mls

Just Pick Whatever Showings Technology You Like Best

Later this summer Realtors at West + Main Homes will have a choice to pick between ShowingTime or BrokerBay for managing showing appointments. We will support both.

It’s extraordinarily awesome for your MLS at REcolorado to be evaluating new vendors that provide showings services to Realtors in Denver. Showingly is another one integrated recently.

Even though ShowingTime and BrokerBay and other options coming to the market seem wonderful and may get the job done - we think it’s best for our Listing Agents to decide.

It’s important to know you aren’t being forced to decide between one or the other at this time.

Since we haven’t used BrokerBay to set up a listing or schedule a showing yet -we think Agents will get plenty of opportunity to decide which tool is better for them once everything goes live.

Buyer Agents should prepare to see listings managed in both BrokerBay and ShowingTime and will have to learn two systems as they navigate a new period where Listing Agents have choice.

Ultimately one day we’d love to see “interoperable” showings for MLS subscribers and allow Agents to choose their preferred software for both scheduling and managing showings.

We work for that future today as a member of the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO).

Competition and collaboration are needed so that listings, contracts, and showings products are differentiated and improve the experiences offered to customers in the real estate market.

We trust our Agents to let us know what is working and will help them every step of the way.


And if you’re concerned about Zillow buying ShowingTime we had a conversation about that here

West + Main Homes Joins The Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO)

West + Main Homes is proud to announce that we have officially joined The Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO). While the beauty of RESO is in the details of the data - we thought it’d be useful to explore what this means in simple terms for our agents and peers.

RESO is a powerful central technology body made up of devoted industry titans and champions. A volunteer board of directors facilitate rapid real estate innovation with input from The National Association of REALTORS®, Zillow, the MLSs, and the hottest emerging startups. Compass, Redfin, and other top brokerages have a presence among indies like us.

 
 

We believe the future of real estate is growing with possibilities not only to strengthen existing models, but to introduce new and complementary ones too. Houses are an exciting asset class that support a robust and competitive industry needing a modern infrastructure to balance on.

Real estate technology is extraordinary in scope, yet still has a long way to go. There are thousands of vendors that help power agents and brokers and still thousands of roadblocks we need to overcome if the marketplace of housing services is going to evolve for the better.

The opportunities are endless in Colorado, where software for forms and showings are limited to singular options. Our primary focus at RESO is on the Broker Advisory Workgroup surfacing use-cases from the field to help inform members designing technical standards that allow for choice and interoperability in a marketplace of products that agents and clients love.

In addition to participating in workgroups and conferences, we’ll be among the first brokers to complete the RESO Education Course: Working With Real Estate Data (WWRED) this year.

It is possible RESO initiatives will shape a future of transparency for real estate data and fuel products that provide equitable access to homeownership benefits and wealth to more people.

We hope that other independent brokers wanting to contribute to the future of real estate technology join us too. RESO is under the smart and capable leadership of CEO Sam Debord, a top broker from the Greater Seattle area with a deep understanding of the entire landscape.

Agents - we’ll continue to update you on RESO initiatives through the year and are always available as a resource for any of your technology needs. We are interested in your feedback and requirements for tools that you rely on to serve and delight your networks and customers.

West + Main Homes is a proud new member of RESO. We’re excited for what’s ahead!

Welcoming Zillow to the MLS

Hello colleagues and friends! I am not the first person to alert you to the monumental news that Zillow is now a member of MLS’ and REALTOR® Associations all across the country.

But I might be the first person to encourage you to consider all the reasons why this is good.

A Monumental Shift in Real Estate Advertising

These changes are positive for every member of the real estate ecosystem and consumers alike.

I’d be remiss if I did not acknowledge the consternation that exists in the industry when it comes to Zillow. I’m here to walk you down a more peaceful and productive road forward.

[Check out the bottom of this post for a list of resources and links that dive deeper into specifics]

This might be the most historic real estate technology event since listings came online.

For more than a decade Zillow assembled digital listing advertisements through a patchwork of data feeds. Today they are publishing listings via the gold standard of property display: IDX.

Internet Data Exchange (IDX) Background & FAQ by National Association of Realtors (NAR)

Zillow is following listings advertising rules that Brokers and REALTORS® manage.

