RESO Alignment Reports from RESO Analytics take published data from the RESO certification process and organize it into practical, actionable visualizations and comparisons.
These reports save organizations significant time in constructing comparative data frameworks, allowing technical staff, data analysts and business management to focus on the critical details necessary to make their data collaborations work.
Data providers often have multiple systems delivering their data to customers. An MLS, for example, might have three Web API services and data shares with four other MLSs. RESO Analytics provides Alignment Reports that illustrate how these data sets line up and where they may need adjustment to align.
A data provider can compare how its data looks in different technology products to improve product planning and decision making for future integrations and upgrades. They can also compare their data sets with potential data partners to see where their information will align for collaborative initiatives.
Types of Alignment Reports
There are multiple reports available from RESO Analytics. The Industry Alignment Report is complimentary for all RESO members, through their process of becoming certified.
The Provider Alignment Report and Market Alignment Report are live in beta. The Consumer Alignment Report is coming soon. These premium products will soon be available for purchase.
Alignment Reports as a Member Benefit
Industry Alignment Reports
Industry Alignment Reports provide a visualization of how an individual certification recipient’s data sets compare to industry averages (e.g., RESO-standardized fields or an IDX payload).
The goal of these reports is to inform data providers and their data consumer customers how they compare to the industry average for a specified metric and to make suggestions for what they might consider adding to their data set.
For example, this Industry Alignment Report for an MLS has 70% alignment for RESO fields used at least once in the Data Dictionary’s Property Resource.
There are 183 fields they might consider adding, if applicable to them.
To view those 183 fields, users select the region outside of the MLS’s data circle in the Industry Average to see the details in a tabular form.
The results can then be sorted by popularity (how many organizations use the given field) and availability (how often data is present in that field within property listing records).
This Industry Alignment Report for another MLS shows 100% alignment for the top 25 RESO-standardized fields in the Property Resource.
Data providers going through the certification process can use Industry Alignment Reports to tune their systems before they notify their customers or approve the reports.
Once the provider is satisfied with the results, they notify their customers, and the reports can be approved. This information will not be available to anyone outside of the structured permissions of the certification process.
Who Can See These Reports?
RESO Analytics customers with a manually verified identity can see results for the organizations in which they are directly tied to. Unlike RESO Analytics certification reports, the general public cannot see Industry Alignment Reports.
MLS data providers can see reports in the Passed phase, which means an organization has achieved RESO certification but has not yet been notified for approval.
Data providers and recipients can see reports in the Notified phase, which is when a data provider notifies a customer of their passed results. The same is true for the final Certified phase.
Alignment Reports as a Premium Product for Purchase
Provider Alignment Reports
Provider Alignment Reports allow one organization, like an MLS, to assess the alignment of its data across more than one API service.
Roughly 30% of MLSs employ more than one API service for their data sets, and it is often surprising for those MLSs to see how differently their data looks when it comes out of each API.
Provider Alignment Reports create a visual representation of alignment for high-level presentations and a granular view of the full data set in each system for more detailed analysis.
Matt Fowler, Executive Director of Triangle MLS, shared how RESO Provider Alignment Reports helped his organization:
“I recently shared with an IDX vendor that one of our newer APIs was more current than the other. I recommended that they move to that one. To put it mildly, the suggestion was not met kindly. Like all good proptech companies, they are a RESO member, so I showed them RESO Analytics and how to compare the older feed with the newer one. They were 96% in alignment, and the exceptions were easily discoverable with the reports. After only minor adjustments, the vendor left our conversation happy and more informed.”
John Breault, Vice President, MLS & Member Services, Rhode Island Association of REALTORS® and State-Wide MLS, provides another angle:
“I’ve been an advocate for RESO’s Alignment Reports since their inception. The ability to make data-driven decisions related to our MLS data access is critical. Specifically, we provide two different API options. It is important that we provide a consistent experience for data consumers on both platforms. The Alignment Reports let me see what the data consumers see, allowing us to make necessary adjustments. In addition, many of our subscribers use multiple MLSs. Aligning our data with the marketplace will give our mutual customers a consistent experience and enhance their ability to integrate with third-party products.”
Market Alignment Reports
Market Alignment Reports illustrate the level of alignment between multiple organizations, such as between five different MLSs with different vendors for API services.
Market Alignment Reports offer a detailed view of all data elements across all organizations, which is particularly useful for regional or statewide data share participants to analyze which of their API services will be the best to support their collaboration efforts.
Bringing complete alignment to an entire marketplace across disparate systems can be a daunting task, but initial results from beta testers have shown incredible alignment opportunities for RESO standard fields, especially the most-used fields and formats, such as IDX fields in the Property Resource.
DaVina Lara, CEO at bridgeMLS and Bridge Association of REALTORS®, described how Market Alignment Reports have enhanced the real estate listing experience in Northern California:
“When going through the data-sharing process with other MLSs in the NORCAL MLS Alliance, I am glad my team had access to RESO Market Alignment Reports. With a few clicks, any MLS can instantly see how their data matches up with other MLSs, identify where it aligns, compare data with RESO standards and more. This tool also works for data providers and data consumers. There is so much information available for CEOs and executives to use to make critical decisions. Don’t miss out on these great reports!”
Consumer Alignment Reports (Coming Soon)
In the near future, Consumer Alignment Reports will help data consumers find providers with the data sets they need – either by starting with a market they have already done business in and finding similar data sets, by manually entering the data elements they want or by selecting a specific payload.
The demand for Consumer Alignment Reports is palpable, and RESO looks forward to releasing them soon after the three new Alignment Reports discussed above.
Industry Alignment Reports will be free to RESO members.
Provider Alignment Reports and Market Alignment Reports will be a premium service.
* Members only. Nonmembers should contact membership@reso.org.
RESO runs meta-analyses on RESO Analytics data for industry wide aggregate reporting and visualizations that will guide technology providers toward data-driven decision making.
