Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

Greg Manship joins Clareity Security

Clareity Security Names Real Estate Veteran Greg Manship as Vice President of Operations

“Manship is a well-regarded professional that brings over 20 years of real estate industry management expertise to Clareity Security. He has been the CEO of Intermountain MLS since December, 2004. He has served as chair of the National MLS Users Group and as the Idaho State representative for the National Association of REALTORS® MLS Issues & Policies Committee. In addition, Manship was the 2012 President for the Council of Multiple Listing Services, an industry trade group serving the MLS organizations in North America. Manship has also served on several advisory groups including Black Knight (Paragon), Supra and Move.com.”

Congratulations to Clareity Security! Greg is a huge get and is going to be a great fit.

MetroList Services Inc. adds RatePlug

MetroList® Gives Agents Powerful New Mortgage Affordability Tool

“RatePlug brings mortgage transparency to the home buying process, helping buyers better understand affordability issues at the very beginning of the home searching process, and it helps consumers “buy local,” as local lender data is provided by mortgage providers. RatePlug has become the nation’s leading mortgage technology integrated into the MLS and is now available to more than 60 percent of all real estate agents and brokers in the U.S. — or nearly 750,000 REALTORS® nationwide.

“MetroList agents can now provide homebuyers a clear picture of what they really can afford upfront and as they are viewing a property,” said Dave Howe, Director of MLS Operations at MetroList. “Setting accurate consumer expectations will help buyers and real estate agents reduce the number of surprises that can come from purchasing a home.”

Nice get for RatePlug. One quibble, I wish RatePlug would offer this data as an API. I know a few vendors (including W+R) that would love add this type of data but need to have formatting control to match their apps.

Congrats to Brad and his team.

MLSListing implements first RESO Web API Certification in the U.S.

MLSListings Wins the Gold & Platinum, First RESO Web API Certification in the U.S.

“MLSListings, the premier multiple listing service for real estate professionals in Silicon Valley and the northern California region, is the first Multiple Listing Service in the nation to be RESO Web API Certified. Known for its forward-thinking approach to providing services to its more than 15,000 real estate professionals and their clients, MLSListings received its Certification from the Real Estate Industry Standards Organization, a nonprofit organization that creates data standards for the real estate industry.

“We are extremely proud of our RESO certifications. As we elevate data standardization, we also elevate the ability for brokers and agents to align with buyers and sellers. Data standardization is an important part of our platform to enable seamless real estate transactions, without technological or unnecessary business barriers,” said James Harrison, R.C.E. C.A.E., President and CEO of MLSListings Inc.”

This is cool. Any developers that want more information on the RESO Web API check out documentation here.

Looking for a new gig?

Senior Product Manager, CoreLogic

“The Senior Product Manager – Real Estate Solutions is responsible for defining and communicating the strategic path of both current and future CoreLogic products as well as being engaged in the day-to-day decisions regarding product development and product releases. This includes new product conception, definition, launch, and post-launch activities, including increasing the profitability of existing products. “

See this job and more at the Vendor Alley Job Board!

2017 CMLS Board of Directors Election – VOTE!

Electronic ballots went out yesterday. Keep in mind (because I always forget) that voting is for “Regular Members” (MLS) only, not “Business Partners” (which is a bummer). Voting is open from 8/17/16 8PM to 9/16/16 8AM.

Starting from the top you can see the high caliber list of candidates CMLS has this year.

The current Board of Directors also selects a new Business Partner to be part of the Board each year. I don’t know the entire list of nominees, but it seems like she would be a good choice. : )

I can say from experience that if you didn’t get nominated, or don’t get selected this time around, keep at it. If you want it, you’ll get there. Good luck to everyone.

Thanks Joel

Joel Burslem just jumped to the top of my list of favorite people in the world….

Ode to real estate vendors

“But I’ve also seen a lot of noble ventures. Ideas that have real merit that just need a little coaxing into flower. Some of the best have gone on to great acclaim. Others have earned their just reward.

I am inspired by these folks for a couple of reasons.

First, they actually made something. I know how profoundly difficult this can be. I’ve been there. Grinding and grinding for hours obsessing over pixels, debating features, fixing bugs, stressing about database loads, worrying about business models or where the next – or even the first – dollar will come from. The countless hours and toll that this sort of entrepreneurship takes. It’s not for everyone.

It’s this determination that I find energizing.”

Fittingly I read this in an airport, midway of a trip that has taken me on 6 airplanes in 4 days. #hustle

“I” is for Inclusion

I had the privilege of attending the Owner’s Retreat for Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate. It was held in Des Moines, Iowa at the headquarters for Meredith Corporation (the company that Realogy licenses the BH&G brand). It was great to see the test kitchens, studios and people behind creating the Better Homes & Gardens magazine.

sherry1Sherry Chris, as many of you know, is the CEO of BH&G Real Estate. I’ve followed BH&G pretty closely because they started that brand the same year that Dan and I started W+R Studios. In her opening remarks at the Owner’s Retreat Sherry talked about how crazy everyone thought it was to start a new real estate brand during those tumultuous times. It took a lot of guts to take that gig, but Sherry was thinking ahead, and she’s a fighter.

Another thing Sherry mentioned in her remarks, and the reason for this post, was that she was going to make a change to their “PAIGE” Core Values. The “I” in PAIGE previously stood for “Innovation”. Sherry announced that was going to change, going forward the “I” would stand for “Inclusion”. She wanted BH&G Real Estate to be the company of inclusion. She mentioned the LGBTQ community and the fact that a large part of the home buying market was hispanic. Inclusion was the future.

I thought about that. It was a small thing sure, but in these highly charged times I thought it also took a lot guts. I wanted to clap, but it didn’t seem appropriate at the time for a vendor in the back of the room to start a round of applause.

So I wanted to do that here.

Rumble Sherry, rumble.

Inman Connect wrap up

Sam DeBord had a great wrap-up of Inman Connect. Nice mention of W+R Studios and Cloud MLX.

Inman Connect speed wrap: Provoking, flipping and dropping bombs

This company is doing CMAs better than MLSs. It has better listing alerts. Now it has a superior user interface. What’s next?

Indeed.

Hunger makes the best sauce

GregDanAward
Dan and I want to send a big thank you to Brad and everyone else at Inman News for the unexpected honor of winning this year Most Innovative Technology Award for Cloud MLX. We also want to thank all of you who have supported us over the 25 years we’ve been in real estate technology. We are just getting started with Cloud MLX and can’t wait to show you more. Thanks!

P.S. Looks like Katie was pretty stoked too.

Zillow Group to Acquire Bridge Interactive Group

Zillow Group (ZG) to Acquire Bridge Interactive Group

“”Bridge Interactive has an outstanding team that has pioneered some of the industry’s most innovative solutions for helping MLSs and brokers manage their data,” said Errol Samuelson, Zillow® Group chief industry development officer. “Bridge Interactive’s offerings simplify a sometimes tedious process that many of our agent, broker and MLS partners face on a daily basis. We’re confident our partners will see tremendous value in Bridge Interactive’s offerings, and we’re excited to help Bridge Interactive expand their platform to drive further efficiencies for brokers and MLSs.”

Congrats to Pace and team!

Sponsored By Paragon Connect