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Listing Bits

Greg Robertson, co-founder of W+R Studios and publisher of Vendor Alley, talks real estate technology with the people who are shaping it.
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Now displaying: March, 2017
Mar 24, 2017

 

“If the MLS industry had a face, that face would have a facial tick – because it’s always threatened by something or someone.”

With such constant scrutiny, you’ve got to have a pretty thick skin in the MLS business. And if your goal is to consolidate, let’s say the listings for the entire state of California, you’d better be even tougher. Today’s guest on Listing Bits faces such across-the-board resistance daily as he works to convince real estate professionals that giving up a little local control is worth it in the long run.

 

Art Carter is the CEO of California Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. (CRMLS), providing products and services to over 82,000 subscribers. CRMLS works to connect real estate professionals throughout the state of California via access to the most data at the lowest cost possible.

 

Carter spent nine years working for the Pacific West Association of Realtors as they pushed the envelope on innovation and brought the association world to a new level before moving to CRMLS in 2005. For the past 11 years, he has been dedicated to making a difference in the daily lives of Real Estate Professionals. He is best known for leading the data share revolution in Southern California.

 

Carter has been named one of Inman News’ 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders twice, and he is a member of the Dr. Almon R. “Bud” Smith, RCE, AE Leadership Society in recognition of dedicated service and commitment to advancing the association management profession. Listen in as he shares the progress CRMLS has made toward listings consolidation in California.

 

 

What’s Discussed: 

 

The disparity between consumers and agents/brokers when it comes to data access

How agents and brokers respond to the prospect of listings consolidation

The unraveling of calREDD

The history of CARETS

The advantages of data shares over an aggregated database

Why CRMLS seeks to consolidate listings for the entire state of California

The politics preventing consolidation

Where the resistance to consolidation comes from

The progress CRMLS is making toward consolidation

  • From 21,013 members in 2005 to 82,037 today
  • Working to grow another 10% this year

The benefit of implementing a ‘system of choice’

  • Eliminates the need to convert
  • Allows agents to access data with the tool they prefer

Solutions for the permissioning issue

  • Unified contracts
  • Online process

Why the MLS industry itself should resolve the permissioning issue

The primary purpose of the MTP Project

Carter’s advice for MLSs seeking to consolidate

  • Build relationships
  • Consider every ‘no’ a ‘not yet’

 

 

Connect with Art Carter:

 

CRMLS Website

Twitter

Mar 16, 2017

Sifting through listing data is no one’s idea of a good time. But both brokers and technology providers spend a lot of time and money managing information from multiple MLSs. Would you be interested in a tool that could offer you a competitive edge by way of data access and control? Trestle might be the tool for you.

 

Kevin Greene is a real estate tech executive with expertise in business partnership development, strategy and product management. He has worked on both sides of the real estate aisle, serving as a broker for two years before crossing over to the vendor side of the industry ten years ago. He joined the team at CoreLogic this past July, where he serves as Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships and New Initiatives at the leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider.

 

Greene attended Auburn University, then served as paratrooper in the Army to pay for college. He received his degree in business administration from Jacksonville University and had a stint as a textbook sales rep with Prentice Hall before going to work for discount brokerage Help-U-Sell. In 2007, he got a lead through Monster.com for a job in real estate tech sales with what was then Fidelity National Financial. Greene rose through the ranks to become VP of MLS Solutions and then Senior Vice President of Business Development at Real Estate Digital before landing at CoreLogic. Today he discusses his new role and the potential of CoreLogic’s new Trestle initiative.

 

What’s Discussed: 

CoreLogic’s current objectives

  • Partnerships with core services
  • Conversion to Matrix platform
  • Upgraded version of Matrix

The Trestle initiative

  • Connect data (MLS) to tech providers/brokers

How Trestle was conceived

  • RESO compliance

The benefits of an aggregated feed

Permissioning challenges

How a tool like Trestle might facilitate the shift to APIs

The default agreements available through Trestle

Trestle’s pricing model

The cost-benefit analysis of utilizing Trestle vs. in-house staff

The phases of the Trestle launch

  • Enroll MLSs
  • Register tech providers
  • Ecommerce platform
  • Broker access
  • Listing input

 

Resources:

 

Trestle Initiative

 

Connect with Kevin Greene:

 

CoreLogic Website

Twitter

Mar 3, 2017

Amy Gorce is the President of Clareity, the leading provider of security products and single sign-on services for the real estate industry. Their innovative products service over 850,000 agents daily and directly serve the majority of MLSs, associations and brokerages across North America.

Gorce entered the real estate industry in 1997 when she was hired by Intermountain MLS because of her experience in getting systems online. During her stint there, Gorce grew the organization from 2000 to 5000 members and tripled the listing data coverage area. As CEO, she received the Idaho Association of REALTORS Presidential Award for contributions in MLS leadership and technology.

In 2004, Gorce was approached to join the team pioneering data security company Clareity, and she transitioned to the vendor side of real estate technology. Her initial position with the company was as COO, then she moved to Executive VP before becoming President in early 2016. In her current role, Gorce works to design a vision for Clareity built on strategic thinking about the future of the company and the real estate industry in general. On this episode of the podcast, she outlines upcoming Clareity workshops and discusses industry issues from API integration to permissioning. Listen and learn what Clareity offers agents and brokerages and the company’s role in real estate tech moving forward.

  

What’s Discussed: 

 

The agenda for Clareity’s upcoming MLS Executive Workshop in Scottsdale

  • Controversial Customer Satisfaction Survey

The consolidation of brands within Clareity

The intention of the Clareity Developer’s Workshop

  • Develop thought leadership around APIs and integration
  • Foster collaboration among cooperative competitors

Gorce’s career

  • Intermountain MLS
  • Clareity Security

Gorce’s role as President of Clareity

The value proposition of Clareity for agents

  • Security – assuring subscribers are legitimate
  • Dashboard products
  • Highly customized notification system

Gorce’s take on the permissioning process

How traditional vendors might evolve as new apps drive traffic away

  • Levels of access model

 

Resources:

 

Clareity Developer’s Workshop

 

Connect with Amy Gorce:

 

Clareity Website

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