Listing Bits

A solid fan base is what makes a rock band successful, and it’s no different for real estate professionals.   But most of us focus on the individual transaction and miss an opportunity to build long-term relationships with our existing clients and turn them into raving fans.   And that means missed opportunities for referrals and repeat business.   Rivers Pearce is CMO of Milestones, a homeowner management platform that helps agents and lenders turn single transactions into forever clients.   On this episode of Listing Bits, Rivers shares his background as a touring musician and transition to proptech, discussing how he built the lead generation department at BoomTown.   Rivers explains why agents should market themselves as a trusted advisor for all things home and explores how real estate professionals benefit from referring business to home service professionals and other local businesses.   Listen in for Rivers’ insight on nurturing relationships with your existing database and learn how Milestones can help you provide the kind of value that turns one-off clients into lifelong fans!   What’s Discussed:     Rivers’ background as a touring musician and how he transitioned to proptech How the skills Rivers developed as a performer translate to real estate and proptech Rivers’ experience in building the lead gen department at BoomTown How the way proptech supports real estate agents with lead gen has evolved over time How Rivers thinks about using sphere of influence vs. portal aggregation to generate business The opportunity to build relationships with homeowners that most REALTORS miss Why agents should market themselves as a trusted advisor for all things home The benefit of referring business to home service professionals and other local businesses How Milestones functions as a homeowner management platform for agents How Milestones creates a custom maintenance plan for homeowners How Milestones helps REALTORS nurture relationships with their existing database   Connect with Rivers:   Milestones Rivers on LinkedIn Rivers on Twitter Rivers on Instagram Email rivers@milestones.ai or ashley@milestones.ai for a 3-month free trial   Resources:   BoomTown Mark Davison on Listing Bits EP042 Curaytor CallAction Agent Legend Drew Meyers of Geek Estate Tom Ferry   Our Sponsor:   Cloud CMA for Brokers

Listing Bits is back! If your role in real estate involves sales demos or any kind of training, you’re likely familiar with the frustration of delivering the same webinar over and over again.   Or worse, preparing a webinar that is either poorly attended or no one shows up.   But what if you could do 100 or even 1,000 webinars a month—without getting in front of a camera?   Melissa Kwan is Cofounder and CEO of eWebinar, a platform that saves people from repeatedly delivering the same webinar by turning videos into automated, interactive webinars.   Prior to eWebinar, Melissa founded and successfully exited the real estate tech startup Spacio, a check-in app for open houses.   On this episode of Listing Bits, Melissa shares her journey as a proptech entrepreneur, describing how she developed her mad sales skills and why she was ready for a new challenge after Spacio.   Melissa discusses how her experience with onboarding and training for Spacio inspired the creation of eWebinar and explains what differentiates the platform from Zoom, YouTube videos and webinar replays.   Listen in for insight around Melissa’s intentional approach to life and learn how your real estate business might leverage eWebinar to get your time back and spend it on things you enjoy!   What’s Discussed:     The initial idea for Spacio and how it evolved into a check-in app for open houses How Melissa developed her hustle and sales ability out of necessity Melissa’s successful exit from Spacio after 4 years of running the business The real estate leadership dinner that launched Melissa’s career as an entrepreneur What differentiates eWebinar from YouTube, Zoom and webinar replays How Melissa’s experience with training for Spacio inspired the creation of eWebinar How brokerages and real estate teams are using eWebinar to qualify leads The benefit of using eWebinar in terms of video quality and availability of content eWebinar’s use cases for sales demos, onboarding and training How Melissa runs eWebinar to reflect her work less, enjoy more philosophy of life   Connect with Melissa:   eWebinar Melissa on LinkedIn ProfitLed Podcast   Resources:   Spacio Inman Connect Greg’s Post on Melissa in Vendor Alley Pocket SAP HomeSpotter The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss   Our Sponsor:   Cloud CMA for Brokers

