This space seems to be heating up. I can think of 4 companies providing research and marketing data to MLS and brokers.
Check out 10K’s Press Release below (if you can call it that). I like these guy’s style: Congrats to 10K!
——————————– 10K Partners with GCAR
Minneapolis, MN (October 30, 2009). 10K Research and Marketing is pleased to announce a Market Reporting Partnership with the Greater Capital Association of REALTORS®, Inc. (GCAR). GCAR has elected to roll with our Monthly Indicators, Local Market Updates, Housing Supply Outlook, and Skinny Video, and this thrills us.
Said James Ader, Chief Executive Officer of GCAR, “GCAR decided to partner with 10K Research and Marketing because our Board of Directors feels the products they provide will further advance our membership as the primary source for real estate information in the Capital Region. We are confident the products will be accurate, timely and professional. GCAR is excited about this new member benefit.”
We’re excited that they’re excited. And we’re also, like, excited…and stuff. Sorry, we wanted to sound all press releasey, but Mr. Ader made most of our verbiage obsolete with his words. We hope you’re moved to check us out.
10K works with the likes of Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. (MRIS), the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR), and Metrolist, Inc. We serve the research and marketing needs of local associations, state associations, MLS systems and brokers. All real estate is local. Let’s explore your market together. 10K is a subsidiary of the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS®.
Suzanne Harris has joined LPS Real Estate Group. Suzanne was most recently the director of MLS Affairs at OnBoard, LLC. OnBoard closed it’s office in South Florida when it announced it had failed in its efforts in creating an IDX aggregation platform. Suzanne was the the director of Dominion Data Services (Dominion Enterprises is the parent company of eNeighborhoods). Suzanne was instrumental in launching the IDX resource center of eNeighborhoods where she managed a team to help launch the network of broker IDX sites for RE/MAX International. Suzanne also held a position in the marketing department of eNeighborhoods.
I had a chance to catch up with Jim Branscombe at CMLS in Lake Tahoe. Lately he had been a no show at most the industry events, it was good to see him back in the wild.
A lot of the spotlight centers about CARETS down south. But the Quattro iniative in Norcal really is a good thing for REALTORS and vendors alike.
Full Press Release below:
Bay Area Real Estate Information Services, Inc. Signs Contract Extension for the Rapattoni MLS
SIMI VALLEY, Calif., October 22, 2009 – Rapattoni Corporation (Rapattoni) announced today that the Bay Area Real Estate Information Services, Inc. (BAREIS MLS®), which services approximately 10,000 real estate professionals in northern California, signed a contract extension for the Rapattoni MLS software.
As part of the extension, BAREIS MLS® will be implementing the latest version of Rapattoni Secure Logon, featuring Adaptive Authentication. Adaptive Authentication eliminates the need for hardware tokens and utilizes risk analysis features to assist MLSs in preventing unauthorized access to their data. BAREIS MLS® adopted Rapattoni Secure Logon in 2006 and became one of the first MLSs to implement a secure solution for its members.
Jim Branscombe, president and CEO of BAREIS MLS®, said, “Rapattoni has been our technology partner for many years now, and we are very excited to implement Adaptive Authentication, which will enable our members to have security without a hardware token.” BAREIS MLS® currently provides MLS services in Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, and Sonoma counties, and it is a part of the Quattro initiative, a cooperative data access concept that provides direct open reciprocal access to nearly 60,000 agents in northern California.
“The Quattro concept secures open access to multiple MLS systems through Rapattoni’s Single Sign-On technology and continues to expand, both regionally and nationally,” said Branscombe. “MLS organizations recognize the need to provide their members expanded access to data while maintaining the expertise and governance of their locally owned MLS. Providing reciprocal access directly to other MLS systems through a single sign-on process magnifies the need for secure logon to protect the participating organizations’ data.”
Nick Rapattoni, president of Rapattoni, said, “We are honored that BAREIS MLS® extended its contract with us. The advanced security of Adaptive Authentication will be of great value to BAREIS MLS® and its members, and I know they will be even more excited about the features we will be implementing in the coming year.”
About Rapattoni MLS
Rapattoni MLS is setting the standard with advanced features such as integrated GIS parcel mapping, an integrated member management and billing system, the most advanced RETS data exchange system, integrated aerial photography, language translation, the Rapattoni Secure Logon system featuring Adaptive Authentication technology, and the ability to operate a convenient Single Sign-On (SSO) identity portal.
