0-4-talking-back-to-your-mls/ Thu, 12 Jun 2014 19:50:40 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=945 Continued]]>

Apple has been reviewing and approving new versions faster than usual, so I’m pleased to report that Flexmls for iPhone version 1.0.4 is available for download. This new version includes the ability to start a listing search using the quick launch, which I wrote about a few days ago.

That post featured a video showing how you can talk back to your MLS system using the new quick launch listing search. I shot the video using our new Mobile Web system, which we’re aiming to release later this month. Now that Flexmls for iPhone includes this new feature ahead of our Mobile Web release, I should note that iOS allows for more dictation choices with the web text box control than it does in the native application text box. I guess the reason is Apple figures punctuation is only needed in bigger text areas like emails and so doesn’t anticipate needing punctuation or special symbols like the equals sign (=) in the smaller text box. Anyway, typing in the box works great and you can still experiment with the voice input.

Let us know what you think! The release also includes a number of bug fixes, so please download the new version as soon as you can.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/flexmls-quick-launch-or-how-you-can-talk-back-to-your-mls-system/ Mon, 09 Jun 2014 19:57:22 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=949 Continued]]>

On June 12, FBS will be releasing a new feature for its Quick Launch function that allows you to start an MLS search by typing search terms in the Quick Launch box. Here are a few examples:

 After we release this new feature to Flexmls Web, we’ll next be including it in our new Flexmls Mobile Web system to be released at the end of June. We also expect to have it in Flexmls for iPhone soon as well.

One of the cool aspects of the Quick Launch is that it works pretty well with the voice input option on your phone (or desktop, if you have

a mic set up). Here’s a video of me trying it out on the upcoming version of Flexmls Mobile Web. As you’ll see, using the voice dictation requires some experimentation to see what works and what doesn’t, but I hope it turns out to be a useful way to start a search.

One of the nice features of the Quick Launch is that you can specify a search template by name so you get launched into the appropriate search where you can add other more sophisticated criteria that might be hard to dictate or type in natural language. In this way, we’ve tried to combine both a bit of natural language processing with a more traditional form search, so you can get started quickly and advance from there.

In addition to starting a search, you can use Quick Launch to look up other content in the MLS system such as an MLS #, address, contact, another MLS member, or saved search. With all this content readily available in one spot on all of our platforms, I look forward to hearing all of our users talking back to the MLS system soon!

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/my-active-listings-please-flexmls-for-iphone-1-0-3-2/ Sun, 01 Jun 2014 02:57:34 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=4136 Continued]]>

You should now see Flexmls for iPhone 1.0.3 available in the iTunes App Store on your phone. Apple approved our latest feature faster than expected; they’ve been taking about a week but may be moving faster ahead of their conference next week. Anyway, this latest version has one of the most requested features from the early feedback, which was to limit the My Listings function to just active listings. This release also includes a number of bug fixes. We appreciate your continued feedback so we can keep improving the app!

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/flexmls-for-iphone-version-1-0-2/ Wed, 28 May 2014 20:07:57 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=958 Continued]]>

A new version of Flexmls for iPhone is available in the iTunes App Store. Since we released the app two weeks ago, we’ve received a lot of great feedback as well as reports of some bugs and requests for additional features. This latest release is focused on fixing the bugs reported in the first week as well as color coding listings on the map by status and adding contacts to the quick launch.

The most requested features so far have been the addition of a hot sheet, tour of homes report, filtering My Listings to just active, links to 3rd party applications such as showing systems and public records, and a link to Google or Apple maps for driving directions.

We plan to submit another update to Apple tomorrow with the My Listings filter and some additional bug fixes. Apple seems to be taking about a week to review and approve applications, so look for another new version next week.

After that, we’ll be working on adding a hot sheet and some of the other features, which likely will take several weeks and so we won’t have an update until later in June. The next major new release likely will be later in July or August when we’re aiming to add customer portal access.

Please keep an eye out for new updates and use the feedback feature in the app to let us know what you like and what needs improvement.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/show-me-the-data-standards-a-flexmls-for-iphone-story-2/ Tue, 27 May 2014 19:49:24 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=4091 Continued]]>

When we announced the Spark Platform, I explained how we hoped it would incentivize data standardization:

Importantly, the Spark Platform is as much a process as it is a product. Though both FBS and the participating MLS organizations will be working together to map the existing data to the RESO data standards, the reality is that not all fields will map to the dictionary right away. However, the idea here is to create an ecosystem driven by mutual incentives to create more standardized data over time.

For example, mobile development is the biggest frontier for real estate technology today, and the Spark API is designed specifically to make mobile development easier. As more developers use the API, more standard data will be needed, and the brokers and MLSs in each local MLS will now have a direct incentive to provide that standard data to get new mobile products for their MLS members.

A recent example of this process involved showing instructions and lockbox information. In gathering user input about the most important fields agents need to see on a mobile device, showing instructions and lockbox info came up at the top of the suggestion list. The problem is that our customers track showing instructions and lockbox information in a wide variety of ways, making it hard to implement the data into a standard user interface across all of our 120+ MLS customers.

To address this problem in anticipation of the recent release of Flexmls for iPhone, we asked our MLS customers participating in our Summit last February to map their showing and lock box fields to the RESO dictionary standard for those fields. We then took those mappings and entered them into the Spark Data Mapper so they could be made available through the Spark API in a standard way.

With the data mapped to the standard fields, we were able to program Flexmls for iPhone to show the showing instructions conveniently from the “view” or “eye” icon on the action bar, which we’ve designed to appear on the list, gallery, and detail views so agents can get at the showing instructions conveniently and consistently.

This a simple example of how I see data standards being implemented over time based upon real-world use cases that deliver value immediately to end users.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/using-flexmls-to-give-brokers-control-to-publish-listings-to-portals-aka-syndication-2/ Wed, 21 May 2014 19:05:39 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=4050 Continued]]>

Earlier this week, Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman published a post titled Real Estate Brokers Can Coexist With National Portals by Changing the Way We Share Data. In that post, Kelman outlines several ways in which syndication of listing data can be improved. As has been advocated many times here on the FBS Blog, Kelman also asserts that brokers should “work together” and that they “have a framework in the MLSs” for fostering that cooperation.

Preceding this advice, our customer the Arizona Regional MLS has begun using the listing export functions in Flexmls to help brokers syndicate listings to selected sites. As ARMLS stated in announcing a new syndication option to Trulia:

As with any business decision, brokers must weigh the pros and cons of sending their listings to each destination. If the benefits of sending their listings to a publisher outweigh concerns they have, they will send the listings. If their concerns are too great, we would suggest the broker voice those concerns to the publisher, and if not satisfied with the outcome cease to send their listings there.

Providing brokers syndication options has been possible through Flexmls for a few years and we’re excited to see MLSs like ARMLS putting that functionality to use. FBS soon will be publishing a guide on how MLSs can set up these options within Flexmls and we’ll be conducting some webinars as well, so stay tuned.

P.S. For our MLS customers wanting to get a jump start, you can add export options under Admin/General/Listing Export. Just add a new syndication option and specify “opt out,” which will add this destination to the Export tab in Listing Maintenance, give brokers an option under their Preferences to control syndication to that destination, and add a special feed type to your RETS Manager which you can use to control the feed to the destination. Again, we’ll be publishing a guide detailing how this works soon, so stay tuned.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/flexmls-for-iphone-and-why-data-standards-matter-to-the-future-of-mls-and-their-relationship-with-brokers-and-agents/ Wed, 14 May 2014 20:22:12 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=968 Continued]]>

I’m excited to announce the availability of Flexmls for iPhone in the iTunes app store. This new app focuses on bringing the Flexmls listing search to the iPhone for our customers. Search is the foundation of the MLS experience and we’ve worked hard to bring a full-featured and easy-to-use search experience to our users with this new application. We hope they find it valuable.

Even though this application is only available to Flexmls users, I believe the application also has importance for the MLS industry as a whole, because it does something that, in retrospect, will become expected or commonplace but today is not. Prior to this app (and, more importantly, the API that supports it), creating a search on an MLS system meant that search was, for all practical purposes, locked in the proprietary silo of the MLS system. The search couldn’t be accessed or used by any other system.

With this new app, however, an agent can start a search in the office, save it, and then get in the car and have that same search available to them on their iPhone. When they meet up with their customer, they can make changes to the search, recommend listings to their client portal, and all those changes will be available on Flexmls Web when they return to the office. This data portability is possible because of the Spark API, which powers Flexmls for iPhone.

What’s more important, however, is that not only does the Spark API power FBS’s new apps, we’re making the API available so developers working for brokers, agents, or the MLS can access the data as well. To understand why this is important, consider daily interactions of consumers with your web sites and how they create searches and accounts (with favorites, comments, and other data they enter) that are proprietary to those systems. Imagine instead if that customer data could flow from the franchise site to the broker or agent site and into the MLS system for auto email updates with no duplication of entry and a consistent user identity across all systems?

Another time the historically proprietary nature of user data rears its ugly head is if your MLS ever decides to change vendors, when everyone typically is required to start over and re-enter all their saved searches for all their customers. With Flexmls and the Spark API, FBS’s MLS, broker, and agent customers have access to their saved searches and related customer account information in a well-documented and ready-to-consume API. Of course, this makes it easier for our customers to switch to one of our competitors but we believe some things are more important than protecting our competitive position. You own your data and you need to be able to access and make use out of it, and that’s our fundamental goal with the Spark API: Putting you in charge.

This is a watershed moment in our industry. Gone are the days of your data being locked away in MLS or other proprietary systems. I’m hopeful this leads the way toward empowering brokers, agents, and MLSs to work together in new and exciting ways. For example, I think of the very real and dire warnings issued by The Real Estate Alliance at the CMLS conference last fall and I think the Spark API provides an example of how APIs can form the foundation for MLSs to cooperate with and provide enormous value to brokers and their developers, which value ultimately can help empower consumers and make their home buying and selling process more efficient.

Such a vision of cooperation is why data standards are so incredibly important to the future of the MLS industry and why FBS has long supported the Real Estate Standards Organization. Important RESO efforts such as the RESO Data Dictionary are critical to efforts like the transportability of saved searches and client data. At FBS, we’ve already used the dictionary for many of the fields available through the Spark API and we’ll continue to work with our customers to map more and more fields to the dictionary as we move forward.

Importantly, even though we’re out ahead of the industry with some of these user-focused APIs, we’re committed to working with RESO as it develops APIs for saved searches and other user data in the future and, once published, we’ll be sure to offer RESO-compliant API methods as well. Getting saved searches to synch across systems is no trivial matter and requires work and cooperation among all involved. We’re excited to be as far as we are by releasing Flexmls for iPhone now and we look forward to working with the industry to make user data just that, data owned and controlled by the users, namely the brokers, agents, and MLSs.

P.S. We also are working hard on an Android version and we’re bringing the same look and feel of the Flexmls for iPhone app to our Mobile Web application. Look for the new Mobile Web application in June and the Android version later in the summer. We also have plans for tablet specific versions by the end of the year.

P.P.S. I want to thank our entire team at FBS for all the work that has gone into this project. First and foremost, our Lead Designer, Travis Wright, designed the app and shepherded it through the development process with a great attention to detail that I know will show through. I also want to give a big shout-out to Troy Davisson and Geoff Saulmon, who have put an incredible effort into the saved search synch process, and to our entire API team (Brandon, James, Joshua, Wade). This is an on-going effort I’m convinced will be well worth it. Last but certainly not least, thanks to Bill, Randall, and Brandon over at Simply Made Apps for helping our team get this project rolling.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/capturing-our-essence/ Mon, 14 Apr 2014 20:25:01 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=971 Continued]]>

[E]ssence is the attribute or set of attributes that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it loses its identity. Wikipedia.

During our Summit in February, Kim Prior, our VP of Marketing and Business Development, worked with a video firm called Elevendy to videotape interviews of FBS customers and employees. Both Kim and Elevendy did a masterful job of letting the essence of our customers and employee-owners shine through.

As mentioned, the interviews for both videos were conducted during our recent Summit in San Diego. The first video is an overview of FBS, primarily with interviews of FBS employees but also with a few customer comments. The second video is a set of customer interviews.

There are many great quotes throughout the videos, but perhaps my favorite comes from Gregg Belli from MetroMLS in Milwaukee, who says, “I’d hate to work with [a company] that was not employee-owned at this point.” Creating this win-win between our customers and employee-owners is who we are and I’m excited to share that with you through these videos.

I want to thank all our customers and FBS employees who participated in the process. I really appreciate your willingness to share your views about FBS.

https://vimeo.com/90674353

FBS – Everything is Personal from Kim Prior on Vimeo.

https://vimeo.com/90674354

FBS Client Testimonials from Kim Prior on Vimeo.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/heartbleed-just-another-reason-to-enable-two-step-verification/ Thu, 10 Apr 2014 20:40:31 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=974 Continued]]> You may have heard in the press about a vulnerability in OpenSSL called Heartbleed. OpenSSL is software used by two-thirds of the sites on the internet to encrypt traffic for secure communications. FBS also uses OpenSSL to encrypt HTTPS transmissions to and from the Flexmls system.

FBS patched our servers on the morning that Heartbleed became public and are no longer vulnerable. To confirm the status of Flexmls and Heartbleed, visit http://filippo.io/Heartbleed/#www.flexmls.com:443.

We have no reason to believe any data was compromised. Out of an abundance of caution, we also have replaced our SSL certificates with new ones. We also strongly encourage users to change their passwords and, for members in MLSs with two-step verification enabled, please turn it on for your account by clicking on Security under the Preferences menu in Flexmls Web. Two-step verification has the dual benefit of making your account more secure and also allowing you to access Flexmls with multiple devices simultaneously.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/flexmls-makes-tracks-at-fbs-summit-2014-in-san-diego/ Mon, 24 Feb 2014 20:41:26 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=976 Continued]]>

We held our FBS Summit last week in San Diego, and some of our attendees shared pictures with us of Flexmls tracks they left in the sand on the beach.

Last week was the first time we’ve held the Summit at a location other than in Fargo, and I think everyone had a really great time. A big part of the Summit involved users providing feedback and usability testing on some new products we’re planning to release and that feedback was very helpful to make the products even better.

In addition to gathering input from customers on new features they’d like to see for Flexmls, we also held a session specifically on how we can improve the services FBS offers along with our product. We framed this session as “If I were the CEO . . .” and had each breakout group conduct a “write storm” (similar to a brain storming session, but focused on writing stuff down) to share the ideas they had with the others in their group and ultimately with FBS. Gathering input and feedback about FBS as opposed to just focusing on Flexmls was really interesting and helpful to us.

Another track for the Summit was focused on encouraging innovation at the MLS by promoting data standards. Bob Gottesman, RESO‘s Executive Director, provided an update on the progress RESO has been making lately with the data dictionary. Prior to Bob’s talk, we had Greg Robertson from WR Studios and Cloud CMA on a panel to relay how data standards benefit third-party developers and allow them to bring innovation to many MLSs more cost-effectively than they could without them.

Last but certainly not least, we also helped the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Diego make some tracks by building and donating ten bikes (five boys and five girls) to kids they identified as being leaders in their groups. The looks on the faces of the kids when they received their bikes was a great way to conclude our Summit in San Diego, and it made me ready for the next one.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/come-see-whats-new-at-fbs-in-san-francisco-at-nar-2/ Wed, 06 Nov 2013 19:08:45 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=3863 Continued]]> It’s an exciting time here at FBS!

As we rapidly approach NAR San Francisco this weekend, I want to invite you (specifically MLSs, Brokers and Developers) to visit our two booths to check out what’s new and what’s coming soon.

At the FBS booth, #1235:
Our flexmls sales and support team members will be present during trade show hours to demonstrate new features added to the system, inspire you with news about what’s to come and acquaint you with the rich functionality and flexibility of flexmls that lies just beneath the surface. It’s a great time to explore flexmls – if you’d like a thorough product demonstration in the privacy and comfort of our suite, please contact our VP of Sales Dave Rifkin directly at drifkin@fbsdata.com.

At the Spark Pavilion: #1239:
We have a fantastic group of new Spark Store Developers in attendance this year. They are super-energized and look forward to showing you their products via live demonstrations within the Pavilion. Developers (new and existing) will be present at kiosks during normal trade show hours. Our dynamic Spark support team will also be present to answer questions about connecting to the Spark API, adding the Spark Store to your MLS system (flex or any MLS system that you have) and, for Brokers/Franchises – how you can benefit from utilizing both the Spark API and Spark Store model at the Broker and/or Franchise level. I’ll be in San Francisco for the duration of the conference – if you’d like to meet up personally, feel free to contact me at kprior@fbsdata.com.

Safe travels to all. We look forward to seeing you in San Francisco!

-The FBS Team

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/ushering-in-the-fall-season-2/ Wed, 18 Sep 2013 23:08:11 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=3836 Continued]]> The close of Summer and start of Fall represents so many things.

The end of….
the sun dropping below the clouds after the kids should be in bed
mosquito bites, watersports, flip flops and sun baked skin (for most of us)
the perpetual hum of the AC (and the unwelcomed bills that come along with that)

At the same time, it marks the beginning of…
shorter days, homework and school activities
football football football
the Holiday season
crisp, comfortable weather that beckons us outside
comfort food

Oh yes….and then there’s CMLS, NAR and annual Budget prep.

How could I forget?!

Beyond candy apples, less sleep, nachos and wings on the weekend and sweater weather, we in the industry know that the Fall means conferences!

Here at FBS, we’re in full swing planning some cool stuff for both CMLS and NAR SF. Here’s just a bit of what you can expect.

As a proud CMLS sponsor, we’re excited to host the hotel/conference transportation in Boise and see friends (old and new at our Booth #5). We’ll have some exciting and new things to talk with you about and, can’t wait to take part in what looks to be a great agenda.

After much success last year, we’re once again hosting our Spark Pavilion (alongside our flexmls booth) at NAR in San Francisco. The Spark Pavilion will showcase a handful of innovative, new apps/products joining the Spark store in the next 30-45 days. Representatives from those companies will be at a number of kiosks within the Pavilion… demo’g products and answering questions. We’re gearing up for a great, diverse group and hope you will all come by and check it out. And while we already have a great group of app providers and developers signed up, we are always open to more. So, if by chance you have been a little relaxed in your approach to put your app in the Spark store and want the HUGE value of showcasing your product to NAR attendees in your own branded kiosk within our popular Spark Pavilion (at no cost to you), drop me a line at kprior@fbsdata.com. I’d be happy to chat with you.

The FBS team is looking forward to seeing you soon – first in Boise, then in SF. Until then, goodbye summer and hello to the distinct pleasures and activities of the Fall!
/p>

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/at-fbs-its-more-than-special-sauce-that-makes-us-goodits-the-marinade-2/ Mon, 29 Jul 2013 21:25:42 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=3799 Continued]]> All marketing executives work to best articulate what makes their products stand out amongst the competition – to find and explain the special sauce and modify that message with time, product and industry evolution.  And in a world where Brands compete for mind-share by squaring off on features, benefits and pricing repetitively – it all becomes, well, really noisy. Breaking through the noise makes this task all the more difficult for the marketer.

So, today as I’m pulling together some marketing copy, I’m thinking about what makes our products stand out from the competition, I am reminded about my longstanding admiration for FBS (and a reason I was compelled to join when the right opportunity presented itself this year), beyond their proven technical product leadership. Superficially, this may sound like a shameless plug about how cool we are …but I implore you to follow me through. I promise, it won’t be a long one.

Here at FBS, the distance from the competition ends with a phenomenal product stacked with awesome bells and whistles …but it begins with something on a deeper level. And that’s our hyper – personal approach to business.

What makes it personal? FBS is 100% employee owned; that means that every single employee has personal skin in the game. People here are (really) vested in the outcome: long-term, increasing customer success and happiness. Employees innovate and develop products, deliver service and scale business with a personal mindset of creating growth and helping customers achieve greatness. This is a proactive, thoughtful, intentional way to do business. Sitting still to enjoy a few moments of success (and allowing the competition to catch up) simply isn’t an option when you are an owner. And when everyone is an owner, well, there’s just no sitting around.

FBS’s personal approach to products means more than fostering uniquely personal relationships with our customers – it means delivering products that empower our customers to create unique, personalized experiences for their customers – enabling them (through tools and functionality) greater client collaboration. Simply stated, we infuse our personal approach into our products at the baseline level and carry that all the way through. For potential (and existing) FBS customers, this is really important…perhaps more important than any single feature that can be replicated with time and technology. Why? Because this personal approach yields unprecedented value and, is uniquely FBS.

In the case of flexmls, the super flexible system is powerful, innovative and industry leading. MLSs love it. Agents love it. Customers love it. Collaborative agent portals, fast, reliable performance and big photos (just to name a few) all supported by expert service are just a few of the reasons why. But the real breakaway, the real differentiation is the customization: thoughtful and plentiful options we’ve “baked in” empowering Users (MLS, Broker, Agent) to personalize the experience in the way(s) that matter most to them. Minimizing the need for laborious, time consuming custom work, flexmls yields and conforms to the customer’s needs, giving them the system that they want.

So yes, we  have our special sauce – the features, bells and whistles that make flexmls so compelling, unique and competitive. But it’s also about what can’t be replicated by competition because it’s at the heart of FBS – the secret “marinade” that subtly imparts this distinctive flavor into everything we do.

This inherent, almost radical focus on creating long-term success by making it personal is a key factor in maintaining the satisfaction of the clients we’re so grateful to serve every day. At the same time, it is the ultimate foundation for growth, stability and continued future innovation – attracting new MLS clients into the FBS family who want truly personalized, high-value relationships, products and service.

At FBS, we’ve created something truly special – and we look forward to sharing it with you!

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/announcing-ignite-sparks-total-marketing-system-2/ Tue, 09 Jul 2013 05:21:24 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=3716 Continued]]> For Immediate Release

Spark™ Platform, created by FBS, launches Ignite!: The complete marketing system for MLSs,

providing turnkey marketing and promotional solution for the Spark Store

July 8, 2013 – Fargo, ND – Spark Platform, created by FBS, announces the launch of Ignite!: A turnkey marketing system for the Spark Store that proactively addresses the need for MLS member education, promotion and engagement in a consistent and dynamic way. Created with the goal of expedited member understanding and adoption, Ignite! is free of charge to all (MLSs, vendors, members) and fully managed by Spark Platform’s marketing team.

“Ignite! is the missing link”, says Kim Prior, FBS’s VP Product Marketing and Business Development. “We’re asking real estate professionals to shift their buying habits, to do things differently and accept an integrated storefront as their go-to place for apps, tools and relevant products and services. If the goal is strong adoption, ongoing education about the process and the range of services available is absolutely necessary. The shift won’t happen passively and MLSs certainly don’t need more work to administer”, says Prior.

As a turnkey marketing system, Ignite! is all-inclusive, highlighting a different Spark Store vendor or product category each month. Monthly campaigns will include professionally written and designed promotional pieces coupled with opt-in education modules and price driven promotions/special offers that grab attention and inspire store engagement – ultimately fostering a new buying behavior/habit.

Lighting up in August, Ignite! will showcase Cloud CMA, one of the first applications in the Spark store. Cloud CMA’s Greg Robertson (also partner at W&R Studios and primary voice on the popular VendorAlley.com blog) was an early proponent of the integrated real estate storefront concept. “I believe the new Ignite! program is a perfect complement to the Spark Platform and another example of Spark’s commitment to developers. Proactively highlighting vendors and getting the word out to agents is a huge win for everyone involved”, Greg Roberston said.

About FBS:

At FBS, everything is personal, from our award-winning service to our consistently innovative products. As a 100% employee-owned company, each employee-owner is 100% focused on delivering a personal experience to each and every customer. With 30+ years of experience, serving 120+ MLS organizations (U.S. and internationally), FBS created FlexMLS® and Spark, products that are a direct reflection of FBS’s people-centered and client-empowered approach. These scalable, innovative solutions enable our broker and agent customers to engage personally with their customers, delivering the most complete, accurate, and timely real estate information available today. FBS constantly looks to the future with strong advocacy of industry data standards and radical focus on customer needs.

Media Contact: Kim Prior kprior@FBSdata.com OR 701-499-0347

Spark and FlexMLS are trademarks of FBS.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/the-freedom-to-choose-2/ Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:00:56 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=3700 Continued]]> There have been a number of blog posts published during the last two weeks concerning the CAR/dotloop situation – including Inman News coverage of both the details and then, CAR’s documented position. The basis of the dotloop/CAR argument hits some important industry values square in the nose: freedom, flexibility and choice. So, whether the topic of online forms/form vendors sets your world on fire or not, a core industry principle is being challenged right now: the freedom to choose.

Competitive markets require choices. Eliminating choice or mandating any one solution in any industry or market suppresses innovation. On the flip-side, freedom to choose lets market competition find the best solution, while inspiring innovation and ensuring that users get the very best products technology allows. Hence, freedom of choice is vital to our professional growth and our ability to add increasing value to customers. As a real estate professional, it’s a good time to let your voice be heard. Because even if the product being debated isn’t relevant to you today…it very well might be tomorrow.

As I was compelled to highlight the significance of this particular situation, I was equally inspired to express how  freedom of choice is a key driver in product development here at FBS – demonstrated so clearly with our Spark Platform. And while it may seem like a shameless plug, it’s germane to the topic. (Ok, well maybe it’s little bit of a shameless plug…)

FBS created the Spark platform specifically to inspire more innovation, choice and competition. Spark enables real estate professionals to explore and purchase products and services that are the best fit for their unique needs. No restrictions on number of vendors per category. No mandatory use of Spark’s API. No preferential treatment and no exclusivity that precludes vendors from selling their products in other real estate storefronts. The Spark platform exemplifies freedom, choice and flexibility – the same reasons so many people enter the real estate business.

We’re eager to speak with developers, MLSs and brokers who want that freedom to choose; please drop by Spark Store to learn more or, e-mail me directly at kprior@fbsdata.com.

Let’s grow and innovate – let’s Spark.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/a-new-author-on-the-fbs-blog-kim-prior/ Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:01:56 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=991 Continued]]> I’m pleased to welcome Kim Prior as a new author on the FBS Blog. For the last many years, I’ve pretty much been the lone voice for the FBS Blog, but Kim has her own voice and things to say about the MLS industry, FBS, and our products such as Flexmls and the Spark Platform. So, please welcome Kim as a second voice for the FBS Blog and look for some new posts from her soon.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/new-release-focuses-on-mobile-with-big-photos-and-new-search/ Tue, 04 Jun 2013 21:03:07 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=993 Continued]]>

Mobile is critical to delivering value to customers today, but how that is done and what exactly “mobile” entails is not always perfectly clear. For example, are tablets that deliver as high or higher a resolution than some desktops to be considered “mobile”? Or how about those super-big phones called “phablets“?

Clearly, the device and its capabilities are more important than whether we call them “mobile” or not and the key is to have software that responds to the capabilities of that particular device. For example, having location-awareness (typically through a GPS) is one of the quintessential “mobile” features of a device, but many tablets are only location aware through the browser and wifi-connectivity. On the other hand, a more common feature of mobile devices today (whether tablets or phones) is that they have touch interfaces, which, from a software perspective, is a big deal in terms of making sure the UI meets user expectations. Regardless of whether tablets are “mobile” or not, the reality is that tablets are becoming even more important than phones when it comes to accessing web sites. As a Read/Write Web article back in March noted, “for the first time tablets have surpassed smartphones for percentage of website views.”

Given this ever-changing landscape of devices and device capabilities, FBS has been targeting the capabilities of both tablets and phones to try to maximize Flexmls for all devices and two new features we released last week demonstrate that focus.

First, tablet users have long been able to use the same robust desktop search we have in Flexmls Web, but when the system was dealing with a smaller phone screen, we presented a search with fewer fields. What our customers needed, however, was a search on their phone that included every field and our release last week delivers that functionality. In addition, we added boolean logic and the ability to disable and remove fields from the search. This new design delivers all this functionality to phone-sized screens while at the same time maximizing the limited screen space on the phone. Here are some screen shots:

Our second upgrade leverage the new higher-resolution “retina” displays popularized by Apple on the new iPad and iPhones. We’re now saving and displaying retina-sized photos and we’ve added a full-screen photo slide show viewer to allow you to show off all that big-photo goodness to your customers. Set up a slide show on your tablet during an open house or listing presentation, or email your customer listings you recommend and they can view it on any device they want, whether it’s a phone, tablet, phablet, or desktop.

Going back to the Read-Write Web article, “no matter how much we harp on the notion that the mobile Web is not just the future, but also the present, the vast majority of Web traffic still comes from the legacy that is the PC.” Today, web software like Flexmls must work on every device and leverage the best capabilities of those devices and the two new features released last week continue to deliver on that promise. We have a lot more to come in the coming months, so stay tuned.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/kim-prior-to-join-fbs-as-vp-of-business-development-and-product-marketing-2/ Mon, 03 Jun 2013 16:54:56 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=3622 Continued]]> I’m very excited to announce that Kim Prior is joining FBS as Vice President of Business Development and Product Marketing. Kim will be working directly with me to create the plug-and-play eco-system of developers and MLSs we’ve envisioned with the Spark Platform.

Kim also will lead product marketing efforts for FBS’s Flexmls System. As Kim says, FBS is an incredible company with great products and services, but we’re not very good at tooting our own horn. Kim is going to help us improve on promoting both FBS and Flexmls, while keeping true to who we are as a company and the personal way in which we connect with our customers. Put simply, we want everyone to know who we are and for what we stand and Kim is going to make sure we get the message out.

Kim brings a ton of experience to FBS from her prior executive roles at OnBoard Informatics and Lyon Real Estate. Anyone who has met Kim knows she is very dynamic, straight forward, and simply gets things done. Kim shares FBS’s passion for delivering results meaningful to our customers, now and well into the future. We’re in this for the long haul and so adding doers and visionaries like Kim is critical to our success.

Kim lives in and will be working from Sacramento, CA, where she loves to spend time with her family and many adopted pets. Please join me in welcoming Kim to the FBS family.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/dreampro-new-release-and-new-price-free/ Thu, 25 Apr 2013 21:11:53 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1000 Continued]]>

DreamPro is one of the best native iPhone and iPad apps in the Spark Store and now it’s even better, both because they’ve added several new features and also because it’s now free (you can get custom branding and referral code options for $15/month).

One of my favorite features of DreamPro is the photo display and search or what I like to refer to as visual search. DreamPro indexes all the photo descriptions and captions and allows then allows you and your customer to browse through and compare the photos of kitchens, master bedrooms, pools, media room, or other key features. We all know that photos sell the house and this visual search takes it to the next level.

The visual search works best in MLSs where the agents have described and captioned photos well, but it’s definitely a cool feature when the descriptions are good and it really highlights the value of great photos for communicating the unique value of each home.

DreamPro has a lot of other cool features, including map search, full screen photo views, and their innovative DreamScore feature for comparing homes based on your customer’s preferences. These are all reasons to download it to your iPad or iPhone today. Did I mention that it’s free?

Update: DreamPro is hosting a webinar on May 1 at 11 a.m. Pacific time. Click here to register.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/contactually-raises-1-million-seed-round/ Sat, 16 Mar 2013 21:26:23 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1015 One of the first apps in the Spark Store, Contactually, is reported in TechCrunch today as having raised a $1 million seed round of investment to grow their company. Congratulations to Tony and everyone at Contactually!

Everyone who has access to the Spark Store in Flexmls definitely should check out the free trial of Contactually (login required)!

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/android-and-java-spark-api-clients-now-available-on-github-2/ Fri, 15 Mar 2013 16:08:26 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=3592 We’re pleased to announce the addition of Android and Java clients for the Spark API, both available on the Spark API repository on Github. The Android and Java client are in addition to the iOS, Ruby, and PHP clients that were already available.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/a-stand-alone-mls-store-is-like-itunes-without-an-ipod-or-iphone/ Wed, 13 Mar 2013 21:23:18 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1009 Continued]]> Greg Robertson has a good post up on Vendor Alley comparing the Spark Store to the Clareity Store. Go check it out.

I agree with Greg that stores like the Spark Store and the Clareity Store are not going to dramatically improve the sale of real estate software, rather it will remain a belly-to-belly business. One area where I’d depart from Greg’s post is in his comment that there is room for a stand-alone store in the MLS industry. To be frank, an MLS store, by itself, simply adds additional cost (i.e., a middleman) to an already too complex and costly sales process. If you’re an MLS or developer, why inject that extra cost of a middleman into the sales process when it really isn’t going to significantly improve the process? Greg offers a a couple of good ideas for how stores may help developers with inside and outside sales (and those are good ideas we’ll definitely be exploring) but, in the end, a stand-alone store is just a middleman and not the long-term solution MLSs or developers need.

As Greg points out in his comparison, the additional cost from the Clareity Store is significant with a startup fee of $250 per MLS (Amy Geddes from Clareity contacted me after this post to let me know that the fee is not per MLS store) per application (I’m not sure if it’s per application or per developer) plus 30% fee on sales (or, for subscriptions, 100% of the first 3 months and 10% thereafter). Given that a store isn’t likely to substantially change the sales process, 30% (let alone 100% of the first 3 months) is a lot of extra cost. Moreover, though the $250 startup fee per MLS per application may seem nominal for access to a large MLS, it’s a significant barrier for the overwhelming majority of the 800 MLSs out there currently.

For example, W&R Studios already has both Cloud CMA and Nudge (in conjunction with 1000Watt) in the Spark Store, which has been launched to over 50 MLSs and 30,000 members. If FBS had that same $250 per application per MLS fee, W&R Studios would have had to pay $25,000 just to get into the Store before even one sale occurred. $25,000 isn’t chump change for any developer and we’re only talking about 50 MLSs. Once you get nationwide coverage, the startup fees would be $200,000 per application. I’m pretty confident W&R wouldn’t have put their applications in the Spark Store if they had to pay such fees.

The differences in the fee structures between the Spark Platform and the Clareity Store reveal a profound difference in the intended goals of the two approaches. The Clareity Store is trying to preserve the status quo. In contrast, the Spark Platform is trying to create an eco-system for long-term innovation by helping MLSs implement the RESO data dictionary, which will expand the products and services to all MLSs, not just the super-large ones that already have the attention of developers.

As the title of this post states, a stand-alone MLS store is like iTunes without an iPod or iPhone or the Android Market without Android. Having one without the other simply adds a middleman and doesn’t create an eco-system for innovation. One response to this analogy will be that the MLS system itself is the iPod or iPhone and, therefore, the platform, but that’s exactly the problem, we need implementation of standards to make that true, which is exactly the point of the Spark API. The Spark API and Spark Store together constitute the Spark Platform, which offers MLSs a means of implementing the RESO data dictionary and gaining access to products leveraging those standards, a true platform for more choice, more competition, and more innovation.

In conclusion, implementing a stand-alone store adds cost to both MLSs and developers without adding value for MLS members, who can already fill out a form on the vendor’s web site to purchase their product. If you’re a developer and wondering whether or not you should participate in a store, be sure to compare the fees and know that sales from MLS stores are still hard work and no guarantee of success. If you’re an MLS looking to implement a store, know that the store itself is not going to generate significant revenue in the short-term (if ever) and instead ask what are your long-term objectives. If you’re an MLS interested in long-term innovation and adoption and implementation of data standards to ensure your members are constantly on top of technological change, contact us about the Spark Platform.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/new-feature-friday-the-gumshoe-automatic-escalation-feature-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/new-feature-friday-the-gumshoe-automatic-escalation-feature-2/#comments Fri, 08 Mar 2013 23:16:28 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=3576 Continued]]> I’m starting a new series of posts that I’m hoping will occur at least one Friday a month, where I’ll be highlighting new features for Flexmls Web. Historically, I’ve tried to avoid that because the FBS Blog mostly has focused on industry-level discussions but I’m hopeful a post a month won’t be overkill or alienate too many readers here just for the industry-level goodness. So, if you’re not a Flexmls user, just ignore the New Feature Friday posts, and check in with us on other days. For those of you using Flexmls, please read on!

Gumshoe Detective Report

For a few years now, we’ve had a report in the administrative module of Flexmls called the Gumshoe Detective Report. The purpose of this report is to flag users who may have had their login compromised or exposed to someone not entitled to use it. We pour all sorts of metrics into an algorithm that ranks logins by probability of compromise and confidence level in that probability. The report then provides the MLS with all sorts of details regarding activity on that account, such as:

Login from San Diego, California, United States on 2013-02-27 15:34:02 was 7407 miles from the login from Makati, Manila, Philippines on 2013-02-27 19:08:52. That means [user] would have had to travel at 2,068 MPH for this to be possible.

These reports have been very helpful to MLS administrators to ensure login security, but we wanted to take it a step further and automate the follow-up and follow-through process on the reports.

Gumshoe Automatic Escalation

The automatic escalation feature improves the Gumshoe Report by allowing MLS administrators to set a variety of parameters for when to send users an email alert about the possibility their login has been compromised. After the user has been notified a specified number of times with no action, the MLS can then be notified to take further action or the system also can be set to automatically disable the compromised account after a specified number of warnings have been sent.