  NAR’s MLS Policy Statement 8.6 goes into effect on September 1, 2022.   So, what tools are available to make the implementation of the new One Data Source Policy easier for MLSs?   Katie Smithson is Director of MLS Relations at Zillow Group, where she leads the team building their MLS data licensing and distribution platform, Bridge Interactive. Prior to joining Zillow, she spent eight years with W+R Studios as Director of Enterprise Sales and Director of MLS Services.   On this episode of Listing Bits, Katie walks us through Policy Statement 8.6, explaining what problems the mandate does solve and why it’s a problem to provide vendors and brokers with data in a single feed.   Katie discusses the Bridge platform’s current functionality and describes the new feature her team is developing to help MLSs implement 8.6, the One Data Source Solution.   Listen in to understand how MLSs can use Bridge to auto-approve certain vendor agreements and find out if the One Data Source Solution is right for you.   What’s Discussed:     How MLS Policy Statement 8.6 requires that MLSs offer participants data in a single feed The security issue with leaving it up to brokers and vendors to know what data can be used in a VOW, IDX or back-office feed What problems the new One Data Source Policy does solve How the Bridge platform alleviates pain points around data distribution for MLSs What differentiates the Bridge platform from CoreLogic’s Trestle How Katie thinks about asking MLS boards to give Zillow their data (and pay for the service) How Bridge gives MLSs a simple way to combine existing data feeds for members The benefit of adding field-specific tags to MLS metadata via the Bridge One Data Source Solution How MLSs can use Bridge to auto-approve certain vendors or certain types of data access agreements Connect with Katie: Bridge Interactive Katie on Twitter Katie on LinkedIn Email: katiesm [at] zillowgroup [dot] com Resources: MLS Policy Statement 8.6 CMLS Implementation Guide—One Data Source Policy 8.6 Lone Wolf Technologies Trestle by CoreLogic Marilyn Wilson’s TSA Pre-Check Concept Inman Connect Las Vegas 2022   Our Sponsor:   Cloud CMA for Brokers

What if it was easy for an MLS to raise money to develop the data services it needs and run the software its customers use? Colette Stevenson is CEO of REsides, the premier MLS in South Carolina. Formerly known as Hilton Head MLS, REsides serves REALTORS who represent properties in both South Carolina and Georgia, maintaining the most dependable and powerful data in the marketplace.  On this episode of Listing Bits, Colette shares the story of the rebrand from Hilton Head MLS to REsides, explaining what differentiates her team’s vision from that of the average MLS. Colette describes how REsides is developing a new business model to address the challenge of raising capital for software development and discusses why she’s open to collaborating with MLSs anywhere in the US. Listen in to understand Colette’s disciplined way of thinking about potential changes to cooperation and compensation—and learn how REsides is empowering agents and brokers with data in a way that keeps the industry at the center of the real estate transaction. What’s Discussed:   How Colette’s background in the ticketing industry informs her work at REsides What REsides is doing to keep the industry at the center of the real estate transaction The story of the rebrand from Hilton Head MLS to REsides What differentiates REsides’ vision from that of the average MLS (and how being small benefits Colette’s team) Where buyers in the Hilton Head market come from and why Colette is open to collaborating with MLSs anywhere in the US How REsides is developing a new business model to address the challenge of raising capital for software development Colette’s take on what keeps MLSs from making bold moves (and how REsides is overcoming it) Colette’s disciplined way of thinking about potential changes to cooperation and compensation REsides’ mission to empower agents and brokers with data Connect with Colette: REsides Colette on LinkedIn Resources:  ‘Atlanta’s No. 1 Broker Bought Homes for Big Investors From 600 Miles Away’ in The Wall Street Journal Our Sponsor: Cloud CMA for Brokers

