Intermountain MLS Welcomes Richard Gibbens as CEO
“Richard most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Bluegrass REALTORS®, where he led strategic modernization initiatives, strengthened broker collaboration, and advanced data and technology capabilities. Under his leadership, the organization sharpened its operational focus while building stronger alignment with brokerage partners.”
Congrats to IMLS and Richard!
The Industry Relations Podcast is now available on your favorite podcast player!
Rob and Greg discuss MLS autonomy and whether smaller organizations are truly positioned to handle independence from NAR. They examine legal exposure, slow consolidation, and the financial vulnerability of small MLSs. The conversation shifts to AI—highlighting Homes.com’s new voice search experience—and what rapid innovation means for brokers, MLSs, infrastructure, and data access moving forward.
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“For the first time on a major real estate portal, consumers can engage in natural, real-time, two-way conversations – by voice or text – to search, refine, and explore homes in an interactive experience that feels less like navigating a website and more like being guided by a deeply knowledgeable, trusted real estate advisor. Homes AI draws from Homes.com’s unmatched depth of property data, Matterport 3D digital twin technology, images, proprietary school data, neighborhood insights, and market intelligence to deliver bespoke guidance that empowers shoppers with the resources and confidence they need to find the perfect home.”
Growing up I remember watching Star Trek. I was always fascinated by the way Captain Kirk and others crew members of the starship Enterprise would talk so effortlessly to computers.
“Computer, activate shields!”
“Computer, make me a sandwich.”
Many AI tools I use have that capability now but I’m still a little too self conscious to use AI that way. I suspect that will change soon enough. When I read about Homes.com new AI search interface that had voice integration I had to try it out. I had previously been impressed by MetroList’s implementation of voice and seen stories about other real estate portals/apps.
After giving the homes.com permission for my location and use of my computer’s microphone I was up and running. A few things stood out. Number one is that it was so seamless. I didn’t have to click any buttons to start or end recording my voice commands. Number two was the quality of the AI voice, it sounded natural…human. Number three was the speed. There was almost no latency in giving my commands and the site responding.
But what really impressed me is the way it understood and could act on my questions/commands.
“Show me homes in the 92646 zip code”
“Can you sort the houses from highest to lowest price?”
“Can I see the one on ‘Vacation Lane’?”
“Can you make the photos bigger?”
“Can you show me the next photo?”
“Next. Next. Next.”
“Can you go back to the search results page?”
“Let me see the home on ‘Pollack Drive”
“How many days has this been on the market?”
All of these commands the site understood perfectly. Don’t believe me? Check out this video I recorded.
I’m sure all of this will be commonplace shortly. And I don’t think I even scratched the surface of what this feature of Homes.com can do.
Big kudos to the engineers and designers at Homes.com. Well done!
“I will be leaving one of the largest, most innovative and successful organizations in the best shape ever to move forward.”
When TK took over in 1993, MIAMI had 5,000 members and one office. Today it’s 60,000 members, the largest local Realtor association in the country, larger than 44 state associations, with nearly 300 international partnerships across 77 countries. She also steered the ship through 2008, COVID, and the NAR settlement — the hat trick of industry gut-checks.
33 years is a long time to do anything. To do it at that level, at that scale, is something else entirely.
My hat’s off to you, TK. Enjoy whatever you and John want to do, whenever you want to do it. You’ve earned it.
Most MLS, association execs back NAR’s strategy — with caveats
“A growing acceptance that the ‘all-in’ membership model is under threat.”
A new T3 Sixty survey offers a candid look at where MLS and association executives stand heading into 2026, and the results are interesting. On the surface, more than 8 in 10 organized real estate leaders say they’re aligned with NAR’s three-year strategic plan. But dig a little deeper and there’s a lot of nuance underneath that headline number.
The membership picture is stabilizing, sort of. While heading into 2025 over 70% of execs expected membership declines, only 25% actually saw them. Which is good news. About 35% saw membership tick up — the rest were flat. Those predictions had influenced budgeting so I’m glad that some of the gloom and doom around membership is thawing.
The bigger story for 2026 is what happens to membership models themselves. A full 70% of respondents think new membership structures are likely to emerge this year, with agents increasingly prioritizing MLS access while dropping secondary memberships. The “all-in” model that has defined organized real estate for decades is under real pressure.
