Certification Update
We are pleased to report that Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) is the first organization to move from “Passed Current” to “Certified Current” for Data Dictionary 1.7 and Web API 2.0.0, both of which are now reflected on the RESO Certification Map.
The difference between “Passed Current” and “Certified Current,” with the launch of RESO Analytics, is that there is a temporary state between when an MLS vendor has passed technical testing for an MLS and when that MLS accepts those results. The MLS remains in full control of its final certification status, and the great majority of MLSs in the U.S. are happily sitting at “Passed Current” until a few final touches are arranged with MLS vendors.
RESO is working directly with all of the major MLS vendors to load the RESO Analytics tool with appropriately measurable data, and we will be sharing a major update about that process in the next month.
2022 RESO Fall Conference
The 2022 RESO Fall Conference will be held October 24–27, 2022, in St. Petersburg, Florida. Registration is open, along with the hotel block. And from what we can tell right now, you are an eager bunch!
We are predicting that hotels will fill fast for this one. It’s almost like the destination promises to be as warm and inviting as our agenda and events tend to be.
The event will begin with a Welcome Reception on Monday evening, October 24, followed by sessions and meetings beginning Tuesday morning, October 25.
If you are interested in being a sponsor, contact suzanne@reso.org.
New Members
Plunk
Plunk empowers homeowners to build wealth through their homes by equipping customers with expert information and guidance – rooted in high-level data science, trusted sources and independent research, all designed to offer the tools needed to boost home values and maximize equity potential.
Arx City
The Arx City AI-powered recommendation engine determines what development and investment projects are specifically tailored to a user’s unique strategy, schedule and capital requirements. Fully functional project models prepopulated by Arx’s predictions can adjust any assumption, from schedule to construction cost, and instantly show how it impacts a project’s profitability. Users can research everything about a property, including potential projects, existing lot and building characteristics, ownership information, sales history, debt and tax records, and more.
STRATAFOLIO
STRATAFOLIO makes analytics and automation software available to real estate owners regardless of the size of their operation, recognizing the struggle that many real estate companies experience that only have access to ineffective spreadsheets and tools. STRATAFOLIO provides partnership to help their customers grow by providing them with industry quality tools at an affordable price.
We’re glad to welcome all of these new members to the RESO fold!
WWRED (Pronounced “Red”)
RESO’s Working with Real Estate Data (WWRED) course for real estate professionals covers all angles of real estate data, including who owns it, how it flows through the industry and what is involved in standardizing it. When used during training new hires working with real estate data, particularly MLS data, it saves both time and money. Many RESO members even use it as part of their official onboarding requirements.
In WWRED news this month, 316 people have now completed the course! Let’s keep it up! If you have not already incorporated WWRED into your new staff and volunteer leadership onboarding strategy, please consider it. Plus, we offer discounts on bulk registrations.
SEE THE LIST OF CURRENT RED-B DESIGNEES | LEARN MORE | REGISTER
On the RESO Blog
MLSListings Pioneers RESO’s Universal Property Identifier
One of the best stories to emerge from RESO’s recent 2022 Spring Conference was how MLSListings, based in the heart of Silicon Valley, stepped to the forefront in implementing the RESO Universal Property Identifier (UPI) standard into its system.
According to Olga Ermolin, Director of Engineering at MLSListings, “We were determined to do something beyond a simple proof of concept, intentionally implementing the UPI into full production to solve real issues right now, such as delivering thorough property history to our subscribers.” | READ MORE
New Developments in Appraisal
A rising issue on the appraisal front is the intersection of time and quantity. There are simply not enough appraisers. According to Freddie Mac, there has been an increase of 50 percent in the number of appraisers needed to meet demand, coinciding with a 65 percent increase in the amount of time it takes to complete an appraisal.
Enter the new “desktop” appraisal option, which can be used instead of a traditional appraisal on eligible purchase loans. Fannie Mae now makes appraisals without a physical inspection available in specific instances for single-family, owner-occupant purchase with at least 10 percent down payments. | READ MORE
RESO Recap (+ Conference Presentations)
Although this was in the last issue of RESO Monthly, it bears repeating because of the sheer volume of content presented from the 2022 RESO Spring Conference. All video and slide presentations are available in this recap covering the entire conference.