Approximately 8 million appraisals were conducted in the US last year. By contrast, there are only 40,000 active real estate appraisers. So, it's no surprise that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are exploring appraisal modernization initiatives like the desktop appraisal option.   But to make these alternatives to the traditional appraisal work, we need data in the form of an accurate floor plan. And we need it at scale.   Jeff Allen is EVP of Innovation Labs Clear Capital, a leading property valuation tech company, and President of CubiCasa, an easy-to-use app for automating the creation of real estate floor plans. On this episode of Listing Bits, Jeff explains how the barrier to entry to become an appraiser has sparked a total transformation of the industry.   He discusses his work helping GSEs test alternatives to the traditional appraisal, describing why floor plans are an essential part of ‘bringing the house to the appraiser’ and how he discovered the CubiCasa technology that automates the process. Listen in for Jeff’s insight on the copyright dispute over real estate floor plans and learn how to support the creative partnerships necessary for CubiCasa to scale.   What’s Discussed:     How Clear Capital serves large financial institutions in the realm of property valuation How the barrier to entry to become an appraiser has sparked a total transformation of the industry Jeff’s work helping GSEs test alternatives to the full traditional appraisal Why floor plans are essential in ‘bringing the house to the appraiser’ How Jeff discovered the CubiCasa tech for automating floor plans and how it works The creative partnerships necessary for CubiCasa to achieve scale (e.g.: real estate photographers) How the desktop appraisal option supports CubiCasa’s efforts to scale The other major appraisal modernization initiatives coming from Fannie and Freddie Jeff’s take on the current copyright dispute over real estate floor plans   Connect with Jeff:   CubiCasa  Email: jeff [at] cubicasa [dot] com Jeff on LinkedIn Clear Capital   Resources:   10K Research and Marketing Appraisal Subcommittee Dodd-Frank Desktop Appraisals Vendor Alley FloPlan App Greg’s Post on FloPlan Copyright Dispute Over Real Estate Floor Plans Designworks Homes v. Columbia House of Brokers Realty CMLS’s Amicus Brief on the Floor Plan Copyright Dispute NAR’s Amicus Brief on the Floor Plan Copyright Dispute   Our Sponsor:   Cloud CMA for Brokers

We're baaaaaack!     I spend a lot of time at conferences explaining why MLSs, brokers, and franchisors should let the ‘professionals’ build their technology. And yet, there are real reasons why these stakeholders might want to design their own. So, when is it appropriate for an MLS to create its own tech stack rather than relying on a vendor? And what does the development process look like? Faith Geronimo and Colleen Yasuhara are the CEO and COO, respectively, of Hawaii Information Service (HIS), the MLS provider for the islands of Hawaii and Kauai. On this episode of Listing Bits, Faith and Colleen explore HIS’s history of building its own technology and explain their decision to spend the last four years creating a new MLS system. Faith and Colleen discuss the transition from their initial system, REsearch, to the new HIMLS, describing HIS’s partnership with software developer MEV and their experience working with a team of Ukrainian developers. Listen in to understand why the Russia-Ukraine conflict hasn’t disrupted the development process and learn how HIS leveraged research and user testing to inform the design of HIMLS. What’s Discussed:   HIS’s role as MLS provider for the islands of Hawaii and Kauai HIS’s history of building its own technology How Faith & Colleen’s decision to build a new system on their own was influenced by their ability to integrate public records and MLS data Faith’s take on why Hawaii needs 3 MLS providers What Faith & Colleen learned in their research on MLS systems and how it informed the design of HIMLS How the pandemic influenced the development process and allowed for rigorous user acceptance testing The timeline for the transition from REsearch to HIMLS from 2018 to present HIS’s partnership with MEV and how they built the portal and web API together before tackling the MLS Faith & Colleen’s experience working with developers in the Ukraine and why they flew the team to Hawaii early in the process How Ukrainian developers continue to work on HIMLS despite the Russian invasion and how they’re handling the conflict Connect with Faith & Colleen: The Story of HIMLS Hawaii Information Service Hawaii Information Service on YouTube Faith on LinkedIn Colleen on LinkedIn Resources: HIMLS Update on YouTube Inman Connect New York CMLS Conferences Craig Pennington Paragon Matrix Realist RESO Web API MEV Alex Natskovich   Our Sponsor: Cloud Agent Suite