If you’re an MLS administrator using Flexmls and you’d like to learn more about this feature, you should be getting an email in the next day or two about a webinar Melissa will be doing on this and some other new admin features. If you don’t get the email and would like to attend the webinar, comment below and I’ll send you the link.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/new-feature-friday-the-gumshoe-automatic-escalation-feature-2/feed/ 1 https://wearefbs.com/blog/russell-shaw-rips-into-zillow-and-the-limits-of-the-agent-revenue-model-2/ Wed, 06 Mar 2013 23:00:48 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=3568 Continued]]> Russell Shaw (a top producing broker in Phoenix) spends over $800,000 a year on promotion and so he knows the value of what he’s buying. Several years ago, we saw Move (Realtor.com) struggling to sustain revenue growth and Russell tore into them for their “change in business model.” Now we have Zillow running hard to sustain revenue growth, and Russell is taking them to task as well with a new site called ZillowRipsOffAgents.com.

As I wrote a week or so ago, the stock market clearly thinks Zillow and Trulia can keep up their revenue growth for some time, but Russell’s complaints and others like it are at least anecdotal evidence that we’re not seeing a new model but rather a rehashing of an old story that’s already played its way out for Move and may just be playing itself out again for Zillow and Trulia.

Update: Teresa Boardman has a hilarious post all about this same topic.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/the-mls-value-disconnect-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/the-mls-value-disconnect-2/#comments Sun, 24 Feb 2013 02:43:33 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=3559 Continued]]> Zillow is valued at around $1.4 billion, Trulia at $700 million, and Move at $380 million, all of which, when added together, seems to dwarf the perceived value of the nationwide network of MLSs. For example, a few years ago, ARMLS, one of the largest MLSs in the country with 30,000 members (and an FBS customer), was considering selling to the Arizona Association of REALTORS for $4.75 million (in what likely was not a market or competitive sale price). In this post, I want to examine this perceived difference in value.

Of course, the primary content on all of these sites is real estate listings and MLSs have the most and best. Nonetheless, Zillow recently reported something like 70%+ revenue growth based on 29,000 Premium Agent Subscribers at an average revenue of $267 per agent per month. More importantly, based on the strong stock performance of Zillow and Trulia, the market clearly thinks they are in the early growth curve and will continue to grow revenue from agents and brokers. In the words of Rob Hahn, Zillow is killing it.

In contrast, MLS providers typically charge that amount per year, and, if anything, the pressure is to constantly lower that charge instead of increase it. In this post, I’d like to delve into some of the differences in the perceived value propositions between the MLS and sites like ZTR. I also will suggest toward the end that MLSs can and should shift their mindset regarding the value being offered to compete better against the ZTR juggernaut. (There’s a lot more value in MLS than anyone currently is realizing, but that value may disappear if it isn’t realized.)

One of the primary reasons for the different pricing or value propositions simply is scale. The MLS essentially serves all the agents in a given market, whereas ZTR is only serving a small fraction (approximately 3% or 30k/1M) of the membership in any given market. Many members of the MLS are essentially consumers and never actually have any transactions or only have a few per year, and so they have no need for marketing or other tools or software and little or no tolerance for extra fees.

Given the lack of transaction volume for most MLS members, typical penetration rates for non-MLS products are often less than 10% of the users whereas MLS services are paid for and extended to the entire membership or 100% of the market. Again, that higher volume means a lower price and lower tolerance for price increases. This can easily be confirmed by anyone who has ever negotiated an MLS-wide site license for a product. Whereas a typical CMA program may cost $30 per month when sold one by one, an MLS-wide site license may be able to be procured for $1 or less per member per month because of the lower sales costs and 100% penetration.

No matter how you slice it, a significant amount of the difference in price or value proposition between the MLS and ZTR products is volume, which the MLS has and ZTR does not. In fact, if the traditional pattern holds true (low penetration rates from individual agent or broker sales), Zillow and Trulia likely won’t be able to sustain their current growth rates and will settle into more of a revenue pattern like Move’s current pattern (though their revenue models are quite different).

However, if the market is right and Zillow and Trulia are able to sustain their growth rates, that means there remains another explanation for the different value proposition. Certainly the success Zillow, Trulia, and Move have had in achieving consumer attention and traffic is a significant difference in value. Agents and brokers need to connect with consumers and these sites help them do that. Of course, many MLSs also have public facing sites but that hasn’t seemed to stem the tide of traffic to ZTR, especially on mobile devices.

Does the consumer connection explain the difference in value entirely? Put differently, does the value difference suggest that brokers and MLSs should be working together to develop a stronger brand for MLS data? After all, the content at the center of all of these sites remains listings and the MLS remains the best source for listing data. Of course, the long-debated question is whether dominance by a ZT or R with consumers ultimately will result in a shift from MLSs to those sites regarding who is the source of listings. If ZT or R becomes the central hub for a critical mass of agents and brokers, why pay the MLS at all? The challenge to date has been that no entity other than the MLS has achieved that critical mass or deep penetration in any given market, and so the question looms.

Of course, another looming fact is that most MLSs are not run as for-profit businesses, and, as Greg Swann long ago argued, that’s what holds them back from realizing their true value. On the other hand, given that no other entities have managed to achieve critical mass in helping agents and brokers cooperate, perhaps the lack of a profit motive is the missing ingredient. Certainly what remains to be seen is whether a for profit entity can achieve critical mass of cooperation.

Given this on-going disparity and debate, I think it remains vital that MLSs continue to explore ways to collaborate with brokers to win the battle for the consumer. Too much value is at stake. I also humbly and selfishly suggest that innovations like the Spark Platform, and, more specifically, the Spark API provide the backbone for quickly and inexpensively building a compelling consumer experience on the web and mobile.

—-
P.S. I wrote this on a flight to Mexico for a week of vacation with my family, so I won’t be able to approve or reply to comments until I return. Those who have commented before will be auto-approved, so I hope you comment and I’ll join the discussion when I return.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/the-mls-value-disconnect-2/feed/ 5 https://wearefbs.com/blog/zillow-partners-with-google-game-over-for-who-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/zillow-partners-with-google-game-over-for-who-2/#comments Thu, 14 Feb 2013 22:31:12 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=3554 Continued]]> Zillow has made a ton of news lately, and seen it’s stock price soar to a $1.4 billion valuation as a result. The string of announcements was capped off yesterday with news of a partnership with Google to power Google Now, a search tool for mobile devices.

The Google partnership and a new partnership with HGTV prompted Zillow’s CEO, Spencer Rascoff, to tweet yesterday:

So to recap, if listings aren’t on @zillow, they’re not on Zillow.com, Zmobile, Yahoo, Hotpads, HGTV or Android (Google Now)

— Spencer Rascoff (@spencerrascoff) February 14, 2013

The same announcement prompted Robert Drummer from iMapp to tweet:

Game over for Realtor.com. Zillow will power real estate in Google Now. techcrunch.com/2013/02/13/goo… Congrats to @spencerrascoff & co

— Robert Drummer (@rqd) February 14, 2013

Jim Duncan, a well-known real estate blogger in Virginia, said the announcement huge:

“@zillow: (NEW) Zillow Powering Real Estate Information for Google Now Search. zlw.re/6019nJhc #Android #RealEstate #Mobile” [HUGE.]

— Jim Duncan (@JimDuncan) February 13, 2013

He then follows that up with a great question in a blog post today:

We’re not to the point where zestimates replace market analyses – there are so many unzillowables that can’t be quantified by an algorithm – view, smells, neighbors, proximity to work, stuff, groceries, etc but the question that marginal real estate agents need to be asking themselves (that great ones have been asking themselves for years) is this:

Why should my client trust me more than Google/Zillow?

(my answer to this question coming next week)

Perhaps a better question is whether an agent or broker will ever be found or heard with all the noise and popularity of Zillow. Or, as Spencer Rascoff says, as a practical matter, will every broker and agent need to be on Zillow or, as Jim says, will Zillow simply become the de facto standard simply by ubiquity? I think these are very real possibilities and, as an MLS software vendor, I wonder if this is yet another version of the story we’ve all seen before about the Death of the MLS, which started this blog nearly six years ago?

I didn’t think so back then but the success of Zillow in building a juggernaut that is changing our industry is undeniable. The only question is how far and successful will they be, and will MLSs, brokers, and agents find themselves in the no-win position of having to partner with Zillow to not be marginalized?

What do you think? Same story different day, or is this something new?

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/zillow-partners-with-google-game-over-for-who-2/feed/ 3 https://wearefbs.com/blog/developers-check-out-the-new-ios-client-for-the-spark-api/ Thu, 31 Jan 2013 21:38:59 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1021 Continued]]> We’re excited announce the availability of SparkiOS, which is an open-source Objective-C implementation for the Spark API. You can check out the code and documentation on Github. Here’s a quick description from the repository:

The SparkAPI object is designed as a standalone Objective-C interface for use with the Spark API. It implements Spark authentication via the Hybrid or OpenID methods. API calls per HTTP method provide a high-level Spark API interface and return a JSON results array on success while handling errors like session expiration for the client.

This project includes an example iPad and iPhone app that makes use of SparkAPI object to authenticate via Hybrid or OpenID methods, search listings, view listings, view an individual listing with photos and standard fields, and view a user account. View app screenshots for iPad and iPhone.

Also, don’t forget, we also have clients written in Ruby and PHP for you Rails and PHP developers. We also expect to have an Android client available shortly, so stay tuned.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/awesome-competitors/ Mon, 28 Jan 2013 21:45:42 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1023 Continued]]> Competition is fierce in the MLS software business. We’re constantly waging battles for new customers, new features, and improved service and market share. Yet, I’m proud and happy to say that our relationships with our competitors sometimes transcend business, as it did for me just recently with the passing of my father.

In addition to numerous condolences from friends, family, and customers, I’ve been contacted by many others in the industry with kind words in remembrance of my dad. While being cognizant and thankful for all the kind thoughts and prayers coming our way, two stand out for me from the many because they come from two of our competitors, Rapattoni and Solid Earth.

Andy and Niki Rapattoni were two of the earliest to send their condolences, with individual messages from each. Matt and Bill Fowler from Solid Earth also reached out by email and sent a card that I received today. The card was signed with personal notes from Matt, Bill, Kayla, and Lauren, all from Solid Earth. These aren’t just competitors, they’re class acts. Sometimes competition is less important than recognizing the people involved, and I’m incredibly touched by their kindness.

I’m proud to compete against these companies and to call them friends.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/paul-wurzer-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/paul-wurzer-2/#comments Thu, 17 Jan 2013 14:51:20 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=3495 Continued]]> The founder of FBS and my father, Paul Wurzer, passed away last night. He was suffering from the lingering effects of a brain injury sustained in a fall he took in his home two years ago. I’m grateful he’s now free of that suffering.

Paul started his technology career in the 60s, building on-line transaction processing systems for savings and loans. He loved technology and was one of the gutsiest entrepreneurs I’ll ever know. He started FBS in the late 70s and led it through several huge shifts in technology over the next 30 years. Perhaps his best legacy is having sold the company to all of us employees in 2005, because we now have the chance to keep his dreams alive.

I’ll miss him, certainly, but he really is free now and that makes me happy. Rest in peace, Dad.

Love,
Mike

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/paul-wurzer-2/feed/ 21 https://wearefbs.com/blog/fbs-hires-matt-epstein-as-senior-account-manager/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/fbs-hires-matt-epstein-as-senior-account-manager/#comments Mon, 03 Dec 2012 21:41:43 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=3438 Continued]]>  

It’s exciting times at FBS and we are happy to announce Matt Epstein has joined our MLS sales team. Matt brings tremendous sales experience to FBS. His knowledge of the MLS Industry while being an MLS software sales representative and a REALTOR in Southern California made our decision even easier.

Matt will be working closely with Troy Feeken and Dave Rifkin to ensure FBS’s continued growth with Flexmls Web. We are looking forward to Matt’s enthusiasm and experience as we head in to the new year.

Matt currently lives in Camarillo, CA where he enjoys surfing, and spending time with his family. Matt will be working from his home office. He can be reached at mepstein at fbsdata dot com and 805-444-6422. Please join me in welcoming Matt to the FBS family!

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/fbs-hires-matt-epstein-as-senior-account-manager/feed/ 2 https://wearefbs.com/blog/going-to-orlando-for-nar-come-meet-some-cool-developers-at-the-spark-pavilion-and-join-us-at-the-spark-bar/ Wed, 07 Nov 2012 21:52:02 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1030 Continued]]>

We’re closing in on the launch of the Spark Platform and so I want to introduce some of the charter developers who have been implementing the Spark API.

Over the next few days, I’ll be publishing separate posts with details about each one of the developers and their products, but I wanted to start out this series of posts with a general introduction along with an invitation.

For those of you going to Orlando for the NAR convention, please come meet these developers (as well as FBS’s VP of Development, Greg Kilwein, and our API Team Lead, Joshua Murray) at our Spark Pavilion in booth number 511 on the trade show floor. You can find more information about the trade show here.

Also, if you’re interested in chatting with these guys or the FBS team over some food and drinks, stop by our Spark Bar party, which is at our suite at the Rosen Center from 5-7 p.m. on Saturday. (If you’d like to come and haven’t already received an invitation, please send me an email (mwurzer at gmail dot com) and I’ll forward you the suite number.)

With those invitations extended, let me briefly introduce each of the developers. First, likely needing little introduction is WR Studios, which has produced Cloud CMA and Nudge (the latter in collaboration with 1000Watt). We also have some cool native applications from DreamCommerce and REcake. On the mobile web application front, we have HomeFlare from RealtyPro Technologies. Enhancing listing content, we’re working with Welcommemat to bring their excellent video tools to the Spark Platform. Saving one of the best for last, Contactually is offering integration with the Spark API contacts service for their very cool social CRM system.

We’re very excited to be working with all of these developers and look forward to seeing you in Orlando!

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/regional-mls-selects-flexmls-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/regional-mls-selects-flexmls-2/#comments Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:01:36 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=3387 Continued]]> We’re very excited to announce the signing of a long-term contract for Flexmls with Regional MLS Inc., which serves 11,000 subscribers from the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches (RAPB), Jupiter Tequeste Hobe Sound Association of Realtors (JTHS), and Realtor Association of St. Lucie (RASL).

In announcing the change to members, Regional MLS emphasized the mobile, client portal, reporting, and unlimited high-res photo features of Flexmls, as well as the ever-critical ability for Flexmls to be accessed from browsers on Macs, iOS, Android, and PC devices. Also important to the Regional MLS’s decision-making process was FBS’s vision for implementing plug-and-play MLS and encouraging innovation and industry standards for MLS with the Spark Platform.

On a personal note, I’m particularly excited about this new account because it reunites us with Regional MLS CEO Wes Wiggins and Brian Case, with whom we worked when they were at the Tucson Association of REALTORS, and also CEO of RAPB, Carol Van Gorp, with whom we worked when she was at the Columbia Board of REALTORS. Growing our business is great but growing it with people you like and respect enormously is best.

We’re grateful for the trust Regional MLS has placed in us and we’re excited to begin the conversion process!

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/regional-mls-selects-flexmls-2/feed/ 5 https://wearefbs.com/blog/ires-mls-becomes-charter-mls-for-spark-platform-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/ires-mls-becomes-charter-mls-for-spark-platform-2/#comments Tue, 22 May 2012 16:47:33 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=3310 Continued]]> I’m pleased to announce that IRES MLS, serving 6,000 members along the Front Range of Colorado, has signed a letter of intent to become a charter member of the Spark Platform.

Being led by CEO Lauren Hansen, IRES is an MLS with its own development team that has created a suite of products that have proven very popular with their members, and we’re hoping IRES’s team will be able to use the Spark Platform to deliver some of those products to the other MLSs using the platform.

 

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/ires-mls-becomes-charter-mls-for-spark-platform-2/feed/ 3 https://wearefbs.com/blog/regional-mls-of-minnesota-becomes-charter-member-of-spark-platform-2/ Mon, 14 May 2012 19:09:18 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=3307 Continued]]> We’re pleased to announce that Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota, Inc., has become a charter member of the Spark Platform.  RMLS represents over 13,500 brokers, agents and other MLS members in Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

With leadership from President John Mosey, RMLS has long been an advocate for MLS data standards, committing significant resources to the Real Estate Standards Organization, including the time and talent of Ed Newman, RMLS’s Director of Information Technology.

With RMLS joining as the latest charter member, the Spark Platform will serve approximately 250,000 MLS members in over 122 MLS organizations at launch.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/how-the-spark-platform-helps-brokers-and-mlss-deliver-long-term-value-to-agents-and-consumers/ Wed, 02 May 2012 22:06:37 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1042 Continued]]>

One of the first posts I wrote on the FBS Blog over five years ago asked whether industry forces prevalent at the time (e.g., rise of consumer real estate web sites like Zillow, broker demand for MLS simplification, and legal threats from the DOJ) meant the Death of the MLS.  Of course, since then, the DOJ lawsuit against the NAR has been settled, consumer portals are working hard to improve the accuracy of their listing data by establishing relationships with MLSs, and MLS regionalization remains regional and not national.  In other words, as expected, those prognosticating the death of the MLS and the disintermediation of brokers and agents were wrong.

At the same time, the Internet clearly isn’t done changing the real estate profession.  Consumers continue to flock to national real estate portals like Zillow, which has attracted a ton of capital to invest in innovations.  In an article dated April 26, 2012, from Business Insider and entitled, “Zillow Chief: Here’s Why We Can Be A Billion-Dollar Company”, Zillow’s CEO, Spencer Rascoff, is quoted as saying:

We’re trying to move to a world where agents wake up, roll out of bed, and pull out their tablet or PC and manage their day and their workflow based on the tools that Zillow provides to them.

This same statement would make a good mission for most brokers and, of course, the mission of MLS organizations is to help brokers with their mission.  Of course, Zillow, RPR or other national sites can be good partners with brokers and MLS organizations in providing value to agents and consumers, and so the two are not necessarily in conflict.  That being said, the Internet has proven one thing pretty well, and that’s that pure middlemen (those not adding true value) do get dis-intermediated over time.  So, there’s no question that brokers and MLSs need to continue to provide independent value and how MLSs, brokers and agents create value in the coming years will be a decisive question for survival.

In trying to assess the outcome of a battle, a good place to start is with relative strengths and weaknesses of each participant.  Reviewing the relative strengths and weaknesses also will help illuminate the value of the Spark Platform, which has been designed to enhance the strengths and counter the weaknesses of the MLS, brokers and agents.

Strengths of the MLS and Broker and Agent Members

• Cooperation is the primary strength of the MLS.  More specifically, MLS organizations have proven to be the most effective at getting competitors in the real estate industry to cooperate with each other. This is accomplished through a bit of representative democracy, whereby the competitors have a key voice in defining the ground rules for cooperation.  What we’ve seen over and over again through the years is that the further the competitors are away from the rule-making for cooperation, the less effective it is. This is one of the main reasons MLSs have remained local.  Establishing cooperation at a national level is exceedingly difficult.

• Listing data aggregation, both in terms of quantity and quality, is one of the primary benefits of MLS cooperation. Competing brokers are willing to share data with each other because they had a voice in creating the rules (terms of use) for how their data can and will be used by their competitors.  Without this cooperation, the data aggregation wouldn’t exist.

Weaknesses of the MLS and Broker and Agent Members

• Fragmentation is the primary weakness of the MLS and of the cooperation among brokers and agents.  The problem is that the cooperation literally only extends so far, and then shifts to another MLS, which creates different rules, different data formats, and other sources of fragmentation.  This fragmentation (sometimes called overlapping market disorder) is a big problem for brokers.  Facing shrinking margins for years, brokers have been expanding territory and running smack dab into MLS fragmentation, which increases costs exactly when brokers most need to reduce cost.

• Smaller Market; Less Choice.  Fragmentation among MLSs also makes development of software and other tools and processes less efficient and so lowers the amount of innovation and choices for brokers and agents.  Every new entrant into the real estate software market has to deal with the wide disparity of listing data and rules among the hundreds of MLSs, which necessarily lowers the number of competitors willing or able to enter the market and solidifies the positions of those who have already entered the market.  The result is less competition, innovation and ultimately choice.

Strengths of National Sites

• Scale of investment is the core strength of national sites like Zillow.  By definition, national sites are building products for all agents and consumers in the market, and so can support a much larger investment in technology and other innovations than ever would be prudent for a single or even a regional group of MLSs.

Weaknesses of National Sites

• Data, of course.  The national sites are all seeking data from the MLS organizations, which have proven to be the only organizations able to establish the framework for cooperation necessary to create a complete and reliable aggregation of listings from competitors in any given market.  The national sites, especially those focused on advertising, have not been able to establish the level of trust necessary to supplant the MLS, because it is not in the best interest of competitors to all choose one site for advertising.

From the above, we can see that the strength of the MLS, brokers and agents (cooperation and data) is the weakness of the national sites, and the weakness of the MLS, brokers and agents (fragmentation) is the strength of the national sites.

Joining the Battle

We built the Spark Platform to enhance the strengths and counter the weaknesses of MLS organizations and their broker and agent members. More specifically, the Spark Platform enhances MLS cooperation, reduces fragmentation, and “sparks” innovation in the real estate software industry.

First, the Spark API reduces fragmentation by implementing the RESO data dictionary to standardize as much data as possible.  Using the Spark API, software developers can create products for all MLSs from one API instead of having to address them all individually.

Importantly, the Spark Platform is as much a process as it is a product. Though both FBS and the participating MLS organizations will be working together to map the existing data to the RESO data standards, the reality is that not all fields will map to the dictionary right away. However, the idea here is to create an ecosystem driven by mutual incentives to create more standardized data over time.

For example, mobile development is the biggest frontier for real estate technology today, and the Spark API is designed specifically to make mobile development easier. As more developers use the API, more standard data will be needed, and the brokers and MLSs in each local MLS will now have a direct incentive to provide that standard data to get new mobile products for their MLS members.

Second, the Spark Platform enhances cooperation by ensuring that the MLS rules (the basis for cooperation among the brokers) are supported and that data is only accessed and used by those properly licensed.  Central to the Platform is the API Manager, which allows each MLS to specify the roles and rules for data access (e.g., MLS members, VOWs, IDX, etc.) that are then enforced through the API. In addition, the license agreements required by the MLS are integrated into the purchasing process through the store and during authentication from each use of the application. In this way, the MLS rules are enforced for data access and yet the data and rules are made available to developer applications through a single API, store and app bar, streamlining the development, sale, and delivery of applications.

Third, the Spark Store expands the market for real estate software (reduces fragmentation), which expanded market should increase the investment into new technologies for agents, creating more choice, more competition, and thereby lower costs for better products.

I mentioned mobile development above as one example where more innovation is important for MLSs. A related area for innovation is the creation of VOWs or customer portals. We all know how controversial IDX policies have become over the last few years, and VOWs offer a clearer alternative for brokers and agents to serve real estate consumers without all the IDX controversy. The Spark Platform is ideal for creating customer portals because of the standard data and built-in licensing through the authentication process of the API to ensure only those properly licensed get access to the data. Further imagine this: Once brokers and agents have their customers engaged in a customer portal, they could then extend the Platform to deliver and even sell real estate technology to their customers through the portal, creating an entirely new market for real estate software for consumers delivered by brokers and agents.

Undoubtedly, there are many ways other than mobile and customer portals in which the Spark Platform will ignite innovation in the real estate industry. In fact, that’s really the point. No one company or MLS can dream let alone create all the innovation real estate practitioners need. Instead, we need an ecosystem of innovation supported by competition and clear incentives for each party in the transaction. The Spark Platform creates such an ecosystem and we’re excited to see what innovation it brings.

Get Involved

As mentioned in my post yesterday, we’re in an alpha phase right now and are very excited by the interest expressed by so many MLSs to work with us on this project. We’re also working with a variety of developers to add products to the store, and we’re looking for more development partners now. If you’re interested in working with us or learning more, please inquire here and follow us here on the FBS Blog as we’ll soon be announcing some developer incentive programs.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/mlspin-becomes-charter-member-of-spark-platform-2/ Tue, 01 May 2012 13:56:28 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=3289 Continued]]> I’m pleased to announce that MLSPIN has signed a letter of intent to be a charter MLS member on the Spark Platform.  With over 30,000 members in Boston and the surrounding area, MLSPIN is one of the largest MLSs in the country and has always been a strong advocate for data standards and innovation in the MLS industry.

One of the most exciting aspects of working with an MLS like MLSPIN is that they’ve built their MLS system in-house and have an excellent team of developers who can leverage the Spark API for their members and, if they choose, market their innovations to other MLSs using the Platform. For any MLS with an in-house development team, the Spark Platform provides a fantastic opportunity to have the best of in-house responsiveness while also leveraging a standards-based development platform.

I asked Kathy Condon, CEO of MLSPIN, if she could provide a quote for this post, and she said, “We’re excited to work with FBS on this project to leverage the new RESO data dictionary and bring to our brokers and agents the innovations possible from this new development in real estate technology.”

With MLSPIN becoming a charter member, the Spark Platform is now expected to reach over 230,000 brokers and agents.

 

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/announcing-spark-platform-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/announcing-spark-platform-2/#comments Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:12:42 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=3215 Continued]]>

I’m very excited to announce the Spark Platform, which is a new way to create, buy, sell, and use real estate software:

• At the center of the Platform is an app store for real estate software, providing revenue opportunities for MLSs and brokers who host the store.
• Equally important is the Spark API, which uses standardized data and modern APIs to create new opportunities for software developers to innovate while complying with MLS rules.
• The Spark Bar makes the software and store available to brokers and agents directly in the MLS system or broker intranet, providing more choice and innovation for their business and customers.

Together, the Spark Platform brings together MLSs, brokers, agents and software developers to create an ecosystem for innovation in real estate software.  Over the last few months, as we’ve introduced the Platform to MLSs, brokers and software developers across the country, we’ve been incredibly excited by the response we’ve received, with MLSs representing over 200,000 brokers and agents signing letters of intent to be charter members.  We’re in an alpha testing period now and looking to connect with even more developers, brokers and MLSs interested in joining the Platform.

How Does the Spark Platform™ Work?

FBS has been advocating for data standards and increased innovation, competition and choice among software developers for brokers and agents for many years, and, with Spark Platform, we’re happy to say that the days of one size fits all are gone and that more choice and opportunity are here for everyone.

Spark API. With the Spark Platform, we’ll be providing an API supporting the new RESO data dictionary for 120 MLS organizations representing over 200,000 brokers, agents and other MLS members when we fully launch (currently planned for this September). The Spark API will enable software developers to standardize development, licensing and deployment of applications using data from the Spark Platform MLS charter members. The API is role-based and so helps developers comply with MLS rules and requirements for data use and licensing.

Spark Store.  In addition to the API, the Platform includes the Spark Store, which will be integrated within each MLS system to streamline the sale and licensing of software applications to MLS members. Purchasing is just a few clicks and users can learn about the best apps through ratings and comments from other users.  Similar to other app stores, developers will pay the store a 30% transaction fee, which will then be shared with the MLS, broker or other store host, creating incentives for all Platform partners.

Spark Bar.  The store will be delivered into the MLS system or broker intranet via the Spark Bar, which is a small widget that looks like this:

The Spark Bar provides members with easy access to the applications they license through a live tile app launcher integrated into the bar.  In addition to providing easy access to the applications, the app tiles keep agents informed of updates and activities from the applications they purchased (e.g., new leads from an IDX app). Also, the Spark Bar includes a notifications panel that will show a live stream of important events from their applications.

With the Spark API, Store and Bar, the Platform provides a new way to create, purchase and use real estate software, while simultaneously benefiting everyone involved.

Get Involved

As mentioned at the beginning of the post, we’re in an alpha phase right now and are very excited by the interest expressed by so many MLSs to work with us on this project. We’re also working with a variety of developers to add products to the store, and we’re looking for more development partners now. If you’re interested in working with us or learning more, please inquire here and follow us here on the FBS Blog as we’ll soon be announcing some developer incentive programs.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow, I’ll post about how the Spark Platform creates long-term value for MLSs, brokers, and agents, especially with innovation in areas like mobile and consumer engagement.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/announcing-spark-platform-2/feed/ 3 https://wearefbs.com/blog/reso-april-18-20/ Thu, 22 Mar 2012 22:14:14 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1052 FBS will have representatives attending the spring RESO meetings on April 18-20, 2012 in Chicago.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/nar-mid-year-may-16-17/ Thu, 22 Mar 2012 22:13:21 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1050 FBS will have an exhibitor booth at the NAR Mid-Year meetings on May 16-17, 2012.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/more-syndication-debates-and-logic-traps-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/more-syndication-debates-and-logic-traps-2/#comments Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:21:45 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=2368 Continued]]> The “sindication” debates continue with recent announcements from Sandicor, Northeast Florida MLS, and Metrolist in Colorado. Following these announcements, Rob Hahn wrote another post arguing that logic dictates that these and earlier announcements by others portend the doom of IDX. In essence, Rob argues that the arguments of syndication apply with equal force to IDX and so those stopping syndication also are killing IDX.

With this post, I’m hopeful to clarify the different types of syndication and how IDX is different from all types of syndication. Here are my definitions:

• Broker Syndication — Where the broker chooses (opts in) to send their listings (and only their listings) to a third-party listing advertising portal. MLSs can and do provide tools such as ListHub or Point2 to help brokers syndicate but that is to be distinguished from MLS Syndication.

• MLS Syndication — Where the MLS syndicates a feed of all listings (other than those opted out of the feed by brokers) direct to a third-party listing advertising portal. As indicated by the bolded terms opt-in and opt-out, MLS Syndication is different than Broker Syndication in that MLS Syndication sends all listings by default unless the broker chooses not to send them (opts out) whereas Broker Syndication is an opt-in approach. (Theoretically, an MLS could syndicate the entire active listing database to a third-party portal with no ability to opt-out, but I’m not aware of any MLS doing that and so have limited the definition of MLS syndication to an opt-out broker choice.) This distinction between opt-out and opt-in broker choice (and, therefore, between Broker and MLS syndication) is very important, because opt-in (Broker Syndication) will significantly reduce the number of listings being sent to any one third-party portal whereas opt-out (MLS Syndication) will result in more listings being sent to the third-party portal.

• IDX — Where brokers (MLS Participants) agree with each other to share listings for display on their respective web sites. The primary distinction between IDX and syndication (both MLS and Broker) is that IDX does not involve display of the listing on a third party portal. Instead, the web sites involved are the broker’s or their agent’s own sites and the IDX policy is the terms on which they agree to share listings on their web sites. IDX policies actually come in two flavors as well, opt-in and opt-out, but the primary difference between syndication and IDX is not whether the broker is opted-in or out but rather the destination site and who controls the rules for display on that site. With syndication, the third party web site dictates the terms and with IDX the terms of display are dictated by the IDX policy.

• VOW — Another important MLS policy that applies here is for Virtual Office Websites or VOWs. I know there are all kinds of legal documents (e.g., the DOJ/NAR settlement) defining a VOW but, for purposes of this post, I’m simply going to say that a VOW is a web site that is like the brokers real office in that it has a front-door and requires the consumer to identify him or her self before getting service. If the consumer identifies him or her self (by signing in and agreeing to the terms of use), the broker can disclose MLS information to the customer on the VOW web site just as they could if they walked in the front door of their office. VOWs are very different from IDX in that basically the entire MLS database (with some limited exceptions) is involved, just as it is in their physical office.

From the above definitions, there are two major distinctions among the terms:

1. Who controls the terms of use for the listing information (third party portal or the broker or agent); and
2. The extent to which the aggregate of MLS data is involved versus just the listings of one broker.

These two themes impact each other, because the more the aggregate MLS data is involved (as opposed to just the listings of one broker), the more important is agreement (terms of use) among the brokers regarding how the aggregate listing information is displayed and used. Applying these two distinctions, we can more easily see the gradations between Broker Syndication, MLS Syndication, IDX, VOWs and even MLS consumer portals or other listing portals.

Syndication involves sending listings to third-party sites, which typically dictate the terms of use (how the listing information is displayed, how the listing broker is displayed, what ads can be sold around the content, etc.). In contrast, the terms of use for IDX, VOWs, and MLS portals are defined by the brokers through the MLS. This fundamental difference (who determines the terms of use) is why a decision by a broker or the MLS not to syndicate does not inexorably lead to a decision not to participate in IDX.

Of course, the lines of distinction I’ve drawn above are not hard and fast as demonstrated recently by Sandicor’s attempt to influence the terms of use on third-party web sites. Will the new rules from Sandicor change the terms of use of the third-party portals and require more prominent display of the listing broker? If so, this could create an entirely new way of forging agreements for syndication that could allow broader use of the MLS aggregation.

Similarly, Zillow’s purchase of Diverse Solutions (an IDX provider) poses the potential to blur some of the lines between syndication and IDX. Also, the creation of the Real Estate Network syndication channels for major franchises and independent brokerages creates the potential to aggregate listing data via syndication outside of the MLS. Again, however, the key issue here is who controls the terms of use. To achieve critical mass with any of these approaches requires the terms of use to balance the competing interests of the brokers as accomplished with IDX and VOWs. And, even there, we know from recent controversies over IDX that the balance of competing interests is fragile and requires constant evaluation to ensure the balance is maintained so the MLS aggregation can be used properly. This is what MLS organizations do well, create cooperation among competing brokers, and why MLSs and the IDX and VOW policies created through that cooperative process will continue to survive regardless of what happens with the syndication debate.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/more-syndication-debates-and-logic-traps-2/feed/ 1 https://wearefbs.com/blog/syndication-isnt-deadly-but-it-also-isnt-the-mls-or-idx-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/syndication-isnt-deadly-but-it-also-isnt-the-mls-or-idx-2/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:34:07 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=2356 Continued]]> This post is about the “sindication” arguments erupting over the web over the last few months and more heatedly the last few weeks. For background, check out: Rob Hahn, AgentGenius, GeekEstate, Jay Thompson, Kris Berg, and the video from the managing broker at ARG in San Diego that set off the recent web storm. Read them all, especially the comments.

What to make of all this debate? First, there’s not much new here. Brokers are competitors and will make independent decisions about where to advertise their listings. This is called syndication and it’s been happening since the beginning of real estate brokerage. Historically, the syndication channels were newspapers, home magazines, flyers, signs, etc. Now we have the web and sites like Zillow and Trulia. So, this debate is nothing new.

Brokers will continue to decide how they can gain a competitive advantage for their listings. Some brokers only want their listings on their own web site or their franchise web site. Other brokers find value in Zillow or Trulia or Realtor.com. Others yet post to Craigslist and dozens of other sites, on the theory that more is better. In my view, here’s the rub:

On its own, syndication (the decisions of individual competing brokers) will never result in a critical mass of listings on any one site, because competitors will naturally choose different destinations to distinguish themselves.

This is what distinguishes syndication from the MLS. Almost five years ago, I wrote about how the MLS is more than technology. In that post, I wrote:

The representative decision-making process of the MLS is what allows for the broad cooperation necessary to create critical mass in terms of data sharing. Without this, I believe we’ll simply have a mishmash of data strewn here and there, with no possibility of a national repository or any other useful portal. The MLS embraces the duality of competition and cooperation, and strikes a limited balance that enables critical mass to be established. This feat should not be underestimated.

Five years later, that post proved prescient, because, indeed, what we have today is a mishmash of data strewn here and there. The only site that has anywhere near a complete data set is Realtor.com, because they were successful in working directly with the MLS organizations that have worked so hard to encourage cooperation among the brokers.

Importantly, however, the necessary cooperation will never be the strength of syndication channels (Zillow, Trulia, etc.), because they make most of their money by selling ads to brokers and agents on top of the listing data, which is inherently non-cooperative. In fact, this practice of selling ads on top of the listings to competing brokers really irks the listing brokers and results in claims of “coming to dinner with just a fork” and, ultimately, “we need to take back our data!”

But let’s stop and evaluate that last call to action, “we need to take back our data.” Where I think those who advocate against syndication go wrong is in using the terms “we” and “our.” In the competitive landscape of real estate brokerages, the only “we” and “our” is the MLS but the MLS is not a syndicator. By definition, syndication is the decision of an individual broker for their listings alone, and has nothing to do with the cooperative aggregation of listing data in the MLS. As suggested above, some brokers will decide to syndicate, others won’t, and the market ultimately will decide who has made the best decisions. This is as it should be.

The tougher issues arise, however, when brokers extend these same arguments to the MLS aggregation. In this regard, those arguing against “MLS” syndication are right. The MLS should not send the MLS aggregation to any advertising site, because the business models of those sites conflicts with the cooperative model of the MLS. As I wrote five years ago, the value of the MLS is in creating that fragile cooperation that allows for the aggregation. What we’re now seeing is that the fragile balance of cooperation will not stand for the MLS sending the aggregate data to any advertising site.

Instead, the MLS should continue to foster the IDX and VOW policies that have been successful so far and modernize them with stronger terms of use designed to make it clear to brokers that their data will only be used by home buyers and sellers for their personal home buying and selling decisions. Such a foundation will not only preserve but strengthen IDX and VOWs, and help brokers and agents extend the collective MLS data to their customers on the web, mobile devices and whatever new technology comes down the pipe next.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/syndication-isnt-deadly-but-it-also-isnt-the-mls-or-idx-2/feed/ 10 https://wearefbs.com/blog/mobile-for-everyone-and-some-new-features-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/mobile-for-everyone-and-some-new-features-2/#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:12:17 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=2345 Continued]]>

This morning we took our new mobile site (http://m.flexmls.com) out of beta and added a few new features. But the bigger news probably was from some time ago, when we launched mobile portals and mobile IDX, which makes Flexmls more mobile than ever. Now, whether you are an agent accessing the private version of Flexmls, an agent’s customer accessing a customer portal, or a consumer accessing a broker or agent IDX site, you can do so with your touch-enabled mobile phone or tablet.