Day 1: Welcome & RESO Today | Standards Without Borders | UPI in the MLS: How We Did It | Driving Technology Faster Using the Data Dictionary | Data Share Redesigned: Single Entry, Universal Distribution | Joint Showing Services Hub: A Collaboration Roadmap | 2022 State of the Rental Union
Day 2: RESO Analytics | Standards-Driven Desktop Appraisals | The Surprising Benefits of the Native RESO Data Dictionary Database | Awards & Bloody Mary Bar | Broker Advisory Workgroup & Tech Spotlight Session | CMLS Update | Roundtables | Spotlight Session – CoreLogic: Stuff RESO Folks Say…But Probably Shouldn’t
Day 3: Data Dictionary Driving Rental Inventory in the MLS | Pain Points
RESO@
RESO is often written about or invited to participate in industry events, and we’ll highlight our involvement here.
Industry Relations Podcast: Greg Robertson & Rob Hahn
In an episode entitled “Why We Should Give Sam DeBord and RESO an Axe,” the bad boys of real estate nightlife and pontification welcomed RESO CEO Sam DeBord to the show to dig deep into data standards. The guys talked about how to survive weeklong conferences and chatted with Sam about MLS, Web API, brokers, vendors and more. | WATCH NOW
Rising Use Case for RESO Web API: Headless Real Estate CMS!
When the RESO Web API was introduced, the reason was pretty obvious for development companies. Technology was shifting toward long-overdue API-based programming, and the transition from RETS/XML format to RESO Web API was underway. Realtyna recently wrote a post about the RESO Web API and data synchronization, as well as about the cultural, technical and even psychological reasons in play for the acceleration of apps based on the Web API, including a primary theme of 2022 thus far: simplicity. | READ MORE
Industry News
CMLS Hires Monica Peña as Director of Programs
The Council of Multiple Listing Services (CMLS) has hired current CEO of the Greater McAllen Association of REALTORS® (GMAR), Monica Peña, as their new Director of Programs. In her time at GMAR, she led the organization through record fundraising initiatives, the conversion of their MLS and AMS systems and doubled membership enrollment in five years. During that time, she was also a great supporter of RESO.
Through her role as Director of Programs, Monica will support members as they foster innovative ideas and solutions to best advance their organizations, and ultimately build a better marketplace. She will do this by supporting programs such as CMLX and MLS Matters, as well as best practices and MLS policy, among other CMLS initiatives. Monica will start on July 1, and we look forward to seeing more of her in our world. | READ MORE
RESO Members Stellar MLS and FMLS Agree to New Data Sharing Agreement
Benefiting more than 134,000 brokers and agents, the strategic partnership between the nation’s third- and fourth-largest MLSs expands inventory and referral opportunities across Florida, Georgia and Puerto Rico, significantly increasing the combined footprint of both organizations.
Data shares are on the rise in the industry again, with RESO featuring “Data Share Redesigned: Single Entry, Universal Distribution” at the 2022 RESO Spring Conference, featuring Jay Pepper-Martens, CTO at San Francisco Association of REALTORS® (SFAR), and Lori Coburn, IT Support Manager at MetroList, describing their novel approach to ensuring that local markets get unique listing input features while also making sure that listing output is universally efficient and accurate.
Add to that the continuation of interesting developments in Louisiana, such as ROAM MLS, the MLS entity formed by the aggregation of the Gulf South Real Estate Information Network, Greater Baton Rouge Association of REALTORS®, Greater Central Louisiana Association of REALTORS® and the Bayou Board of REALTORS® with a primary objective to deliver the benefits of consolidated MLS services with the least disruption to the established business practices or routines of brokers and agents.
Stellar MLS serves nearly 77,000 customers in Florida and Puerto Rico, while FMLS provides services to more than 57,000 members and partners in Georgia and across the state line in Alabama. | READ MORE
Three Questions
After a brief respite during the spring conference season, our weekly Three Questions interview series is back in full swing, introducing you to real estate industry professionals in one-on-one interviews with a touch of personality and sometimes humor.