When Zillow announced its intention to acquire ShowingTime in February of 2021, a slew of companies jumped into the showing solutions space. But Instashowing had already been in business for two years, and despite the fierce competition, its young founder believes that his startup has an edge. William Schoeffler is the Founder of Instashowing, a software company out of Bend, Oregon, that offers the premiere showing solution for forward-thinking real estate professionals. On this episode of Listing Bits, William shares the experience with an agent that inspired him to build Instashowing and describes the suite of listing agent tools his team is developing. William explains how he raised $4M on the heels of Zillow’s acquisition of ShowingTime, discussing the expectation to grow that comes with that kind of an investment and the advantages Instashowing has over its many competitors. Listen in to understand the challenge of supporting several showing solutions in a single market and learn how William is forming a syndicate to allow MLSs to invest in Instashowing. What’s Discussed:   The experience with a real estate agent that inspired William to build Instashowing How William raised $4M from industry giants Pete Flint and Greg Schwartz The wave of competitors in the showing solutions space after Zillow’s acquisition of ShowingTime Why Instashowing started selling to agents and brokers (not MLSs) when it launched in 2019 The advantages Instashowing has over its competitors How Instashowing’s success in a given market hinges on full integration with its MLS Why William believes the industry will return to a single showing solution product in each market The suite of listing agent tools Instashowing is developing The expanding vision and expectation to grow that comes with a $4M investment Why William is not planning on adding a call center to the Instashowing offerings How William is forming a syndicate to allow MLSs to invest in Instashowing Connect with William: Instashowing William on LinkedIn   Resources: Instashowing’s $4M Raise Zillow’s Acquisition of ShowingTime Tomo Offerpad BrokerBay Homesnap Showings MLS Aligned SentriLock CRMLS Glide   Our Sponsor: Cloud CMA for Brokers

Ask the average consumer what they know about the MLS, and you’re likely to hear about their favorite Major League Soccer team. But CMLS wants to change that, and the organization is on a mission to educate the general public around the benefits of working with a real estate professional and listing a home on the MLS.   Katie Smithson is the Director of Enterprise Sales at Lone Wolf Technologies, and she serves on the Board of Directors for both the Council of Multiple Listing Services and Real Estate Standards Organization. On this episode of Listing Bits, Katie shares CMLS’s new In the Know Campaign, describing how the initiative seeks to convey the importance of the MLS to consumers. Katie explains why CMLS partnered with 1000watt to develop assets for In the Know and how agents and brokers can use the campaign’s digital content to share the CMLS message with consumers. Listen in to understand how Lone Wolf is integrating In the Know content into Cloud CMA and find out how other vendors can get involved in educating consumers on the value of the MLS. What’s Discussed:     How CMLS’s Making the Market Work Campaign communicated the value of the MLS to its members CMLS’s partnership with 1000watt to develop assets for the new In the Know Campaign How the In the Know Campaign conveys the importance of the MLS to consumers Why In the Know is not specific to a particular MLS system but advocates for the industry as a whole CMLS’s hope that brokers and agents will share the campaign’s message with consumers Why exclusive listings are not a good look for organized real estate in light of Fair Housing legislation How listing on the MLS gives sellers the best exposure in a given market How In the Know assets are designed for brokers, agents and vendors to put to use How the Lone Wolf Technologies team is integrating In the Know content into Cloud CMA Live Katie’s insight around how other vendors might get involved with the In the Know Campaign Connect with Katie: Email ksmithson [at] lwolf [dot] com Resources: CMLS’s In the Know Campaign CMLS RESO CMLS’s Making the Market Work Campaign 1000watt NAR MLS Clear Cooperation Policy The Fair Housing Act   Our Sponsor:  Cloud CMA for Brokers

