Chair Letter
Perhaps you have noticed more emphasis on expanding our footprint. While RESO has always had eyes on being an international standards body, there has been a striking uptick in demand for standards-based development from countries outside of the U.S.
In Canada, organizations like Ontario’s Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) and the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) have helped to create unique identifiers, the RESO Common Format and a French-Canadian translation of the RESO Data Dictionary. We are now gaining members throughout the Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe and Asia.
As MLS professionals already know, buyers are coming from everywhere across the globe. Software engineers who use RESO standards are increasingly located in other countries and need universal real estate terms for bedrooms, land dimensions, amenities, etc.
Standards are now being used to help connect buyers in other countries with North America just as MLSs in North America are gaining more listings outside of its borders. Agents and brokerages are already advertising themselves as multilingual to attract more international business.
It only makes sense that RESO standards will continue to develop for a global audience, factoring in considerations like language, measurement, currency and the distinct cultural differences that make the world a fascinating place to explore.
Meanwhile, at home, more implementations of the Web API Add/Edit endorsement are just over the horizon, certifications are stacking up within RESO Analytics and a series of alignment reports are on their way.
We also continue to see fresh support for the Universal Property Identifier (UPI), and desire remains high for the creation of a Unique Licensee Identifier (ULI).
Vertical categories like commercial real estate, Internet of Things (smart home devices), offer management and rentals are all pushing standards forward as well, each of which are being vetted in RESO workgroups and subgroups.
Lastly, a Fast Track Subgroup has been created to streamline straightforward Data Dictionary updates between major version changes. Agile iteration of certification allows our members to provide more consistent value updates to their customers, while large changes will still get the full long-term analysis of the membership.
Standards are not made overnight, because they affect industries, economies and entire countries. We take great pride in ensuring our products are rigorously analyzed and approved by a broad group of subject matter experts.
RESO is lean but powerful. From a small core of operational staff to dozens of product leaders and hundreds of technical contributors, we solve immediate business issues that are evidence of our ability to deliver efficiency at a large scale. The world is taking notice.
Rebecca Jensen
Chair
RESO 2023 Board of Directors
RESO 2023 Fall Conference
Registration is open and filling up fast for the RESO 2023 Fall Conference. Please join us at Paradise Point Resort & Spa in San Diego, California, October 24–26 with an opening reception on October 23. Register today before the price increases next month!
Become a Conference Speaker at RESO
We are accepting speaker requests for innovative presentations that highlight solutions for our standards-based, tech-focused agenda for our fall conference.
- Is RESO providing a tangible benefit to your company?
- Are you experiencing measurable efficiency improvements by using RESO products?
- Do RESO products help you scale faster without being hampered?
- Does RESO help you advance the real estate industry?
We want to hear from you. If you have knowledge to share with the best minds in real estate technology, please let us know. Experts from the largest MLSs, real estate tech companies and brokerages in the world attend RESO events expecting to be not only entertained but educated. No product pitches, please. Deadline: September 1, 2023.
RESO 2023 Fall Conference Sponsorship
RESO events are intimate gatherings that put you in direct contact with the best minds in real estate tech. Sponsorship boosts your brand reach, credibility and leadership in the industry.
Our sponsors gain access to executives and experts from the largest MLSs, real estate technology companies and brokerages. Contact Suzanne Biegenzahn at suzanne@reso.org to learn how to become a RESO conference sponsor.
Product Updates
Co-Ownership
Co-Ownership was previously voted in as a lookup under the PropertySubType field for Data Dictionary 2.1. There was a request to move the Co-Ownership option under PropertyType instead, but the Data Dictionary Workgroup voted against this measure. Co-Ownership will continue to be a lookup under PropertySubType.
FrontageType vs. WaterfrontFeatures
This proposal would streamline the lookups of FrontageType and WaterfrontFeatures. The Data Dictionary Workgroup is exploring moving certain lookups to CommunityFeatures. Further research into certification data is underway to see how many providers offer just one or both FrontageType and WaterfrontFeatures fields.
ImageContains
The direction of ImageContains is a new multi-select lookup field that will convey multiple subjects in an image. Some of the more specific items from ImageOf will be put in ImageContains. Additional appropriate items for ImageContains will be gathered with help from fields like Appliances and InteriorFeatures.
ImageOf would be broad items like Backyard and ImageContains would be Fence and Patio. One ImageOf can have many ImageContains. For example: “This is an image of a backyard that has a patio and fence in it.” A proposal for the actual lookups will be out soon.
Certification Update
Congratulations to the following organizations for achieving their Data Dictionary 1.7 and/or Web API Core 2.0.0 endorsements and being added to RESO Analytics:
View the certification status of all MLSs on the RESO Certification Map. Please send any address or subscriber count changes to certification@reso.org.
Questions about RESO certification should be directed to your MLS vendor. Questions about self-testing or the technical aspects of certification may be directed to dev@reso.org.
RESO Web API Transition Update
Over 60% of MLSs Have Committed to End RETS – Where Are You?
Encouraging progress continues with the RETS Extinction Countdown. Many MLSs have shared their RETS to RESO Web API transition progress as part of our bimonthly email outreach.
Whether or not you are a RESO member, we want to hear from you! Our request involves only two simple questions. And don’t forget that RESO’s Web API Transition Guide is available to help you along your journey!
New Members
BrokerPocket
BrokerPocket is a digital platform for off-market listings.
Propmeteus
Propmeteus is a platform with ad positioning for real estate professionals.
Welcome to RESO!
RESO@
Holding Court (Left to Right): Joshua Darnell (RESO), Sergio Del Rio (Transport Workgroup Vice-Chair), Paul Stusiak (Transport Workgroup Chair).
