by G. Sax, Head of Communications, RESO
This week, we chatted with Beldon Panter, the CIO of Bay Area Real Estate Information Services (BAREIS), about data shares, the Unique Licensee Identifier (ULI), change management, the landmark shift that the RESO Data Dictionary created and one iconic beer. Enjoy!
Q1: The Bay Area has made quite a splash in RESO circles with things like the NORCAL MLS Alliance data share and with the ULI data pilot. What has been the role of BAREIS and you yourself in those initiatives?
Beldon: I’m the key point person in anything related to RESO at BAREIS. I stay informed with updates to the Data Dictionary, and I am at the center of our data share work and was involved in the ULI project.
We’ve been doing data shares in the Bay Area since 2008. RESO initiatives have helped BAREIS collaborate better with MetroList, San Francisco Association of REALTORS® (SFAR), MLSListings, bridgeMLS, Bay East Association of REALTORS® and Contra Costa Association of REALTORS®.
The ULI was hot for a while there, then it got quiet, but it seems to be coming back with a vengeance, and that’s a good thing.
I think the Bay Area is a best-case scenario for any kind of RESO initiatives that involve both data sharing and creating a unique ID that follows an agent around no matter which MLS they are working in. Deduplication is a very real issue for all of us.
Many of us have been in the industry a long time now, like Jay Pepper-Martens at SFAR and Olga Ermolin at MLSListings, and we’re ready to serve worthy causes that will advance the industry. Even if something like the ULI is only 75% good, we can work on the last 25%, because it will be good for vendors and data share partners downstream.
If you let us know what we need to do, I guarantee that we’ll troubleshoot our way to a solution.
Q2: Speaking of longevity, you have been at BAREIS for more than 20 years now. What is one prominent RESO-driven change that has made your job significantly easier over that timespan?
Beldon: Hands down, the Data Dictionary. It has been instrumental in helping us implement fields while also keeping us from having to create our own fields, because there is now a standard to follow.
Agents want to get creative with niche fields, but when we find RESO standard fields already in place, they are generally okay with it. Being able to go to a definitive standard tends to end further conversation.
The mass genius of RESO members coming up with fields has removed endless back and forth and spinning wheels. It’s been really nice.
Q3: What is one difficult thing about your job that perhaps RESO could make easier for you?
Beldon: That goes back to the Data Dictionary and customization of it. I guess you call that extensibility. We would like to do that a little bit differently. It’s good that we can extend the dictionary, but it’s also a yin and yang where we want to follow the standard.
Like when the RESO Web API came out, vendors were already creating their own APIs. Then vendors were expecting the release of the RESO Web API, so they started coding differently as things changed.
You guys do a great job, don’t get me wrong, but getting strong specs in place as early as possible would be helpful so we don’t have to chase after multiple customizations by 10 or 15 vendors that got ahead of the spec and now have to recode.
RESO Bonus Regional Question: Have you ever had an elusive Pliny the Younger from Russian River Brewing Company?
Yes, and I have waited in line for up to five hours for the privilege. After two hours, you lose track of time. In past years, that one beer alone has brought $7 to 8 million to the local economy over a two-week span.
Every day, there can be anywhere from three to six hours of waiting for those who make the pilgrimage to Russian River Brewing.
They have been distributing Younger to more Bay Area places that typically serve other Russian River beers – places like Toronado in San Francisco and Ernie’s Tin Bar in Petaluma. But demand is so high, that might be a drop in the bucket.
RESO: Word on the street is that it often sells out before happy hour on day one.
Beldon: The laws of supply and demand don’t just apply to housing inventory.
Three Questions is an interview series that features real estate industry professionals, their businesses and how they interact with real estate standards in a fun way.
