Original release on GlobeNewsire January 28, 2021
Signaling a landmark step forward for real estate technology, several leading industry organizations have become the first to leverage new paradigm-changing standards via the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO).
The first organizations to implement and certify on the latest standards for their customers are:
- Move, Inc. with ListHub for Web API and Data Dictionary standards
- UtahRealEstate.com, Utah’s largest MLS, on its in-house technology system for Web API and Data Dictionary
- Black Knight, Inc. on its Paragon platform with Greater Alabama MLS for Web API
- Perchwell, a technology vendor for New York City’s Residential Listing Service, for Web API and Data Dictionary
- Hawaii Information Service (MLS Hawaii) on its in-house technology system for Web API and Data Dictionary
RESO transformed its two primary standards over a period of two years from a multi-tiered rating system into a single harmonious model. It also built an entirely new certification stack that provides an automated platform for testing. The tools are available to any organization through RESO’s GitHub repository. The result is direct access to development insights and faster certifications.
The newly unified standards are Data Dictionary 1.7 for structuring information in a common language and Web API Core 1.0.2 for sharing data via a consistent set of rules.
“Our organization has made a commitment to rapidly adapt to RESO standards in order to promote technology innovation in real estate,” said Brad Bjelke, CEO of UtahRealEstate.com, which increased its RESO standard field count by 40 percent as a first adopter of Data Dictionary 1.7. “By requiring all of our data licensees to use our RESO-compliant API, we believe that we are revolutionizing the data distribution process with a keen focus on efficiency, security and data accuracy.”
RESO is aggressively making real estate standards reporting more accessible. Those efforts have resulted in a new industry resource where users can view information about every Multiple Listing Service in the industry: the RESO MLS Data Map.
Certification reports going forward will have more than just pass/fail results. Detailed information on organizational technology systems will be visible on reso.org starting with the 2021 slate of certifications. These reports will include metadata, standard resources, standard fields and local custom fields. Individual certification reports will allow technology companies to plan for new partnerships and integrations with greater speed.
The newly certified companies come from a wide range of industry roles. Move, Inc. is a subsidiary of News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS) and offers the listing management platform, ListHub; operates the real estate listings website, realtor.com; and partners with REA Group Limited (ASX: REA), a multinational digital real estate advertising company based in Melbourne, Australia. Black Knight, Inc. (NYSE: BKI) provides technology and analytics to the mortgage and real estate industries, including MLS enterprise software systems. Perchwell provides the technology that supports New York City’s Residential Listing Service. Hawaii Information Service and UtahRealestate.com are MLSs with their own proprietary technology systems.
“We are excited that ListHub is a first adopter for RESO’s most recent data standards,” said Rachel Morley, Chief Product Officer with Move, Inc. “Implementing national data standards is vital to the real estate industry.”
“At Black Knight we know how important it is to move the industry forward with the RESO Web API, which is why we’ve made it our priority to lead the way with our MLS customers on our platform,” said Chip McAvoy, Vice President at Black Knight, Inc. Added Greater Alabama MLS CEO Amanda Creel, “We are proud to be providing the latest RESO standards. We know how important quality data is to our members and the real estate industry.”
RESO has also previously certified non-MLS systems for BuildersUpdate.com, a housing marketplace for new construction, and eXp Realty, a cloud-based brokerage. Opportunities to adopt standards will expand in 2021, and the push has crossed borders. The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) in Ontario, the largest property assessment organization in North America, has adopted the RESO Data Dictionary and is moving toward certification. MPAC is also bringing the RESO Universal Property Identifier (UPI) into Canada.
The momentum behind RESO adoption is palpable. MLS and broker technical staff, vendors and technology partners should have RESO standardization at the top of their strategic goals. The benefits of 20 years of real estate standards work is coming to fruition.