About Rapattoni
Rapattoni Corporation has been serving the real estate industry under the same name and management for nearly 40 years. The company provides an array of integrated products and services for real estate associations and MLS organizations, including an internet-based MLS, association management software, and key-less Rapattoni Secure Logon with SSO identity portals for online security and convenience. Rapattoni’s MLS products are serving approximately 300,000 users nationally and its association management customers represent more than 85% of the nation’s REALTORS®. Rapattoni’s headquarters are in Simi Valley, California.
For more information, contact Rapattoni’s Public Relations department at (800) 722-7338 or visit the Rapattoni website at http://www.rapattoni.com/.
I’m counting the days. 22 days, to be exact. 22 days until San Diego is engulfed with the Realtors and Vendors from all over the country. “Chart a winning course” is the theme for the 2009 REALTORS® Conference & Expo.
3 things I know:
A lot of deal making is going on…
A lot of typing is being done by developers…
And a whole lot of bullshit is being thrown around…
3 things I’m curious about:
How many people will show up?
Anyone got any money to spend?
How do they feel about the future?
What I also know is that 2, maybe 3 big announcements have a chance of being announced, one of them a game changer.
What should you be looking out for? Here’s a few clues….
The Amalgamator
The Swoop
and The Tumbler
But then again, every N.A.R annual convention is a snowflake, no one is like another. Then, just before you know it, it all it melts away….
In recent bids those two names seem to be trading slots as either the number one choice or number two choice for MLS systems that are currently out for bid.
Not Tempo, not Paragon, not Rapattoni.
flexmls
Matrix
Both companies could not be more different. One manages their own data/hosting center (FBS), one does not (Tarasoft), one offers end user support (FBS), one does not (Tarasoft). One is a Canadian company (Tarasoft), one is U.S. (FBS). One is a thin client (Tarasoft), one is browser based (FBS). Both are privately held, albeit FBS is an ESOP. Mike Wurzer has a pretty high profile in the MLS industry through his widely read FBS blog and speaking/moderating panels at industry conferences. Tarasoft’s leadership keeps a lower profile.
A recent controversial report put out by Goomzee lists FBS has have 42 113 MLS accounts, and Tarasoft has having 15. And a lot of Tarasoft’s accounts are big ones! But it does leave them vulnerable (losing just one of those will put a dent in revenue.)
FBS has been reinventing themselves as a state of the art MLS system led by MLS industry guru Mike Wurzer along with recently hired Dave Rifkin as VP of Sales. A lot of people were surprised when they signed ARMLS, but anyone who has been watching knows these guys have been marching towards larger MLS providers for some time now.
Seain Conover and Brian de Schepper at Tarasoft have taken their own road towards success. They have some of the largest MLS providers in the country, MRIS, RMLS, MRMLS, to name a few. They have also announced MLSListings and NWMLS. That’s a huge agent footprint!
Tarasoft
FBS
It will be interesting to see what’s next for these two unique companies as they trade the lead in each race. Plus, you gotta wonder how Marketlinx, LPS, and Rapattoni are going to respond. VROOOOOM Baby!!
Man this is a tough business! I mean what does someone have to do to get a little respect??
Case in point.
MRED,LLC
Bud Fogel and Brad Tertell have successfully merged MAP MLS and MLSNI respectively to the the 51,000 member MRED, LLC powerhouse. No small effort, especially if you know the history, but they got it done. So what next? A bonus? Maybe a raise? Nope their board, in all their wisdom, has decided to go forward with and executive search firm to search for a new CEO. Of course Bud and Brad are welcome to apply. Chicago politics? Money to burn? WTF??
RMLS
In the Northwest we have a different type of story. It was recently announced that Beth Murphy would be stepping down as CEO of RMLS and focusing on special projects. Kurt von Wasmuth and the RMLS staff have done a great job of keeping RMLS going, even hosting a Connection 2008 conference, while Beth has been on the mend. Now it looks like their board is also hiring an executive search firm to help fill the top spot. Why spend the money? Whatever happened to promoting from within? Don’t they remember what happened last time? WTF?