On local autonomy, there’s broad support — 68% of all respondents favor more local policy discretion, and among MLS-only executives that jumps to 85%. That aligns pretty well with the sweeping MLS Handbook changes NAR pushed through late last year. But support for autonomy and comfort with autonomy are two different things. As NAR steps back from its traditional rulemaking role, local organizations are navigating uncertain legal territory without much of a safety net. One exec put it plainly: every policy is now under careful review “to ensure we aren’t the next target.”
The organizations that thrive will be the ones that treat this new autonomy as an opportunity rather than a burden.
Zillow Launches a Home Search Site for World of Warcraft
“Zillow exists at the center of how people think and talk about home, and gaming has become another powerful expression of that.”
File this under: #nowIveseeneverything
Looks like Zillow has partnered with Blizzard Entertainment to launch Zillow for Warcraft, a microsite where players can browse in-game homes from Azeroth as World of Warcraft finally introduces player housing after nearly two decades of fan demand. From Beverly W. Jackson, Zillow’s VP of Brand and Product Marketing.
The microsite features 3D Home tours and SkyTour-style visuals of curated player-built and Blizzard-designed homes — Stormwind townhouses, Horde bungalows, the whole fantasy real estate portfolio. No Zestimates, no transactions. Just vibes.
And I don’t think this is just for the virtual eXp crowd.
This is a brand play, not a product play, and it’s a smart one. The tie-in is part of Zillow’s new “Someday Starts Today” campaign that debuted during the Grammys earlier this month. But the real genius is the audience match: WoW players have been begging for housing since the mid-2000s (I can’t believe I just wrote that sentence.) Zillow showing up the moment that dream finally ships is the kind of cultural timing that earns attention you can’t buy with a media plan.
It’s also a reminder of something I keep reminding the industry: Zillow isn’t just a portal. It’s a consumer brand with cultural gravity — the kind that can partner with Blizzard and have it make sense. Love them or hate them, nobody else in real estate is playing this game.
Your move Homes.com.
For a few years Rob and I have had a simple logo for our podcast that I created with a felt letter board in my office.
That has served us well, but it was time to update.
We went through a ton of iterations, but finally chose an isometric design that looked modern (Futura) with a nod to the intersection of real estate (street signs) and technology. We kept it black and white, but might do some versions with a different color background.
Hope you like. Be on the lookout for new swag.
And be sure you check out the latest episode of Industry Relations on YouTube!
OneKey MLS Taps Broker Public Portal to Power Consumer Search
“This next phase of our strategy ensures that our consumer-facing experience not only reflects the integrity of MLS data, but also actively supports our participants by helping connect buyers directly with listing brokerages.”
Looks like OneKey listings will expand portal distribution to add Cribio, BPP’s national consumer search site, with opt-out preserved for brokers and sellers.
This is a significant win for BPP. OneKey is one of the largest MLSs in the country — tens of thousands of subscribers across New York City, Long Island, and the surrounding metro. Landing them as a partner is a credibility milestone.
The pitch is becoming a bit more straight forward in my eyes: accurate MLS data, fair display, direct consumer-to-listing-brokerage connections, no ad model. That last part matters. In a post-settlement world where broker value is under a microscope, an MLS choosing to power its consumer experience through a platform that attributes rather than monetizes the listing relationship is a deliberate strategic signal. Although some industry players have pushed back on the overall value proposition of sending on-line leads to listing agents.
But, worth watching whether this accelerates adoption among other major MLSs. OneKey signing on makes the next conversation a lot easier for Dan Troup and his team. Congrats!
The Industry Relations Podcast is now available on your favorite podcast player!
Rob and Greg recap MLS Reset, discussing key themes that emerged from the event — including the growing urgency around AI, governance challenges within MLS organizations, and whether the industry is structurally capable of adapting to rapid technological change. The conversation explores the implications of AI on MLS staffing, vendor relationships, compliance, data control, and long-term organizational viability. They also debate whether the traditional industry model — boards, committees, slow decision-making — can keep pace with the accelerating speed of AI innovation.
Connect with Rob and Greg
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