In addition to moving the new mobile project out of beta, we’ve added some new features as well, including an enhanced full-screen photo tour, auto-loading of listings and photos as you scroll or swipe, ability for consumers to take notes on listings, and uploading of photos by the listing agent.

Mobile, in all its forms, continues to be a primary focus for FBS and we expect to continuously add functionality to this new platform.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/mobile-for-everyone-and-some-new-features-2/feed/ 11 https://wearefbs.com/blog/major-franchises-make-a-big-move-with-move/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/major-franchises-make-a-big-move-with-move/#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:49:56 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=2338 Continued]]> Readers of the FBS Blog may recall the controversy at the last few NAR meetings over franchises using IDX listings on their franchise portal web sits. First NAR voted to allow franchises the use IDX listings and then said they couldn’t. In saying they couldn’t, the recommendation was that franchise sites should be treated the same as any other listing portal (e.g., Zillow, Trulia, etc.) and receive data via syndication.

In response, several of the largest real estate franchises (C21, RE/MAX, Coldwell Banker, Realty Executives) recently announced a major new initiative with Move, Inc. and its Listhub syndication subsidiary to streamline that syndication. The new syndication network is called the Real Estate Network (REN) and is described as follows in the press release:

With the launch of REN, the 376 MLSs and 43,000 brokerage firms currently distributing listings through ListHub may now choose to send their listings to one or more sites within the network with one easy click. Participating brokers and MLSs retain full control over where their listings are and are not syndicated to within the network. One set of standardized, industry-friendly rules will govern the display of listings on publisher websites in the network, and can be found at: http://www.listhub.net/networkrules.html. Franchisors themselves will also participate in the network, displaying each other’s listing inventory on their websites.

I’m still processing what this new syndication network means for MLSs but I think two key points are made in the last two sentences in the quote above.

Starting with the last first, it sounds like the network will facilitate direct franchise to franchise syndication, bypassing the MLS. That seems pretty significant.

Update: I chatted with Rob Reed from Listhub at Inman Connect and he said there is no franchise-franchise syndication, rather the syndicated data is coming from the MLS systems and each franchise site is another syndication destination from the MLS according to the discretion of the listing broker.

Second, the rules are now being established by the license agreements that are part of this syndication network, not NAR and not the MLS. That, too, seems pretty significant.

The billion dollar question, of course, is whether the initiative already has or will achieve critical mass of participation from additional franchises and independent brokerages.

Victor Lund over at the WAV Group blog has some great quotes of various reactions to this new initiative. I’m interested to hear your reaction to this new initiative. Please comment below.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/major-franchises-make-a-big-move-with-move/feed/ 6 https://wearefbs.com/blog/at-inman-nyc-this-week-join-us-for-a-discussion-on-mls-data-standards/ Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:24:15 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1064 Continued]]> Though my headline may seem like a bad joke or a terrible way to get over a hangover, I’m hopeful Rebecca Jensen and I will be able to surprise those who come to our session on MLS data standards at the Inman Connect conference in New York City this week. The session is intended to be a discussion about how the industry can implement the data standards being developed by the Real Estate Standards Organization and what innovations may stem from the new standards. Here’s the description of the session by Inman:

Data Standards: Building the Momentum

Standards are finally gaining steam. RESO, CMLS and a group of industry visionaries are charging hard. This workshop will lay out a path for accelerated progress in 2012.

Rebecca and I hope to engage the audience on a variety of questions, including what new innovations (products, processes, cost savings) will be possible with data standards implemented across MLSs. We’ll be pitching in our own thoughts but mostly hope to get a conversation going.

We’re now well past the point of realizing why data standards are important and now is the time to lay down some concrete ideas for what new innovations might occur as data standards are implemented. Please join us for the discussion and bring your ideas!

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/inman-connect-nyc-jan-11-13/ Fri, 06 Jan 2012 22:34:06 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1082 Join Michael Wurzer from FBS and Rebecca Jensen (RESO Chair) at Inman Connect in New York City on January 12 for a discussion about MLS data standards.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/clareity-mls-conference-march-1-2/ Fri, 06 Jan 2012 22:33:22 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1080 FBS is again sponsoring the Clareity MLS conference on March 1-2, 2012. Gregg Larson, Matt Cohen and the rest of the Clareity crew always put on a great event, and we hope to see you all there.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/we-could-not-be-more-pleased/ Fri, 06 Jan 2012 22:29:36 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1074 “We could not be more pleased. Flexmls is a good, stable system that is easy for beginners, yet very powerful for advanced users.”

Dave Montgomery
MLS Chair
Pocono Mountains Association of REALTORS

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/fbs-stays-well-ahead/ Fri, 06 Jan 2012 22:27:46 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1072 “FBS stays well ahead of industry trends and provides solutions that are easy to use and cost-effective. They truly partner with us to ensure our members have the best tools in the industry.”

Susan Poling
Executive Officer
Lincoln County Association of REALTORS

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/lightning-fast-well-designed/ Fri, 06 Jan 2012 22:26:50 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1070 “I’ve only been using your product for a few days now, but so far it’s EXCELLENT. Lightning fast. Well designed. Major user needs accessible within 2-3 clicks. Very nice.”

Scott Barnett
CMAR Broker Participant

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/i-am-simply-amazed/ Fri, 06 Jan 2012 22:26:14 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1068 Continued]]> “I am simply amazed at how so many people fail to realize how truly amazing and powerful Flexmls IDX is. This is truly the ‘pinnacle’ of all IDX systems. I can never go back to anything less, because nothing will ever compare or be as good. I am in love with the capabilities that Flexmls IDX offers!! It’s a no-brainer to convert to it. This is superstar software. Thank you for bringing this to us.”

Tony Pomykala
REALTOR, ePro

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/i-just-want-you-to-know-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/i-just-want-you-to-know-2/#comments Fri, 06 Jan 2012 22:17:41 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=3077 “I just want you to know that every time I call and get anyone from your collective company on the line, the service and response are outstanding. What a fine business model in customer service.”

Anthony Godwin
Principal Broker
Today’s Realty

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/i-just-want-you-to-know-2/feed/ 1 https://wearefbs.com/blog/new-login-process-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/new-login-process-2/#comments Fri, 06 Jan 2012 22:05:33 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=3065 In January 2012, FBS is switching customers to a new login process that will be more secure and provide the MLS with more information regarding system usage.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/new-login-process-2/feed/ 22 https://wearefbs.com/blog/new-mobile-flexmls-and-idx-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/new-mobile-flexmls-and-idx-2/#comments Fri, 06 Jan 2012 22:02:52 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=3061 FBS released a new mobile site for agents (http://m.flexmls.com) and consumers (http://mymobile.flexmls.com/agentname/) in January 2012. Check the Flexmls Forum for additional details.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/new-mobile-flexmls-and-idx-2/feed/ 13 https://wearefbs.com/blog/zillow-seeks-to-syndicate-idx-listings-to-zillow-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/zillow-seeks-to-syndicate-idx-listings-to-zillow-2/#comments Fri, 23 Dec 2011 02:39:01 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=2325 Continued]]> One of our MLS customers has reported that Zillow is seeking permission from MLSs to syndicate listings they now possess through the acquisition of Diverse Solutions.  The email forwarded states, in part:

Also, something we were not expecting is coming up. We are starting to get  inquiries from agents and brokers that are Diverse Solutions and Zillow customers wondering if we can take THEIR listings from the IDX feed we maintain for them and syndicate them to Zillow.com.  The benefit to them is that their listings would be 100% up to date at all times and they won’t have to do anything to maintain their listings.

Since we are receiving these requests we would like to know if this syndication would be allowed.

Of course, this move by Zillow isn’t surprising and likely was a key motive behind the Diverse acquisition.  I’m curious if other MLSs have received a similar approach from Zillow and, if so, whether your MLS is allowing the syndication.

Update: Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff addresses this topic on his own blog.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/zillow-seeks-to-syndicate-idx-listings-to-zillow-2/feed/ 10 https://wearefbs.com/blog/a-foundation-for-idx-policy-is-critical-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/a-foundation-for-idx-policy-is-critical-2/#comments Sat, 05 Nov 2011 13:43:30 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=2256 Continued]]>

I wrote a few days ago about IDX policy once again being a hot topic at the upcoming NAR meetings in Anaheim next week. Furthering the discussion, CMLS President Merri Jo Cowen sent a letter (PDF) to the NAR’s MLS Issues and Policies Committee urging, among other things:

• Treating social media sites separately from other participant web sites (leaving the existing IDX policy alone); and
• Prohibiting use of IDX data in RSS feeds.

Basically, with respect to these two issues, CMLS’s position appears to be that the IDX policy is working, so please leave well enough alone. Perhaps following a rumor that the Realty Alliance brokers are planning to form their own MLS, CMLS also warns that, with regard to allowing IDX on social media sites, “Some MLSs fear a mass exodus by brokers if they are offered only the all inclusive IDX- Yes or No choice.”

I completely agree with CMLS’s primary point that the stakes are high here and messing with a successful program like IDX is dangerous business. As Jay Thompson said last summer at Inman SF, without IDX he is likely out of business as a broker and I suspect many other brokers feel the same way. Yet, several of these thorny issues continue to dog the IDX policy, because the world just keeps on changing and that leaves questions about what the current policy means.

In this case, everyone is wondering whether “participant’s web site” in the IDX policy includes the broker’s branding page on Facebook, Twitter or other social media web sites and whether the accepted practice of providing updates via email can be extended to RSS under the current policy. Unfortunately, the current policy just isn’t clear on these issues, likely because these technologies hadn’t yet been applied to IDX when the current policy language was drafted.

One of the primary points I want to make with this post is that I don’t see RSS or even the social media issue as a big deal. FBS doesn’t provide RSS updates with our IDX solution (largely because of this controversy) and I certainly don’t think the world will end if RSS is not allowed for IDX. Frankly, this issue may well be a tempest in a teapot and evidence of how slow the IDX policy discussion is, because many argue that RSS as a consumer technology is dead.

Leaving the irony of this aside, the main point here is that the industry needs IDX (as Jay Thompson so well said) and the industry needs an approach to IDX that responds to technological innovations without so much angst. Importantly, this is not a debate of those “for” innovation and those “against”. Proof of this is that there is no debate about whether IDX data should be allowed for use in mobile applications, even those that most definitely are not “web sites” as defined under the current IDX policy. In other words, everyone understands that mobile applications are critical today, and so no one is debating this issue, even though there many mobile applications allow for sharing on Facebook, Twitter, etc. Oh, goodness, do you see the tangled webs we weave when we don’t have a firm foundation or understanding of what we’re doing with IDX that allows for change?

As I suggested in my previous post on this topic, I believe the solution here is to focus more on the terms of the license agreements being accepted under IDX, all the way from the MLS, through the broker and agent, and to the consumer. Central to those license agreements is the condition that the data only be used by consumers for their personal home buying and selling research, which I understand as the core purpose for IDX. In other words, IDX does not allow others to re-purpose the data for any reason, even if they are just providing it to consumers. There are no middle-men allowed here (like franchises), the last license relationship is direct from the broker and agent to the consumer and the consumer can only use the data for their own personal research.

This is directly relevant to the RSS issue, which CMLS (quoting MLSListings CEO Jim Harrison) and others have argued is risky because:

RSS technology opens the door for savvy users or websites to essentially export any IDX data; aggregate, store, and manipulate that data without any consent from the broker or MLS. In the hands of technology providers unaccountable to IDX data policies, the persons or entities receiving the data have no obligation to present or use the content in a manner defined by the policies. Without this agreement, the MLS cannot assert any governance or corrections. Any abuse or other use will have to be suffered in silence.

I’m confused by this argument, because I know there are web sites that provide RSS updates with license agreements clearly required.

A very prominent example is the New York Times, which has an entire page dedicated to the many RSS feeds they offer. Prominently displayed at the end of that page are the terms and conditions for use of the Times’ RSS feeds:

This is very similar to what many IDX sites also do. For example, here’s the disclaimer/terms text from an MLSListings IDX site:

The listing information marked with Internet Data Exchange icon (a stylized house inside a circle) comes in part from the Internet Data Exchange program of the MLSListings(TM) MLS.

The broker providing this data believes the data to be correct, but advises interested parties to confirm all information before relying on it for a purchase decision.

The information being provided is for consumers’ personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing.

© 2011 MLSListings. All rights reserved.

This is a good statement but I would love to see a link to a more detailed Terms of Use agreement, like the one provided by the Times, which has much clearer language about the terms being binding on the consumer, the right of the Times to discontinue providing the service, non-allowed uses, display requirements, and much more. (The need for this agreement for the broker-agent/consumer relationship is made all the more obvious by the recent acquisition of IDX vendor Diverse Solutions by Zillow.)

I do not provide the above example from the New York Times in defense of allowing IDX updates to consumers via RSS, because, as I mentioned, RSS in itself is a relatively minor issue. Instead, I provide the above example as a demonstration of the proper foundation for licensing data for consumer use on the web today. (Notice, too, how the Times only provides limited info in their RSS feed, which I’ve also argued is a good idea for certain IDX purposes.) This approach provides the MLS, brokers, agents and consumers (all the parties to the IDX relationship) with a clear understanding of what is being licensed (allowed) and what isn’t. As I asked in my last post, if agreements like these are firmly established for every use of IDX data, would broker’s object? Don’t these agreements, regardless of the technological medium, protect everyone and serve the fundamental purpose of IDX?

As Brian Larson has pointed out, “the license agreement is . . . only the first step, but it is an essential one.” Subsequent steps, of course, are enforcement of the terms of the license agreement. With regard to enforcement and compliance, the most important thing is to have a strong program to discover and shut down un-licensed uses of the data.

Looking out for the “bad hats” who steal data is an easier (not easy, but easier) task than monitoring thousands upon thousands of IDX web sites out there. Instead of worrying about those individual sites, spend money on looking for the bad hats and make sure your agents and brokers know that if a bad hat is found to have been ripping off their IDX web site, the broker or agent will be in violation of their license agreement, their feed will be terminated, and will be liable for the violation under the terms of their license. As I said in my last post, this approach “reduces the need for compliance by MLSs, focuses compliance where it should be on brokers and agents deploying the data, and creates a mechanism and incentive for everyone to amp up their compliance game, while also allowing for technological innovation without heartache and endless PAGs every few years.”

The stakes are high here, people. We need to direct this conversation away from these specific technology issues like RSS and social networks that are impossible to predict, can be so easily misunderstood by policy makers, and ultimately are less important than the fundamental purpose of IDX, which is to allow brokers and agents to provide listing information to consumers for their personal use. I fear that the way the current discussion over RSS and social networks has heated up and become confused, we’re just creating more controversy that will result in brokers becoming divided and decide opting out is best. And perhaps they’ll not just opt out of IDX but also opt out of the MLS altogether.

To avoid this, we need to work very hard and together to frame this discussion properly and establish a foundation for IDX policy that is more able to respond to technological and other (e.g., Zillow acquiring Diverse) changes. I hope the above is helpful to that discussion and look forward to hearing your feedback.

---

P.S. Another thing that confused me about the CMLS letter was the point made about RESO/RETS dictating transport for IDX: “As NAR has provided policy that requires MLS’s to adhere to the latest specification of RETS, the standard as published by RESO should be relied upon to frame data transport mechanisms, not the IDX policy.” RETS outlines one possible transport among many for use by RETS servers and clients. This standard has and should have little or nothing to do with IDX policy. Sure, many IDX vendors get data from MLSs via RETS servers, but the web sites they provide to agents and, in turn, consumers, do not use RETS as a transport, they use the web. Similarly, as I’ve pointed out many times, there seems to be little controversy over the fact that nearly every IDX web site allows updates via email, which is not a RETS-specified transport, either. Further yet, if we limited transport to those provided in the RETS specification, most mobile apps likely would have to be shut down, because RETS does not make for a good transport for mobile development. Anyway, this is kind of an aside, as I suspect it was intended in the CMLS letter, but I’m hopeful the above clarifies the distinction between RETS specifications and IDX policy.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/a-foundation-for-idx-policy-is-critical-2/feed/ 2 https://wearefbs.com/blog/zillow-acquires-idx-vendor-diverse-solutions-what-does-it-mean-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/zillow-acquires-idx-vendor-diverse-solutions-what-does-it-mean-2/#comments Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:34:35 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=2248 Continued]]> Zillow announced today that it acquired IDX vendor Diverse Solutions for $7.8 million in cash and stock.  I’m interested in learning what others think about this acquisition.  Here are some of my initial questions and thoughts:

1. Zillow likely acquired Diverse primarily as a way to build relationships with more MLSs. We know Trulia has been amping up its efforts to establish relationships with MLSs and this move by Zillow seems like a response to those efforts.
2. Zillow has said that 60% of its revenue is coming from sales to brokers and agents, so adding IDX products to the mix jives with their primary sales target.
3. Diverse has IDX data from quite a few MLSs but their license agreements won’t allow Zillow to use that data for any purpose other than IDX.  However, I can imagine quite a few interesting products that can be built on top of IDX data that will blur the lines of what Zillow/Diverse offers their IDX customers.  This will be the most interesting development to watch.
4. Will Zillow offer its ad network to brokers and agents using Diverse’s IDX product as a potential revenue share opportunity?  Will that be interesting to agents and brokers?
5. Will Zillow try something like Roost tried initially, with an aggregated IDX portal?
6. What will the MLS response be to this acquisition?  Quite likely many will be digging out their contracts with Diverse to make sure the license agreements lock down the data tight regarding usage.

Overall, this is an excellent move by Zillow and a nice win for Justin LaJoie and the entire Diverse Solutions team. Congratulations to all of you!

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/zillow-acquires-idx-vendor-diverse-solutions-what-does-it-mean-2/feed/ 6 https://wearefbs.com/blog/the-focus-for-idx-should-be-the-license-agreement-not-mls-policy-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/the-focus-for-idx-should-be-the-license-agreement-not-mls-policy-2/#comments Tue, 01 Nov 2011 20:29:19 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=2244 Continued]]>

We’re just about a week away from the annual NAR meeting in Anaheim and that means IDX is once again a hot topic.  You may recall IDX was a hot topic last May during the mid-year meetings, and the same topics are being re-hashed again ahead of the meetings next week. Specifically, the issues are:

1.  Should franchises be allowed to use IDX the same as participants?

General consensus: No.

2.  Should the IDX policy be adopted to new technologies like social networks, RSS, and mobile applications?

General consensus: No, no and yes.

I’m pretty sure the franchise IDX issue has been exhausted and is no longer very controversial, so I’ll leave that alone.  My primary interest in this post is in the second question, regarding whether IDX can be adopted to new technologies.

First, I will state what I see as the basic purpose of IDX: To allow broker participants to provide consumers with IDX listings from the MLS for their non-commercial personal use. I may be wrong about this basic purpose, but let’s just assume that I’m right for a moment as we analyze the controversies present in the revised policy.

Interestingly enough, no one argues that IDX should be banned on mobile applications, even though those clearly are not “web sites” as outlined in the IDX policy.  Leaving that gaping hole aside for a moment, however, let’s turn just to the questions raised by social networks and RSS feeds.  There are many reasonable objections that display of IDX listings in social networks and RSS feeds are dangerous and, therefore, need to be excluded from IDX.  The arguments go something like this:

1. Social networks are beyond the control of the participant;
2. RSS makes it easier for bad hats to steal the IDX data;
3. Complying with the current IDX rules regarding disclaimers, copyright statements, etc., is more difficult on social networks and RSS feeds; and
4. All of the above creates a compliance nightmare for the MLS.

For sake of argument, let’s assume all of the above to be true.  Even if true, my contention is that the same arguments are equally applicable to “web sites” and other technologies already commonly used today in connection with IDX data.

At the most basic level, a “web site” (the currently defined method for displaying IDX) is an HTML page available to the entire world over the “world wide web”.  Let’s repeat and rephrase: Allowing IDX data on world wide “web sites” makes the data as open and accessible as it can be. Any other method, including RSS and social networks, provides much more limited exposure.

Web sites, open to the whole world, can be crawled, scraped, and framed by thieves just as easily RSS feeds.  Even if the thieves don’t have programming skills themselves, paying a programmer in China or India a few dollars to scrape your web site is no big deal, it’s just a cost of doing business. Further, if you can deploy anti-scraping technologies on a web site, you also can deploy those on an RSS feed.  Lastly, every IDX web site I’ve seen allows customers to sign up for email updates, which can be identical to RSS (e.g., the email may contain IDX data such as address, price, beds, baths, etc., or the RSS feed may only contain a link to the listings on the web site).  In either case, there is no real difference between RSS and email updates and the purpose is exactly the same, namely to remind site visitors to come back and visit your site for their non-commercial personal use.  The bottom line is that the current IDX policy allows display of the data to the whole world along with updates by email, and these technologies are very challenging to monitor.

Similarly, the idea that social networks are harder to police for MLSs than web sites or mobile applications is specious.  There can be an unlimited number of web sites whereas the number of social networking pages is much more likely to be limited to the number of members in your MLS given that sites such as Facebook or Google+ try pretty hard to make sure that the people on their sites are real people.  No matter what, however, the number of Facebook, Google+, Twitter or whatever other sites arise in popularity cannot be more than unlimited, which is the current compliance problem MLSs face from web sites alone.  In other words, the compliance issue for MLSs is no greater from social networks than it is for web sites, because the number is unlimited in any event.

I’m hopeful that what I’ve said above is relatively non-controversial, but I’d like to summarize it to try to make sure of that.  First, IDX currently allows display of IDX listings on an unlimited number of “web sites” (and in email and mobile applications).  Second, display on web sites makes the data available to anyone in the whole world.  Third, such wide open access to the data makes compliance very challenging.  In other words, regardless of new technologies like RSS feeds and social networks, IDX compliance is a big challenge.

Now, let’s evaluate a potential solution that reduces the need for compliance by MLSs, focuses compliance where it should be on brokers and agents deploying the data, and creates a mechanism and incentive for everyone to amp up their compliance game, while also allowing for technological innovation without heartache and endless PAGs every few years.

The basic solution is to get away from thinking about IDX in terms of MLS policy and instead shift the discussion toward creation and enforcement of license agreements for the IDX data.  Many MLSs already have a strong set of license agreements pertaining to the IDX data and my basic argument is that as long as the license agreements are enforceable and enforced, all the questions regarding who is in control, who is responsible, and what can be done with the data should be answered without the need for an MLS policy on IDX.

The license agreements should cover every relationship in the chain:

1. From the broker participant to the MLS;
2. From the MLS to other broker participants (and their developers); and
3. From broker participants to consumers of the data for non-commercial personal use only.

Each of these license agreements should have compliance, enforcement and remedy provisions in them and such provisions should be extended to every other party in the chain, including the right to audit, terminate the license on violation, and sue for damages, including liquidated damages as a penalty for violations.

Let’s assume that these license agreements are all in place, and everyone in the chain is comfortable with the provisions.  Does it really matter whether the consumer gets the data for their non-commercial personal use via RSS feed, Facebook, mobile application, email, snail mail, or in person? Is it not the case that the only thing that really matters are the terms of the license agreement for each party in the chain and that the agreements are enforced properly (and aggressively)?  Isn’t the question of “control” answered by whether or not the broker has a proper and enforceable license agreement in place?  Isn’t this approach of focusing on the terms of the license agreement for each link in the chain much easier to understand than the nuanced language tweaking required to try to anticipate future technology?

The reality is that we cannot know what new technology will be invented tomorrow, but I’m hopeful that most everyone agrees that brokers getting IDX data in the hands of consumers so they can buy houses is a good thing, regardless of the technology used.  If we focus attention on crafting license agreements that allow that and restrict any other uses, the many thorny questions surrounding IDX may just go away.

 

 

 

 

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/the-focus-for-idx-should-be-the-license-agreement-not-mls-policy-2/feed/ 4 https://wearefbs.com/blog/peter-shuttleworth-and-steve-malme-join-fbss-board-of-directors-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/peter-shuttleworth-and-steve-malme-join-fbss-board-of-directors-2/#comments Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:13:17 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=2237 Continued]]> FBS is very pleased to announce that Peter Shuttleworth and Steve Malme have joined FBS’s Board of Directors and bring a wealth of talent and experience to us.

• Peter Shuttleworth — Peter brings to FBS’s Board extensive MLS industry experience from his 26 years as the Executive Vice President of MetroMLS and 17 years as President of WIREdata Corporation in Milwaukee, WI.  Peter also has served in a wide variety of leadership roles with MLS industry groups such as the Council of Multiple Listing Services and the National Association of REALTORS, and just last week was named the first CMLS Hall of Fame award recipient for his many years of leadership in the MLS industry.  With Peter just recently retiring from his long career with MetroMLS, FBS is incredibly fortunate to have Peter help lead us toward the future for MLS.

• Steve Malme — Steve currently is a Senior Director in the Enterprise Health Group at Microsoft and has been with Microsoft (and Great Plains Software) in a variety of management, technology and sales positions over the last 20 years.  Though Steve now lives in Seattle, he hails from Fargo (where FBS is headquartered) and was the lead developer at FBS in the early ’90s.  Steve’s extensive experience with Great Plains and Microsoft will be invaluable to guide FBS in our future years of growth.

Peter and Steve are joining our other outside director, Dan Woolley of WR Studios (creators of CloudCMA and Dwellicious), to bring FBS diverse and and deep outside leadership.

Also new to the FBS Board are two employee-owners, Jaison Freed (FBS’s VP of Hosting) and Matt O’Brien (Web Developers), who were recently appointed to the Board.  FBS is a 100% employee-owned company and so it is important to us to have significant employee-owner leadership at the highest levels of FBS.  Jaison and Matt are sure to bring passion and excellence to the Board’s efforts to lead FBS.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/peter-shuttleworth-and-steve-malme-join-fbss-board-of-directors-2/feed/ 1 https://wearefbs.com/blog/september-2011-rets-recap-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/september-2011-rets-recap-2/#comments Mon, 03 Oct 2011 03:08:40 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=2226 Continued]]> The September 2011 RETS meetings were held last week, with a lot of forward momentum in terms of a data dictionary, potentially new API approaches and new governance model for RESO.

The most important movement was the recommendation to the Board to form a workgroup to extend the existing standard names approved for RETS 1.8 into a data dictionary, including data types and enumerations. The first meeting of this new workgroup likely will be just before the NAR Annual meetings in California. Because they’ll be starting from the standard names document, this workgroup is going to move fast and so hopefully we’ll see the first version of the dictionary approved in the next 3-5 months. The need for a data dictionary is legion, and it’s incredibly heartening to see this moving forward based on the already existing standard names document.

All other work will stem from the development of the dictionary. New payloads likely will be developed, but only once the dictionary lays the foundation. The data dictionary will provide the RESO workgroups and the real estate community as a whole with an incredibly valuable way to inform MLSs and consumers of data best practices for implementing different field types and categories. The process for adopting new field definitions also will be very streamlined to ensure that the dictionary can respond to new market developments, such as we’ve seen over the last few years with green fields and short sales. Instead of every MLS developing their own approach because there is no guidance, the data dictionary will give them much needed guidance.

Another interesting conversation at the meetings was regarding the development of RESTful APIs. I was part of a panel moderated by Mark Lesswing called The Great API Debate, along with Sergio del Rio, Steve Clarke, and Scott Petronis from OnBoard.

I was first up and reviewed our new flexmls API, which is focused on delivering data real-time without the need for the data to be replicated in other databases. In addition to providing efficient and secure real-time access to the MLS data, one of the the main reasons we developed this API was to help us promote adoption of RESO data standards to all of our MLS customers. We built the API based on the current standard names document and are working on harmonizing those standards across all of our customers.

At the same time, we’re using the flexmls API to build new products such as our real-time flexmls WordPress plugin and our new touch-enabled mobile flexmls site, which took some major strides just the other day when we added support for flexmls customer portals and IDX. By building new products on the real-time flexmls API, our customers will see the benefits of data standards and ask for more. User demand for more standards will increase even more as the API gets used by third party developers. Our theory essentially is to create demand for standards by making it easy for developers to create cool products agents, brokers and MLSs will want to improve their business. We’ve been calling it the “field of dreams” or “build it and they will come” approach and we’re excited about the results we’ve seen so far.

Sergio del Rio represented MRIS and reviewed how their new RESTful API (called MRIS Data Services) provides real-time data access as well. There are a lot of similarities between the approach MRIS took with their API and the approach we took, including use of OData query formats and delivery of data in JSON (and also XML) format. It’s great to see other developers seeing the benefits of RESTful APIs.

Steve Clarke and Scott Petronis also discussed several important points about how these new API developments could help promote data standards and provide benefits for real-time data access. Steve made an important point that as the new APIs develop, the RESO community needs to be careful to try to provide guidance to help avoid fragmentation.

To that end, Mark Lesswing made a presentation later in the day where he reviewed RESTful APIs and sought feedback from the community regarding whether they saw this approach as a viable for future consideration by RESO. I was very encouraged that support seemed widespread for a RESTful approach generally and use of OData for query formats, JSON and XML for payload format, and possibly oAuth as well. One of the main points Mark made was that it made sense to not reinvent the wheel when there are good tools already available and proven.

The last, but certainly not least, of the developments reported at the meetings are related to governance of RESO. Chair of the RESO Board, Rebecca Jensen, reported that by-laws have been filed with the State of Illinois for incorpration of RESO. In the new by-laws, the RESO Board of Directors firmly asserted control over governance of the standard.

Without as much as a peep from the community as a whole, the Board now has sole authority to create workgroups and approve the standard and really anything else that goes on with RETS and RESO. There will be no more votes from the community at large, even, from what I can tell, for the Board itself.

Rather, input from the community is garnered through workgroup participation. This change could appear controversial, but, in reality, the workgroups have been where the real work is done anyway and it’s a very rare change proposal that makes it out of a workgroup that isn’t approved by the community and so this shift of control to the Board likely won’t change that and it could have the benefit of making the process move faster as we won’t have to wait for the semi-annual meetings to approve changes.

Another potentially controversial issue that didn’t seem to raise too many hackles was the institution of a new RESO membership fee. The primary benefit of paying the RESO membership fee is that a representative from your firm can then be considered for the Board of Directors, as Board members are appointed based upon membership class. If the Board is successful raising funds from the largest vendors and MLSs, there won’t be many seats available because 12 of the 16 seats are automatically appointed to NAR (2 seats), vendors with over $50 million in revenue (4 seats), and MLSs with over 50,000 members (6 seats). Today, there probably aren’t that many large vendors or MLSs/Associations, but the Board nonetheless will be weighted strongly toward the biggest as those who are appointed from the biggest vendors and MLSs get to appoint the remaining seats.

Whereas I don’t see too much difficulty with the Board taking control of approving the standard because the workgroups are where the action is in defining the standard anyway, I’m a bit more concerned with the lack of input from the community on who gets on the Board. There appear to be few checks and balances in place with this new structure. The biggest check and balance, of course, is that the community can cease to participate, but that might be too little, too late. I have no problem with the largest MLSs and vendors having Board seats, but I’d like to see more clear broker involvement and a stronger role for the community in providing oversight to the Board through some participation in the election process.

In conclusion, despite my long-term concerns about the lack of checks and balances for the Board, congratulations are due to the RESO Board as a whole but especially Chair Rebecca Jensen, NAR CTO Mark Lesswing, and RESO Executive Director Travis Wright for the progress they’ve made in moving RESO in the direction of data standards and to creating a clearer and stronger organization structure.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/september-2011-rets-recap-2/feed/ 1 https://wearefbs.com/blog/so-much-advice-for-mlss-from-so-many-corners-and-a-lens-for-sorting-through-it-all-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/so-much-advice-for-mlss-from-so-many-corners-and-a-lens-for-sorting-through-it-all-2/#comments Sat, 06 Aug 2011 00:21:17 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=2176 Continued]]> Leading up to and following the recent Inman Connect and Inman Data Summit conferences, there have been a deluge of articles from vendors, consultants and industry observers about how MLSs need to innovate:

• OnBoard Infomatics — Kim Cipriano from IDX and lifestyle search and data vendor OnBoard Infomatics started things off with an article called MLSs Taking Control of Your Destiny: A Plea, An Observation, A Call to Arms.
• WAV Group — Marilyn Wilson from the WAV Group followed that with Enough Analysis Paralysis! Time for MLSs to make it happen!
• Judith Lidenau put together a lot of feedback on Kim’s article from various industry leaders in her article called Let There Be Lions.
• After the conference, Brian Boero from 1000Watt consulting weighed in with an article called The “Level Playing Field” is a Wasteland.
• Rob Hahn, never one to disappoint, asked Why Shouldn’t the MLS Be A Public Utility?
• Matt Carter from Inman News summed up some of the discussion from their conference with an article called Barriers to MLS innovation, change.

Each of these articles is fascinating on its own but collectively they remind me of why I started the FBS Blog over four years ago.  My first article, penned in March 2007, was called Death of the MLS? The hot topics then were competition from consumer portals such as Zillow and Trulia, mass regionalization of MLSs, and the Department of Justice litigation against the NAR over VOWs.  The VOW litigation with DOJ has now been resolved, of course (with some effects lingering through reverberations in IDX), but the other two topics remain at the forefront of MLS policy issues.

The big question pertaining to sites like Zillow and Trulia has morphed from whether they will become a national MLS to how MLSs can help them improve the quality of their data.  Similarly, regionalization has forged on in many areas, but it’s slow and hard work.  Perhaps the biggest shift related to regionalization is that NAR has put forth the REALTORS Property Resource (RPR) and Corelogic and Move have made their national moves toward the MLS as well.  In fact, one of the newest fronts on the regionalization front combines these two themes into one by those advocating a national aggregation of listing data for syndication.

In many ways, I think the real question being debated in all these articles and over the last few decades is simply the question of whether there should be one national MLS or whether the local/regional MLSs will continue.  I’ve long argued that getting competitors to cooperate is very difficult and the value delivered in that regard by local MLSs should not be underestimated or presumed. Much of the consternation over how slowly or awkwardly MLSs appear to respond to calls for innovation may not be a lack of vision or guts, but rather a keener focus on the priority of preserving the cooperation that created the valuable data aggregation in the first instance.  The reality is that all the outside innovators in our industry are coming to the MLS for the value they continue to deliver day in and day out by fostering cooperation among the competitors in their market. Ignore or presume that value at your peril.

This is not to say that leadership and innovation aren’t important, but it’s helpful when there is some foundation for judging the innovation. I think the best way to judge an innovation is the market and competition. If value is proven, adoption will come through market forces. I think this is true for both product innovations like lifestyle search as well as bigger policy questions such as how big of a market an MLS should cover (local, regional, national, etc.).

Much of the debate in the articles linked above is basically trying to predict what the market ultimately will or should determine. Some argue that innovations like lifestyle search, agent ratings, and consumer-facing MLS sites will prove valuable.  Others argue that national MLS will be the ticket.  I say let the market figure it out.  Awesome leaders like Bob Hale from HAR and many others are absolutely necessary to an efficient market, but that doesn’t mean every MLS should try those innovations let alone adopt them. The entire point of competition and market forces is creating a market open to many decisions producing the truth over time.

I also think this basic premise — encouraging competitive markets — could be a strong foundation for many MLS decisions.  The MLS (local and regional) is basically laying the foundation for competitors to make a market in real estate. In thinking about this, MLSs need to distinguish between the different markets they impact, including the real estate market, the real estate software market, and the market for MLS services themselves.

Many argue that the market for MLS services is a monopoly already at a local level and so it makes sense to just nationalize it and create a more perfect monopoly.  I’ve long argued that is a mistake as it is too likely to result in a sub-optimal system over time and will eventually lead to fragmentation and re-building of the local and regional MLSs.  You can see a glimpse of this already over controversial issues like franchise IDX.  Instead of nationalizing the MLS, I’ve argued MLSs can improve competition for their service by agreeing to data standards.

In terms of the market for real estate software, MLSs definitely could increase competition by focusing on data standards but, equally important, it would be very helpful to create a business model (e.g., an app store) that allows developers to market to their products to all agents regardless of MLS on similar terms instead of having to cut deals with every individual MLS.

By focusing on industry standards, MLSs can open the key markets and improve competition, which should be fundamental to the MLS mission.  This also applies to the real estate market itself.  Many of the times MLSs get in trouble is when they succomb to the pressure of brokers to limit competition in the real estate market.  MLSs certainly need to preserve cooperation but also need to create rules that increase competition.

