by G. Sax, Director of Growth Management, RESO
Three Questions is an interview series that introduces you to real estate industry professionals, their businesses and how they interact with real estate standards with a goal of humanizing the tech side of the industry, fun included.
This week, we had a chat with Jason Sanchez, Director of MLS Engagement at the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). We discussed standards enforcement, reliable longevity and what it was like to be an association/MLS executive for 20-plus years. Enjoy!
Q1: RESO was born of NAR, and NAR continues to be a huge supporter. NAR’s contributions continue to drive RESO, as with the recent acceptance of Safety Fields into the Data Dictionary. Do you see yourself as someone that will champion RESO causes from your position at NAR?
Jason: Absolutely. This mission is a personal goal of mine, and I’ve enjoyed becoming a lot more involved with RESO.
On a high level, NAR staff might not be as ingrained in RESO workgroups, but from an organizational perspective, we purposefully invest a lot in RESO. This is an opportunity to bridge gaps between NAR and technology companies.
The RESO 2021 Fall Conference in Kiawah, South Carolina, was an eye opener. The disconnect between MLS/technology vendors and NAR policy felt raw.
The interchange at that conference sparked a personal mission to create more open lines of communication, and now we have an MLS vendor outreach call and tech industry outreach call.
We worked with RESO CEO Sam DeBord on building the call list, and we have been doing the calls for about a year now. We’ve opened a window to let more people see how the sausage is made at NAR, and the feedback has been good.
Q2: RESO certifies MLS and technology systems, but we aren’t an enforcement body that requires certification. NAR has seen the benefit of standards compliance and requires it of MLSs owned and operated by its associations. When RESO publishes lists of MLS certifications, how does NAR use that information?
Jason: What we do at that point is assess the list with our internal MLS policy team, which includes myself, Rodney Gansho and Henry DiGiacomo.
We compare the RESO list to an active list we get from Realtors Property Resource (RPR). We look at the comparisons from our team’s perspective, then we give it to our front-line support team to contact them for a follow-up conversation.
With antitrust or any kind of NAR policy, we are simply trying to enforce the rules that we as a professional organization have established.
One of our core values is to provide a hospitable environment for our members to work in. We give them an opportunity to tell us what the situation is. When we find infractions, there is usually a logical explanation. If there is not, we take further action.
Q3: You spent more than 20 years at the Greater El Paso Association of REALTORS®. What do you miss about local association/MLS life and what don’t you miss?
Jason: I was an executive at Greater El Paso for 20 years, so it’s hard not to miss it. I’m still in touch with everyone back there.
I find that it’s hard, even now, not to say “we” when talking about their latest initiatives. It’s part of my DNA, and I do miss it very much.
What I don’t miss is managing the occasional personality, haha. Sometimes it’s nice to not have to deal with what a lot of association executives in this industry have run into from time to time.