While it might be true that Zillow had its battles with listings accuracy and completeness through the years, the circumstances around that struggle are now forever in the past.

Real estate agents don’t have to lift a finger and their listings will appear for free on Zillow.

Over 100 million visitors go to Zillow to browse home advertisements every month.

It’s worth questioning why any real estate broker would intentionally keep their listings off Zillow in the past when it’s the most popular consumer destination to see homes for sale.

Withholding listings from Zillow was fringe and risky before…and now impossible today.

The listings on Zillow are as accurate and complete as what agents put on the MLS.

We’ve seen social marketing posts by agents claiming the MLS stopped sending listings to Zillow. This is completely false and nearly impossible now Zillow is a member of the MLS.

If you’re seeing any issues today, be patient. Code is complex and time-consuming to update. Use this time to reach out to people and introduce them to your branded experiences.

A positive attitude about Zillow is good for all real estate agents and brokerages.

Zillow has a wealth of expertise that will benefit the MLS’ and REALTOR® Associations. I ‘d be welcoming them with open arms, just like any of the other businesses who love this work.

What’s Going to Happen Next

I’ve decided to skip over some of the more granular issues surrounding Zillow’s updates in service to one of my most pressing pleas: Please treat Zillow like you would any other brokerage in the market. We know tons of great people working for companies other than ours.

It’s a vital year to show everyone how unified and special and innovative real estate truly is.

It might seem like the perfect storm to manipulate the confusion about the Zillow platform change in your own favor somehow. I am choosing to marvel at the feat from a distance and am ecstatic that our agents can continue promising clients their listings will show up quickly and seamlessly on Zillow just like they always have. The IDX feed is like getting an upgraded ad.

Because the MLS is the premier system of cooperation in data for independent and fierce real estate professionals, let’s continue treating it with the respect and nuance it deserves.

Zillow has always been a peer in the housing space. Now they just look a little more like you.

 
headshot.jpg

Greg Fischer

Tech | Managing Broker

(720) 605-3325

 

Further Reading & Background

  • Update on Switch to IDX Feeds & Agent Profiles - link
    01/21/21 | Zillow Premier Agent

  • Internet Data Exchange (IDX) Background and FAQ - link
    01/01/21 | The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR)

  • FAQ: Zillow Product Updates - link
    01/12/21 | Zillow Premier Agent

  • NAR, MLS, and Technology Leaders Openly Discuss Zillow and IDX - link
    01/18/21 | Bright MLS Podcast

  • Creating a Better Real Estate Experience - link
    09/21/20 | Zillow Premier Agent

  • A Message from Zillow’s Chief Industry Development Officer- link
    09/22/20 | Zillow

  • Zillow Offers Expand Services in 2021 to Simplify Customer Transactions - link
    09/23/20 | Zillow PR

  • Internet Data Exchange (IDX) Policy - link
    01/01/21 | The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR)

  • REcolorado MLS Rules & Regulations - link
    04/23/20 | REcolorado

  • How Zillow’s transition to IDX feeds affects you - link
    11/24/20 | CRMLS

  • MLS Clear Cooperation Policy - link
    01/01/20 | The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR)

Revising the Term “Master” in Real Estate Listings and Doing More Important Things Too

Update from ReColorado:

Master Bed/Bath Label Change Effective 3/9

On March 9, several options in the Room Type field will be renamed. The label “Master” will be updated to “Primary” for the following options:

  • Master Bedroom --> Primary Bedroom

  • Master Bathroom (1/2) --> Primary Bathroom (1/2)

  • Master Bathroom (1/4) --> Primary Bathroom (1/4)

  • Master Bathroom (3/4) --> Primary Bathroom (3/4)

  • Master Bathroom (Full) --> Primary Bathroom (Full)

Additionally, the option Master Suite within the InteriorFeatures field will be updated to Primary Suite.

If you display the detailed room information on your IDX or VOW websites, you must update how these room types display to reflect the new names.

If you have any questions about this change or how it will impact your data feed, IDX website, or product, please contact datasupport@REcolorado.com.