In sum, I’m just another voice providing advice to MLSs.  Many of the articles posted above provide great advice.  My advice is to judge them through the lens of creating competitive markets.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/so-much-advice-for-mlss-from-so-many-corners-and-a-lens-for-sorting-through-it-all-2/feed/ 5 https://wearefbs.com/blog/is-syndication-the-answer-to-mls-innovation-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/is-syndication-the-answer-to-mls-innovation-2/#comments Tue, 26 Jul 2011 21:52:07 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=2166 Continued]]> I’m at the Inman Data Summit conference this week in San Francisco and, as you might expect, there’s been a lot of debate about use of the MLS data by third parties.  When should it be allowed? Who decides? What uses are allowed? A variant on this theme is whether MLSs can or will innovate or will companies like Zillow, Trulia and Move be the driving forces of innovation, shutting MLSs out of the new value propositions being created.  Considering Zillow’s recent IPO and near $1 billion market valuation, this issue is perhaps even more at the fore than previously.

One of the most compelling answers to MLS data usage questions is that the brokers own the listing contracts and they should choose when, where and how the listings can be “used.”  I put the word “used” in quotes, because I think the discussion is easily scuttled when we confuse the various use cases.  Syndication traditionally is related to advertising on other sites and so that’s my primary focus here (but I think the non-advertising uses of the MLS data may be even more controversial).

With that in mind, the main point I’m making here is that syndication seems like an obvious answer to how MLSs can allow innovation, because it allows the brokers to decide.  I think few would argue that when it comes to advertising, the broker should decide when and where the listing gets advertised. That is, after all, what their listing contract directs them to do. Moreover, in a market economy, where the individual choices of each competitor are designed to produce the winner, broker control through syndication seems the most American of answers.

But does this answer also apply to all of the MLS data, the aggregation as a whole?  For example, if syndication (where each broker decides which of it’s competitors sites get to display heir listings) were applied to IDX, would IDX be as effective as it is?  Similarly, consider Realtor.com versus Zillow or Trulia.  How would the competitive landscape look different if Realtor.com only received listings by individual brokers or Zillow or Trulia all received the same data as Realtor.com?

Perhaps the answer to this question is yes.  Zillow and Trulia, which have been forced to rely on individual broker choices (syndication) for the most part most likely do not have the same deep listing footprint as Realtor.com but maybe they already have a critical mass and it’s only a matter of time before they have all the listings.  If that happens, then syndication is the answer to the question of how MLSs can innovate.

My guess, however, is that a syndication-only approach will foster innovation only by companies with enough resources to reach that critical mass.  As impressive as Zillow’s valuation is today, they’ve had to spend a lot of money building their brand and have yet to sustain a profit.   From that perspective, reaching critical mass through syndication appears difficult and I suggest MLSs continue to have a lot of value in the entire aggregation and syndication alone will not easily create an eco-system of innovation.

Instead, MLSs need to continue to argue and discuss and work hard to figure out how to allow innovation on the entire aggregation while also not allowing uses that make brokers not want to cooperate with the MLS any more.  One potential answer to the innovation question is to shift the discussion from distribution of the data to third parties to providing a way for third party developers to deliver products in the MLS system, which already serves not only agents but also consumers.  The analogy is making the MLS the platform and app store for access to and development of products relating to MLS data.  Instead of sending the data out, bring the developers and consumers in.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/is-syndication-the-answer-to-mls-innovation-2/feed/ 2 https://wearefbs.com/blog/complying-with-the-nars-franchise-idx-broker-opt-in-policy-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/complying-with-the-nars-franchise-idx-broker-opt-in-policy-2/#comments Thu, 09 Jun 2011 23:37:21 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=2124 Continued]]> At the NAR mid-year meetings in May, the NAR Board of Directors voted to require that MLSs provide a mechanism to allow brokers to opt-in to display of their listings via IDX on franchisor (not the local franchisee but the national franchisor) web site. Most of our loyal readers are already familiar with this issue, but, if you are not (and even if you are), I encourage you to read Brian Larson’s excellent review and analysis of the issue.

Alas, despite many questions and concerns with this new policy, our customers needed a solution to comply with the rule. What we decided was to modify the syndication options in flexmls to support broker opt-in for franchise sites in combination with IDX. This approach has the benefit of both tracking the broker opt-ins by individual franchise site and also providing the MLS a way to provide a RETS feed of only those listings from opted-in brokers.

For more information on this new feature, check out this MLS Admin video tutorial and this broker video tutorial (the clear direction and calming voice on the video is our very own Kendra O’Brien, who quickly got up to speed on this complex topic to produce the tutorials). We’re hopeful this new feature will help our MLS customers comply with the new policy, if they must.

For our customers who find this valuable, thanks go to James Ridley and Troy Davisson for the guidance and development of the new features and, of course, Kendra for producing the tutorials. Given the tight time-frame and complexity of figuring out a solution to this new NAR decision, I’m very proud of the response our team provided.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/complying-with-the-nars-franchise-idx-broker-opt-in-policy-2/feed/ 7 https://wearefbs.com/blog/should-there-be-a-national-association-of-mlss-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/should-there-be-a-national-association-of-mlss-2/#comments Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:28:40 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=2117 Continued]]> I’m at the MLS Cloud conference in Houston, where Bob Hale did not propose creation of a National Association of MLSs but I think the idea is pretty interesting.

The topic has been raised because the NAR has been creating some pretty crazy policies related to MLS lately, leaving many to wonder if MLSs themselves should be more in charge of their own destiny. I’m not sure I understand all the ways NAR helps MLSs today, but the main way the NAR incents MLSs to comply with their rules is errors and omissions insurance coverage. Could MLSs create a separate association (e.g., the Council of MLSs) to collectively purchase their own insurance? Would such an organization be useful? What other benefits does the NAR provide MLSs?

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/should-there-be-a-national-association-of-mlss-2/feed/ 24 https://wearefbs.com/blog/new-flexmls-mobile-in-beta-testing-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/new-flexmls-mobile-in-beta-testing-2/#comments Thu, 12 May 2011 00:14:01 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=2020 Continued]]>

FBS is pleased to announce that we’ve released today the first iteration of a new mobile flexmls® site for beta testing by our FBS-hosted MLS customers.  Flexmls users can access the beta site by either going to http://m.flexmls.com and clicking the beta link or going directly to http://m.beta.flexmls.com.  This first iteration is for MLS users only and so you will need to enter your MLS login and password.

I highlighted first iteration and beta in the previous paragraph to emphasize that this is just the beginning of our new mobile site.  The functionality is focused on basic search and listing display friendly to touch-enabled phones and other mobile devices.  The search is limited in this first iteration to some basic fields such as price, bedrooms, bathrooms, square feet, property type, sub-type, city, zip, sudbivision, MLS area, and a few other location-type fields.

The listing display includes summary, detail and photo views, with the detail view showing all all the data fields with the exception of rooms, which we’ll be adding shortly.

The next iteration we’re working on now will extend this basic search to our IDX and portal customers, and we’ll then be adding capabilities to view searches and carts from the flexmls Web system on mobile as well a new note-taking feature for you and your customers. Eventually, we expect to replace all the functionality of the current mobile site with this new one, and, until that time, the new mobile site will remain in beta.

One of the more geeky aspects of this new mobile site that we’re excited about is that it has been built using our new flexmls API (application programming interface). Our intent is to make the API available to other software developers who can then create even more cool products for our customers, such as new IDX applications, iPhone and iPad native applications, and many others. Building the mobile site on this new API made the first iteration take a little longer, but we believe it will have many long-term benefits. In addition to enabling innovation on the flexmls platform by third-party developers, the new API is standardized for purposes of searching across all of our 110+ MLS customers and so also will be a great encouragement to increase data standards among our customers. This new API is the future of development for FBS and we’re excited about the innovation it will bring to our customers.

I’d like to close by thanking our development team of Brandon Hornseth and Brandon Medenwald and our API team of Joshua Murray, Wade McEwen, and James Ridley, as well as our QA team of Kelly Prichard and Steve Eli (with my apologies to those I undoubtedly missed).

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/new-flexmls-mobile-in-beta-testing-2/feed/ 21 https://wearefbs.com/blog/does-the-existing-idx-policy-allow-mobile-sites-how-about-mobile-applications-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/does-the-existing-idx-policy-allow-mobile-sites-how-about-mobile-applications-2/#comments Fri, 06 May 2011 20:24:34 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1976 Continued]]>

I’ve written a couple of posts recently about the kerfuffle over the recommendation of a NAR work group to clarify that IDX data can be used on mobile, social, and RSS sites. The specific recommendation is to change the IDX policy as follows:

I read this recommendation as trying to conform the language of the IDX policy to the current reality today that agents and brokers are sharing IDX listings via social networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), RSS and mobile devices. Following publication of the recommendation, however, many letters and blog posts were written objecting primarily to sharing IDX data on social networks and via RSS.

Of note, however, none of the groups objecting appear to have the same problems with the idea of sharing IDX listings via mobile devices. In fact, just as IDX already is being used on social networks and RSS, there also already are several mobile products that make use of IDX data, such as Goomzee, Kurio, myAgent by IDX Inc., Pocket Listings, and others.

But here’s the fascinating question/dilemma I see coming if (or, more practically, when) the recommended change is rejected and the current language of “participant’s public web site” remains:

• Will mobile sites still be allowed under the definition of “participant’s public web site”? How about mobile applications, which aren’t even web sites at all?

This question is more than just mental gymnastics. The work group clearly thought the current language of “participant’s public web site” needed clarification, and listed mobile, social and RSS specifically. At the same time, those objecting must believe that the current language excludes social and RSS or objecting to the recommendation wouldn’t do any good.

But what about mobile, which also is part of the recommendation? If the recommendation is rejected, will mobile use now be prohibited as well as social and RSS? If not, then that must mean a mobile web site and mobile applications (which aren’t even web sites at all) fall within the definition of “participant’s public web site.” If that’s true, how is anyone to know what “participant’s web site” includes and doesn’t? After all, a mobile web site is no more the “participant’s web site” than is their profile page in Facebook or Twitter. Moreover, as mentioned above, mobile applications are not even web sites at all.

So, the question looms: What does “participant’s public web site” mean in the current policy and does it already include mobile sites and applications?

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/does-the-existing-idx-policy-allow-mobile-sites-how-about-mobile-applications-2/feed/ 2 https://wearefbs.com/blog/more-letters-to-nar-making-sausage-is-messy-but-the-results-can-be-tasty/ Thu, 05 May 2011 23:14:11 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1112 Continued]]>

I’m sure most of you have heard the old Otto von Bismarck quote about how “laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.” I guess we can extend that to MLS policy now as well, but in this age of the Interwebs we’re all nonetheless privileged to the most gruesome details.  Turn away now if you’re squeamish.

I wrote a few weeks ago about a controversy erupting over recommendations of an IDX Data Use Work Group to expand the use of IDX feeds beyond participant web sites to “any electronic means” including mobile devices, social media sites, and RSS feeds.

Letters to NAR urging rejection of this recommendation continue to mount, with the most recent coming from the Council of Multiple Listings Services (of which FBS is a proud member) and MLSListings Inc.

Generally, I agree with the conclusion these letters to NAR make, namely that the recommended policy change should be rejected as written.  But if there was an option to change the recommended language while keeping the intent, that would be a much better result. The overall intent of the policy — to allow innovation by brokers and agents — is critical to the industry.  What’s really needed here is not outright rejection but rather a little more sausage making.  Add some salt and a few other seasonings, and perhaps we’ll have ourselves a winner. (In this regard, the letter crafted by MLSListings Inc. does well to make recommendations instead of just arguing for rejection.)

The two recommendations I made in my earlier post were to define and require terms of use for IDX data and to tailor those terms of use to the particular uses and specific data being considered.  These two recommendations could address the concerns expressed by those urging rejection, as well as improve IDX protections overall.  Currently, most IDX policies of which I’m aware only specify that web sites displaying the data include a copyright statement in favor of the MLS.  Though a copyright statement is important, specifying a more particular contractual terms of use (e.g., personal, not commercial, etc.) would be very helpful to compliance enforcement.  Moreover, I’ve also suggested that perhaps those contractual terms of use could be different for different parts of the IDX data, such as a simple ad containing a few data fields versus the entire listing.  Clearly, the need to protect the entire data feed is different than the need to protect the basic advertisement implicit in each IDX listing.

With these recommendations in mind, let’s turn to some of the specific objections being made in the letters to NAR.  First, let’s address the use of RSS or Real Simple Syndication for display of IDX data.  The primary objection to RSS is that it makes it too easy for bad actors to rip IDX data off the web site.  This argument is flawed because bad actors already can easily rip IDX data off existing sites (parsing HTML is not much (if any) more difficult than parsing XML) and the benefit of RSS is that it is, in fact, simple.  Because theft of the data is already easy, the real key to responding to this concern (and shoring up the policy generally) is requiring a more comprehensive terms of use on sites displaying IDX data.  With such a terms of use, MLSs could specify what uses are and are not allowed for the IDX data and include contractual provisions that will be easier to enforce than a copyright-only enforcement claim.

Another argument being made against RSS is that it is not a “display” of IDX data but rather a method of transmission of the data.  Again, this argument misses the main point that RSS is intended to make sharing data easier.  Most of the letters concede that IDX data should be allowed on mobile devices.  Why is this?  Because it’s obvious how important mobile is to the consumer today, and that mobile is a natural and critical extension of a participant’s web presence (pay attention to this term, “web presence”).

For example, we all know how people love their iPads, right?  One of the most popular applications for the iPad (or the iPhone) is a news reader called Pulse.  Guess how Pulse pulls in data?  You got it, RSS (and, recently, APIs).  So, even though everyone agrees that mobile is critical for brokers and agents to engage consumers, one of the key ways consumers can consume content via mobile is being rejected.  Does that seem like the result everyone wants?

Here’s the most important point of this post and this entire debate: Innovation cannot be defined before it happens. This is my guess as to why the work group chose the vague language “any electronic means,” because no one can know what the next innovation will be to transform how real estate is advertised.  The reality is that the Interwebs are blurring all boundaries, which brings me to the objection to including IDX on social networks.

The objections to allowing IDX on social networks are that they are not the participant’s “web site”, they cannot be monitored, and the data goes stale, potentially misleading consumers.  All of these arguments are incorrect.  Social networks are almost all web sites and, for many, Facebook profiles and pages are their primary presence on the web (i.e., web site).  To say that social network profile pages are not web sites fundamentally ignores the shifting nature of the web.

The argument that Facebook profiles are harder to monitor than other web sites also is incorrect.  If I were an MLS participant, I could set up a WordPress site right now that would require users to register to see the IDX information and I could require that I approve every registration prior to use.  This is no different than approving a friend to see your Facebook profile.  I also could create separate sites for every city, zip code and neighborhood in my market, creating a huge number of sites the MLS would need to monitor, and all these sites would comply with the current IDX rules.  So, yes, social networks are yet another site to monitor but they do not change the nature or even the scope of the compliance enforcement problem, because, by definition, the web creates a limitless number of sites.

Another argument against allowing IDX on social networks is that the data will be stale.  Again, this problem is no different on social networks than it is on any other web site, where the data can equally be allowed to go stale.  In fact, two aspects of social networks make it less likely that stale data will mislead someone, especially as compared to other web sites.  First, sites like Twitter or even Facebook where the norm are short status updates are much more amenable to a link to a dynamic web page that can be always up to date than they are to static content. Second, the flow of information through these social networks is so fast that any stale data will, for all practical purposes, be long gone and out of site of anyone and everyone long before it can become stale or misleading to anyone.

To be clear, the objections brokers and others have made regarding data currency, policy enforcement, and liability exist, but they are not greater for social networks, mobile or even RSS than they are for the existing web sites that are allowed. The same problems already exist under the current policy, and the differences posed by mobile, social and RSS are not the source of the problems, the nature of the web itself is the source of the problems, and so they will not go away regardless of what happens with the policy.

(As a side note, if anyone thinks the issue of posting listing information to social networks isn’t already happening and that rejecting this policy change will stop it, check out these Twitter searches for Century21, ReMax, flexmls, Marketlinx, or your franchise or MLS vendor URL of choice.)

As I mentioned above, innovation is not known ahead of time.  What we do know is that the Interwebs are changing all of our lives, mostly in exciting and productive ways, even if the unknown is fearful.  Our industry needs to compete in this reality, where your web presence more and more is your presence in the market, where being on the web (or having a web site) means being on mobile devices and social networks and where RSS helps fuel all those channels.  So, instead of rejecting the innovation that will occur with or without us, we must craft the terms of use and contractual conditions on which these innovations can flourish.  Then we might have some tasty sausage.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/an-open-letter-from-idx-vendors-united/ Wed, 27 Apr 2011 23:16:02 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1115 Continued]]> Dear NAR MLS Policy Committee:

Since we’re coming up on the mid-year NAR convention, that must mean it’s time to talk IDX and MLS policies.  In just the last few weeks, there have been controversies regarding a proposal to clarify that IDX allows RSS updates, posting of listings to social networks, and mobile sites and applications.  In addition, the Realty Alliance and Leading Real Estate Companies of the World sent letters to NAR objecting to the newly-enacted policy allowing franchises to display IDX listings.

Not to be left out of the action, IDX Vendors United (aka “IDXVU”) also has a bone to pick about the new franchise policy, but it’s not the one that typically gets attention.  Instead, IDXVU is wondering why franchises are exempt from the rule requiring display of the IDX logo or broker name on listing summary pages?  Here’s the applicable language:

Initial search results that provide minimal information (e.g. “thumbnails”) are exempt from MLS-required disclosures (e.g. listing firm, listing agent, source of information, notice that information is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed accurate) provided that a direct link to a detailed (“full view”) display that includes all required disclosures is provided.

(IDXVU sourced the above policy text from Rob Hahn’s post on the topic, because it couldn’t find the actual policy on-line in my few minutes of searching.)

Why does this exemption only apply to franchises?  IDXVU can think of a few reasons, but none that wouldn’t also apply to every vendor of IDX solutions.  For example, one reason for the exemption is to prevent the franchise from having to research and deal with the myriad of policies and procedures of every MLS, which is a huge pain.  But, hey, you know what, every IDX vendor has to do that and so why are only franchises exempt from the rule?  To be clear, IDXVU thinks the exemption is great, except that it shouldn’t be an exemption, it should apply to everyone.

Thanks in advance for considering our question.

Sincerely,

IDX Vendors United

P.S.  Just in case you didn’t catch on, IDXVU does not actually exist (yet, wahaha!).  This post was written by me, Mike Wurzer, on behalf of FBS, just one of many IDX vendors with unanswered questions about IDX policies.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/weaving-a-tangled-web-with-idx-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/weaving-a-tangled-web-with-idx-2/#comments Fri, 15 Apr 2011 22:34:01 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1846 Continued]]> Controversy swirling around the National Association of REALTOR’s IDX policy is hardly new. The source of much of the controversy lies in the conflict between what non-NAR members are able to do with listings versus the restrictions on what NAR members can do with listings through IDX.

To review these issues, NAR’s MLS policy committee appointed a work group called the IDX Data Use Work Group, and that group recently published recommendations to (among other changes) amend the model IDX policy as follows:

Following publication of this recommendation, several smart people have said the language “by electronic means” is too broad and that allowing RSS for IDX may have negative repercussions. Here are my thoughts:

• Right Intent. The work group seems to have the right intent, which is to allow IDX to be a source of innovation and competition for brokers and agents.
• The Devil Is In The Details. Though the intent is heading in the right direction, I think the policy could use some refinement coupled with these changes to mitigate some of the concerns from the broad language. I address a few of these below.
• RSS. Allowing RSS feeds is a cool idea, but I wonder if some thought should be given to what goes in that feed. To my way of thinking, there’s a big difference between including the entire listing versus the few fields that might constitute an “ad” for the listing. Do consumers really want or need to see every field in the RSS feed? Does the complexity and risks of the issue change if only certain fields are included?
• Persistent Versus Transient Download. The most common way of using IDX data today is for the vendor to download the entire IDX database to their own server and store (persist) it there to serve queries to their web site. An alternative method is to only request the data from the MLS server when you need it (transient) and not store the results on your own server. Many of the problems with the broad language “electronic means” is the result of the IDX data being distributed and persisted on so many different servers. One way to allow more innovation without so many risks is to only allow transient queries for the IDX data via an IDX API built for that purpose. That way, usage is more easily monitored and data access more easily terminated to address those concerns.
• Terms of Use. I’ve written about this topic before but the most important issue here is to ensure that proper terms of use are crafted and agreed to by all the parties using the IDX data. More specifically, those terms of use need to vary depending on the data, with more strict rules covering the entire data set as opposed to perhaps the few fields that might make up an “ad” for the listing(s). Terms of use also are critical to enforcing transient use of an API, but we shouldn’t underestimate the value of being able to enforce a contract.

In summary, the direction the work group is moving is the right one to allow innovation and competition, and yet some additional terms of use could be applied to ensure that the program survives that very innovation. IDX is one of the best NAR policies ever crafted in the Internet age, and care should be taken with any changes.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/weaving-a-tangled-web-with-idx-2/feed/ 12 https://wearefbs.com/blog/fbs-confessions-ipad-support-and-why-i-love-web-developer-interns-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/fbs-confessions-ipad-support-and-why-i-love-web-developer-interns-2/#comments Thu, 10 Feb 2011 00:19:48 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1819 Continued]]> This post is both pleasing and painful.

First the pleasing part: We’ve released an update today for flexmls Web that significantly improves compatibility on the iPad.  We still have some things to fix (Flash charts and touch controls on mapping), but the basic functionality of flexmls Web now works on the iPad.  Specifically, we’ve fixed the scrolling problems in search results with the detail report and the left list (you can one-finger scroll both), fixed a display bug that prevented emailing of listing reports, and fixed several orientation challenges.  It’s not perfect yet, but it’s a lot better than it was and definitely is functional.

Now for the painful part.  One of the stakes in the ground on which FBS has distinguished itself and its products over the years has been support for multiple browsers.  Our theory in being steadfast about following web standards has been to be prepared for innovations exactly like that brought by the iPhone or iPad.  As  long as they ran a web browser, we’d be compatible.  Of course, life and software development are never that easy.

I’m about to go a bit technical here, but I think it’s useful.  Several years ago, we focused on turning flexmls Web from a web site into a web application that required less scrolling, no (or fewer) popups, and generally looked and felt more like a desktop application than a web site.  In some respects, those changes pushed the boundaries of what even desktop browsers could do.  To accomplish the “application” look and feel we were after, we used lots of iframes and other techniques that later on proved incompatible with the iOS and other touch-enabled mobile browsers.

We knew this going in but figured we’d be covered because we had a mobile version of our web site.  Alas, whereas flexmls Web was pushing the boundaries of what desktop browsers could do, our flexmls Mobile site was lagging way behind the capabilities of mobile browsers. Of course, this conflict came to a head with the popularity of the iPad, which was running a mobile browser on what people viewed as a desktop-like device.

When we first started discussing this problem, we concluded the best approach was to escalate work on our mobile site to take advantage of the increased power and touch-screen support in mobile browsers.  We reached this conclusion because we knew the design of flexmls Web presented big hurdles to compatibility given our use of iframes.  Removing the iframes was a major overhaul that was significantly more daunting than revamping mobile, so that was our direction.

Though we had a plan, our customers wanted a fix and they wanted it now.  Fortunately, one of FBS’s primary hiring channels is an intern program with our three local universities.  We hired two new interns this year, and, one of them, Nick Larson, was assigned the project of trying to fix some of the iPad bugs in flexmls Web.  Now, here’s why I love interns.  They come in with their eyes wide open, willing to try pretty much anything.  Heck, they’re just excited to be coding.  They don’t know or care anything about the legacy of the code or the nasty problems lurking around every corner.  They just go for it.

In this case, within a few days, Nick had figured out solutions to several of the key scrolling problems flexmls Web presented for the iPad, without having to ditch the iframes at all.  (For those interested in more technical details, I’m hoping we’ll get Nick to post a “how to” over on our Developer Center blog in the coming days or weeks.)  Almost magically, what was a major pain point for our customers is now mostly solved.  Again, some incompatibilities remain, but we’re working on those as well.

What’s really fantastic here is that Nick has shown us that flexmls Web can run on the iPad and that fact has changed our strategy.  We’re no longer cornering the iPad only into mobile.  That’s not to say we expect everything in flexmls Web to work on the iPad, but we do expect the basic functions to work. And the really great news is that we also have been making significant progress on our new mobile site, which also will work on the iPad.  So, we’re back to our beginnings and doing everything we can to support the most popular browsers today, which most definitely includes the browser on iOS devices.

For those of you who have been waiting patiently for some form of iPad support, we apologize for how long it took and we hope you enjoy the support we now offer.  We know it’s not 100% but we’re headed in the right direction.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/fbs-confessions-ipad-support-and-why-i-love-web-developer-interns-2/feed/ 45 https://wearefbs.com/blog/plugin-and-api/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/plugin-and-api/#comments Tue, 01 Feb 2011 23:28:24 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1720 Continued]]>

Disclaimer: This post promotes a new IDX product from FBS that costs money. If you use our IDX system to develop your site, you should probably read the post. If not, you’ve been warned.

On Monday, FBS released two new sites and two new products for users of our flexmls IDX system. First, we released a WordPress plugin that works with our IDX search. Second, for developers creating sites for agents and brokers using flexmls IDX, we’ve also made available the API (application programming interface) that powers the WordPress plugin, so that you can have ultimate control over the sites you’re developing for your agent and broker customers.

You can check out details about the plugin on this demo and documentation site for the plugin and you can check out details on the API in our new flexmls Developer Center web site.

First, let’s check out the WordPress plugin, which allows you to publish a lot of content to your WordPress blog site that can be indexed by search engines. For example, you can publish market stats like this:

[market_stats title=”Fargo Home Prices” width=”400″ height=”250″ type=”price” display=”SoldMedianListPrice,SoldMedianSoldPrice” property_type=”A” location=”City=’Fargo’&Fargo”]

In addition to price trend graphs, there are graphs on DOM, inventory, sale/list price ratio, and volume, and you can target the graphs at specific cities or zips or even map overlays you’ve drawn in flexmls Web. These statistics automatically update over time, so you can build neighborhood pages that are continually current.

The plugin also includes a listing slideshow widget you can insert into your blog posts or pages or your sidebar, like this:

[idx_slideshow title=”Fargo New Listings” link=”default” horizontal=”3″ vertical=”1″ source=”location” property_type=”A” location=”City=’Fargo’&Fargo” display=”new”]

The slideshow can be customized to show new listings, recent price changes, open houses and, if your MLS allows, recent sales. I’m hopeful this widget becomes popular, because I think it could lead to agents getting photos in faster and making sure their open house and other information is up to date in the MLS, because the live nature of these widgets makes it pretty clear when new listings don’t have photos yet and open house info isn’t entered.

Another widget you can insert into your sidebar, pages or posts is a targeted search form, like this one for horse lovers:

[idx_search title=”Find Horse Properties” link=”u532nk2c48k” property_type=”A” location_search=”on” buttontext=”Find” std_fields=”list_price,beds,baths,square_footage”]

You can create these forms by pointing the basic form (location, price, bedrooms, etc.) at a saved search IDX link that has more specialized criteria in it like Horse Property or, if your MLS allows, short sale or foreclosures.

You also can add a bunch of links for popular areas or saved searches for 1-click entry points into your IDX search:

[idx_location_links title=”Popular Cities” link=”default” property_type=”A” locations=”City=’Fargo’&Fargo|City=’West Fargo’&West Fargo|City=’Moorhead’&Moorhead|City=’Horace’&Horace|City=’Dilworth’&Dilworth|City=’Harwood’&Harwood|City=’Mapleton’&Mapleton|City=’Casselton’&Casselton”]

As mentioned above, you can combine the various widgets in a lot of ways to create pages for each community in which you specialize. We look forward to seeing what types of pages you create. In that regard, please let us know if you have some pages you’d like us to feature here or on our plugin site.

We’re hoping many agents and brokers find the WordPress plugin useful. We know, however, that not everyone uses WordPress and that many developers will want to help their agent and broker customers create a custom look and feel to their pages integrating flexmls IDX. To meet that need, we’re also making available the API on which we built the plugin so you can do your own thing. You can check out documentation on the API in our new flexmls Developer Center.

Importantly, the API is only for our IDX customers and it does require a $240 additional annual fee (which also includes the the WordPress Plugin; well, technically, the plugin is free, but the API access requires the license fee), but we think the combination of the WordPress plugin and the API will have a lot of value for developers wanting to leverage the flexmls IDX solution without having to re-host or synchronize any data or images. We take care of all of that for you, ensuring the data on your web site is always up to date and accurate directly from the MLS IDX program.

As mentioned above, we’re excited to see what you create with these new tools and we’re excited for the many upgrades we have planned as well.

---

Special thanks to Jay Thompson and Matt Pellerin (via Max Chirkov) for beta testing the plugin!

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/plugin-and-api/feed/ 18 https://wearefbs.com/blog/rpr-feedback-requested-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/rpr-feedback-requested-2/#comments Mon, 24 Jan 2011 13:02:01 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1643 For those of our customers live with RPR, I’d love to hear feedback on what you’re finding useful, how often you use it, and if there are ways you’d like to see flexmls integrate with RPR.  Just comment below.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/rpr-feedback-requested-2/feed/ 6 https://wearefbs.com/blog/join-us-for-the-mls-panels-at-inman-nyc-next-week-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/join-us-for-the-mls-panels-at-inman-nyc-next-week-2/#comments Fri, 07 Jan 2011 20:44:16 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1632 Continued]]> I’ll be moderating the MLS track at Inman NYC next week, and I’ll be participating on a couple of the panels as well. The panelists I’ll be speaking with include Art Carter from California Regional MLS, Bob Hale from HAR, Rob Hahn from 7DS, Marilyn Wilson from WAV Group, Curt Beardsley from MOVE, Ira Luntz and Rich Lull from LPS, and Joel MacIntosh from Wolfnet.

What I’d really like to do is condense all the panels into one big discussion, because I think there’s a lot of interesting overlap in the topics. For example, Art Carter, newly elected to the RESO Board, is on the first panel about MLS strategy, but I’d love to have him involved on the MLS data standards panel as well. Similarly, Bob Hale is on the Five Big Questions panel but I’d love to have him involved in the discussion Curt Beardsley and I will be having about upcoming trends.

I hope many of you will be able to join us for these panels in New York next week, and please let me know if any of you have questions you’d like me to pose to any of the panelists. Questions posted in the comments to this post will get first priority.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/join-us-for-the-mls-panels-at-inman-nyc-next-week-2/feed/ 2 https://wearefbs.com/blog/fbs-is-looking-for-a-rails-developer-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/fbs-is-looking-for-a-rails-developer-2/#comments Thu, 16 Dec 2010 22:18:27 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1611 Read all about it here! And apply by sending your resume to jobs at flexmls.com.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/fbs-is-looking-for-a-rails-developer-2/feed/ 2 https://wearefbs.com/blog/standards-are-what-happens-while-were-busy-making-other-plans/ Mon, 22 Nov 2010 23:57:33 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1132 Continued]]> Steve Gillmor wrote the following in a post on TechCrunch a few days ago:

Standards are what happens while we’re busy making other plans. They emerge from the rubble of innovation, not as the result of freedom-loving patriots who are trying to catch up with those who acted first. Sounds harsh, but Darwin doesn’t wait around for stragglers. Sometimes we need the winners of the world to do whatever it takes to get us to swallow our medicine.

This statement applies in spades to the MLS industry right now and is good advice to the newly elected directors of RESO.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/standards-are-what-happens-while-were-busy-making-other-plans-2/ Mon, 22 Nov 2010 17:11:17 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1587 Continued]]> Steve Gillmor wrote the following in a post on TechCrunch a few days ago:

Standards are what happens while we’re busy making other plans. They emerge from the rubble of innovation, not as the result of freedom-loving patriots who are trying to catch up with those who acted first. Sounds harsh, but Darwin doesn’t wait around for stragglers. Sometimes we need the winners of the world to do whatever it takes to get us to swallow our medicine.

This statement applies in spades to the MLS industry right now and is good advice to the newly elected directors of RESO.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/wav-group-series-on-broker-technology-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/wav-group-series-on-broker-technology-2/#comments Thu, 18 Nov 2010 21:53:11 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1581 The WAV Group is producing a great series of post that make an excellent case for more and better data standards in our industry, from listings to contacts to agents and beyond.  Hear! Hear!

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/wav-group-series-on-broker-technology-2/feed/ 1 https://wearefbs.com/blog/will-listing-syndicators-adopt-googles-new-original-source-and-syndication-source-tags-how-about-idx-vendors-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/will-listing-syndicators-adopt-googles-new-original-source-and-syndication-source-tags-how-about-idx-vendors-2/#comments Tue, 16 Nov 2010 23:00:29 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1576 Continued]]> Read/Write Web today reports on an effort by Google to encourage web publishers to specify whether their content is original or syndicated. The problem focused on by Read/Write Web is that of Google News and how Google attributes the author of a story when it crawls the many syndicated copies out there:

The two new tags that Google introduced today are syndication-source and original-source. The syndication-source tag can be used to indicate the location of the original story. The original-source tag should be used to highlight the URL of “the first article to report a story.” A story that uses material from a variety of original sources can include more than one original-source tags to point to these. Both of these tags can also point to the current page URL, so publishers can call attention to their own original reporting. You can find more details for how to implement these tags on your site here.

For now, Google still calls this an experiment is only using the syndication-source tag in its rankings to distinguish among groups of duplicate articles. The original-source is “only being studied” and doesn’t factor into Google’s rankings yet.

Of course, duplicate listing content is a problem in the real estate space as well.  Here are several questions:

• Should listing syndicators like ThreeWide (now owned Move, Inc.) and Point2 specify the original-source?
• What should be the original source?
• Does this also apply to IDX offerings?
• If IDX listings contain the original-source tag and point it back to the listing broker, should this reduce the need to disclose the broker name on summary reports as apparently is the case now for franchise sites using IDX listings?
• What other implications or uses do you see for these tags?

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/will-listing-syndicators-adopt-googles-new-original-source-and-syndication-source-tags-how-about-idx-vendors-2/feed/ 12 https://wearefbs.com/blog/fbs-is-looking-for-a-uiux-lead-designer/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/fbs-is-looking-for-a-uiux-lead-designer/#comments Tue, 02 Nov 2010 02:12:03 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1566 Do you have experience with visual and user-interface design for web applications? If so, I’d like to talk with you about coming to work for FBS. Post a comment below or send an email to me at jobs at flexmls.com.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/fbs-is-looking-for-a-uiux-lead-designer/feed/ 5 https://wearefbs.com/blog/should-mlss-allow-fsbo-listings-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/should-mlss-allow-fsbo-listings-2/#comments Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:09 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1554 Continued]]> According to Inman News (both articles now behind their pay wall), the Canadian government appears to have forced CREA to allow MLS-only (essentially, for-sale-by-owner) listings and there is litigation in Alaska and Nebraska over the same issue. Is the writing on the wall here? Should MLSs figure out a way to allow FSBO listings into the MLS?

Some time ago, I wrote that the distinction between agents and consumers in terms of being a “member” in the MLS is sometimes dubious at best. There are plenty of MLS members who are inactive but maintain their membership so they have access to the MLS. Accordingly, the question is one of paying for access and agreeing to the terms of use. Can terms of use be crafted to allow sellers to access the MLS directly? Could this benefit everyone?

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/should-mlss-allow-fsbo-listings-2/feed/ 43 https://wearefbs.com/blog/the-business-of-software-2010-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/the-business-of-software-2010-2/#comments Thu, 07 Oct 2010 12:27:39 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1468 Continued]]> Here are my reflections on the recent Business of Software (BoS) conference I attended in Boston. First, this tweet summarizes what I think a lot of the speakers at BoS conveyed to us:

But passion is just one side of the equation; being thoughtful is the other. When you combine passion and thoughtfulness, you get art or human creativity.

The speakers at BoS were all artists, both very human and creative. My favorite stories were from:

Giacomo ‘Peldi’ Guilizzoni, the creator of Balsamiq, who showed us how to love your family and your work both very much.

Seth Godin, who again inspired me to focus our software even more on connecting people.

Scott Farquhar from Atlassian, who showed how your first ideas are stepping stones to better ones.

Dan Bricklin, creator of VisiCalc and President of Software Garden (which has produced Note Taker HD, currently one of the top 20 apps in the Apple app store), who showed us all how to fly through the ups and downs of your career.

Derek Sivers, creator of CD Baby, told a story about how he formed his company culture early on and how that changed (everything) as he was less present to the company.

But most of all, I was moved by Joel Spolsky, one of the founders of Fog Creek and Stack Overflow. Joel gave a very personal accounting of the founding of Stack Overflow and many of the challenges the idea and software blossomed. Several ideas rang out for me from Joel’s story:

There’s good and bad art. Simply creating is not enough. What you create should make life better. There must be value in what you do.

In business, value is measured by profits, which is why the business side of software is just as creative as the engineering side. If you don’t have profits, you are not producing value and you cannot continue to try.

The value you produce correlates to the values you hold and use to make decisions for your business — this is called leadership.

Though each of the speakers was very different and had different stories to tell with different lessons to be gleaned, each of them showed us their artistry, which stood out because we see what they’re doing as true.