Here’s who has been interviewed since the last RESO Monthly:
- Three Questions with AJ Sulayman
- Three Questions with Gayle Ludemann
- Three Questions with Nobu Hata
- Three Questions with Marty Reed
It’s not a podcast and it’s definitely not Tolstoy, but we think you’ll enjoy it. | VISIT THREE QUESTIONS
Meeting Spotlight – Standard Days in MLS Subgroup
With the completion of our business descriptions for Days on Market (DOM) and the new StandardDaysOnMarket field, the focus is now moving to Standard Days in MLS (DIM).
A fair amount of background can be found in the following member-only Confluence links, if you’re not already familiar with the project.
StandardDOM – Business Descriptions
2021-10-19 DOM Call Notes
The DOM Subgroup decided that Standard Days on Market will be based on contract dates and that Standard Days in MLS will be based on system timestamps.
The new Standard Days in MLS Subgroup will have its first meeting on Thursday, June 30, at 12:00 pm ET / 9:00 am PT.
Please contact support@reso.org to join this group or make a note in Confluence in the Standard DIM (Days In MLS) Business Descriptions discussion item. All members of the Data Dictionary Workgroup will receive reminders for the first meeting.
RESO Workgroup Meetings
Interoperability Workgroup | May 10, 2022
The meeting included a recap of the workgroup meeting, panel discussion and roundtable session from the RESO Spring Conference, what was learned from the event and how it is shaping an expanded industry map to be posted soon. Additionally, the group discussed the plan to move forward with creating standards for interoperability with Offer Management (OM) products through a possible recommendation of a new resource or even multiple resources for the Data Dictionary. | CALL NOTES
Internet Tracking Workgroup | May 18, 2022
The group viewed the tracking data elements of Metro MLS, compared them with the Tracking Fields 2.0.9 specification and discussed possible additions to it. The comparison brought about a possible addition of OriginatingSystemName and mobile- vs. web-based identifier fields. In the monthly Privacy Update, the group discussed how Google Analytics is moving to an event model and FIDO’s efforts to contribute to a society without passwords. | CALL NOTES
Certification Subgroup | May 19, 2022
The group discussed testing requirements for the Web API 2.1.0 and Payloads 2.0 specifications, which will add support for OData $expand and server-driven paging. The Certification roadmap was reviewed, and new business of revising the RCP process will be addressed in the June 2022 Transport Workgroup meeting. | CALL NOTES
Distributed Ledger Workgroup | May 24, 2022
The meeting covered a brief review of the workgroup’s new charter as well as a discussion about an upcoming Certified Listing Identifier field being driven by Fannie Mae. The group also discussed other upcoming project work, including a collaboration with the RESO Research & Development Workgroup for the Universal Licensee Identifier (ULI) and considerations around Web3 architecture. | CALL NOTES
Universal Property Identifier (UPI) Workgroup | May 25, 2022
The meeting mainly focused on the topic of subcounty, its use in the creation of a Universal Property Identifier (UPI), the UPI Builder and the addition of fields to the Data Dictionary to support it. Additionally, there was a demonstration by Dan Troup of RE/MAX on how they generate UPIs, and then Olga Ermolin and Joel Allison presented an account of their experience at MLSListings in implementing the UPI. | CALL NOTES
New Construction Subgroup | May 31, 2022
The first meeting of the subgroup laid out the purpose for creating content to better support new construction property data. The initial business case for new construction field additions was reviewed along with the process for creating new Data Dictionary content. Additional discussion included the pain points typically encountered with new construction data. | CALL NOTES
Upcoming RESO Workgroup Meetings
- Tuesday, June 14: Interoperability Workgroup
- Wednesday, June 15: Internet Tracking Workgroup
- Wednesday, June 15: Certification Analytics Focus Group
- Thursday, June 16: Data Dictionary Workgroup
- Thursday, June 16: Certification Subgroup
- Wednesday, June 22: Universal Property Identifier (UPI) Workgroup
- Thursday, June 23: Broker Advisory Workgroup
- Tuesday, June 28: Distributed Ledger Workgroup
- Tuesday, June 28: New Construction Subgroup
- Thursday, June 30: Standard Days in MLS Subgroup