Thank you,

REcolorado Data Support

Original Post:

Throughout the country over the last few years, Real Estate organizations have considered removing the terms “master bedroom, master bathroom and master suite” from their lexicon.

REcolorado, the prevailing local MLS organization of over 25,000 agents in the Denver Metro area, was recently faced with a decision, based on a participant request, to amend the term in databases in Colorado. Following brief discussions, the voting committee said by majority - no.

The writing on the bedroom wall

The 40,000 member Houston Association of Realtors officially revised the term in June. Visitors can see the use of “primary” on any listing on HAR.com in the rooms detail section.

Changing the official term from “master” bedroom and bath to another term is a clerical errand. The work required to edit a word in a computer application is as trivial as it sounds.

Realtors have mixed views on the topic and John Legend tweeted to the coverage in Houston, “Real problem: realtors don't show black people all the properties they qualify for. Fake problem: calling the master bedroom the master bedroom. Fix the real problem, realtors.”

REcolorado subscribers from around Colorado make up the MLS Rules and Regulation Committee, an experienced group that influence our industry on a local level and include brokerage owners (including West + Main Homes), appraisers, and other interested parties as a collective voice to evaluate suggested MLS changes and the boundaries created around MLS-defined responses to mandates.

Just so it’s clear, none of the representatives on the voting committee were to be tasked with the implementation of the revised term. Just a vote to send a support ticket to the MLS or not.

To view the term how it appears in the MLS and on the REcolorado public website: click here.

But the majority of the committee voted against this minor change, a back-end upgrade that would not dictate advertising or govern the speech of individual brokers still using the label.

It’s an academic question for leaders.

Is there a sound argument for continuing to mandate the term “master” when referring to a bedroom, bathroom or suite - when it can be so easily amended?

Denver area Realtors are working on more transformative issues. That’s why they should expect approval of nominal administrative fixes reflecting those issues, even when subtle.

But our region has seen it’s share of problems too, well documented - here, here, and here.

Denver Realtors are doing bigger things

Our community deserves to see how Realtors are fighting systemic discrimination in the real estate market, not scrutinizing their organizations’ refusal to do obvious and simple updates.

We are calling on REcolorado’s leadership, including its staff or Board of Directors, to override the decision made by Committee and remove/replace the term “master” from its product suite.

It’s literally the easiest thing we can do. Small steps are the only way to complete long journeys and Fair Housing in Real Estate has a long way to go. While this issue is a bare-minimum endeavor, let’s not use our energy to specifically oppose it either, as it could be done by now.

To view what West + Main listing marketing looks like with a change in terminology: click here

Have an opinion? Please reach out to support@recolorado.com or your MLS Leadership and let them know what you think. They want to hear from you.


Further Reading & Background

  • Why and how Houston decided to remove the term from the MLS - link
    06/24/20 | Houston Chronicle

  • Tweets from John Legend criticizing PR generated from changing the term - link
    06/27/20 | Twitter

  • Leading real estate brokerage in Chicago pledges to stop using the term - link
    06/30/20 | @properties blog

  • A list of Diversity Resources by DMAR to showcase advocacy and links - link
    07/17/20 | Denver Metro Association of Realtors

  • National real estate data organization recommends switching the term - link
    07/20/20 | Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) blog

  • New York agencies pledge to have deep conversations or change the term - link
    08/05/20 | The New York Times

  • See the treatment of “primary” room on any Houston area website listing - link
    10/29/20 | Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) Website

  • Three-year investigation reveals widespread discrimination by Realtors - link
    11/17/19 | Newsday Special Report: Long Island Divided

  • New coverage of New York senatorial investigation to agent discrimination - link
    10/23/20 | The Notorious ROB

  • National Association of Realtors is not focused on the issue at this time - link
    06/25/20 | Realtor Magazine

  • Nationwide Realtor survey reveals some don’t see a need to change the term - link
    07/02/20 | Chicago Agent Magazine

  • A tenured Denver Realtor stole and destroyed Black Lives Matter yard signs - link
    08/20/20 | Westword

  • A Denver neighborhood named after a klan ally finally changed it’s name - link
    06/17/20 | Westword

  • Realtors made obtuse Fresh Prince parody in Denver’s most gentrified area - link
    07/23/19 | Westword