For me, this year, the Business of Software conference was less about any clever insight than it was an inspiration to continuously learn and explore how our software business is the business of life. It’s about people: Our customers, employees and everyone we touch. And how each of these people want to create value. That’s the business of software.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/the-business-of-software-2010-2/feed/ 4 https://wearefbs.com/blog/implementing-meaningful-data-standards-requires-cooperation-among-mlss-and-vendors-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/implementing-meaningful-data-standards-requires-cooperation-among-mlss-and-vendors-2/#comments Tue, 28 Sep 2010 04:12:26 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1452 Continued]]> This week I’m in Chicago for the Real Estate Standards Organization fall meeting and then for CMLS 2010 in the latter part of the week. Today was the opening sessions for the RESO meetings, and the overall tone was set for a productive meeting and a breath of fresh air for the future.

First, Mark Lesswing from NAR clarified that RESO is no longer going to try to create a formal organization. Instead, he recommended that the intellectual property for the standard be clarified by each contributor issuing a Creative Commons type license to make it clear that others are free to use the standard without fear of IP claims by other contributors. The lack of clarity on the ownership of the RESO standard has long been a frustration, and so it’s great to finally see some leadership and progress on this issue.

Second, Travis Wright, RESO’s Executive Director, also announced a strong slate of candidates for the five open RESO Board seats. The slate of candidates contains leaders from some of the largest MLSs in the country, including David Charron from MRIS, Art Carter from California Regional MLS, Rebecca Jensen from the Wasatch Front MLS in Utah, Pat Bybee from Metrolist in Denver, Jeremy Crawford from Sandicor, Kathy Condon from MLSPIN, and Rob Overman from LPS. Seeing such strong business leaders interested in the RESO Board is very encouraging.

Two of the RESO Board candidates, Art Carter and Rebecca Jensen, also were presenters in the last session of the day along with Bob Bemis, CEO of ARMLS (an FBS customer). These three executives all represent MLSs that are part of the COVE group of MLSs. During the presentations, they each emphasized strongly that RESO has failed so far in delivering data standards but now needs to deliver some meaningful progress on data standards or it is likely they would seek a different solution. Both Art Carter and Bob Bemis made it clear they felt that the MLS vendors had frustrated data standards, and that this needed to change. David Charron backed this up during the Q&A after the presentation by stating that MRIS was going to give RESO one more chance to deliver on data standards.

So, the writing on the wall seems clear. The biggest MLSs in the country are dead serious about data standards. David Charron and Art Carter are both running for election to the RESO Board, and so they obviously feel that there’s some life left in the organization, but they’ve also put the organization on notice that this is the last gasp: Do something about standards or the effort will go in a different direction.

These strong statements from these CEOs from the COVE group of MLSs were equaled by a recent blog post from Rob Overman (VP of New Technologies for LPS) entitled The Secret Standard?. In that post, Rob makes the case that the RESO standards already include definition of some standard data fields and states: “Most of the fingers are pointing in the wrong direction.” Rob goes on to make the case that the reason data standards aren’t implemented is that there isn’t a return on investment for the MLS organizations.

So, what’s really going on here, is there a conflict between the MLSs and vendors regarding data standards? I hope not. The COVE Group has done the industry a great service by moving forward together to define data standards (we expect to hear details about these efforts tomorrow). However, Rob’s point is well taken that defining data standards is only the first step and implementing them in the 800 MLSs around the country is a much more daunting task, requiring massive conversions or data mapping efforts by both MLSs and vendors.

Tomorrow we expect to hear from Matt Lavallee on efforts of the COVE Group to define 635 standard fields and data types. This is a great accomplishment and it will squarely raise the question of whether other MLSs will expend the resources to convert or map their data to this proposed standard. I sure hope so. For the last four years, FBS has been begging for data standards. We’re actively engaged in multiple regional efforts to standardize data, and it would be so great to have a national standard to guide these regional efforts. Please, please, I’m begging. The efforts we’re currently undertaking would be so much more efficient if we were working toward a national standard instead of lots of regional efforts. That’s the reason I started pounding the topic of data standards four years ago.

This shouldn’t be a vendor/MLS debate. And thanks to the COVE Group efforts, the debate isn’t long to be about defining data standards. Rather, as Rob points out, the issue is how do we implement the defined standards. It won’t be easy, but, if vendors and MLSs can work together, we can get it done.

—-

Matt Cohen has a great write-up on today’s RESO meetings over at his blog. Go check it out.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/implementing-meaningful-data-standards-requires-cooperation-among-mlss-and-vendors-2/feed/ 2 https://wearefbs.com/blog/trulia-questions-neutrality-of-listhub-now-that-theyre-owned-by-competitor-move-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/trulia-questions-neutrality-of-listhub-now-that-theyre-owned-by-competitor-move-2/#comments Wed, 22 Sep 2010 15:49:27 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1450 Continued]]> Sami Inkinen, COO of Trulia, writes in a blog post yesterday that he’s worried about whether ListHub will be an honest broker regarding listing activity data now that it’s owned by rival Move, Inc. and Realtor.com:

The previously independent ListHub platform (some called it the Switzerland of listing syndication) for listing reporting is now owned by one of the largest “channels”. What happens if there’s a dip in performance and Realtor.com’s numbers drop below those of its competitor sites?

It is difficult to imagine a world where JetBlue and Virgin America would be buying fuel from American Airlines in a fair and independent marketplace where American Airlines has full visibility into the demand from their competitors. Listhub owned by Move Inc, essentially creates this situation.

Sami then suggests that a possible solution would be to “create a committee made up of brokers, MLSs and major online real estate listing sites which will provide accountability to all customers they serve.” I’m not really sure who Sami is suggesting should form this committee, but, at least with respect to listing activity data, I think there’s an easier way.

Several months ago, I posted about a Listing Activity API we created to make it easy for third-party web sites to post listing activity data into the MLS system, which, in my view, is the obvious neutral party for collecting and reporting listing activity data (at least on an aggregate level). Shortly after publishing the API, I contacted both Realtor.com and ThreeWide to see if they’d adopt the standard for the benefit of our mutual customers, but I haven’t heard back from them and now that the merger is announced, I can understand more why that is the case.

Anyway, I think this API or something like it could easily answer Sami’s concerns at least on the neutrality of the listing activity reporting, and I think Sami’s concerns are a good reason why MLSs should be requiring all data recipients (syndicators, etc.) to adopt an API that reports back listing activity data.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/trulia-questions-neutrality-of-listhub-now-that-theyre-owned-by-competitor-move-2/feed/ 10 https://wearefbs.com/blog/did-listingbook-buying-cyberhomes-surprise-anyone-else-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/did-listingbook-buying-cyberhomes-surprise-anyone-else-2/#comments Wed, 04 Aug 2010 00:08:47 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1445 Continued]]> Being on vacation right now, I won’t take the time to delve into too many details, but I was surprised to read that ListingBook has bought Cyberhomes. When RPR bought the technology behind Cyberhomes, I presumed the public site would go away eventually, but I was obviously wrong. Was anyone else surprised to hear that ListingBook will now own Cyberhomes? Now, if RPR could just strike up a deal with ListingBook . . .

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/did-listingbook-buying-cyberhomes-surprise-anyone-else-2/feed/ 9 https://wearefbs.com/blog/docusign-for-fbss-flexmls-forms-customers/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/docusign-for-fbss-flexmls-forms-customers/#comments Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:42:55 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1429 Continued]]> Last fall, we announced that FBS was integrating Docusign with our flexmls Forms system. Though we originally anticipated the integration would be complete earlier this year, we’re happy to report, along with Docusign, that the integration is now complete and live for our flexmls Forms customers. We have approximately 11,000 flexmls Form customers, and are expanding that user base at a pretty decent rate.

Docusign is an incredibly cool technology that goes well beyond electronic signatures, and allows users to manage and monitor the transaction execution process. Here’s a video that shows the integration:

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/docusign-for-fbss-flexmls-forms-customers/feed/ 4 https://wearefbs.com/blog/can-the-mls-become-the-consumer-reports-for-real-estate-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/can-the-mls-become-the-consumer-reports-for-real-estate-2/#comments Mon, 19 Jul 2010 22:06:11 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1426 Continued]]> A few years ago, I wrote a post called Are Listing Portals Like the New York Times or Consumer Reports? The gist of that post was that listing portals without ads supported by real estate professionals might garner interest than advertising supported portals rife with conflicts of interest posed by the ads.

But here’s a new twist on this same theme. Last week, Apple called a press conference to respond to reports of reception problems for its iPhone4 when held in a certain way. During the press conference, Steve Jobs specifically mentioned a report by Consumer Reports as being important in their decision to call the press conference. Quoting a New York Times article, the Signal versus Noise blog pointed out that:

In large measure, the article in Consumer Reports was devastating precisely because the magazine (and its Web site) are not part of the hot-headed digital press. Although Gizmodo and other techie blogs had reached the same conclusions earlier, Consumer Reports made a noise that was heard beyond the Valley because it has a widely respected protocol of testing and old-world credibility. Mr. Jobs acknowledged as much, saying: “We were stunned and upset and embarrassed by the Consumer Reports stuff, and the reason we didn’t say more is because we didn’t know enough.”

In other words, Consumer Reports has credibility. Importantly, Consumer Reports has a subscription model and is ad-free. They’re thriving with that model because consumers value their content.

As the real estate industry deals with a cornucopia of listing portals publishing out-of-date listing information and yet claiming authority as they do, the model of value and authority demonstrated by Consumer Reports something for all the MLSs, brokers and agents out there to consider.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/can-the-mls-become-the-consumer-reports-for-real-estate-2/feed/ 3 https://wearefbs.com/blog/zillow-and-yahoo-partner-on-listing-ads-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/zillow-and-yahoo-partner-on-listing-ads-2/#comments Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:46:29 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1410 Continued]]> Inman News published a news flash about a partnership between Yahoo! and Zillow on listing ads. In the article, Steve Schultz, head of Yahoo! Real Estate, said part of the reason for the partnership is:

Because listings and advertisements have become so closely intertwined, it makes practical sense for Zillow to also handle for-sale listings feeds, said Steve Schultz, head of Yahoo Real Estate.

“The listing is, in many cases, part of the ad product, so it’s very difficult to separate out the discussion,” Schultz said. “It’s important for clarity for the agent or broker to have one phone number to call to work out issues with their free listing or enhanced listing.”

From the MLS perspective, this quote reminds me of three prior posts here on the FBS Blog:

The Conflicts of Advertising and Listings

Moving From Distorted Advertising to Useful Information in the MLS

Proper Terms of Use Depend on Balance Between IDX and VOWs

I continue to think that the real estate industry would benefit from more clearly defining what part of the listing constitutes an advertisement and what doesn’t, because the licensing terms for the two could be quite different, with the former having fewer terms and restrictions than the latter.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/zillow-and-yahoo-partner-on-listing-ads-2/feed/ 1 https://wearefbs.com/blog/map-overlays-now-available-in-flexmls-idx-developer-api-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/map-overlays-now-available-in-flexmls-idx-developer-api-2/#comments Thu, 17 Jun 2010 21:27:28 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1397 Continued]]>

A few months ago, we added a new feature to flexmls Web that allows each user to define their own map shape overlays. Now we’ve added functionality to allow the shapes in those overlays to be referenced through the web developer API for flexmls IDX. We also have on our project list adding a feature to more easily give shapes to other users, which will help with using the shapes in the API as well.

You can see the full API documentation here, but here’s the new section:

Shapes From My Overlays

The shapes created with the “My Map Overlays” tool can be referenced with the &map_overlays= parameter. Multiple overlays can be specified in a comma-separated list of IDs.

To retrieve the ID of a given overlay, follow these steps:

1. Visit the My Map Overlays menu item in the Preferences menu, and select the overlay with the shape you wish to use. Once you have chosen your overlay, click the shape you wish to retrieve the key for, then click the edit link, as shown below:

The contents of the bubble will change, you and will see a link with the text Show API Key:

The link will be placed with a code to reference this shape by, which will be used as the value to the &map_overlays= parameter.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/map-overlays-now-available-in-flexmls-idx-developer-api-2/feed/ 2 https://wearefbs.com/blog/dan-pink-on-drive-and-why-fbs-is-employee-owned-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/dan-pink-on-drive-and-why-fbs-is-employee-owned-2/#comments Wed, 16 Jun 2010 02:36:01 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1390 Continued]]> Over two years ago, I wrote about some of the research that spurred me on to make FBS an employee-owned company. That research is summarized really well by this RSA video created for a Dan Pink speech:

 

Autonomy, mastery and purpose. These are the keys to the maker movement. We all want to be owners, I have no doubt about that.

The big question I have right now is whether or not it is possible to organize owners. Or is organized owners an oxymoron? Can you have autonomy in an organization?

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/dan-pink-on-drive-and-why-fbs-is-employee-owned-2/feed/ 2 https://wearefbs.com/blog/max-chirkov-built-a-wordpress-search-plugin-for-flexmls-idx/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/max-chirkov-built-a-wordpress-search-plugin-for-flexmls-idx/#comments Tue, 08 Jun 2010 22:09:41 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1383 Continued]]> This is really cool.  Max Chirkov is the Marketing Director for The Phoenix Homes Team run by Matt Pellerin, and he’s created a new WordPress plugin that makes it easy for users of our flexmls IDX system to add a simple search to their blog side bar or inside blog posts.  Here’s a video from Max explaining the plugin in detail.

Max used the flexmls IDX API to help him build the search plugin. We also know Greg Swann is doing some really cool things with the flexmls IDX API, and we look forward to seeing what others start creating as well. If you’re a developer and you’ve used the flexmls IDX API, let us know and we’ll feature it here on the FBS Blog.

Update: Max sent me a message saying the plugin will be published here as soon as WordPress approves it. You can download the plugin here.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/max-chirkov-built-a-wordpress-search-plugin-for-flexmls-idx/feed/ 6 https://wearefbs.com/blog/statewide-mlss-are-both-too-big-and-too-small-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/statewide-mlss-are-both-too-big-and-too-small-2/#comments Mon, 24 May 2010 16:30:07 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1363 Continued]]> Inman News published an in-depth paper from Cameron Paine, CEO of the Connecticut MLS, advocating consolidation to statewide MLSs.  I agree with many of the arguments and claims made in the paper, but I disagree that statewide MLSs are the best solution.  Instead, as I’ve long advocated here on the FBS Blog, the best solution is a national data standard that allows for innovation and competition at every level by every MLS, franchise, broker, agent, and software developer.

My primary question at this point is whether consolidation is the only path to data standards.  The whitepaper states, “Politics is the single greatest barrier to the advancement of MLS consolidation.”  There’s a grain of truth in this statement, and it applies to forming data standards as well.  At the same time, creating statewide MLSs without first addressing data standards would only seem to exacerbate the current problems by making the political entities stronger.  It is in this regard that statewide MLSs are too small.  The best data standard is one without borders, not one constrained to state boundaries.

With a national (or broader) real estate data standard, software developers would have a much better chance of writing software that could be sold to all the agents in the country instead of just those in one state at a time.  By creating a bigger opportunity for software developers, the competition increases and the options to agents, brokers and franchises increases commensurately.

In addition to being too small, statewide MLSs also are too big.  As the whitepaper points out, politics is one of the biggest problems, and making MLSs even bigger (other than through market forces) will just exacerbate the politics.  Having 50 statewide data formats may be perceived to be an improvement, but not if it prevents a national standard.  The whitepaper points out that some brokers don’t have a choice of MLS software, but the choices become even less with statewide MLSs.

No, statewide MLSs are not the answer.  What is the answer is developing national data standards that can promote a platform on which competition and innovation can be fostered.  Only the market can determine the best size of each MLS, but the market needs to be able to work and so leaders like CTMLS should focus on creating a platform for competition instead of trying to button-hole data into statewide MLSs.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/statewide-mlss-are-both-too-big-and-too-small-2/feed/ 12 https://wearefbs.com/blog/where-and-how-often-is-your-listing-being-viewed-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/where-and-how-often-is-your-listing-being-viewed-2/#comments Wed, 05 May 2010 19:45:47 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1346 Continued]]>

For some time, FBS has had a report in our flexmls Web system called the Listing Activity Report. This report provides listing agents and their sellers information on how often their listing is being viewed:

• By agents inside the flexmls system,
• By customers receiving email links from agents through flexmls Web;
• By consumers visiting agent sites using our flexmls IDX system; and
• By consumers using the flexmls Portal provided to them by their agent.

The report also shows:

• How often the listing is being marked as a favorite, possibility or reject by those viewing the listing;
• How often more information or a showing is requested; and
• How often the listing is shared to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Dwellicious or other social networks.

This is all great information but a big gap on the report has been information about where and how often the listing is being viewed outside the flexmls ecosystem.

Spurred on by a suggestion on the John Hall Blog (check out this post for a good overview of the Listing Activity Report), James Ridley and David Kerzman from FBS set up a listing tracking API (application programming interface) to allow third parties to submit data from their system to the Listing Activity Report.  Once James had the API working, we contacted Justin LaJoie, CEO of Diverse Solutions, which provides an IDX system to several of our clients, to see if he’d be interested in submitting hit data from their system to the Listing Activity Report.  Justin was gracious to respond to the request and put a developer on the project, which took just a few hours, and so our Listing Activity Report is now showing view activity data from the Diverse Solutions IDX system as shown in the report sample below (note that the activity data for Diverse is lower just because they just started sending in the data).

Though Justin and Diverse Solutions are a competitor of ours in the IDX world, we believe the listing agents and sellers will benefit from having this data available to them directly through the MLS system.  We’re also hopeful other companies will provide hit data so they, too, can be included on this report.  We think it will benefit them to be on the report and, most importantly, it will benefit the listing agents and sellers, because they’ll have more information about how their listing is faring on the web.

We’ll be contacting other companies to see if they’re interested in participating but please let us know if you’re interested in getting your listing view information on the listing activity report, and we’ll get you set up!

Lastly, if you’re an MLS, we encourage you to ask any of vendors receiving your listing data to participate in this program so that your members have easy access to the listing activity data right through the MLS system.

 

 

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/where-and-how-often-is-your-listing-being-viewed-2/feed/ 17 https://wearefbs.com/blog/a-picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words-or-in-our-case-characters-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/a-picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words-or-in-our-case-characters-2/#comments Mon, 03 May 2010 20:36:57 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1334 Continued]]>

We’ve long understood the benefit of great photos for consumers and agents viewing listings, which is why flexmls Web allows an unlimited number of high-resolution photos per listing. Sometimes the features of the property are so compelling, however, that calling them out with a good description helps the customer appreciate the photo even more.

To that end, we’ve increased the size of the photo descriptions in flexmls Web to 1,000 characters. The photo descriptions show at the top of the photo on the photos tab and will now expand and collapse to show all of the text. So, desribe the type of flooring or countertops or window shades and other features that make the home distinct. Bring the power of the keyboard to supplement your photos and make your photos truly tell a story.

Thanks to Greg Swann for letting me use one of his photos and descriptions.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/a-picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words-or-in-our-case-characters-2/feed/ 2 https://wearefbs.com/blog/columbia-board-of-realtors-is-looking-for-a-new-ceo-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/columbia-board-of-realtors-is-looking-for-a-new-ceo-2/#comments Thu, 01 Apr 2010 19:47:05 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1229 Continued]]> Update: I’m told the application period for this position has closed.

Carol Van Gorp, the current CEO of the Columbia Board of REALTORS, is moving from Missouri to Florida to take the CEO position at the REALTOR Association of the Palm Beaches.  Carol certainly will be missed at CBOR and by us here at FBS, as she’s been a joy to work with.

Carol’s move to Florida, however, means that the Columbia Board is looking for a new CEO.  If you’re interested, here are the details.  The Columbia Board has 500 members and is a very professional and progressive organization, and you’ll certainly be stepping into an organization that has been well run.  Go apply!

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/columbia-board-of-realtors-is-looking-for-a-new-ceo-2/feed/ 2 https://wearefbs.com/blog/where-does-rets-fit-in-nars-strategic-vision-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/where-does-rets-fit-in-nars-strategic-vision-2/#comments Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:29:20 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1227 Continued]]> Here at HAR’s Real Estate Information Symposium, we were treated yesterday to a speech from Dale Stinton, NAR’s Chief Executive Officer.  Dale provided what he said was an unprecedented public review of NAR’s long-term strategic plan.  I didn’t get everything written down Dale said about the plan (though Rob Hahn may have), but it included several of the initiatives NAR has talked about recently, especially RPR and HouseLogic.

One thing that Dale didn’t mention at all as part of NAR’s strategic vision, however, was the Real Estate Transaction Standard (RETS) or data standards.  I’ve written before that I think RPR is full of potential, but it specifically isn’t focused on addressing the very real efficiency and competition problems caused by a lack of implemented data standards in the industry.

In discussing this with a few people after the conference yesterday, the two themes that emerged for why NAR doesn’t talk about data standards as a strategic initiative is that it won’t sell to the members and NAR can’t be seen as forcing MLSs to a common data format.  I can understand both of these issues.  Data standards are boring.  More importantly, most agents, brokers, etc., are actually astonished to know that the data is different in every MLS.   When they hear that isn’t the case, they’re shocked.

I’d suggest that this shock is exactly the thing that should be leveraged to sell the need for data standards to the industry.  Admit the problem, and put some energy toward fixing it.  The Cove Group of MLSs has shown interest in fixing it.  Mark Lesswing, NAR’s CTO, has expressed interest as a skunkworks project, and it would be great to see data standards be a bullet point on Dale’s next set of slides for NAR’s strategic vision.

Dale is a compelling and passionate advocate for REALTORS, and the NAR is being well-served by his passion and vision for the future.  If Dale also were to include data standards in his passion and vision, the mountains would begin to move.   Without that top-level backing, however, it may be time to move standards efforts into a new organization.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/where-does-rets-fit-in-nars-strategic-vision-2/feed/ 4 https://wearefbs.com/blog/web-design-humor-2/ Tue, 30 Mar 2010 12:16:03 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1223

I was searching for some images for a conference panel I’m on today, and I ran across this article from web-usability expert Jakob Nielsen, which includes this comic that tickled my funny bone.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/great-idea-insertyourcity-mls-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/great-idea-insertyourcity-mls-2/#comments Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:42:30 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1221 Continued]]> Brian Larson posted today about a new push he and several MLSs (see below) are making to create a new top-level domain of .mls (you know, like .com, .org, .tv, etc.) exclusive to MLSs.  I think this is a great idea.  One challenge I can see as MLS regionalization efforts rage on is how battles over the domains will be resolved by the MLSs themselves.  What MLS, for example, will get Atlanta.mls?

Anyway, this is a great example of some innovative thinking to brand MLSs more clearly, and I look forward to seeing the effort progress.  For all of our MLS clients, I recommend you support this effort here.

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The founding MLSs of this effort are: Arizona Regional MLS (ARMLS), Austin Board of REALTORS (ACTRIS), Carolina Multiple Listing Services (CMLS), First Multiple Listing Service (FMLS), Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS), Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), Multi Regional MLS (MRMLS), Multiple Listing Service, My Florida Regional MLS (MFRMLS), Realtor Association of Greater Ft. Lauderdale, Regional MLS (RMLS), Southern California MLS (SoCAL), TREND, and Triangle Multiple Listing Service.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/great-idea-insertyourcity-mls-2/feed/ 4 https://wearefbs.com/blog/more-progress-on-data-standards/ Wed, 24 Mar 2010 00:39:55 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1183 Continued]]> As I wrote following the last RETS meeting, the Cove Group (a group of the largest MLSs in the country) has moved forward to submit a new list of standard field names to be used as part of the Real Estate Transaction Standard (RETS).  This new list of standard field names was approved today during the RESO meeting in Chicago.  The list of field names is optional for MLSs currently, but the RESO group anticipates the field names becoming a required part of the standard in the future.  This is a good step toward creating data standards across all MLSs.

Another good step forward was Mark Lesswing, NAR’s CTO, coming out today in support of data standards across all MLSs.  Mark would love to see the RETS no longer need metadata, which currently is necessary because each MLS has its own data definitions.  If the data were all the same for every MLS (i.e., we had data standards), metadata would no longer be needed, innovation would be enhanced, data updates would be faster and more efficient, and fewer server resources would be needed.

Having an incredibly smart and prominent person like Mark advocating for data standards (Mark used the term “data dictionary”) is a great development and I look forward to hearing him speak about it more in the future.  Combining Mark’s advocacy with the efforts from the COVE Group and others greatly increases the chances of creating standards that can lead us into the future.

The above is the good news.  The bad news is that I overheard that some previous supporters of the RETS will no longer be participating in the meetings.  I’m not aware of the reasons behind this decision but it’s disheartening just as the group seems to be making some progress on the critical piece of data standards.

Another piece of bad news is that the RESO still has not yet finalized an intellectual property (IP) policy to ensure that the RETS may be freely used by developers, brokers, agents, MLSs, Associations, etc.   Pat Bybee (current RESO Chair) stated that Laurie Janek, NAR’s General Counsel, has committed to getting these issues resolved soon, but Laurie hasn’t yet provided a firm schedule for getting this in place.  Having such a policy in place is critical to any standards effort, and was a core reason for starting the RESO process over two years ago.  The original draft of the RESO IP policy has been around since August 2007, and it will be great to see the policy get finalized.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/clareitys-beyond-the-listings-survey-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/clareitys-beyond-the-listings-survey-2/#comments Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:13:45 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1192 Continued]]> Clareity Consulting recently published the results of a survey called “Beyond The Listings” in which the questions are aimed at finding out what content MLSs should offer beyond listings.  The top five types of non-listing content are:

• REO/foreclosure data (70% very important);
• School information (56% very important);
• AVM (45% very important);
• Demographics (41% very important); and
• Crime information (40%).

Items of slightly less (but still important) interest were points of interest and public transport and air traffic overlays.

One of the items in the survey I (and Matt Cohen, author of the survey) found most interesting is that MLSs “want [this type of information] integrated in MLS reports even if they already have access to the content somewhere else.”  This confirms my experience providing MLS software.  Agents and brokers don’t want yet another web site to have to manage, they want the content to be integrated into the sites they already use.  This is one of the reasons I’m hoping the RPR APIs are robust and enable MLS vendors such as FBS to serve our mutual customers, the REALTORS, by integrating as much of the data as possible into the MLS system.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/clareitys-beyond-the-listings-survey-2/feed/ 3 https://wearefbs.com/blog/is-free-mls-finally-here-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/is-free-mls-finally-here-2/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:24:46 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1151 Continued]]> Over ten years ago, I recall being in a presentation at NAR’s mid-year conference and hearing Gregg Larson from Clareity Consulting predict that MLS services would soon be “free”.  I don’t recall all the details, but I believe Gregg was predicting that advertising would replace the per member per month revenue model pervasive in most MLSs at the time.

Ten years later, “free” may finally be here.  First, of course, we have RPR, which is offering software to members for “free” in exchange for a license to the MLS data.  RPR insists that it’s not an MLS but I think the point is still valid.  RPR stands for the basic proposition of “free” software with the right to earn revenue from the MLS listings.

Another example of software for “free” is Listing Book.  Instead of charging MLSs or users a license fee, Listing Book has an advertising supported revenue model and they also have some upsell products.  This really isn’t too different than RPR in that both are using the listing content to generate revenue.

Both of these business models stand in stark contrast to that proposed by traditional MLS or other real estate software vendors, which typically license the software for a monthly fee.  This shift in revenue or business model for real estate software poses some interesting questions:

1. Value.  Assessing the exchange of value in these types of deals is tricky.  We all know there’s no free lunch.  The software isn’t really “free” or gratis but rather free as in beer.  So, what then, is the cost or value of these free software propositions?  In RPR’s case, Rob Hahn, MRIS’s new marketing director, says the cost is too much.and MRIS, the largest MLS in the nation, may agree.  In ListingBook’s case, the “cost” of the advertising depends on the image you want to project.  Some think advertising on their site is not cool and others are okay with it.  (Here’s an interesting discussion at the John Hall blog comparing ListingBook to FBS’s flexmls Portals.)
2. Revolution?  Is the revolution posed by RPR really in the technology or is it more in the business model?  My take is the latter.  They’re converting what were previously revenue producing products (software and tax records) into “free” products in exchange for something they perceive as more valuable: MLS listings.
3. Will Traditional Vendors Change?  These new business models have generated a lot of buzz so far, even if they haven’t yet generated a lot of revenue or profits.  Will traditional real estate software vendors follow this shift and create new pricing models for their products?  From FBS’s perspective, we’ve been wrestling with this issue for some time.  As I expressed in a comment on the John Hall post, our revenue model is different than ListingBook in that we charge for IDX.  Of note, however, we’ve already entered the “free” world a bit in that the portal product itself is “free” with the MLS system.  So, the question looms, how much functionality do we include in the “free” portals?  Should we add some sort of search feature to the portals even for users who do not have IDX?  What features should be “free” (included in the MLS) and what features should be optional?
4. Core MLS versus a la carte.  The latter question goes to a fundamental tension that’s been in the MLS software business for as long I’ve participated: what’s included in the base system and what’s a la carte.  We all know that many features in the MLS system are used by a small fraction of the members and that raises several questions: (1) should everyone pay for a feature that’s only used by a few; (2) should the MLS be choosing these features for all members (leveling the playing field) or let brokers choose for themselves; and (3) is there economy of scale for the MLS buying site wide licenses?  There undoubtedly are even more questions as well.  At a philosophical level, I love the idea of each users choosing what features they want.  At a practical level, I’m not sure any more what is a core feature for the MLS and what isn’t.

What I am sure about is that the shift in business model posed by RPR and ListingBook make it harder than ever for MLSs and brokers to evaluate the value of the transactions being proposed, because “free” is very attractive and can blind you to the real costs. At the same time, as mentioned above, I wonder if the real revolution being wrought here is in the way brokers and agents buy software (“free” from their Association) and whether that’s in their long-term best interest.

P.S.  If you click through on this Realty Times article from 1999 (also linked above), you’ll see that there was a debate or discussion among no other than Dale Ross (then head of MRIS and now head of RPR), Jay Huffman (MLSNI and REBIG) and Gregg Larson on the topic of free MLS.  If anyone has any documents or links or even memories evidencing that discussion, I’d love to see them.  I can’t seem to find anything on the web about it other than the Realty Times intro.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/is-free-mls-finally-here-2/feed/ 6 https://wearefbs.com/blog/new-rpr-draft-license-agreement-includes-right-to-resell-listings-just-not-to-moving-companies-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/new-rpr-draft-license-agreement-includes-right-to-resell-listings-just-not-to-moving-companies-2/#comments Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:36:50 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1149 Continued]]> RPR has posted the latest draft of the license agreement they are proposing to MLSs. The draft attempts to address some of the concerns that have been discussed publicly and privately. From my review, the draft still does not live up to earlier statements that RPR would not disclose listing-level information. Instead, 1.w attempts (I think) to address some of the concerns by agreeing not to sell the MLS listings to anyone who is going to use the information to contact property owners or agents (e.g., moving companies, etc.). But is re-sale of listings to build a contact database the only concern?

What now appears clear is that RPR wants the ability to sell the MLS listings to others. By explicitly stating one narrow exception without categorically prohibiting resale of listing-level info, RPR is reserving to itself the right to sell listings to others. Let me know if I’m missing something in my interpretation or if you see something I don’t.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/new-rpr-draft-license-agreement-includes-right-to-resell-listings-just-not-to-moving-companies-2/feed/ 7 https://wearefbs.com/blog/conflicts-between-rprs-public-statements-and-proposed-license-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/conflicts-between-rprs-public-statements-and-proposed-license-2/#comments Fri, 19 Feb 2010 21:02:14 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1145 Continued]]> Brian Larson does an excellent service to the MLS industry presenting on his blog his analysis of the RPR license agreement, which he concludes:

RPR has been making promises about how data will be used (on its blog, in presentations, etc.) without incorporating those promises into the license agreement. MLSs that want to be sure that their data is used as RPR has promised will want to incorporate those promises into the license agreement before signing.

I’ve spoken with Marty Frame and and even moderated a panel at Inman with him (and Brian Larson and Jim Duncan) and he’s always been clear about the intent of RPR not to re-license to third parties listing level data (only aggregate data) obtained from MLSs.  Given this, why is it that the RPR license agreement doesn’t reflect this stated intent and, as Brian notes, even conflicts with it?

Matt Cohen expresses similar concerns in a recent blog post and also has published results from a recent survey of MLSs Clareity did regarding RPR.  Personally, I just find it weird that the license agreement isn’t more clear on points about which Marty Frame and Dale Ross have been clear in public.  As Brian Boero recently noted on Twitter: “The communications effort around #RPR is at once excellent and catastrophic. A great case study.”  Clearing up issues like this seems to be critical to an effective communications effort.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/conflicts-between-rprs-public-statements-and-proposed-license-2/feed/ 1 https://wearefbs.com/blog/fbss-support-for-ie6-is-coming-to-an-end-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/fbss-support-for-ie6-is-coming-to-an-end-2/#comments Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:14:37 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1143 Continued]]> We’re about to release a new customizable dashboard for flexmls Web, but the upgrade won’t be available to users of IE6.  Why is this?  Because IE6 is eight years old and is so limited in its support for web standards that it’s impractical, if not impossible, to develop web applications that take advantage of the power of modern browsers while also supporting IE6.  Accordingly, we’re left with the choice of either not taking advantage of the capability of modern browsers or developing them and limiting support for IE6.  We choose the latter.  We’re not alone in this choice.  Just yesterday, Google announced that it’s Google Docs and Sites products will no longer support IE6.

We understand that some corporate IT departments still require IE6 for their computers, and so we’re deploying the new customizable dashboard in a way that will maintain the old dashboard for IE6 users.  So, we’re trying hard not to break things for IE6 users and preserve their current experience even though they won’t have access to the new features.  Importantly, however, the fact that IE6 is now so incompatible with modern browsers that we cannot develop new features supporting IE6 is a strong signal that this is the beginning of the end of support for IE6.  As new features are added that cannot support IE6, there will come a time where we can no longer maintain backward compatibility.  The hope is that everyone is able to upgrade to a modern browser by that time.  Keep in mind, for security and many other reasons, even Microsoft strongly urges all IE6 users to upgrade.

One last point is important: We spend a lot of time in our development efforts working on browser compatibility issues.  Supporting old browsers like IE6 make it difficult to support newer browsers like Chrome from Google.  We now officially support recent versions of IE, Firefox and Safari, and we expect to be able to officially declare full support for Chrome soon as well.  Being able to put IE6 and other older browsers behind us will help a great deal in that effort.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/fbss-support-for-ie6-is-coming-to-an-end-2/feed/ 8 https://wearefbs.com/blog/northwest-montana-association-and-mls-is-seeking-corporate-executive-officer-2/ Fri, 29 Jan 2010 19:37:04 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1141 Continued]]> Kathleen Shulte from the Northwest Montana Association of REALTORS is retiring this coming summer after a long and illustrious career as NMAR’s Corporate Executive Officer.  Kathleen was awarded the 2009 Terry McDermott Community Leadership Award from NAR and has led NMAR to be one of the premier Associations and MLSs in the country.  Whoever takes over for Kathleen will have some big shoes to fill.  If you’re interested in applying for this executive position, you can find details here (PDF).  NMAR is located in beautiful Northwest Montana, where the mountains and lakes provide all your entertainment needs.  We’ll all miss Kathleen a great deal and we wish her the best in her retirement!

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/improving-accuracy-of-mapped-listings-flexmls-feature-friday-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/improving-accuracy-of-mapped-listings-flexmls-feature-friday-2/#comments Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:18:12 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1138 Continued]]> Phil Sexton from John Hall and Associates in the Phoenix area has a great series called flexmls Feature Friday at the John Hall blog.  I always look forward to seeing what flexmls feature Phil highlights on Friday and occasionally I send him an idea or two.

Today, Phil honored one of my ideas with a guest post.  The highlighted feature is the different ways users of flexmls can use the system to help improve the accuracy of the mapped listings.  These features are relevant for all our customers and so I encourage you to check out the post and help move towards our goal of 100% accuracy in mapped listings.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/improving-accuracy-of-mapped-listings-flexmls-feature-friday-2/feed/ 1 https://wearefbs.com/blog/how-valuable-is-mls-content-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/how-valuable-is-mls-content-2/#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 23:01:03 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1134 Continued]]> The value of MLS content is one of the big questions facing MLSs today.  The Realtors Property Resource (RPR) from NAR is seeking to license content from MLSs in exchange for software (the RPR web site) and access to public records data.  Is that a good deal for MLSs?  The answer depends on how much the MLS content is worth.

Similarly, CALREDD (an offering from the California Association of REALTORS) offers Associations MLS software in exchange for ownership of the listing data.  Yes, that’s right, joining CALREDD means the local Association no longer owns the MLS compilation.  The CALREDD offer is particularly interesting because it conflicts dramatically with the typical MLS vendor/Association relationship.  Typically, contracts for MLS software are crystal clear that ownership of the MLS data (compilation) remains with the Association or MLS.  In CALREDD’s case, the MLS software vendor (CALREDD) also is an MLS and, as such, claims ownership of the data.

The importance of this change in ownership depends on the value of the data.  If the data is valuable, then the true cost to the local Association of the software provided by CALREDD is far greater than the fees CALREDD charges for the software they provide.  The NAR’s RPR business model — premised on selling analytics from MLS content — suggests that there is indeed some value in the data.  Importantly, early word on the license agreement with RPR is that the license is non-exclusive to RPR.  In other words, the MLS or local Association also can license it to others who may find value in it.   In stark contrast, striking up a deal with CALREDD means that whatever value is in the MLS content is now owned by CALREDD — in exchange for MLS software.