This is a bit of a surprise and I think really really smart. FrontDoor.com, for those of you who don’t know, is part of SCRIPPS NETWORKS, who owns cable networks HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network, and FINE LIVING among others. Kelly RoarkMany of you know Kelly Roark who took the gig at SCRIPPS early last year and moved from Cali to Manhattan. Looks like she’s been pretty busy since!
Ben PhillipsOpenHouse.com, created by Realogy, and recently fronted by another industry veteran Ben Phillips has been hard at work also. This is a great validation of their site and it’s nice to see Realogy back in the deal making mode.
It seems that for online real estate, television has been left out of the picture. Sure you see some ads, mostly from RE/MAX, but mostly nothing or worse yet it became a strategy. Television is here to stay and that’s why I think this is some MUST SEE TV for the industry.
Full Press Release Below:
HGTV’S REAL ESTATE WEBSITE FRONTDOOR.COM ADDS TO ITS SERVICE PORTFOLIO WITH OPENHOUSE.COM
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (October 15, 2009) – HGTV’s FrontDoor.com is expanding its breadth and depth of information and services through the addition of real estate open house listing website OpenHouse.com.OpenHouse.com will become a part of the HGTV suite of websites providing information covering the entire home ownership lifecycle – including the No. 1 website for home content, HGTV.com, real estate listing and information site FrontDoor.com and now OpenHouse.com.
OpenHouse.com opens up property listings’ open houses to a wide audience, putting consumers in the driver’s seat without having to get in their car. The easy-to-use site helps homebuyers find open house schedules and addresses and view home photos and details. Users can also view hundreds of thousands of virtual home tours, helping to target their search and create an open house visitation schedule in their area.
“In our aggressive growth in the real estate space, we want to be able to offer the best of all worlds,” said Vikki Neil, general manager of home brands for Scripps Networks Digital. “The open house and virtual tour information from OpenHouse.com, integrated with FrontDoor’s 4 million listings and the expert knowledge and content from HGTV will be a win for consumers and real estate professionals alike.”
Now FrontDoor.com’s users will have access to the thousands of national open house event listings available through OpenHouse.com; and OpenHouse.com users will have access the millions of property listings and real estate information on FrontDoor.com. This new functionality will also be highlighted on HGTV’s Open House Sunday block of programming which airs on the network from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET each Sunday.
Real estate franchisors, brokerages and other property listing aggregators who currently enjoy reaching the HGTV and FrontDoor audience through FrontDoor.com listings will now gain the same exposure in marketing their open house events and online home tours through the integration of these two websites.
Launched in late 2007 by Scripps Networks Digital, FrontDoor.com has rapidly risen to become a leader in real estate Web services thanks to the demonstrated leadership and expertise of HGTV – seen in more than 95 million U.S. households and the No. 1 media resource for home and garden content – combined with a rich, video- and image-centric experience offering the best and latest in listing and real estate related information.
Popular sites HGTV.com, DIYnetwork.com and FrontDoor.com have made Scripps Networks Digital a dominant player in the online home category, creating powerful communities and extensive expert content, cross-promotion and advertising opportunities.
About FrontDoor.com
FrontDoor.com (http://www.frontdoor.com) is an online real estate information service powered by HGTV, the No.1 source for home-related media content. The site currently offers more than 4 million listings of homes for sale. In addition to providing users with the latest real estate listings, FrontDoor.com houses expert HGTV advice and videos along with original Web series and a comprehensive library of features, tools, guides and information. Users can also interact with FrontDoor through Facebook and Twitter.
FrontDoor.com is run by Scripps Networks Digital, a diversified multi-platform programmer that delights millions daily with award-winning content in the home, food and living categories. Scripps Networks Digital’s Web sites — HGTV.com, FoodNetwork.com, DIYnetwork.com, FineLiving.com, GACTV.com, Recipezaar.com, HGTVPro.com, FrontDoor.com; and the newest Food2.com — are powered by engaging content, interactive tools and social spaces that take fans of Scripps Networks cable brands further into the story and offer online users information and inspiration to fuel their passions. SN Digital also distributes content to mobile and online partners, providing lifestyle solutions virtually anywhere, anytime.
This space seems to be heating up. I can think of 4 companies providing research and marketing data to MLS and brokers.