Summer Dev Workshop Hosts (Left to Right): Jay Pepper-Martens (San Francisco Association of REALTORS®), DaVina Lara (bridgeMLS), Olga Ermolin (MLSListings).
2023 RESO Summer Developers Workshop
Wow! Between onsite and virtual, we had close to 100 attendees for our second developers workshop.
Thanks to bridgeMLS, the San Francisco Association of REALTORS® and MLSListings for hosting our first in-person dev workshop, and to our event sponsor, ShowingTime+.
Details of what was covered will be published in Confluence and in a future RESO Monthly.
iOi Summit | August 29–30
RESO is an event partner of the 5th annual iOi (Innovation. Opportunity. Investment.) Summit in Miami, Florida. Use promo code “RESO” to receive $150 off registration.
The iOi Summit has become the gathering point for all-hands, frank discussions about innovations that seek to tackle the biggest issues of the industry. | MORE INFO | REGISTER
Left to Right: Sam DeBord, Joshua Darnell, Evan Knowles.
Proptech Pioneers Podcast
RESO CEO Sam DeBord and CTO Josh Darnell spoke with Evan Knowles, Co-founder and CEO of Symba, about the evolution of the MLS, what MLSs can do better to support innovation and startups, and best practices for startups in working with MLSs.
The group also talked about the origins, goals and key performance indicators of RESO, as well as RESO’s latest analytics efforts, international expansion and industry alignment.
On the RESO Blog
Importance of Standardizing & Centralizing Building Data
There are roughly 100,000 buildings with three million apartments in New York City. Many large cities have a significant share of multiunit dwellings.
Learn how a potential new Building Resource in the Data Dictionary could meet the needs of a marketplace that requires a separation of building details from unit details. | READ MORE
The Expanding International Impact of RESO
The first 20 years of RESO standards largely benefited real estate professionals and technologists in the United States and Canada. But the mission of RESO has always been the creation of standards for global use. Learn about how we have expanded our borders to nearly 20 countries and what we have to think about when we enter new countries. | READ MORE
wwRED
Earn Your Designation
Complete the Working with Real Estate Data (wwRED) – Business Module and earn your RED-B designation to take charge of your career in data. | LEARN MORE
Organizations can also greatly benefit from incorporating wwRED into their staff and volunteer leadership onboarding strategy to start the year strong.
Bulk discounts are available!
RESO Workgroup Meetings
Data Dictionary Workgroup | June 29, 2023
The meeting included a review of the upcoming Model, Field and Lookup resources, as well as the proposals for conveying local data and supporting multiple metadata locales. The request for a Closet Type field was also discussed, and the group decided that further research on potential redundancy with the requested lookups should be conducted. Before being put to a vote, it was determined that the ImageContains proposal will require additional discussion. | NOTES
Transport Workgroup | July 10, 2023
The Transport Workgroup tentatively approved the addition of a DefaultSelectedYN field to the Field Resource (in RCP-042) so that users will need to select fields explicitly rather than receiving all of them by default. Media Add/Edit was discussed, which will be discussed at the Summer Developers Workshop, and the group reviewed the Single Feeds proposal (RCP-035). Updates were also given on Data Dictionary 2.0, other Transport discussions for review and prioritization, and a status update on RESO Common Format (RCP-025). | NOTES
Interoperability Workgroup | July 11, 2023
The meeting included discussion of five potential business cases to work on and a ranking of their priority, with Business Rules Component #1 – Add/Edit Server Messaging identified as the most important. | NOTES
Fast Track Subgroup | July 18, 2023
The initial meeting of this group went over the process that will be used to review and surface potential high-priority changes to the Data Dictionary Workgroup, in conjunction with reviewing certification test results and the variations checking process. | NOTES
Internet Tracking Workgroup | July 19, 2023
The meeting included a vote and approval of Summary Field name changes, which will be sent to the Data Dictionary Workgroup. New login and failed login tracking fields were introduced with discussion to be continued next meeting. Actor tracking in relation to Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications and several privacy updates were also discussed. | NOTES
Data Dictionary Workgroup | July 20, 2023
The meeting included a concrete direction for the ImageContains field as a multi-select lookup. For the Waterfront vs. FrontageType Proposal, the group favored an option that involves moving certain lookups to CommunityFeatures, with more research to be conducted before a final vote. Adjustments to the REALTOR® Safety Fields Proposal were made. A new field request for ShowingServiceName was discussed with a proposal to be created. There was a vote on the Co-Ownership as a PropertyType request, which failed to pass. And a new Data Dictionary Topic Tracking Confluence integration was shown. | NOTES
Certification Subgroup | July 20, 2023
The group discussed how to differentiate systems when using RESO’s Model, Field and Lookup resources. A new testing rule regarding MlsStatus and StandardStatus was added for a future version of the Data Dictionary beyond 2.0. Some clarification was made on the RESO Common Format testing rules, as well as the role of the new Fast Track Subgroup. | NOTES
Upcoming RESO Workgroup Meetings
If you want to participate in any of the following recurring workgroup or subgroup meetings, email support@reso.org to get started.
- Thursday, August 10: Research & Development Workgroup
- Monday, August 14: Transport Workgroup
- Tuesday, August 15: Fast Track Subgroup
- Thursday, August 17: Data Dictionary Workgroup
- Thursday, August 17: Certification Subgroup
- Wednesday, August 23: Universal Property Identifier (UPI) Workgroup
- Thursday, August 24: Broker Advisory Workgroup
- Thursday, August 31: Rental Subgroup
- Thursday, September 7: Research & Development Workgroup