What do you think?  If you were an MLS or local Association considering using CALREDD as a vendor, would you add to the price tag anything for the value of the MLS content you’re surrendering to CALREDD?  How valuable is the MLS compilation?

Update: Brian Larson reviews the terms on which NAR’s RPR proposes to license MLS content.  Maybe MLS content isn’t worth very much after all?

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/how-valuable-is-mls-content-2/feed/ 9 https://wearefbs.com/blog/twittering-about-rpr-and-data-standards-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/twittering-about-rpr-and-data-standards-2/#comments Fri, 22 Jan 2010 04:56:03 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1130 Continued]]>

Some excerpts from a conversation on Twitter this evening:

A bit later, after more conversation . . .

The issue here is the possibility of RPR participating in the RETS with the aim of using the RETS for the RPR public records API. RPR’s willingness to consider participating in standards development is good news.

This could be the opportunity to roll some simplified web services APIs into RETS, because I’m not sure it makes sense to use RETS 1.x for the RPR public records API unless the public records are not standardized and lots of metadata is needed. Where I think RETS could play a very important role with RPR is by offering participating MLSs a repository for exchanging data with their data sharing partners. I’m learning from my hero Kristen, one step at a time, and I’m very appreciative that RPR is listening.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/twittering-about-rpr-and-data-standards-2/feed/ 6 https://wearefbs.com/blog/what-did-dale-ross-ceo-of-nars-rpr-mean-by-a-lot-of-mouths-to-feed-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/what-did-dale-ross-ceo-of-nars-rpr-mean-by-a-lot-of-mouths-to-feed-2/#comments Wed, 20 Jan 2010 22:33:43 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1123 Continued]]> Last week at the Inman Connect conference in New York, Dale Ross, CEO of NAR’s Realtor Property Resource (RPR), was asked by Brian Boero why RPR wasn’t trying to create a national MLS. Mr. Ross initially responded with the same thing Marty Frame (RPR’s President) said during the RPR Reverb panel I moderated the day before: RPR is a small company that doesn’t have the resources to become a national MLS. However, Mr. Ross added that politics would get in the way and there were a “lot of mouths to feed” in all the MLSs involved today.

I was a bit confused by the “lot of mouths to feed” comment at at the time he said it and, even on reflection, I’m not really sure what it means. Does it mean they feel they would have to buy out the existing MLSs? Does it mean they believe they’d have to hire a bunch of people from the existing MLSs? Or something else?

Overall, the statement leaves me uneasy. To date, RPR has clearly stated they aren’t trying to become a national MLS, which seems backed up by their apparent willingness to include a non-compete in the MLS data license agreement. At the same time, statements like those made by Mr. Ross give one pause to consider whether RPR isn’t really a Trojan horse. Looking back, we all can remember that the initial gateway/archive/library, etc., vision was to be a national MLS. Only after there was a lot of resistance to the creation of such a monopoly did NAR hone its message into what is now the RPR pitch for cool tools for Realtors and free public records for MLSs in exchange for MLS data.

I think this is important because a single, national MLS would be a monopoly that would hamper innovation in the long run, and so letting in the Trojan horse would be a big mistake. Importantly, there are legitimate arguments that the pain some brokers experience from overlapping market disorder would be improved by a national MLS but that same problem can be addressed through standards without the long-term negative consequences of enduring a national MLS monopoly. If there are concerns with MLSs today, they’d only be exacerbated years from now with a national MLS monopoly.

Importantly, RPR could do a lot to foster innovation and addressing broker concerns of overlap by promoting standards and data sharing but they’ve also been pretty clear they don’t intend to do that. If I was running RPR, my sole mission would be to create a platform that would foster competition for new technology. Instead, RPR appears intent on being the sole vendor of technology. So, what do you think? If there weren’t a “lot of mouths to feed,” would RPR be positioned as a national MLS? Do you agree with me that monopolies are bad or do you think a national MLS would be a “good” monopoly?

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Update: Watching the video of the Q&A at Inman, Mr. Ross makes clear that he does believe there will be a national MLS someday. He says RPR isn’t being built for that but it will happen. I don’t get that. If you’re looking to create a national MLS, why would you build RPR for something else? This shouldn’t be that hard to explain or understand.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/what-did-dale-ross-ceo-of-nars-rpr-mean-by-a-lot-of-mouths-to-feed-2/feed/ 11 https://wearefbs.com/blog/inman-connect-reflection-back-to-the-future-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/inman-connect-reflection-back-to-the-future-2/#comments Fri, 15 Jan 2010 23:46:46 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1116 Continued]]> Here’s another thought from the Inman Connect conference. This morning, I first heard several people on stage bemoaning the existence of 800 MLSs. Next I heard a guy from Meetup say he thought Realtors should get together locally — you know, meetup. What a crazy idea! That made me think of a post I wrote quite awhile ago that seems quite relevant today. Here’s the part I love the most, my version of the history of MLS:

Step back and consider the history and future of the MLS through the eyes of Joe and his progeny:

A long, long time ago, two real estate guys are sitting in a coffee shop:

“Hey, Joe, I hear the Smith place is up for sale.”

“Yep, know anyone who might be interested?”

“Maybe.”

“I’ve been trying to get that place sold for awhile. If you bring me a buyer, I’ll split my commission with you.”

“Deal.”

A week later, back at the coffee shop:

“Joe, this is Mary from our office, she’s got a few listings, too.”

“Great, I brought Ann, who’s been working with lots of buyers lately.”

A month later, still at the coffee shop, but a much bigger table:

Mary says, “I couldn’t sleep last night so I wrote down all of our listings on these recipe cards and organized them in this shoe box. Pretty cool, huh?”

“Awesome, can I copy those?”

“Sure, if I can copy yours.”

“No problem.”

A few years later, no longer at the coffee shop, because there isn’t a table big enough for all the people participating:

“Hey, I ran into Peter at the Print Shop the other day, and he saw my shoe box and said he could print them up in a book for us if we want.”

“That sounds great!”

And several years later, at a meeting of the Board of REALTORS:

“Joe, have you seen these new computers some of the folks are using?”

“Yeah, those are pretty handy. But man, who’s in charge of that anyway? I hardly know anyone involved in this any more.”

Many years later, on a Usenet news group for real estate, Joe’s son types:

“I’m working on a web site to show all the listings in the MLS system.”

“You’re what? Are you sure you can do that? Will the MLS allow it?”

“Hey, I’m doing it. I don’t care about those idiots at the MLS; they’re all old school, just trying to protect their turf!”

A decade later, Joe’s grandson, Joe III, posts on his Facebook wall:

“Joe III is sick of the stoopid rules of the national MLS and so has created a Real Estate Sharing Group for like-minded people.”

A few weeks later:

“Joe III is holding a meetup at Starbucks for RESG, see you there!”

At Starbucks:

“Hey, Joe, I hear the Smith place is for sale . . . “

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/inman-connect-reflection-back-to-the-future-2/feed/ 2 https://wearefbs.com/blog/inman-connect-summary-i-call-bs-on-anyone-who-says-the-current-mls-model-is-broke-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/inman-connect-summary-i-call-bs-on-anyone-who-says-the-current-mls-model-is-broke-2/#comments Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:07:56 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1111 Continued]]> I’m at LaGuardia airport ready to head home after the Inman Connect conference in New York this week.  The conference was great and I applaud Madelyn, Brian, Brad and everyone associated with Inman for putting on another great event.  My biggest take-away from the event is that I’m sick and tired of hearing people say the MLS model is broken.  Last time I checked, we live in the United States of America where competition proves value.  On that fact alone, MLSs are proving their value every day.

For anyone out there who says the MLS model is broken because there are too many MLSs, the answer is straight-forward.  Start your own MLS, write your own MLS software, and put down all those stupid MLSs that supposedly just protect their turf and provide lousy support.  As I listened to Joel Singer from CAR talk about calREDD this morning, I thought I was being thrust into the novel 1984 and that black was now white and white was black.  According to Joel, the MLSs and MLS systems today are antiquated, redundant, and his calREDD system is the solution.  Really?  The market is speaking pretty loudly to refute that claim.

In addition to Mr. Singer, Brad Inman and others repeatedly said that it was ridiculous that there are so many MLSs.  BS.  The MLSs are the ones competing and proving value.  There is nothing to stop anyone at any time from starting a competitive MLS anywhere.  You have a better idea how MLSs should work?  Prove it in the market.  You’ve got better technology and think everyone else’s is lousy?  Prove it in the market.  Until then, I call BS.

I also counter ahead of time comments or responses about how the existing MLSs are barriers to entry and that there really isn’t any competition.  That claim is BS, too.  The fundamental value proposition of any MLS is that they’ve gotten brokers to agree to cooperate with each other in terms of offers of compensation and sharing their listings with each other.  To compete with that, you need to organize the brokers and get them to work with you.  If you can’t do that, too bad, you’re a failed competitor or a cry baby, nothing more.

I’ll put our MLS software up against any system any time.  If you think you’re more innovative, bring it.  I’ll also put the community building power of the 110 MLSs we work with up against calREDD, RPR, Zillow, Google or any other MLS wannabes any time.  Think you can build a better community and attract more brokers?  Bring it.  Until then, I call BS.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/inman-connect-summary-i-call-bs-on-anyone-who-says-the-current-mls-model-is-broke-2/feed/ 37 https://wearefbs.com/blog/nars-rpr-is-starting-to-reach-out-to-mlss-post-questions-for-inman-connect-nyc-2/ Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:58:49 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1106 Continued]]> One of our MLS clients received an email yesterday from a representative for NAR’s RPR.  In addition to this being interesting because it is the first sighting I’ve had of email marketing from RPR, there were a few interesting tidbits in the email:

• An API for the Property Records and Deed Recordings is expected to be ready “by the end of January” and is “at no charge” if the MLS “sign[s] up for the service and agree to a terms of use”.  (On a related note, the email claims “no contract is required” as long as you “agree to a terms of use”.  Uh, okay.)
• The terms of use will be available for review by mid-January.
• They’re expecting beta testing to begin in late February and are targeting an April/May launch for MLSs who have enrolled in the program.
• A new web informational web site on RPR will be launching soon to help answer questions.

I’m moderating a panel at Inman Connect in New York City next week called “RPR Reverb:  Should MLSs Love It or Fear It” and would love to hear questions you have about RPR.  The panel will include Marty Frame (RPR’s President), Brian Larson (attorney and consult to MLSs everywhere and author of MLS Tesseract), and Jim Duncan (broker at Nest Realty and author of RealCentralVA and original NAR PAG member that envisioned what became RPR).  This is going to be a great panel and it will be better with your questions, so fire away!

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/nars-rpr-is-starting-to-reach-out-to-mlss-post-questions-for-inman-connect-nyc/ Thu, 07 Jan 2010 01:02:28 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1211 Continued]]> One of our MLS clients received an email yesterday from a representative for NAR’s RPR.  In addition to this being interesting because it is the first sighting I’ve had of email marketing from RPR, there were a few interesting tidbits in the email:

• An API for the Property Records and Deed Recordings is expected to be ready “by the end of January” and is “at no charge” if the MLS “sign[s] up for the service and agree to a terms of use”.  (On a related note, the email claims “no contract is required” as long as you “agree to a terms of use”.  Uh, okay.)
• The terms of use will be available for review by mid-January.
• They’re expecting beta testing to begin in late February and are targeting an April/May launch for MLSs who have enrolled in the program.
• A new web informational web site on RPR will be launching soon to help answer questions.

I’m moderating a panel at Inman Connect in New York City next week called “RPR Reverb:  Should MLSs Love It or Fear It” and would love to hear questions you have about RPR.  The panel will include Marty Frame (RPR’s President), Brian Larson (attorney and consult to MLSs everywhere and author of MLS Tesseract), and Jim Duncan (broker at Nest Realty and author of RealCentralVA and original NAR PAG member that envisioned what became RPR).  This is going to be a great panel and it will be better with your questions, so fire away!

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/two-anniversaries-for-fbs-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/two-anniversaries-for-fbs-2/#comments Tue, 05 Jan 2010 13:06:22 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1098 Continued]]> Two anniversaries for FBS have just passed and I want to acknowledge them publicly, because I think they’re both pretty cool and important:

• Ten years ago in December, our first customer went live using flexmls Web.  In those ten years, many more MLSs have placed their trust in us and I’m proud to say we’ve delivered as the system has changed remarkably with many more features, speed and reliability.  Ten years is a long time in terms of software development but in many ways it still feels like we’re just getting going.  I’m very much looking forward to the next ten years.
• On January 1, we marked our five-year anniversary of being an employee-owned company, which also means that the original twenty-four employee owners at FBS are now vested owners.  When we first became an employee-owned company, we all signed a “Declaration of Independence” to commemorate the event.  Yesterday, we celebrated with a cake including the names of all twenty-four people who signed the initial declaration, and we handed out some special “vested” pins to each person.

These small acts are about right for us in terms of celebration.  We’ve increased the value of FBS by more than a factor of ten in the last five years by doing more than celebrating, and that’s why, even after ten years of success, it feels like we’re just getting started.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/two-anniversaries-for-fbs-2/feed/ 4 https://wearefbs.com/blog/top-ten-changes-in-technology-that-defined-mls-this-decade-2/ Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:21:09 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1094 Continued]]> Engadget posted a list of Ten Gadgets That Defined A Decade, which, in turn, has inspired me to post this list of Top Ten Changes in Technology That Defined MLS This Decade:

1. Conversion to Web Browser MLS Systems. For the majority of real estate agents at the turn of the century, connecting to the MLS still often meant using some Windows communication software (PC Access, Lightning, etc.) to access a legacy UNIX-based system like Compass, Stellar or FBS’s RE/list. Today, nearly every MLS system is accessed through a web browser. Evangelizing web browser MLS systems in the late 90s and early part of this decade were Marketlinx with Tempo, FBS with flexmls Web, and Rapattoni. Others came along in short order (though, sadly, many are still locked to a particular browser like Internet Explorer), but the rapid shift to browser based MLS systems had already begun and that also resulted in a sea change for the dominant MLS software vendors.

2. Broadband. In the early part of the last decade, people still knew what a 56k modem was and boasted about anything faster. Today, the only modems people care about are cable modems and we whine if video doesn’t stream instantly. Without this shift to nearly ubiquitous broadband, almost all the other advances in MLS systems would have been impossible.

3. Mapping. Envisioned for MLS during the 90s, mapping only became ubiquitous in this last decade, starting with systems like MapQuest, GeoJet and ESRI, most of which were soon replaced with more powerful offerings from Google and Microsoft. Today, parcel maps, aerial and bird’s eye imagery are standard fare, providing an entirely new and borderless interface to the MLS data.

4. Smart Phones. Along with the shift to web browser MLS systems, the ability to access MLS data on your phone became standard in the last decade as smart phones (which I define as a phone with a web browser) became ubiquitous. Side note: Folklore often has real estate agents pegged as technology laggards, but I’ve rarely seen a group of professionals more gadget obsessed than real estate agents, who always have the latest and greatest phones. Now they’re accessing the MLS, getting email and text messages, opening lock boxes, taking photos (though they shouldn’t, at least not of their listed properties), and checking their social networks from their phones.

5. Email. I debated about whether to put email in the list or not, because email really is a technology that took off in the 90s. In the end, though, I’m listing it because the ability to email content from the MLS system really didn’t take off until the MLS system migrated to web browsers, which did happen this decade. Before web browser MLS systems were dominant, you had to create a document (PDF, Word, etc.) to email content from the MLS. I can vividly recall early pitches about flexmls Web focusing on the live, dynamic nature of the email links to the MLS content. Now, most MLS systems boast the ablity to email highly interactive links to the MLS system that allow agents to engage their customers at a very high level and so I think email belongs on this list for the last decade.

6. IDX and VOWs. (Though this is more of a change in policy than technology, the result impacted the technology available to brokers and agents.) The ability for brokers and agents to display listings from the MLS on their own web sites became possible this decade with the creation of broker reciprocity (today, IDX). Of course, the decade also was plagued by the litigation between the NAR and DOJ over VOWs (virtual office web sites), which were created to get around the limitations on the data available through IDX because of opt-outs and MLS rules. Today, the VOW rules required by the NAR/DOJ settlement means that pretty much the entire MLS is available to consumers willing to identify themselves, and this change is only now working its way into the fabric of the MLS.

7. Zillow. Despite the initial fanfare, Zillow has had little impact on the MLS industry to date. However, there also is little doubt that their innovation of making zestimates publicly accessible for nearly every property in the country will have a big impact in the decade to come. Most notably, Zillow scares the pants off NAR, which has launched RPR in an attempt to create a better database. Because we all know it’s all about the data, right?

8. TZGY and Other Third Party Aggregators. Trulia, Zillow, Google and Yahoo! all became popular aggregators of real estate listing content. In fact, Zillow is now nipping on the heals of realtor.com. Mostly, the popularity of third party aggregators isn’t of much concern to the MLS, but the proliferation of so many different destinations has impacted the MLS this decade by requiring it figure out how to deliver data to all these destinations. Some standards work has been done in this regard and yet entirely new businesses such as ThreeWide and Point2 have formed to help solve the syndication problem. One of the big issues going into the new decade will continue to be improving the data quality on these third party aggregation sites.

9. Blogs and Social Networking. Hey, you’re reading this blog, so I guess blogging must make the list. Jokes aside, blogging may not have had a big impact on the MLS this last decade but it made a big enough impact on brokers and agents (and, in some cases, making brokers out of agents) that it’s worth mentioning here in the overall context of the social networking phenomenon, which has impacted the MLS. From ActiveRain to popular group blogs like Bloodhound and AgentGenius, blogging has become an important force in real estate. Beyond SEO, indexing of listings, and the ability to communicate your message, however, I think one of the most important impacts of blogging is in fostering the do-it-yourself or independence ethos advocated by brokers like Greg Swann. Blogging has become so easy and so powerful that more and more agents and brokers are using weblogs like WordPress to power their entire web presence. This puts them in control, instead of some technologist, and that’s an important change for the long term.

Social networking also has impacted Realtor Associations and MLSs, which are using blogs and social networks like Facebook to communicate more with their members. Brokers, agents and consumers also are using social networks to share and discuss listing information. MLSs are adjusting by making MLS content more easily shareable and adding more discussion tools in their customer portals. More generally, however, blogs and social networking likely will have an even greater impact on the MLS in the decade to come as they come to grips with user-generated content and the blurring of the lines among the private MLS, VOWs, customer portals and IDX.

10. RETS. Though I don’t have hard numbers on this, I’m pretty confident that, during the last decade, the real estate transaction standard (RETS) became the predominant method for delivering listing data from the MLS. Much remains to be done in terms of data standards but the impact of RETS in the MLS industry in the last decade cannot be underestimated, if for no other reason than fulfillment of Matt Cohen’s prediction of it being an unfunded mandate.

Those are my top 10, what are yours?

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Honorable Mentions (or Corrections) (or I can’t just list 10)

Digital Cameras. After thinking about this a bit more, I think I should have added digital cameras somewhere up on the list. Photos are the most frequently accessed content on our MLS systems, and it’s now common to have 20, 30 or more photos per listing. That simply wasn’t practical before the proliferation of digital cameras and definitely changed the MLS over the last decade.

Virtual Tours. Am I missing perspective on virtual tours or should they have been in the list? I’m still not really seeing how they change the MLS industry too much, other than creating a small dustup over whether they could have branding in them or not.

Videos. Though video on the web took off this last decade with YouTube, property videos are rarely attached to property listings even today. I’m not sure if this is a testament to the efficacy of pictures, the complexity of video, or some other combination of factors, but I still haven’t seen video make a big impact in the MLS.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/happy-thanksgiving/ Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:06:07 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1218 Continued]]> Just a quick note to say how thankful I am for all the readers of the FBS Blog and for our customers and partners.  All of us at FBS are privileged to have you in our lives and we’re thankful for the opportunities you provide.  I’m also super thankful for all my co-owners at FBS.  We have so much for which to be thankful, especially each other.

Peace and happiness,

Michael

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/marty-frame-and-dale-ross-rpr-nar/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/marty-frame-and-dale-ross-rpr-nar/#comments Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:00:01 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1086 Continued]]> I attended a presentation from Dale Ross and Marty Frame to a variety of MLS and public records software vendors last Sunday at the NAR Convention in San Diego.  Here are a few points I took away from the Q&A session:

• No Focus on Data Standards for MLSs.  In response to my question as to whether RPR would be promoting a data standard for MLSs, Marty said something like they didn’t want to be a RETS enforcer.  I’m not completely sure what that means but if Marty intended for RPR to help with data standards, he likely would have said so.  Instead he said it wasn’t part of their plan and they’re primarily focused on about 120 data fields or so.
• No Help For MLSs With Overlapping Market Disorder or Those Who Want to Data Share.  In response to my question as to whether RPR would be helping MLSs resolve overlapping market disorder in their area by serving as a data exchange/repository, Marty said no, that wasn’t in the plan either.  Of course, users can come to the RPR interface and see data from participating MLSs but there isn’t a plan for an API (RETS or otherwise) to allow MLSs to retrieve aggregate data even if the MLSs in the area agree to such an exchange.
• No Authoritative Record.  In response to my question as to whether RPR will be establishing an authoritative record from the various sources of data (public records, MLS, loans, etc.), Marty said no.  RPR will present the various sources of data side by side but they won’t try to reconcile them.  I think this fact makes their claim of being a “property-centric” system a bit off target.  My understanding of property-centric systems is that they do, in fact, establish an authoritative record from the many sources — they combine the best data to provide a long-term repository of property information, instead of just displaying disparate data side-by-side.  The scenario I posed was as follows:
  • Agent Smith creates a new listing on January 1 and auto-pops the listing from the RPR tax record, and then corrects the square footage, which is off by a significant amount.
  • Agent Smith’s listing expires March 30.
  • Agent Jones lists the same property on April 1 and again auto-populates the listing from the tax record.  Agent Jones will again have to correct the square footage coming from the RPR public records because there isn’t a base or authoritative record available from RPR.
• Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) — (Note: An API is a way two systems (such as RPR and the MLS or a broker back-office system) can talk to each other.)
  • Marty said there will be an API for the public records and MLSs will be able to pull the public records into their own system.  MLS systems also will be able to link to the PDF market and listing reports (though they won’t be available in HTML, just PDF).
  • RPR hopes MLSs will help RPR with authentication by using single sign-on (SSO) standards, though they’ll adapt to whatever the MLS will provide.
  • There will not be an API for any of the third-party licensed data (including listings), just the public records.  If you want to see the other data, you must login to RPR.
  • API documentation should become available in the next 30 days or so.

There were questions from other vendors as well about the APIs and the business model, but the above were the highlights for me.  I walked away from the meeting thinking they were missing a lot of the potential for how a system like RPR could help MLSs and their broker and agent members.  Helping MLSs improve data quality, data standards, and data sharing are all key benefits not being addressed by RPR. Hopefully this will change over the coming months as MLSs negotiate licenses with RPR and require that these issues be part of the deal.

——————————————————————–

Related and recent posts RPR by others:

Brian Larson — Report of RPRs Birth Is An Exaggeration

Rob Hahn — No More Drama and Hype: Known Facts on RPR

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P.S.  Can I please request that all NAR conventions from here on out be in San Diego?  What a perfect location, with a great convention center, great hotels nearby, awesome restaurants, entertainment, and, of course, the views and weather!

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/marty-frame-and-dale-ross-rpr-nar/feed/ 9 https://wearefbs.com/blog/fbs-is-integrating-docusign-into-flexmls-forms-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/fbs-is-integrating-docusign-into-flexmls-forms-2/#comments Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:05:08 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1083 Continued]]> I’m pleased as punch to announce that FBS is integrating DocuSign into our flexmls Forms product.  Here’s the press release from DocuSign.  We expect the new features to be available to our Forms users by the end of the year, if not earlier.

If you’re not familiar with DocuSign, it is a web-based system for getting electronic signatures on your contracts.  But, it’s not just about electronic signatures.  DocuSign has some very powerful workflow functions built into it that just make it easier to get deals signed.

I first started looking into DocuSign when I saw agents I follow on Twitter say great things about it. (that link is more recent, but I couldn’t find the older ones that piqued my interest).  Once I started working with Dave Thorpe at DocuSign, one of the first steps in moving ahead was signing an NDA.  Of course, Dave sent me the contract using DocuSign and the agreement was reviewed, signed and archived in matter of minutes.  I was convinced from that moment that this would be a great addition to our flexmls Forms offering.

Right now, we’re busy mapping out the signature and initial locations on all our forms so they’ll be ready to go at launch.  Sending the documents out will happen right through the flexmls Forms system just as you’re able to email them now.  The difference will be that your customer will now get to review and sign the contracts using DocuSign and we’ll be able to monitor and update the status of the transaction right through your flexmls Forms folders.  This way, you’ll always know who has signed and who is left to sign the documents to finalize them.

We hope our Forms customers are excited about this as we are.  Let us know if you have any questions.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/fbs-is-integrating-docusign-into-flexmls-forms-2/feed/ 13 https://wearefbs.com/blog/what-are-the-terms-youll-require-for-nars-rpr-to-use-your-mls-data-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/what-are-the-terms-youll-require-for-nars-rpr-to-use-your-mls-data-2/#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:50:11 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1079 Continued]]> I wrote yesterday why NAR’s RPR won’t mean the death of the MLS.  Today, I want to ask some more important questions regarding the terms on which MLSs will allow NAR’s RPR to use (license) their MLS data.  I suspect NAR will be presenting a lot of MLSs with some sort of terms of use over the next few weeks and months, promising their members “free” access to the RPR in exchange for their MLS data.  There is some basic information on a fact sheet NAR posted about RPR (thanks, Kevin McQueen!) but the fact sheet doesn’t provide many details.

If I were negotiating this terms of use, I’d want to know answers to at least the following questions:

• Will the MLS data be re-licensed (re-packaged) by RPR and, if so, on what terms? This is the same basic question asked by Brian Larson asked in his recent post about the possible business model for RPR.  There is some early speculation that RPR’s deal with LPS for the parcel database includes giving LPS the exclusive right to re-license the MLS data.  Clearly, much more detailed information about re-licensing of the MLS data is needed.
• If the primary business model for RPR is re-licensing of the data, what does the MLS get in return? Is there a revenue opportunity for the MLS here?
• What sort of access to the RPR database does the MLS get? More specifically, will there be an API (application programming interface) for the MLS to integrate RPR data into the MLS system?  In other words, will the data flow be a two-way street or is RPR expecting it to only flow one way?  As I mentioned in my post yesterday, an easy to use method for the MLS system to retrieve the universal property ID is critical in listing maintenance.  But also important is the ability for the MLS system to bring back data from the RPR during listing maintenance, into listing detail reports, CMA creation, and other places.  NAR claims the RPR isn’t trying to replace the MLS, and one proof of this will be whether RPR includes APIs that will open up the data to the MLS system.  Two clarifying points here: (1) I’m not talking about opening the system to the public, but rather to the MLS system already being used and paid for by the agents and brokers; and (2) agents don’t need yet another system to log into to do their work, what they need is all the data to be available to them wherever they login (MLS system, RPR, etc.).  If RPR silos the data and makes it accessible only through their web interface, that’s a sure sign that NARs real intent is to replace the local MLS.  Accordingly, having a strong API should be a key term required for access to the MLS data.  In other words, it’s not a one-way street, the data should flow both directions.
• What are the real costs of the RPR? The magic word “free” is being bandied about a lot regarding RPR, but clearly it’s going to cost a lot of money and that money has to come from somewhere.  It’s important for the MLS to understand the costs of creating the RPR as a member benefit, because those costs will drive the business down the road.
• What will MLS members be able to do with the MLS information once it’s in RPR? In this regard, the fact sheet put out by NAR currently states: “There will be no public access to the RPR™, and the database and its data cannot be shared through consumer websites or listing presentations.”  That seems like an odd restriction and contrary to the statement earlier in the fact sheet that RPR “will be exclusive to members of NAR, who can share its information with their clients.”  Again, clearly more information is needed here.  This point also is why being able to bring the data back into the MLS system is important, because that is a system where the agents and brokers have clearly defined rules about what they can do with the data and the local brokers and agents make the rules.
• What happens if the deal sours down the road? Can the MLS get its data back?  Will RPR have commingled or transformed it to a point that it is no longer retrievable?

I understand a press release will be coming later today, but my guess is that the press release will be more hype than details.  The real facts will come in the proposed license agreements NAR tries to get MLSs to sign.  I think a system like RPR has a ton of opportunity for MLSs to make their members more efficient, but the key to leveraging the RPR opportunity will be in the license agreement for the MLS data.  RPR won’t amount to much without the MLS data and so that value should be recognized by the brokers and agents in the MLSs providing the data.

Update: Here’s NAR’s press release for November 9.  Not much different from the fact sheet except that CAR is going to partner with RPR with their ZipForms and Relay transaction management systems.  I’ll probably post more about that later.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/what-are-the-terms-youll-require-for-nars-rpr-to-use-your-mls-data-2/feed/ 9 https://wearefbs.com/blog/nars-rpr-and-houselogic-fuels-speculation-about-death-of-the-mls-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/nars-rpr-and-houselogic-fuels-speculation-about-death-of-the-mls-2/#comments Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:39:11 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1076 Continued]]> Last Friday, following the burst of rumors that NAR had purchased Cyberhomes to power its RPR (Real Property Resource) and HouseLogic web sites, the cries of the death of the MLS have risen to a fevered pitch again.

Rob Hahn, founder of 7DS Associates, thinks MLSs need to be very concerned with RPR and that a war is coming between NAR and the MLSs. Brian Boero, from 1000Watt, doesn’t use such stark language, but he, too, thinks RPR will be a “a significant shock to a system that needs it” and asks: “Will MLSs play ball?” He then answers with uncertainty: “As with most things in this space, the outlook is unclear.” As an agent and one of the members of the original NAR PAG that envisioned the RPR, Jim Duncan is excited by the possibilities of RPR and HouseLogic and asks some important questions, namely what will agents be able to do with the information and who will have access to it. The comments to all three of the above posts focus in on the impact the RPR will have on MLSs.

Though I was initially going to wait for an official press release from NAR (I hear it’s coming Monday), the more I thought about it, the more it seemed appropriate to weigh in on some of the speculation about RPR’s impact on MLSs. I’ve already written at length about both the death of the MLS and RPR (RPR or Ready?). In fact, most of the posts on the FBS Blog have been about these same issues in one way or another.

For example, I wrote some time ago that MLS is about more than technology. This crucial point — that MLSs enable competitors to cooperate — is where I think Rob Hahn goes awry in his post. He assumes that the MLS is only about the software. What Rob ignores is that the software merely implements a wide variety of business rules that were carefully crafted by the local MLS or Association in order to create the compromise that makes it possible for the competitors to aggregate their data in the first instance. NAR understands this, though, which is why they’ve been saying that RPR is not intended to replace local MLSs and, to my knowledge, has no listing input or maintenance functions so far. In other words, the data is going to come from the local MLSs and not brokers or agents directly.

NAR and its leadership knows how “local” MLSs really are. The local Boards and Associations and their respective MLSs (some independently owned, others not) are run by brokers and agents competing in the local marker and who have cooperated together just enough to make aggregation of their listings possible. Often, this cooperation results in a complex set of business rules.

This set of business rules is the heart of the MLS today and so talking about the death of the MLS means killing these local business rules in favor of business rules established by RPR. NAR knows this is a tough challenge, and so they’re just not going there, yet. As this issue (death of the local MLS business rules) is debated again in the coming years, I believe there are few core questions:

• Is cooperation at the local level (agents and brokers deciding how they want to work together) necessary to aggregate the listing data or is aggregating listings now a given (a commodity, if you will) such that it can more easily be established at a national level?
• Is a single national MLS a good thing?
• Are there alternatives?

If you’ve read my earlier posts on these topics, you already know that my answers to these questions are:

• Yes – local control is needed;
• No – monopolies are not good; and
• Yes – standards are the alternative.

All three of these issues are related to each other. FBS serves over 100 different MLSs across the country. We know how important our system is to our customers and that it’s important to have lots of cool features. More importantly, however, we believe responding to each of our MLS customers’ needs is what differentiates us over the long term. We provide value by implementing their business rules, which makes the cooperation central to MLS possible. Responding to these local needs is critical.

At the same time, the lack of standards created by local control of MLSs causes pain for many bigger brokers, franchises and others dealing with multiple MLSs. This is where standards could be of great benefit. Creating standards, however, is very, very difficult, especially at a national level. Of course, one way to create a national standard is to create one MLS. The problem with that result, however, is that you create a monopoly. I’m pretty sure what online real estate needs is more competition, not less. Standards enable competition, monopolies do not.

Accordingly, I applaud NAR buying Cyberhomes and using it to power RPR. As an MLS vendor, FBS loves competition and looks forward to learning more about RPR and how their tools can help our customers. We’d love to see RPR help create a universal property ID. We’d love to leverage data from RPR if it can in any way help improve accuracy of the MLS data. We’re excited about the possibilities of RPR but also strongly believe that those possibilities should not be used to create a monopoly that squelches competition in the MLS software space.

For those of you interested in these issues, join me at the NAR meetings next week in San Diego for the Future of MLS panel. The RPR and related issues should be a hot topic.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/nars-rpr-and-houselogic-fuels-speculation-about-death-of-the-mls-2/feed/ 30 https://wearefbs.com/blog/how-to-build-a-successful-standard-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/how-to-build-a-successful-standard-2/#comments Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:33:56 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1074 Continued]]> Here are some tips from Adam Bosworth (who worked on ODBC, XML, etc.) on how to build a successful standard:

1.  Keep the standard as simple and stupid as possible.

2.  The data being exchanged should be human readable and easy to understand.

3.  Standards work best when they are focused.

4.  Standards should have precise encodings.

5.  Always have real implementations that are actually being used as part of design of any standard.

6.  Put in hysteresis for the unexpected.

7.  Make the spec itself free, public on the web, and include lots of simple examples on the web site.

To all those involved in trying to create RETS data (not transport) standards, how many of these have we followed?

(h/t Joel Spolsky)

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/how-to-build-a-successful-standard-2/feed/ 4 https://wearefbs.com/blog/congratulations-to-troy-davisson-and-the-other-new-reso-board-members-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/congratulations-to-troy-davisson-and-the-other-new-reso-board-members-2/#comments Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:30:52 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1071 Continued]]> The Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) announced the results of the Board of Directors election this last week, and I’m very happy to report that Troy Davisson from FBS was elected to a two-year term.  Troy has been a tireless advocate of RETS and contributed to many work groups over the years.  Troy brings both server and client developer perspectives to the Board and will make a great contribution.

Congratulations also to Mary Frances Adams (Trend MLS), Paula O’Brien (consultant), and Steve Clarke (Marketlinx) on being elected, and a big shout-out to Kristen Carr (Bridge) for being the first RESO director to be re-elected.  Here’s the entire RESO Board for 2010:
Mary Frances Adams – New
Pat Bybee
Kristen Carr – Reelected
Steve Clarke – New
Troy Davisson – New
Sergio DelRio
John Holley
Mark Lesswing
Chris McKeever
Paula O’Brien – New
Paul Stusiak
Mark Wise

I’m hopeful this Board is able to leverage the energy in the community around data standards and prioritize this work to provide a path for MLSs wanting to standardize.  I’ve mentioned this many times, but there are efforts going on in many parts of the country and all these efforts would greatly benefit from some standards to start work from and point toward.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/congratulations-to-troy-davisson-and-the-other-new-reso-board-members-2/feed/ 1 https://wearefbs.com/blog/inman-connect-ny-breaking-data-taboos-for-fun-and-profit-or-creation-of-an-mls-api-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/inman-connect-ny-breaking-data-taboos-for-fun-and-profit-or-creation-of-an-mls-api-2/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:27:55 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1069 Continued]]> I’ll be moderating the MLS panels at Inman Connect NY in January,   One of the sessions outlined so far is “Breaking Data Taboos for Fun and Profit.”  The idea for this session stemmed from the Connect Create session at Inman SF this last summer, where developers from two companies built two applications in 48 hours and then showed them off at the end of the conference.  One of those applications was an agent rating service built by Diverse Solutions using some data from SoCal MLS.

During the demo of that product, Diverse’s President Justin Lajoie commented that he wasn’t sure if the product would ever see the light of day because MLSs would have to grant permission to use the sold data in this way.  Brian Boero asked the brokers and agents in the audience if this was a product they’d like to see become real, and the response was definite: Yes, they would.

The question raised was pretty clear: How can MLSs better leverage the kind of rapid innovation available today?  One potential answer is to create an API for the MLS data that’s easy to use and understand, especially the terms of use.  Currently, the only terms of use for MLS data that are widely adopted by MLSs are IDX and VOW policies.  Are those enough?  Or could brokers and MLSs create more innovation by developing a new terms of use targeted at specific data sets?