Prior to 2003, Supra had a monopoly on the lockbox market. But NAR membership wanted choice, so the trade association invested in its first outside tech company, SentriLock. Today, a similar market dominance exists in showing service solutions, and SentriLock is stepping in once again to compete with the dominant player in the space. Scott Fisher and Devin Beck are the CEO and Director of Revenue of SentriLock, the first and only combined lockbox, showing service and experience management solutions for real estate. On this episode of Listing Bits, Scott and Devin explain why SentriLock is expanding into the showing service space and how proptech consolidation accelerated industry interest in their new offering.   Scott and Devin share SentriLock’s approach to entering a new market with a dominant player, describing how their partnership with NAR and commitment to customer service differentiate them from the competition. Listen in for insight around the unique features of the SentriKey Showing Service and learn how you can benefit from their lockbox offering, showing service or combination thereof.   What’s Discussed:     How Scott’s telecom background led him to the lockbox space Devin’s efforts to diversify SentriLock’s portfolio of offerings What inspired the partnership between NAR and Scott’s team Why SentriLock is expanding into the showing service space SentriLock’s approach to entering a market with a dominant player How Zillow’s acquisition of ShowingTime accelerated interest in SentriLock’s new offering How SentriLock’s lockbox and showing solutions are designed to stand alone yet work together Why consolidation causes uncertainty in the MLS community Why NAR is unlikely to sell SentriLock How Scott sees their commitment to take care of the member first as SentriLock’s secret weapon The features that differentiate SentriLock’s showing solution How competition among vendors brings value to the industry Connect with Scott & Devin: SentriLock Scott on LinkedIn Devin on LinkedIn Resources: The Story Behind SentriKey Showing Service Supra CoStar’s Acquisition of Homes.com REALTORS Relief Foundation REALTORS Political Action Committee   Our Sponsor: Cloud CMA for Brokers  

At present, MLS data access is unnecessarily complex. And brokers are calling for a more efficient system with a single set of rules around how the data can be used. In response, the CMLS Data Access Concepts Workgroup drafted the Listing Exchange and Access Policy or LEAP. But does the new policy really solve these problems? Could it be improved in a way that recognizes the changing landscape of the real estate industry?   Sam DeBord is the CEO of the Real Estate Standards Organization, the trade group responsible for developing standards for the industry, and he writes for publications including REALTOR Magazine and Inman News. Michael Wurzer is the CEO of FBS, the leading innovator of MLS technology and one of the most respected real estate software brands, and he covers industry issues on the FBS Company Blog. Both Sam and Michael are active participants in the LEAP debate on Twitter and have written long-form posts on the topic.   On this episode of Listing Bits, Sam shares the goals of the proposed Listing Exchange and Access Policy, describing how it seeks to simplify the rules and make access to MLS data more efficient. Michael discusses his concerns around the draft policy, explaining why licensing should be a part of LEAP and what a usage-based pricing model might look like. Listen in for Sam’s speed limit versus toll road analogy for the issues at play and hear both sides of the debate on whether LEAP solves the fundamental problems brokers face in using MLS data.   What’s Discussed:     LEAP’s goal to simplify the rules and make access to MLS data more efficient Why Michael sees a problem with how LEAP treats IDX, VOW and Back Office the same Michael’s argument that the value of aggregated MLS data as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts Why Michael believes that licensing and pricing should be a part of LEAP How the definition of a Participant is evolving and why Michael thinks LEAP should address the shift Sam’s concerns around using policy to penalize companies who are using data well Sam’s speed limit vs. toll road analogy for the issues at play in LEAP Michael’s point that portals would be worth dramatically less without MLS data The potential to charge licensing fees for MLS data based on usage (with free low-usage plans available) Sam’s view that MLSs should make local decisions about pricing rather than NAR policy   Connect with Sam:   Real Estate Standards Organization Sam’s Website Sam on Twitter   Connect with Michael:   Michael’s Blog on FBS Michael on Twitter   Resources:   Michael’s First LEAP Post: Look Before You LEAP Michael’s Second LEAP Post: MLS Content Is Uniquely Valuable, License It Accordingly Michael’s Third LEAP Post: A Picture Is Worth More Than… Sam’s Post: LEAP Forward -- Six Questions to Answer on Broker’s MLS Data Rob Hahn’s Blog on LEAP Vendor Alley LeadingRE The Realty Alliance CMLS Draft of the Listing Exchange and Access Policy (LEAP) Victor Lund on Twitter FloPlan by FBS   Our Sponsor:   Cloud CMA for Brokers