For example, two potential use cases come to mind: (1) syndication or advertising of listings; and (2) aggregate statistical reports.  In the case of syndication, the terms of use would focus on the limited set of data needed for advertising the listing and would include an opt-in from the listing broker.  Having a standard API for syndication could increase the quality of listing advertising on the web and increase competition among aggregation sites.

In the case of aggregate statistical reports, the terms of use could focus on limiting use of the data for analysis and reporting in the aggregate as opposed to disclosing individual listings.  Would a more limited terms of use focused on the aggregate instead of specific listings make it less threatening to brokers to open up the data to new and innovative uses?  Are there any terms of use that would be able to be widely adopted or will MLS data use always be limited to policies like IDX and VOW?

Of course, these discussions do not happen in a vacuum.  Just yesterday, Google made it easier to see real estate listings on their maps and they’re encouraging real estate professionals to post their listings to Google.  Of course, Google has their own terms of use for posting information to their site.  We also know that companies like RealBird are using Google Base as an alternative source for listing data, using Google’s API as a round-about way to get at the MLS data.

Is it time for MLSs to leverage the rapid innovation cycle by creating their own API?  I’d love to hear from you in the comments below and also at Inman Connect NY.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/inman-connect-ny-breaking-data-taboos-for-fun-and-profit-or-creation-of-an-mls-api-2/feed/ 1 https://wearefbs.com/blog/tucson-association-of-realtors-mls-selects-fbs-and-flexmls-web-as-their-next-mls-system-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/tucson-association-of-realtors-mls-selects-fbs-and-flexmls-web-as-their-next-mls-system-2/#comments Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:39:24 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1064 Continued]]> I’m very excited to announce that the Tucson Association of REALTORS® MLS (TAR/MLS), representing approximately 6,000 members in Ariziona, has selected FBS and our flexmls Web System for their next MLS system.  The TAR/MLS Committee and Board of Directors engaged in a very thorough review of the major MLS vendors and concluded unanimously earlier this week that FBS and the flexmls Web system was the best company and system for them.

From a company perspective, getting the opportunity to work with the staff and members at TAR/MLS is a huge win for FBS.  TAR/MLS will be one of FBS’s largest customers and furthers our goal to provide great service to MLSs of all sizes.  From a personal perspective, I’m excited to get to work with such an incredibly well-run organization.  Getting to know and work with Wes Wiggins, Brian Case, Scott Weidamoyer, Andy Gordon and others at the MLS has been great and we’re all excited to get to work together on the conversion.

I’m also excited to get to work with the forward-thinking Board at TAR/MLS.  I’d like to give a special shout-out to Director John Mijac who, with Wes Wiggins and staff, put in hundreds of hours (or more) leading the group evaluating the various vendors.  I’ve gotten to know John pretty well over the last several months and found him to be exacting and exhaustive in his research and presentation skills.  John left no stones unturned in his review but, if he had, they would have been uncovered by President Kim Clifton, who conducted one of the most detailed executive interviews I’ve ever been through.  I left that meeting incredibly impressed with Kim, and plenty exhausted as well.  Jim Adams from Long Realty also dug into our RETS services and related processes to ensure that we had the right tools to feed the back-office and other systems they and other brokers require.  Overall, the entire Board was thorough and objective in their review and we learned a lot from their professional review process.

Getting to work with all these great people is what makes this business so rewarding.  The months ahead with all the conversion work and introduction of a new system to the members of TAR/MLS undoubtedly will be made much easier because of the great people involved.  All the employee-owners of FBS sincerely thank the leadership at TAR/MLS for trusting us with such a great responsibility, and we look forward to living up to your expectations!

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/tucson-association-of-realtors-mls-selects-fbs-and-flexmls-web-as-their-next-mls-system-2/feed/ 7 https://wearefbs.com/blog/is-there-some-help-out-there-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/is-there-some-help-out-there-2/#comments Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:50:40 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1051 Continued]]> Here’s an email I received today from a member of the Board of one of our MLS customers:

Hi Michael,

I believe you are involved with the Data Standards group at NAR, right? We are still struggling with some definitions and wondering if there is anything published by the data standards group on things that have already been agreed on at the NAR level. Do you have anything like that? Yesterday we struggled with “Single Family Detached” home for over an hour. Is there some help out there?

Thanks, and look forward to seeing you in San Diego.

I typically discuss data standards in relation to MLSs wanting to share data or regionalize, but this is a good example of an MLS simply wanting an easier way to get the data right. I pointed this customer to the RETS schema, but also had to say that it wasn’t user-friendly and didn’t say anything very specific about her question.

From my perspective, a broker asking for a definitive data definition to be published at the national level isn’t too much to ask. I would really like to be able to respond, Yes!, here’s a link to the data dictionary we’ve been working on for the last many years and the definition you’re looking for is on row 28 (or whatever). Wouldn’t that be great? Let’s make it happen.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/is-there-some-help-out-there-2/feed/ 7 https://wearefbs.com/blog/google-dumps-teleatlas-street-maps-raising-many-questions-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/google-dumps-teleatlas-street-maps-raising-many-questions-2/#comments Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:01:44 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1045 Continued]]> Google announced yesterday that they are now sourcing a lot of their street mapping data from government sources. What wasn’t immediately clear from their announcement, though, is that they are no longer using TeleAtlas data for their base street maps in the U.S. Instead, apparently Google now owns their own base street maps, and is including parcel maps for many counties across the country.

It may not be immediately obvious, but this is a BIG deal to anyone who uses map data and it raises a ton of questions. What will the terms of Google’s licensing be now that they no longer have to pay TeleAtlas for the base map? Given that they are sourcing the data from many government sources, will Google be providing the data they get from users back to the counties? Will they contribute this base map to any open source efforts like Open Street Map?

I’m very curious what others have experienced in terms of pricing from Google lately for Enterprise Map Services. Our renewal was more than interesting, and it was shortly prior to this announcement that they are no longer using TeleAtlas. I’m really hoping Google is intending to live up to their “Do No Evil” motto, because there’s a ton of potential here for them to be building a huge base map with tons of data from government sources that they control.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/google-dumps-teleatlas-street-maps-raising-many-questions-2/feed/ 2 https://wearefbs.com/blog/process-for-defining-standard-fields-for-mlss-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/process-for-defining-standard-fields-for-mlss-2/#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:25:18 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1031 Continued]]> In my last post, I mentioned that RETS data standards may get a boost from the COVE Group of MLSs starting to work together on further defining standard field names for their MLSs. Standard names have existed for a long time in RETS but they are rarely well populated. This new effort is to reinvigorate standard names and try to figure out how they can be changed so they are actually put into use.

Because there are other regional data standardization efforts across the country, I suggested in my last post that sharing the process for this work with the broader community would be helpful so that the work can be coordinated with work other groups are doing. One of the most basic first steps is defining a format for publishing the agreed upon fields. Spreadsheets tend to be the easiest way for the broadest group of people to access the results, and so they are most commonly used in data standardization efforts.

One of the challenges with spreadsheets, though, is that they are two dimensional and the listing data often is nested, especially when it comes to fields with a list of values. How do you best show the field name and the list of values? One approach is to combine them into one sheet and another is to include the list of values on a separate sheet as shown in the example below (though I couldn’t figure out how to link the two sheets together in Google documents).

Another question is whether to include the data type in this initial effort. In the past, defining data type has created a lot of consternation where, for example, some MLSs use a list of values for number of bedrooms while most others use a numeric value. If this effort is to have meaning and usefulness long term, I think we have to define data types as well as names. Lastly, even though RETS schema doesn’t define fields by property type, I suggest the spreadsheet contain a property type column to define those fields particular to certain property types.

I think using Google Documents or some other web based spreadsheet would make sharing and publishing the information on sites like RETS.org much easier for everyone. Sharing is critical for getting input and feedback, and building consensus around the results. For example, if you think of a better idea for how to format the spreadsheet, you actually can edit the spreadsheet above and the changes will be saved. That’s pretty cool. Google Spreadsheets also can grant only specific people permission for editing.

So, does this approach work for groups to create and share standard fields in an effort to come up with widely adopted standard fields? One of the core objectives is to get as many fields commonly searchable across all MLSs as possible. Is that 50 fields? 100? More? If there aren’t many current fields, will MLSs be willing to change their current fields to adopt to new standards? Lots of questions here but I know there are many MLSs grappling with these exact problems right now and so this is the time to put keyboard to spreadsheet and define as many standard fields as possible.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/process-for-defining-standard-fields-for-mlss-2/feed/ 7 https://wearefbs.com/blog/data-standards-at-last-maybe-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/data-standards-at-last-maybe-2/#comments Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:17:20 +0000 http://flexmlstest.local/?p=1026 Continued]]> Those reading the FBS Blog over the last few years will know that MLS data standards has been one of most frequent topics for my posts. I also spent a couple of years trying to lead the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) in that direction, with little effect. Thus, I went to the RESO meetings in Chicago this week with a lot of trepidation and even reservation that it would all be more of the same: no progress on data standards.

Indeed, there was a lot of the same discussion about why data standards will never happen (too much legacy data that will be lost, too expensive, too little incentive). Despite these perennial objections, however, there seems to be some good movement in the direction of standardizing MLS data. First, the Cove Group (a group of the biggest MLSs in the country) has decided that it would like to tackle data standards for their group. The members of the Cove Group are going to work among themselves to come up with their standard fields and then submit those into RESO as a change proposal to see if that can kick-start data standards.

This is a great step in the right direction, and I look forward to seeing what they develop. In fact, what I’d love to see happen is for the effort by the Cove Group to be open enough that other regional efforts already being undertaken can proceed at the same time with the same process so the results can be more easily coordinated into RETS. There are two simple things that would help achieve this objective: (1) RESO or the Cove Group should publicize the format in which they are going to publish the data standards once their work is complete; and (2) all groups should try to do their work out in the open on the web as much as possible so we can all track progress together.

During the meetings the last two days in Chicago, both of these topics were discussed a bit. First, the Cove Group representatives indicated they’d be using spreadsheets to collect, review and publish their standard fields. Second, yesterday RESO unveiled a new document management tool that will be used by the community to publish, review and comment on the RETS documentation. Currently, the document management tool isn’t yet live and so there isn’t any publicly accessible content, but, once live, all the docs will be available on the web. Also, currently the tool is primarily focused on the RETS specs, which contain little in the way of data standards, which often are best communicated in the form of a spreadsheet. Accordingly, I recommended to Chris McKeever and CRT that the tool be supplemented with the ability to include spreadsheets.

If the on-going work product of various regional groups could be published on the RESO web site through the document management tool, the likelihood that the efforts could be rolled together at the end would be much higher. Better yet, the spreadsheet formats each regional group is using should be the same. I know these are some basic issues, but I really think they’re important to making sure that the work of the various groups actually makes it into a cohesive national standard. For example, having the column headers the same so that the spreadsheets can be sorted easily in the same manner would be very helpful. In particular, how enumerations for fields are handled in terms of relationship to the primary field for easy viewing and sorting is important. Also, having a column identifying the source (regional effort or MLS) for the suggested field would be important.

Without some of these basic efforts at coordination and openness, there is a real risk that various groups will get pissy (oops, I mean proprietary) about their own work versus the work of the other groups. In contrast, if all the groups are working openly and in the same way toward the same goals, the result should be easier to coordinate. One easy way to coordinate and publicize the efforts would be to use Google or Zoho spreadsheets framed in RESO’s new document management tool. Here’s an example of how a Google spreadhseet can be framed in Confluence, which is the tool chosen by RESO for the document management function.

I fully understand that a lot of this data standards work will begin using Excel or other off-line spreadsheets, which is fine, but I’m strongly advocating that the off-line work be published for the entire community at as frequent of milestones as possible. The more transparent and open the work, the more people will be excited about participating with their own local/regional efforts.

So, that’s my pitch: openness and transparency as much as possible, please. The regional data standards efforts undergoing right now are fantastic and it would be even better to organize them into a cohesive national effort that help all the regional efforts work faster and together.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/data-standards-at-last-maybe-2/feed/ 4 https://wearefbs.com/blog/sign-up-please-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/sign-up-please-2/#comments Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:24:03 +0000 http://blog.flexmls.com/?p=743 Continued]]>

There’s been a great discussion going on over at Bloodhound Blog regarding whether and when to ask visitors to an IDX site to register. In his post If You Want to Close More Deals, Require Registration, Eric Bramlett makes the case that requiring registration can produce more sales if you have a good follow-up process in place. The basic premise is that requiring registration produces more sign-ups from a wider variety of people (including those not wanting to buy or sell now), and so you need an incubation process to find those ready to do business now. In the comments to the post, there are arguments pro and con for requiring registration, with those who don’t require registration preferring to allow users the freedom to indicate when they want to register, which provides a sort of self-selecting process (fewer but higher quality registrations).

To help our IDX customers find the best options for their site, FBS recently released options in its IDX Manager to allow agents and brokers to specify registration options for each link:

There are a couple of things I think are cool about this: (1) the options can be set up for each link, so you can try different options on different links and compare how they perform; and (2) you can allow users to skip the registration requirement, which effectively turns the requirement into a request.

My personal view on registration is that I think it should be as natural to the consumer’s search activity as possible. For example, it’s necessary and expected for users to register when they want to save something, and that’s the default behavior of our IDX links. If you’re going to require a registration to view content, perhaps requiring for it right up front is the most natural — if you want in, identify yourself — because some arbitrary limit based on time or number of listings or searches viewed is, well, arbitrary.

Overall, as I’ve written before, I think consumers are more accustomed than ever to registering at web sites, and so asking for registration no longer has the negative connotation it once did. I also think registration requirements are going to become more common on real estate sites as VOWs gain popularity. As others have commented, the key is how you follow up. If you provide a useful service post-registration and don’t spam the recipients, the consumer may just become a valuable customer making the registration a win-win.

I also realize that what matters are measurable results. Some or all of these approaches may work better for you than others. That’s why we’ve provided the options, for you to try and see what works for you. As these new options are deployed by our customers we’ll collect data and report back later with which options are producing the most registrations and it will be interesting to see if we can tie the registration data to sales data to measure the real bottom line.

Let me know your thoughts on the best place to ask for or require registration during the consumer search process.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/sign-up-please-2/feed/ 3 https://wearefbs.com/blog/vacation-2/ Sat, 08 Aug 2009 14:13:18 +0000 http://blog.flexmls.com/?p=740 Posting here on the FBS Blog will be light or non-existent over the next two weeks as I’ll be on vacation, hopefully enjoying some boating, fishing and other lake fun at our cabin in central Minnesota.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/concluding-thoughts-on-inman-connect-2009-radical-customer-service-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/concluding-thoughts-on-inman-connect-2009-radical-customer-service-2/#comments Sat, 08 Aug 2009 14:11:43 +0000 http://blog.flexmls.com/?p=738 Continued]]> The Inman Connect conference this last week was informative and invigorating.  I moderated the MLS track and we had some great presenters and discussions.  Before the MLS track began, however, Alfred Lin from Zappos spoke about the Zappos approach to customer service.  One example of how Zappos operates that separates them radically from others is that they pay their support trainees $2,000 to quit.  Yep, you read it right, they pay them to quit.  And not just a token, either.  $2,000 is significant.  They do this because they only want people who are committed to Zappos’ service ethic and they figure someone who will take the $2,000 isn’t committed.

I simply love this.  It’s an incredibly powerful statement.  If you think about it, every support trainee at Zappos is giving up $2,000 to work there.  Conversely, Zappos gladly pays the $2,000 to those who take it, because they’re getting radical commitment from everyone else who stays and they’re saving having to fire the others later for lack of performance.  This is brilliant on so many levels.

I mentioned this Zappos policy on Twitter and Brian Larson asked: “Should brokers do the same?”  My response: Yes.  To be clear, what I really mean is that brokers should be committed to customer service the same as Zappos and that means making sure you have the best people representing you and your customers.  This brings me to one of the MLS panels I moderated: “From listing data to people data: The next challenge in VOWs and MLS consumer web sites.”  One of the panelists was Bill Chee, who shared a pretty remarkable statistic for his brokerage: It is less than one percentage point from being the market leader in Honolulu, with 150 fewer agents than his competitor.

Bill attributes this success to their commitment to customer service and measuring the efforts of every agent and the happiness of every customer consistently and regularly through their CRM system.  For Bill, the “people data” collected in their CRM is so much more valuable than the listing data, because it helps them provide better customer service.   He knows when customers are contacting agents and how quickly they are responding.  He knows what they’re searching for on his VOW and how often they log in and engage with his agents.  From public records, he even knows when former customers are listing or buying with agents from other brokerages.

In the Q and A that followed, I asked Bill if there was any people data he thought he could use from the MLS.  He said he tried at one point but currently didn’t get any people data from his MLS.  In contrast, Matt Lavallee from MLSPIN described how their MLS is tracking all kinds of people data through the VOWs they offer.  The data regarding what customers are searching on, when they’re searching, what listings they like and don’t like, and what listings they’re visiting and buying is all being collected in the MLS system.  That’s some powerful people data.

Here at FBS, we released our customer portal feature a little over a year ago and agents have been using it quite successfully, with over 250,000 consumers having active accounts currently.  These accounts provide agents and brokers great insight into what their customers are looking for, how interested they are, and a way for the agent and customer to communicate with each other on-line.  These accounts also provide listing agents with powerful data regarding the activity on their listings, such as how often the listing is marked as a favorite, possibility or reject, how often showings are requested or questions asked, how many messages are sent about the listing, and much more.  Importantly, this customer portal activity data is combined with the activity data from within the private MLS system and from our IDX sites, to provide a more complete picture of search and viewing activity.

Again, all of this people data is very useful for the brokers and agents to provide better service to their buyers and sellers, and that’s why we think the MLS system has an important role in helping agents and brokers make use of all of this data.  Internally at FBS, we call it MeTAL: Measure, Test, Adjust and Learn.  Bill Chee is proving that MeTAL is critical to providing radical customer service and win more business.  Those are my take-aways from the Inman Connect conference this year.  What did you learn?

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/concluding-thoughts-on-inman-connect-2009-radical-customer-service-2/feed/ 3 https://wearefbs.com/blog/weaving-a-tangled-web-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/weaving-a-tangled-web-2/#comments Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:55:51 +0000 http://blog.flexmls.com/?p=733 Continued]]> Brian Larson posted a detailed conclusion to his IDX series the other day, concluding that he’d recommend the NAR modify the IDX policy to:

• Define what we mean by ‘web search engine,’ identify the benign uses they make of listing data, and incorporate those descriptions into the rules.
• Say that broker IDX sites may allow and even encourage indexing by web search engines.
• If brokers are particularly miffed by the “Nancy Smith” example, MLSs can prohibit display of listing agent in IDX (as long as state law does not require it).
• Educate all brokers about how site indexing works and about technology options to allow them to take advantage of it.
• Allow MLSs to adopt a rule requiring IDX sites to display terms of use prominently on the site (but giving brokers a few months’ grace period to implement them).
• Develop a good model TOU and invite the MLSs to promulgate it to brokers; two key terms would make MLS a third-party beneficiary and would allow ‘web search engine’ use but not any other commercial use of the listing data.

I basically agree with all of this, though I think defining “web search engine” and benign uses is very difficult if not impossible to do when it comes to the web and why I think the terms of use Brian mentions are most important.

Yesterday, Rob Hahn followed up on Brian’s post with “Great Expectations, or On the Purpose of IDX“, in which he makes at least two key points:

• Purpose of IDX.  Rob agrees with Brian that defining the purpose of IDX is critical: “Without this purpose statement, one could reasonably claim that the purpose of IDX is to benefit sellers as much as possible, or that IDX is meant to empower agents to be more competitive, or whatever.”
• The Game is Over for IDX.  Rob makes the case that big brokers no longer benefit from IDX in the world of Google dominance, and speculates that the next model might be for big brokers to pull out of IDX, build great VOWs for themselves, and then encourage their MLS to build a great public web site to drive traffic to their VOWs.

I have a couple of comments in response to these ideas from Rob and the IDX issue in general:

• VOWs.  As I posted a few weeks ago, establishment of VOWs as required by the DOJ/NAR settlement raise questions about MLS IDX policies.  On the one hand, many brokers and MLSs filled the vacuum created by the NAR/DOJ litigation by expanding IDX to include lots of data, including sold information.  In other words, IDX data feeds in these MLSs look a lot like VOW feeds.  On the other hand, some MLSs, like MIBOR, continue to have a restricted view of IDX and want to keep it off the web at least in terms of indexing by search engines.  The distinction between these views seems to be squarely in front of the NAR MLS Policy Committee for investigation and possible decision this fall as a result of the IDX/scraping issue raised by MIBOR this last spring.
• Purpose of IDX.  I’ve stated before that investment in IDX by many industry participants makes changing that policy of concern, and that the NAR should not combine the VOW and IDX policies.  This brings us back to the purpose of IDX.  Though I agree with both Rob and Brian that a stated purpose would be useful in interpreting the policy and for brokers in deciding whether to opt in or out, I also think that any “purpose” of IDX only matters to the extent it is codified in the terms of use.  After all, the end result of IDX is to put listings on the web.  The web is an evolving, changing flow of information and any purpose stated today likely will change tomorrow.  As Rob points out, Google now dominates and defines the web in, perhaps, too many ways, but tomorrow it may be different.  That’s the beauty and creativity of the web and all its participants.  Declaring a purpose for IDX is useful, but, in the end, the result is that IDX allows agents to put others’ listings on their world wide web site, which, by definition, is open to the world.  Controlling that is going to be difficult, at best, and quite probably impossible.
• Re-thinking IDX.  The open nature of the web (IDX) and the closed nature of VOWs raises the question as to whether the current IDX policies of MLSs recognize these differences.  I’m hopeful that Rob’s idea about IDX going away in favor of VOWs is a stretch too far, because, as mentioned above, IDX is a vibrant part of so many franchise, broker and agent strategies today.  At the same time, the industry needs to recognize the reality of VOWs and how they interplay with IDX.
• Syndication.  One example of the evolution of the web is syndication.  Today, many franchises, brokers, agents and MLSs are syndicating listings to sites like Zillow, Trulia, Yahoo!, Google and many others.  One of the more interesting twists on this phenomenon is RealBird’s “IDX” solution based on listings in Google Base.  Tying these altogether, let’s say that Rob’s vision of big brokers pulling out of IDX in favor of VOWs coupled with an MLS consumer portal comes true.  Unless some terms of use somehow prohibit it, RealBird will continue to offer agent and broker “IDX” solutions based on the listings many MLSs are syndicating to Google Base.  This is just one of many reasons (the possibilities of a platform like Google Wave are another) why crafting a terms of use for the open web is so important and difficult, and why the industry, intended or not, is weaving a tangled web.
• Standards. (You didn’t think I’d get through a post without mentioning standards, did you?)  One possibility for tying some of these issues together is to focus on the syndication standard developed over the last year or so.  At a basic level, syndication is very similar to IDX in that both are focused on advertising listings.  If that’s true, wouldn’t focusing IDX policy on the same data fields identified in the syndication standard make sense?  If we could standardize IDX on the syndication data set, that also would solve many of the cost issues associated with processing so many disparate IDX feed formats.  Having a standard format for IDX also would make crafting a more standard terms of use easier.  Getting there will be challenging, of course, particularly given the wide adoption of IDX, but the long-term payoff could be significant for the entire industry.

I’m heading off to San Francisco tomorrow for the Inman Connect conference, where the issue of VOWs will be front and center for the panel called “From Listing Data to People Data: The Next Challenge in VOWs and MLS Consumer Sites.” Join me there for the continuing discussion or leave a comment below.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/weaving-a-tangled-web-2/feed/ 17 https://wearefbs.com/blog/registration-as-a-feature-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/registration-as-a-feature-2/#comments Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:38:40 +0000 http://blog.flexmls.com/?p=731 Continued]]> A quick post this morning inspired by a Kristen Carr tweet about Liam Dayan’s post some time ago about using IDX and VOWs together. A quick excerpt from Liam’s post:

Frankly, handled right registration can be converted from being a barrier into being a feature. Think velvet ropes and VIP rooms. Also, that consumer objection to signing up is just generally getting quieter and smaller every day as people’s use of social networking mediums that demand sign-up for participation grows. Add single sign-on mechanisms, either individual or one of the social media platform initiatives like OpenID, etc. and this becomes negligible.

And BTW? There’s nothing in the language of the VOW agreement or any other I know of (big caveat on that one) that precludes a broker from maintaining both of those feeds. That introduces some interesting hybrid UX/reg-path possibilities. This is a very solvable problem.

This is all very relevant to our Summit meetings this week, where we’re covering a lot of material on our customer portals and how they create opportunities for improving service to customers through people data. Go read Liam’s entire post.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/registration-as-a-feature-2/feed/ 9 https://wearefbs.com/blog/visionary-bill-chee-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/visionary-bill-chee-2/#comments Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:52:59 +0000 http://blog.flexmls.com/?p=725 Continued]]> I’m excited that Bill Chee will be one of the presenters during the MLS Track at Inman Connect on August 6.  The topic will be “From Listing Data to People Data: The Next Challenge in VOWs and MLS Consumer Sites”. In preparing for the sessions, I watched Bill’s 1993 (yes, 1993) “Lions Over The Hill Speech”, which, thankfully, NAR has archived and made available on the web.

Watching the video in retrospect, sixteen years later, is fascinating and instructive. This speech pre-dated Realtor.com, Google, and all the other recent lions. If my memory serves me correctly, the initiative approved here resulted in RIN and ultimately Realtor.com, the most popular real estate search portal on the web today. Interestingly enough, there are some new “lions” over the hill today on that top 10 list, and Google is seen as the biggest lion of all.

One of the key questions I’ll have for Bill Chee at the Inman conference is whether listing data really is a non-issue today because it’s everywhere, or whether opportunities remain to leverage the data quality from the MLS for consumer benefit through VOWs and IDX. Bill said recently at the MLS Connection conference in Portland that “people data” is the key today, and I’m very excited to learn more about how that fits into the site he’s created at Prudential Locations and how that helps him provide better service to his customers.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/visionary-bill-chee-2/feed/ 1 https://wearefbs.com/blog/proper-terms-of-use-depend-on-balance-between-idx-and-vows-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/proper-terms-of-use-depend-on-balance-between-idx-and-vows-2/#comments Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:24:18 +0000 http://blog.flexmls.com/?p=723 Continued]]> Following Brian Larson’s recent posts on the IDX scraping issue, he and I spoke on the phone for a bit (well, Brian and I never talk on the phone for just a bit) and during that discussion I suggested:

• Terms of Use.  MLSs providing IDX feeds should require a terms of use document be placed on the site hosting the IDX data, just as is required for VOWs.  At a minimum, those terms of use should prohibit any misappropriation of the data and give the MLS the third-party beneficiary right to pursue claims against any party misappropriating data from the IDX site.
• Revisit IDX Data Fields. It’s hard to put the genie back in the bottle, so to speak, but the availability of VOW data feeds now squarely raises the question of whether the IDX data set should be reconsidered.  More specifically, with VOW feeds now being available in all MLSs, is there reason to consider changing the IDX data set to only those fields considered an “advertisement” so that the issues of indexing and scraping are less of a concern?  As I’ve suggested on Brian’s blog (MLS Tesseract), the purpose of IDX is to put listings on the open web and the way people find stuff on the open web is through search engines, which means indexing.  Instead of preventing indexing, perhaps a solution is to limit the amount of data in an IDX feed so that the terms of use can be crafted in a way that provides proper protection given the reality of the open web?  The reality is that IDX policies have been expanded to include more and more data over the last several years because the VOW litigation was on-going.  Now that the VOW litigation is settled, however, and there’s a way to provide the data consumers demand, perhaps the expansion of IDX data feeds should be re-considered to better fit the terms of use that can be enforced practically?
• VOWs.  I know, I know, consumers hate to register.  Get over it.  VOWs (requiring users to register and identify themselves) are critical to crafting a proper terms of use balanced between the open web and consumer access to data.  The difference is clear — IDX is open to the world, VOWs are open to consumers willing to identify themselves.  The data you can provide through a VOW is pretty much the entire MLS and that means consumers can get what they want, they just need to show they are a real person and agree not to steal the data.  Is that too much to ask?  What other terms should there be?

For those who’ve been reading the FBS Blog for some time, you’ll know I’m a big proponent of the web and working with MLSs and their members to make the most of it.  Crafting a balance between the data available in IDX and VOWs and the terms of use for each is important for MLSs to fully embrace the web and help members engage with consumers on the web.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/proper-terms-of-use-depend-on-balance-between-idx-and-vows-2/feed/ 8 https://wearefbs.com/blog/pay-attention-to-google-and-identity-2/ Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:15:50 +0000 http://blog.flexmls.com/?p=721 Continued]]> As I mentioned the other day, lots of people have written about Google’s recent updates to their real estate search and the discussion continues.  While I didn’t find a lot new or interesting there, another bit of information leaked about Google yesterday that is interesting: “Google plans to announce in coming weeks that it is turning each of the one million plus Google Apps customer domains into an OpenID provider, enabling millions of people to log in to OpenID-supporting websites with their work, school or organization ID.”

This is the identity issue I’ve mentioned several times in the last few months.  As the Read/Write Web article concludes:

In other words, this move by Google could kill the spirit of OpenID by drowning the letter of OpenID with support. We think we’re logging in to websites with our work or school ID, and OpenID lovers think we’re logging in with OpenID, but we’re actually logging in with a Google-controlled ID. All the heavy lifting would be done, Google would take care of the data storage and probably offer some neat value-added features. All the companies involved would have to do is hand online identity provisioning over to the company that they have already purchased email, calendaring and document sharing from. (“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety,” Ben Franklin once wrote, “deserve neither liberty nor safety.”)

At least it’s not Facebook!

So goes the wrestling of titans, on the very playing field created by champions of the free and independent little guy.

These web infrastructure issues are much more important, in my view, to the future of MLSs than whether Google displays ads for real estate listings on a map.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/what-is-and-isnt-new-with-google-real-estate-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/what-is-and-isnt-new-with-google-real-estate-2/#comments Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:17:09 +0000 http://blog.flexmls.com/?p=719 Continued]]> There’s a lot of buzz the last few days over Google’s recent updates to its real estate search.  Here’s a quick run-down of some of the posts that have come through my feed reader:

Google Lat-Long Blog: Improving real estate search on Google Maps

Agent Genius: Real Estate Search – Google to Punk Your Local MLS? Is It Possible?

Real Central VA: Google Assumes It Is A Foregone Conclusion

Property Owl: All Eyes on Google

GigaOm: Why Google is a Fair-Weather Friend

FoREM: Google Gets Serious About Real Estate Search

Bloodhound Blog: Web 2.0 Still Hasn’t Mastered The Real Estate Mantra: Location, Location, Location

Read/Write Web: Google Updates Its Real Estate Search, Should The Competition Be Frightened?

Screenwerk: Google “Real Estate” Not New

VAR Buzz: Google Enters The Real Estate Biz

Undoubtedly there are others I’ve missed as well.  What’s all the fuss about?  As Greg Sterling points out, that Google is displaying real estate listings on maps isn’t new.  Nor is it new that Google is accepting real estate listing into Google Base.  This is where I think posts such as Benn Rosales’ over at Agent Genius are a bit off the mark in suggesting that this could be the end for local MLSs.  Google hasn’t created anything very new or exciting with their latest improvements and sites like HAR.com, HomesDataBase, Yahoo! Real Estate, Zillow, Trulia and many others are already more well-developed with greater listing coverage than Google.  Moreover, Google is getting many of its listings from local MLSs.

(Also of important note here: I do not yet see any connection between Google’s indexing of IDX listings and their maps.google.com/realestate site.  Instead, all the listings appear to be coming from Google Base, which is populated from local MLSs, brokers, agents, and consumers and doesn’t involve IDX at all.)

So what is new?  Well, Google clearly is continuing to be interested in the real estate space as they’ve invested additional development resources into the product.  They also are trying to find a home for real estate by using the URL maps.google.com/realestate.  In fact, if you type the term “real estate” into Google’s search, they’ve created a little promo for their new site.  I also think this development from Google is a sign that they believe they have a robust enough representation of listings to make it worthwhile, and my guess is that they achieved this by working with MLSs and syndication firms like ThreeWide or RealEstateBook or others.  If I haven’t made the point already, my guess is that the majority of listings are coming from MLSs (but I’d love to see some real numbers on the data sources).

A couple of things I find interesting about Google’s implementation:

• World-Wide Mapping of Listings:  If you zoom way out, you can see the beginnings of world-wide coverage.
• Plotting All Listings:  Instead of just plotting a hundred or so, Google is plotting all the listings nearly all the time (except when zoomed way out).  This is the same approach we took with our mapping, because it gives users a better perspective on all the results.
• Potential: Of course, when Google sneezes, the world catches a cold these days.  Accordingly, paying attention to what they’re doing is smart.  The most interesting question is when will Google integrate the listings into organic search results.  In other words, when will they join more firmly the Base listings with indexed listings and how will they resolve the conflicts?  My guess is that they’ll prefer the listings from the higher quality sources, which, in my view, are the local MLSs.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/what-is-and-isnt-new-with-google-real-estate-2/feed/ 7 https://wearefbs.com/blog/is-having-fiber-internet-access-as-important-as-school-district-for-home-buyers-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/is-having-fiber-internet-access-as-important-as-school-district-for-home-buyers-2/#comments Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:25:54 +0000 http://blog.flexmls.com/?p=716 Continued]]> Over at GigaOm, they’re running a poll asking, “Where Does Broadband Access Rank When Choosing a Home?”  When I took the poll, the leading answer was “It’s up there with a quality school district and a good location. 56% (29 votes)”.  The post specifically discusses the desirability of fiber to the home.  How many MLS systems are tracking fiber to the home as a feature?

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/is-having-fiber-internet-access-as-important-as-school-district-for-home-buyers-2/feed/ 4 https://wearefbs.com/blog/people-data-the-future-of-the-internet-2/ Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:43:42 +0000 http://blog.flexmls.com/?p=714 Continued]]> In my recent post describing the MLS track at Inman Connect on August 6, I wrote that “the future of MLS has a lot more to do with people data than listing data.”  In fact, all the MLS sessions at Inman this year will touch on this movement in focus “from listing data to people data.”  Importantly, this trend isn’t just related to MLSs or real estate.

Wired recently posted an article describing the “full-blown battle” between Facebook and Google “over the future of the Internet.”  The article posits that Facebook is collecting a vast trove of data — people data — behind their walled garden, far away from Google’s search engines:

Hardly any of Wayne’s Facebook information turns up on a Google search, because all of it, along with similar details about the other 200 million Facebook users, exists on the social network’s roughly 40,000 servers. Together, this data comprises a mammoth amount of activity, almost a second Internet. By Facebook’s estimates, every month users share 4 billion pieces of information—news stories, status updates, birthday wishes, and so on. They also upload 850 million photos and 8 million videos. But anyone wanting to access that stuff must go through Facebook; the social network treats it all as proprietary data, largely shielding it from Google’s crawlers. Except for the mostly cursory information that users choose to make public, what happens on Facebook’s servers stays on Facebook’s servers. That represents a massive and fast-growing blind spot for Google, whose long-stated goal is to “organize the world’s information.”

In addition to having so much information tied up in Facebook, walled off from Google, the battle also is over how users identify themselves on the web:

Connect and Open Stream don’t just allow users to access their Facebook networks from anywhere online. They also help realize Facebook’s longtime vision of giving users a unique, Web-wide online profile. By linking Web activity to Facebook accounts, they begin to replace the largely anonymous “no one knows you’re a dog” version of online identity with one in which every action is tied to who users really are.

I’ve written before how important the identity issue is for MLSs.  Will MLSs step up to the plate and help their members establish an independent identity or will Google and Facebook become the standard for identity on the web for real estate professionals?

The introduction to the Wired article makes a better ending to this post, because it shows that these wars are just being waged now.  So much is yet to be decided, and that makes this an exciting time for everyone if we embrace the opportunity.

Today, the Google-Facebook rivalry isn’t just going strong, it has evolved into a full-blown battle over the future of the Internet—its structure, design, and utility. For the last decade or so, the Web has been defined by Google’s algorithms—rigorous and efficient equations that parse practically every byte of online activity to build a dispassionate atlas of the online world. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg envisions a more personalized, humanized Web, where our network of friends, colleagues, peers, and family is our primary source of information, just as it is offline. In Zuckerberg’s vision, users will query this “social graph” to find a doctor, the best camera, or someone to hire—rather than tapping the cold mathematics of a Google search. It is a complete rethinking of how we navigate the online world, one that places Facebook right at the center. In other words, right where Google is now.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/fathers-still-know-best/ Sun, 21 Jun 2009 01:40:50 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1267 Continued]]> I wrote this two years ago on Father’s Day.  I see some progress on data standards but it has nothing to do with RESO or RETS.  That Father’s Day has become my marking point for RESO progress is a little weird, but it is what it is.  Will RESO be any further on data standards next Fathers’ Day?  Warren Koeller’s chuckle is turning into a roar.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/travel-photos-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/travel-photos-2/#comments Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:24:36 +0000 http://blog.flexmls.com/?p=703 Continued]]>

I’ve been traveling this week with Steve Schlangen (Captain) and Dave Rifkin visiting customers. Here we’re just flying over Lake Tahoe.

Here we’re flying over Lake Shasta after having a great visit with our customers at the Shasta Association of REALTORS. (Thanks, Tomas and everyone, for your great hospitality!)

Captain Steve even gave Dave a short flying lesson.

Shortly after, we arrived (safely) in Newport, Oregon, for a visit with our customers at Lincoln County. (Thanks, Sue, for arranging our meetings at such a great place. It was great to catch up with you on such a beautiful day!)

Captain Steve dropped Dave and I off and continued on to visit our customers in Tillamook and Astoria, Oregon, and now he’s back with us in Lincoln for our return flight tomorrow home to Fargo. I hope to see you all again soon!

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/travel-photos-2/feed/ 2 https://wearefbs.com/blog/end-user-innovation/ Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:45:24 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1274 Continued]]> Further to my post yesterday, It bears repeating: The MLS is more than technology, this post from Fred Wilson on Open Platforms and Innovation states simply the reason MLSs and Associations need to think in terms of building a platform for innovation:

That’s the thing that gets me so excited to get up and get going every day. Technology has reached a point where anyone can get involved with innovation. Patents and degrees matter a lot less. Imagining something and then coding it up is what its all about these days.

We are engaged in what Eric von Hippel calls “end user innovation” and it is a fundamental shift in the way society innovates. The Twitter founders are a perfect example. They built a simple tool to share short messages and it has become something entirely different.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/it-bears-repeating-mls-is-more-than-technology-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/it-bears-repeating-mls-is-more-than-technology-2/#comments Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:34:14 +0000 http://blog.flexmls.com/?p=696 Continued]]> Inman News recently issued a call for essays on on a “new look for MLS”, asking:

• What changes do you believe are necessary and imminent for MLSs, and what types of changes do you believe will require the toughest battles?

• Will VOWs (Virtual Office Web sites) catch on? Will they ever replace IDX (Internet Data Exchange) as the dominant model for sharing property information with consumers?

• What MLS rules and policies, if any, need tweaking? Are any new rules needed?

• How will the debate over MLS-operated public-facing property-search sites be settled?

• Should MLSs send property listings information on their participants’ behalf to third-party Web sites?

• Is the regionalization and nationalization of MLS data a given? What is the perfect number of MLSs required to serve real estate professionals?

• Are we inevitably heading toward a single, national MLS? Would that be a good thing or a bad thing for agents, brokers and consumers?

I’m going to respond to all these questions in one fell swoop by using MLS regionalization as an example.  There are two distinct approaches to the regionalization challenge that have been advocated: (1) a standards based approach (sort of like CARETS and WIREX); and (2) a proprietary approach like calREDD.  (Side note: A big question for me right now is where NAR’s Real Property Resource intends to go, standards or proprietary?)

A good analogy to explain the differences between these two approaches is the web itself.  Let’s pretend the web didn’t exist but you wanted to create it.  Two distinct approaches would be: (1) start by creating an open platform on which others can create; or (2) build one system and try to get everyone else to buy/use it. The web’s ridiculous success is because it’s built on open standards and not a proprietary solution.

This basic distinction — between the open web and proprietary solutions — goes to the heart of what I believe is the purpose of MLSs and REALTOR Associations (local, state and national), namely: creating a cooperative platform on which competitors can compete.  I wrote some time ago that MLS is more than technology. This isn’t new or radical, it’s what MLSs and Associations have been doing since inception.

What is new and radical, however, is that the web is creating new opportunities for competing and cooperating and that presents many opportunities for MLSs and Associations to help their members.  Here are just some of the opportunities:

Listing Data Standards — This is the beginning of nearly everything; data standards are the base of the platform.  Without standardized data, the web as a platform for MLS is very messy, as we’re seeing right now.  Data sharing among MLSs, between brokers, with franchises, search engines, and others is all hampered by data disparities.  More positively, standardizing data opens many opportunities that are not possible or practical today, such as reliable cross-MLS statistical analysis.  One of the most important pieces of data to be standardized is a universal property ID, which I’m hopeful will be a core focus for NAR’s Real Property Resource.  A universal property ID could form a basis for linking listing data together, which is what the web is all about.

Who is a member of the MLS? Or it’s time to develop some terms of use.  I’ve mentioned this before but, today, I think consumers are, for all practical purposes, members of the MLS.  Ridiculous, you say?  Not really.  If access to the listing data is the definition of membership, then consumers are “members” in many respects.  One of the primary features of every MLS system today is the ability to email information to consumers.  Many MLS systems also offer customer portals through which agents can share listing data and interact with their customers.  Also, many agents today are really consumers who have gone through the steps to become a member.  They aren’t producing or active in the MLS but they have access.  As MLSs and Associations consider changes to the IDX, VOW and related policies, thinking of the conumer as a member of the MLS and then working to define the terms of use for that membership may lead to a new way of thinking about how agents and consumers can interact on the web.

Identity.  The web used to be all about anonymity but today it is about identity.  MLSs and Associations could be helping their members by developing standards for identifying and authorizing members across systems and the web, and sharing that information with other sites.  This is a hot topic for the web as a whole today, not just real estate, as sites like Google, Facebook, Twitter, and others require us to maintain information about ourselves multiple times with multiple usernames and passwords.  Couldn’t the MLS help members by participating in these standards efforts on the web?  This is just another example of how real estate is participating in the web evolution, and so needs to think in web terms.

Syndication.  Some good work has been started on standardizing the data format for syndication, but an equally (or more) important issue for consumers is keeping that data up to date on all the various sites.  This is a classic case where technology filled the gap from a lack of standards and created a mess.  Sites like Trulia, Zillow, Yahoo!, Google, etc., are receiving the same listings from many sources, having to de-duplicate them, and keep them up to date somehow.  The MLS remains the most accurate source of listing data and so should provide a standard for how data should be sent (transported) to other aggregators and then kept up to date. This doesn’t need to be hard and could follow some basic standards like Atom or RSS, but the discussion needs to be started to get there.  This same discussion leads back to the terms of use mentioned above — if the data is offered in an open format, who can do what with it and under what terms?

IDX and VOWs.  The recent dustup over whether Google’s indexing of an IDX site is misappropriation of the IDX data is a good example of how MLSs and Associations need to re-envision their operations in terms of the web as a whole.  By focusing on high-level standards, issues like this may be avoided or minimized in the future.

The above are just some of the key issues facing MLSs and Associations today.  The web is reinventing everything, including the way we collaborate, cooperate and make decisions.  The NAR and local Assocaitions could reinvent themselves for member benefit by putting these issues front and center on a web site somewhere and publicly debating and deciding on them.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/it-bears-repeating-mls-is-more-than-technology-2/feed/ 4 https://wearefbs.com/blog/fun-experiment-and-poll-when-do-you-experience-lag-in-ui-response/ Mon, 08 Jun 2009 01:48:28 +0000 https://wearefbs.com/?p=1278 Continued]]> Ajaxian posts today about Craftsmanship and UI Latency and links to a fun little experiment where you can click to see the difference a few milliseconds make in responding to a click.  I thought it might be fun for readers of the FBS Blog to try it out and then mark their responses in the poll below.  So, just click this link, run the test, and then return here to enter your vote in the poll.

When do you experience lag in response?(polls)

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/my-early-impressions-of-the-palm-pre-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/my-early-impressions-of-the-palm-pre-2/#comments Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:35:56 +0000 http://blog.flexmls.com/?p=690 Continued]]> After a sort of late night out with some of my co-workers Friday night, I got up at about 6 a.m. on Saturday (when it was 45 degrees outside) to stand in line for the first time in my life for pretty much anything.  I’m one of those people who will drive 15 minutes more to avoid standing in line at a restaurant for 10 minutes.  Irrational, I know, but that’s how much I dislike waiting in lines.  Anyway, I’ve been a Blackberry Pearl user for about a year and I’ve been very excited to get a real keyboard again, and so I thought I’d brave the cold and the line to get my hands on the new Palm Pre.

I wrote out some pros and cons in an email this morning to Greg Kilwein and thought it would make a decent blog post, too, for those curious about my early impressions with the Pre.

---

It’s not perfect but it’s pretty great.

The cons:

• Speed — There are some annoying delays in launching applications.  The delays really only occur in launching apps, though, and general operation is snappy once they’re loaded.  (I have had the NY Times app become non-responsive a few times, but I’m guessing that’s the app’s fault.)
• Battery life — A day of heavy use may not be possible without a charge.
• Auto-complete/correction — Palm hasn’t gotten very far yet with auto-complete/correction.  Small things like double-spacing to create a period don’t work (though using the period is easy enough) and it doesn’t correct some basics (like “I’ll”) I’ve gotten used to on my BB.
• Apps — Though I disagree with most of the criticism over the puny app store (it is a new device, after all, and Apple didn’t even have an app store at all for over a year), I do wish there was an app for Google Reader, which I used all the time on my BB.  I was, however, pleased to find a Twitter app (Twead) and a NYTimes app, and there are a few others (movie times and tickets, Internet radio, etc.) I haven’t tried yet.
• Calendar — Surprisingly, given that this is a Palm device, I’ve found the UI for the calendar frustrating.  Either I’m not doing it right, or they’ve left some basic navigation out like flipping through months.  You can flip through days but I haven’t figured out a way to flip through the months, which is something I do quite a bit.

The pros:

• Size/Keyboard — I’d say the size of the device is perfect.  It’s neither too big or too small, but just right.  The keyboard is cramped, for sure, but it seems to be a decent compromise between a big keyboard like the Blackberry Bold has and something small like my Pearl that can’t handle a full keyboard.  Also, as David Pogue says, “it’s better than typing on glass.”
• Screen — Amazingly beautiful; looking at the wallpapers/images they provide is just stunning, they’re so vibrant and colorful.
• Fit/Finish — I give it an A but not an A+.  I think the device feels very nice in my hand and is quite beautifully designed (and, as mentioned above, is the perfect size).  My one complaint is that the slider isn’t as tight as it could be, and so there’s some sideways movement between the top and bottom even when the device is closed.
• OS/UI — They’ve done a really great job here, and it mostly makes up for the speed issues.  Keeping many applications open is really handy and makes up for the short lags when loading an application (and, no, having many apps open doesn’t seem to change the speed, either with more or fewer apps running).  Organizing and accessing the applications through the “cards” also is easy and fun.  And the UI is simply gorgeous.
• Email Client — The email client is one of the best parts of the device, because it combines into one UI both my FBS and gmail accounts.  You can view them together or separate.  Awesome.  Also, it supports full HTML email and so Jira and Confluence emails look good again, which they didn’t with my Pearl.
• Google sync — Calendars and contacts, effortlessly. I mentioned this on Twitter, but I was really surprised when I found all my contacts and phone numbers loaded.  I vaguely recall syncing my BB to Google but it was still a surprise that everything just showed up on the Pre.
• Contacts — Probably because of the Google sync, the contacts just worked.  Start typing the name you want and the email, phone and other contact info shows up right away.  Very speedy.  (As mentioned above, the speed issues almost always have to do with app loading.  Overall, the speed of operation is snappy.)
• Browser — Very nice and powerful.  Supports a ton of javascript.  Google Reader even works for the most part, which means there is less need for an app, but it definitely would be better to have an app.
• Features — The device and software do so much, it’s really amazing.  In addition to basics like email, SMS, web browser, etc., it sports:
  • GPS with real driving directions over the speakerphone (it’s really like buying two devices, a phone and a GPS);
  • Sprint TV — though I doubt I’ll use this much, it’s wicked cool to be able to watch live TV on your phone;
  • Music — I also won’t use this, but it’s effectively an iPod and even syncs with iTunes;
  • Camera — haven’t used it enough yet to know the quality but the UI is quite nice;
  • Wifi — Haven’t used this yet either but I think it’s cool that it has wifi, though the Sprint service is fast enough that I haven’t cared yet; and
  • Bluetooth — necessary for hands-free in the car.

I think that’s about it.  Overall, I’m really glad I stood in line for the Pre and I’m excited to be back in the land of Palm.

MJW

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/my-early-impressions-of-the-palm-pre-2/feed/ 10 https://wearefbs.com/blog/have-mls-membership-levels-hit-bottom-or-is-there-still-shake-out-to-come-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/have-mls-membership-levels-hit-bottom-or-is-there-still-shake-out-to-come-2/#comments Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:07:47 +0000 http://blog.flexmls.com/?p=686 Continued]]>

Inspired by a recent post on Rain City Guide called The Third Bubble by Chuck Reilling, we ran some numbers across our 100 or so MLSs from across the country and came up with the following sides per agent trend graph:

Unlike Chuck’s graphs, this graph shows a significant flattening over the last two and a half years.  I’m interpreting that as indicating the amount of membership decline still in the pipeline may be pretty low.  Or is that just me being too optimistic?  What do you think?

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/have-mls-membership-levels-hit-bottom-or-is-there-still-shake-out-to-come-2/feed/ 7 https://wearefbs.com/blog/check-out-the-mls-track-at-inman-connect-in-san-francisco-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/check-out-the-mls-track-at-inman-connect-in-san-francisco-2/#comments Thu, 04 Jun 2009 20:40:32 +0000 http://blog.flexmls.com/?p=684 Continued]]> I’ll be moderating the MLS track (track 3) at Inman Connect in San Francisco on August 6th, and I hope you consider coming to participate as I think we’re going to explore some interesting topics.

Thursday, August 6, 2:00 pm – 2:45 pm
Discussion
From Listing Data to People Data: The Next Challenge in VOWs and MLS Consumer Sites

Bill Chee, President, Prudential Locations
Kathy Condon, CEO, MLSPIN

I heard Bill Chee speak at MLS Connection in Portland earlier this year, and he said something to the effect that he’s far more focused on people data today than listing data.  Of course, the MLS has long been laser-focused on listing data, as it should, but the premise of this session is that the future of MLS has a lot more to do with people data than listing data.  What are MLSs doing to leverage the people data they have for the benefit of their brokers and agents?  What should they be doing?  These are the core quesions we’ll be exploring in this session.

Thursday, August 6, 2:50 pm – 3:35 pm
Presentation
The Market Analytics Opportunity: How MLSs Can Conquer the Neighborhood

Mark Allen, CEO, Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors
Bob Bemis, CEO, Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service
Spencer Rascoff, COO, Zillow.com

I wrote about the challenge of neighborhoods awhile back, and so this topic is very exciting for me.  MLSs have some of the best data on the real estate market and yet the analytics produced aren’t always helpful to consumers.  I think one of the key reasons for this is that the geographic market boundaries are not well defined, and that a significant opportunity exists for MLSs to improve in this area.

This panel includes Mark Allen, CEO of the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS, who also recently launched 10k Research to help MLSs produce more consumer friendly analytics.  Bob Bemis, CEO of ARMLS, also will be participating.  ARMLS serves the Phoenix and surrounding market, and has worked closely with Mike Orr of the Cromford Report to integrate detailed analytics into the MLS system.  Spencer Rascoff from Zillow also will be joining us.  Spencer and Zillow have been focused on developing neighborhood level analytics for some time, and has become one of the go to voices for the media for trends in the real estate market.  If that isn’t interesting to MLSs, I’m not sure what is.

Thursday, August 6, 3:40 pm – 4:25 pm
Debate
Agent Ratings: Truth, Consequences or Camouflage?

Bob Hale, CEO, Houston Association of Realtors
Glenn Kelman, CEO & President, Redfin

Bob Hale from the Houston Association of REALTORS recently launched agent ratings through the MLS, and the system has already generated some interesting discussions.  Glenn Kelman from Redfin has been rating their own agents for some time.  Hearing these two dynamic personalities discuss the merits of their respective rating systems should be one of the best events at Inman.

There’s more, too, but I’m most excited about these three sessions.  I’m looking forward to learning and listening.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/check-out-the-mls-track-at-inman-connect-in-san-francisco-2/feed/ 5 https://wearefbs.com/blog/calling-crtweet-for-clarification-please-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/calling-crtweet-for-clarification-please-2/#comments Thu, 07 May 2009 12:48:52 +0000 http://blog.flexmls.com/?p=673 Continued]]> There’s been quite a dustup over the decision reportedly made by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Board of REALTORS® (MIBOR) that their MLS IDX rules against “scraping” also prohibit Google from indexing an agent’s site showing IDX listings.

For a bit of background, indexing is what Google does — it crawls the web and creates indexes of as much of it as it can so that when people search on Google it can return relevant results quickly.  Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about scraping (with some emphases from me added):

Web scraping (or Web harvesting, Web data extraction) is a computer software technique of extracting information from websites. Usually, such software programs simulate human exploration of the Web by either implementing low-level Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), or embedding certain full-fledged Web browsers, such as the Internet Explorer (IE) and the Mozilla Web browser. Web scraping is closely related to Web indexing, which indexes Web content using a bot and is a universal technique adopted by most search engines. In contrast, Web scraping focuses more on the transformation of unstructured Web content, typically in HTML format, into structured data that can be stored and analyzed in a central local database or spreadsheet. Web scraping is also related to Web automation, which simulates human Web browsing using computer software.

The highlighted sentence is where the confusion begins on this issue.  Scraping and indexing are closely related.  That they are different, however, is emphasized by the important words “in contrast” that follow the “closely related” sentence.  Put together, indexing is “closely related” to scraping but it is “in contrast” to it in what I think are important ways, namely the resulting use of the data.  I’ll expound on this more below, but, for now, back to the controversy at hand.

In responding to the post on Agent Genius, Hilary Marsh from NAR said:

. . . questions have arisen about the scope of the requirement that IDX site operators protect the listings of other participants displayed on their IDX sites from “scraping”. Specifically, whether the policy distinguishes between “malicious” scraping and what might be considered “good” or “benign” scraping. Also, whether “indexing” is a type of scraping. The Center for REALTOR® Technology (”CRT”) advised that while the intent of “scrapers” may be malicious, and the intent of “indexers” good, the two practices from the Web server’s view appear to be the same. Consequently, NAR staff responded to questioners that the requirement to prevent scraping includes indexing.

So, the rub of the issue is that MIBOR punted the ball back to NAR, which asked CRT, and CRT (as a technical body) said, technically, there’s no difference between scraping and indexing.  Of course, as is clear from the above Wikipedia definition, CRT is right — there really is no distinction from the perspective of the computer activity between scraping and indexing.  Both processes read the web site and do stuff with the data.

However, focusing on the technical process here is wrong.  Instead, the important distinction is between the results of the activity.  Here is perhaps a compelling explanation of how these two are different.  When you go to visit a web site, your web browser reads the web site and displays the information back to you.  In fact, most web browsers store a copy of that site on your computer so that it can display it back to you faster if you look at it again later.  From a technical perspective, your visit to the web site and your browser caching the content locally on your computer is not very different from what a scraper does.

However, nobody is going to argue that web visitors are scrapers.  Why?  Because of their intent and what they are doing with the data.  A consumer looking at content is a good thing.  So, too, I would suggest is Google indexing the web and real estate content.  Google is not (at least today) taking the content and presenting it as their own creation.  Instead, they are linking back to the source of the data, which provides a critically important service to the web site being indexed.  This is what the web is all about and so interpreting indexing and scraping as the same thing results in the leap backward the commenters on the Agent Genius post decry.  It’s an undoing of the web for IDX sites, which have become critically important to agents and brokers today.

Before concluding this post, however, I also want to point out that not every one agrees that Google’s indexes are positive or even benign.  In Belgium, a court has ruled that Google’s News service violates certain newspapers copyrights.  In hailing the opinion, the winner of the case is quoted by the New York Times as saying:

”Today we celebrate a victory for content producers,” said Margaret Boribon, secretary-general of Copiepresse. ”We showed that Google cannot make profit for free from the credibility of our newspaper brands, hard work of our journalists and skill of our photographers.”

Could a similar argument be made by MLSs or listing agents about Google indexing listing data?  Possibly.  However, I think getting a similar ruling from a US court is unlikely.  (Any lawyers out there who know the law on this, please comment to clarify, because I’m definitely no expert here.)

More importantly, our industry has accepted the web as its friend and Google is accepted as a critical part of the web.  To many, in fact, Google is the web.  What’s wrong with the MIBOR decision and CRT’s narrow, technical interpretation that led to MIBOR’s decision, is that it goes against the many decisions that have already been made that the web is the real estate industry’s friend. That decision cannot be unmade.  It’s done.  Rule interpretations like that provided by CRT, however, do result in NAR members not being able to compete.  As many on Agent Genius have commented, Trulia, Zillow and Realtor.com are not hamstrung by this same interpretation of the IDX policy, which only hinders and restricts NAR’s members.  That’s wrong.

Fortunately, we live in a web world and, for many, that means we know each other personally. Most of those commenting over at Agent Genius have met, know and greatly respect Chris McKeever (@crtweet on Twitter), who now heads up CRT.  My hope is that Chris can join the conversation and clarify CRT’s interpretation or let us know why the current interpretation is best.  I’m asking for this conversation with the greatest respect for Chris and everyone at CRT.  MIBOR put them on the hot seat but perhaps there’s a possibility the conversation can result in greater understanding for everyone, and hopefully a quick clarification on this critically important matter for MLS organizations that haven’t yet interpreted the policy on this issue.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/calling-crtweet-for-clarification-please-2/feed/ 16 https://wearefbs.com/blog/editing-map-shapes-and-some-interesting-opportunities-and-questions-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/editing-map-shapes-and-some-interesting-opportunities-and-questions-2/#comments Sat, 02 May 2009 18:44:32 +0000 http://blog.flexmls.com/?p=669 Continued]]> This last week we added a new function in flexmls Web to allow users to edit map shapes, name them and change their color. You can click to grab any point and move it to change the shape, and you can click in the center of the shape to drag it to a new position.

You also can name each shape and specify a color to distinguish it from others.

We’re next going to add the ability for users to share shapes with each other, which we think will produce some interesting collaborative opportunities to improve searching, statistics, and CMAs.

Do you think the ability to share shapes will be useful?

Who do you think owns the shape data once it is saved and shared?

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/editing-map-shapes-and-some-interesting-opportunities-and-questions-2/feed/ 14 https://wearefbs.com/blog/nars-real-property-resource-reaper-or-ready-or-both-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/nars-real-property-resource-reaper-or-ready-or-both-2/#comments Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:31:32 +0000 http://blog.flexmls.com/?p=666 Continued]]> Last week at Connection 2009, I listened to a presentation from Dale Ross about NAR’s Real Property Resource (RPR), which previously has been referred to as the Gateway, Channel, Library, etc.  Here are a couple of highlights from the presentation:

• Move, Inc. — Move has been doing the early development on the project, but Dale emphasized several times that the development was under a contract for hire.
• Alpha/Beta Testing — Nothing was shown during the presentation, but apparently there is an interface and it is going to be previewed and tested in the next few months.  There is an interface (it’s not just a back-end data repository) and it includes mapping; Dale described a map showing lots of layers, such as air traffic control patterns.
• Private to REALTORS — The RPR is intended for REALTOR use only, and not the general public.
• Not an MLS — The refrain continues that the RPR is not an MLS.  Instead, the emphasis was on MLS systems integrating the RPR back into MLS systems, though no details were provided on what the API might look like for doing that.
• Public Records — The primary pitch for RPR seemed to shift from “national MLS” to “national public reocrds”.  Instead of replacing MLS vendors and MLS systems, the focus now seems to be on RPR being a national public (for REALTORS only) records system of some sort.  At the same time, Dale did say that the system could become a national MLS, that just wasn’t the intent right now.
• Univeral Property ID — I have no idea if my repeated calls for NAR to create a univeral property ID system were heard or not, but Dale made clear that such a system is a key part of the RPR.

Those are the highlights I gleaned from the presentation.  Here are my thoughts:

• Universal Property ID — From the links above, there should be no suprise I think this is a great idea and I’m very excited that it’s become a key talking point.
• Open Communication — I think the NAR would do well to open up communication more about the details of their approach to the univeral property ID and the API in general.  I understand that this is product development and they may feel a need to develop in secrecy so as not to lose some competitive advantage.  However, a critical concept like a universal property ID should be approached as a standards effort and devloped openly.  This really goes for the entire project.  NAR should be focusing more on publishing API documentation than on developing user interfaces.
• Universal Property ID = URI — To be successful, a universal property ID system needs to be used, preferably by everyone.  That means there needs to be a URI for every property (RESTful development, and all that), and there needs to be an easy API to get the link for a given property.  One can easily imagine a URI like http://www.rpr.org/country/region/local/parcelnumber or something like that.  (Matt Cohen from Clareity also recommends standardizing the parcel number system.  I agree with that, though it’s a more daunting task.) Developing and promoting a microformat for the universal IDs also seems to make some sense.  Overall, though, NAR should be publishing information on the URI structure they’re intending.  Importantly, the universal property IDs also are something that cannot be private only; the IDs and the API for generating and accessing them need to be public, or they will not get used.  I’ve written before that a walled garden of data is passe, and what’s really important is developing a broadly-used method for linking property information together wherever it finds itself on the web.  To bring this to reality, the RPR system needs to promote and publish universal property IDs as URIs.
• Reaper or Ready?  I think it was Russ Bergeron who spun the RPR acronym into ReaPeR, and it seemed to catch on with others using the same term after the presentation.  Despite the effort to present RPR as a benign service, clearly some in the room continue to question the business model.  Will the system become a sink-hole for investment of member dollars or will there be a revenue model associated with it?  That was not clear from the presentation, and so the reaper reference remains floating in the air.  Equally uncertain is how ready RPR actually is.  The tone from the presentation is that the system is well along in development and at least ready for some private review and testing.  This takes me back to the earlier point, that more detailed information would go a long way to allowing people to understand how a system like RPR will impact their business, be it agent, broker, MLS, MLS vendor, public records vendor, or others.

In closing, I go back to an earlier post I wrote on this same topic, where I concluded:

What I think would be useful is for NAR to foster a discussion among brokers, agents and MLSs regarding the Open Web and what that means for real estate.  This same discussion is occurring right now with regard to the web as a whole, and Brad Neuberg recently suggested: “If we take the long term view, how can we give the web an open enough infrastructure to evolve over time and meet each generations needs, while maintaining its structure enough to actually mean something and stay true to its promise, similar to the U.S. Constitution?”  He emphasizes that this isn’t so much about specific technology but rather the general philosophy: “if we define the Open Web in terms of [specific] technologies, then we risk losing sight of what makes the web special and being able to have the intellectual nimbleness to evolve the infrastructure of the web. . . .  We will be fighting yesterdays battle while allowing new, proprietary technologies to take over if we focus on technologies rather than philosophy.”

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/nars-real-property-resource-reaper-or-ready-or-both-2/feed/ 3 https://wearefbs.com/blog/what-i-would-have-said-at-mls-connection-2009-zillow-is-not-the-bogeyman-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/what-i-would-have-said-at-mls-connection-2009-zillow-is-not-the-bogeyman-2/#comments Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:54:12 +0000 http://blog.flexmls.com/?p=663 Continued]]> I’m writing this from MLS Connection 2009, where Joel Singer just spoke.  Joel is with the California Association of REALTORS and the driving force behind calREDD, a new MLS system being offered by CAR.  Joel made a basic argument to justify calREDD:

We need one MLS (as opposed to many) to compete with Zillow.

I had my hand up to address this argument, but the next topic was up and so I didn’t get a chance during the sessions.  Instead, I’ll just post what I would have said here.

This argument is wrong on many counts.  First, Zillow is not and never will be an MLS.  Second, the MLS is more than technology.  Third, the idea that a monopolistic bureaucracy can innovate over the long term is fundamentally flawed.

This fear argument from CAR is passe.  Zillow’s a good company, doing some exciting things.  That doesn’t mean they are an MLS or that MLSs aren’t innovating, too.  The innovation ecosystem around MLSs is huge.  We deliver data every day, all day on behalf of MLSs to all kinds of developers and others doing interesting, innovative things.  This is what competition and markets do, they innovate.  The fear being pushed by CAR to reduce competition and create a monopoly is exactly the opposite of what this industry needs.

]]> https://wearefbs.com/blog/what-i-would-have-said-at-mls-connection-2009-zillow-is-not-the-bogeyman-2/feed/ 17 https://wearefbs.com/blog/the-bottom-line-on-mls-data-standards-2/ https://wearefbs.com/blog/the-bottom-line-on-mls-data-standards-2/#comments Wed, 15 Apr 2009 16:48:53 +0000 http://blog.flexmls.com/?p=658 Continued]]> In a post last week, I asked a pretty open-ended question: “Are the costs of an MLS [coverting to a standard format] worth the long-term benefits?”  I asked this question because we have several MLSs contemplating this very question now, and I thought it might be interesting for them to hear some outside perspectives.  We received some great comments on that post, and in this post I want to put some more meat on the bone by outlining in more detail the potential cost savings for regionalizing MLS data.

Importantly, there are several ways to regionalize MLS data and so I think the first requirement is defining the objectives (benefits) of regionalizing.  Once the benefits are quantified, then the costs of the potential solutions can better be judged and the “bottom line” or ROI of the entire effort will hopefully be clearer.

Benefits of Regionalizing MLS Data

Some of the oft-sited reasons for regionalization are:

• Eliminate or reduce duplicate listing entry, which often means learning and complying with different rules for listing entry;
• Eliminate or reduce the payment of fees to belong to more than one MLS;
• Eliminate or reduce the costs associated with managing disparate IDX feeds and IDX rules; and
• Increase the exposure of listings to more MLS members.

The next step is to quantify these costs or opportunities.

Cost of Duplicate Listing Entry
Formula	# Duplicate Listings Per Year x Cost Per Listing
#Duplicate Listings	Finding the number of duplicate listings is not always easy.  One of the biggest challenges is that the data likely is not stored the same way for each of the MLSs involved, and so comparing addresses or parcel numbers may not be accurate.  Also, you may not have ready access to the listing data from all of the other MLSs involved.Importantly, though, we’re not looking for perfection here but an estimate.  In that regard, if you don’t have access to all the data for such an analysis or the address matching is too unreliable, an alternative approach would be to survey your brokerages/offices to ask them how many MLSs to which they belong and to estimate the percentage of their listings they enter into other MLSs.  (This same info will be helpful in assessing duplicate membership fees discussed below.)For example, let’s say your MLS has 200 offices and ten percent (20 of them) belong to more than your MLS and have a policy of entering all their listings into those MLSs.  Of those twenty, perhaps your survey finds that twelve offices enter listings into three additional MLSs, four of the offices enter into two additional MLSs, and four others enter their listings into just one additional MLS.  You could then take the annual new listing count for each of those 20 offices and multiply it by the number of additional MLSs revealed from the survey for that office and you’d have a rough estimate of the number of duplicate entries for a year.
Cost Per Listing	There are a couple of methods for estimating the cost for entering a duplicate listing. First, you could use the cost for data entry personnel and an average amount of time for entering a listing as an estimate of the cost. For example, an average data entry salary is approximately $30,000 per year or about $15 per hour (rounding up). Assuming someone can enter a listing and upload the photos in 30 minutes on average (our time estimates are less than this, but 30 minutes is a conservative high-side estimate), the cost per duplicate listing is $7.50. On the other hand, many agents enter their own listings and so the cost really is the opportunity cost to them of their time, which is much more difficult to assess. For this reason, I’d recommend using the outsourcing cost as an estimate.  However, I’d also add some additional cost for review by the listing agent and other compliance issues that arise.  Accordingly, perhaps doubling the cost of listing entry is a good estimate for the cost of entering a duplicate listing.  (Note:  Of course, these costs may differ for you locally depending on relative salary costs in your area and other compliance requirements.)
Example	1,000 duplicate listings entered per year x $15 per listing = $15,000 potential cost savings per year Caveat: I’m just making up these examples.  You need to put in your own numbers for your MLS.

Duplicate Membership Fees
Formula	# Duplicate MLS Memberships x Average Cost Per Membership
# Duplicate MLS Memberships	If each MLS uses the NRDS ID as a tracking identifier for members, finding duplicates should be relatively straight-forward if you have access to the data. Other possible matching methods are email address or, as a last resort, name and possibly street address.  Or, as mentioned above, you can get an estimate of the number of extra MLSs to which members belong by surveying your membership.  Again, a solid estimate is what we’re after. In designing your survey, you should be clear that you’re asking about MLS memberships other than yours. Or, alternatively, ask for total MLS memberships and then be sure to subtract one when doing your calculations. Another complicating matter here is that members may belong to multiple MLSs for a variety of reasons unrelated to data sharing or regionalization. For example, lock box access often is an issue that needs to be solve simultaneously with MLS data exchange. Overall, however, estimating the total number of duplicate members will provide an outside estimate of the potential cost savings.
Cost Per Membership	The cost per membership likely will need to be an average as calculating the exact number for each person would likely be impractical.
Example	50 duplicate memberships x $240 average cost per membership per year = $12,000 potential savings per year. Note: An interesting side note here is that the saved duplicate membership fees are lost revenue to the other MLSs in the region.  The members save by not having to pay duplicate fees but the MLSs actually lose some revenue.

Costs of Maintaining Disparate IDX and Other Data Feeds
Formula	(Total # of Data Feeds Delivered by All MLSs in Region – # of different entities receiving the feeds) x Average Cost to Maintain Each Feed plus (Total # of New Feeds Delivered by All MLSs in Region – # of different entities receiving the feeds) x Average Cost to Setup Each Feed x Discount Rate
Total # of Feeds Delivered	This number should be relatively easy to obtain by looking at the RETS manager in your MLS system or inquiring with each MLS vendor involved.The number of new feeds delivered each year could be estimated by looking at the number of new requests received in the last year, and using that as a proxy or estimate for the number expected in the future.
# of Different Entities Receiving Feeds	You need to subtract the number of developers receiving feeds from the total number of feeds, because each developer would have to convert and maintain at least one feed no matter what.  Note:  Subtracting this number will only provide an average, because some developers may receive more than one feed from the same MLS, but, as mentioned above, we’re estimating here and this should provide a close proxy for the total extra feeds.
Cost of Converting and Maintaining Disparate Feeds	As an MLS vendor, we’re not on the receiving side of too many IDX data feeds, but we do have quite a bit of experience with data conversions.  In a typical conversion, you have both programming and QA personnel involved and these processes collectively may take approximately 24 hours per property type to convert and test. Assuming an IDX feed would take about a third as much time (or 8 hours) and that an average MLS has 5 property types, that would be 40 hours per feed to get it set up. Assuming an average cost of $133 per hour for programming and QA, the cost to set up an IDX feed is about $5,320. (If there is anyone reading who has more exact cost estimates for converting IDX feeds than this, please comment or send me an email.)Of course, the conversion expense is a one-time cost, and, for those vendors already operating in your markets, the cost has already been incurred, and so will not be saved except for new feeds.  The only cost that will be on-going is the cost to maintain the disparate feeds.  Once the conversion program is written, the cost of maintenance is relatively minimal unless the MLS changes fields frequently, which is unusual.  I would think a conservative (high) estimate of the cost to maintain a feed per year would be about $1,000 (7.5 hours per year at $133 per hour average for development and QA).
Discount Rate	A potentially important issue here is that the costs for processing the feeds often are not born directly by brokers or agents but rather by IDX and other product vendors. Accordingly, even if the process is made more efficient for these vendors, that doesn’t mean the prices paid by the brokers and agents will be lower. Of course, some brokers and franchises also hire developers in-house to process these feeds and competition likely will force prices lower over time, but it may be prudent to build in a “discount” rate on this potential cost savings to reflect that the savings may not all pass through to your members.
Example	(50 new feeds per year – 20 different entities receiving the feeds) x $5,320 per feed = $159,600 per year (200 totals feeds – 50 different brokers receiving the feeds) x $1,000 per year per feed for mainteance = $150,000 per year As mentioned above, some discount rate likely should be applied to these formulas, because all the cost savings may not be passed through to your members.

Increase Exposure of Listings; Potentially More Sales

Formula

Even though this is one of the biggest potential benefits, I’m not sure it can be estimated properly. First, there is at least some argument that no increase in sales will occur because the listings that benefit from exposure in more than one MLS already are being exposed by the duplicate entry. Second, if there are some people who aren’t willing to spend the time or money on duplicate entry now such that there would be some additional or faster sales from more exposure, estimating that number would be pretty hard. Perhaps one method would be to try to find out how many inter-MLS sales there are now on the duplicate entries and extrapolate that number to the non-duplicate listing base. However, such an extrapolation is filled with potential inaccuracy given that the agents and brokers likely weren’t entering it into the other MLSs already because they didn’t see a big benefit to doing so. Overall, I think this is the area where many regionalization decisions can go awry. The potential benefit of the extra exposure and sales seems limitless and so justifies nearly any cost when, in fact, the benefit may be negligible at best.

The above are some of the key cost savings and efficiencies that can be gained by regionalizing or standardizing the data processing for an MLS. Perhaps there are others I’ve missed or different ways to estimate the savings. Please let me know in the comments. Also, if you have numbers for your area you’d like to share as real-world examples instead of my made up examples, that would be very interesting.

Costs of Regionalizing

Once you have an estimate on the annual savings, you can then begin to compare those savings to the cost of getting there.  The cost, who pays, and how likely the solution is to produce the savings identified above will depend on the strategy you choose for harmonizing the data. I’ll be addressing these different approaches in a follow-up post, so stay tuned.  When we’re done, we should have a decent model for MLSs to assess the costs and benefits (or the “bottom line”) of regionalizing their MLS data formats.

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