Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

Cotality [Sponsor]

Floor plans—from scan to listing-ready in MINUTES

AI is opening up new possibilities in real estate—and at Cotality, it’s built directly into everyday workflows to improve listing quality, strengthen marketing, and give agents more time back.

Cotality’s new CorePlans™ is a great example. It lets agents automatically generate detailed floor plans, room dimensions, and descriptions directly from their iPhone Pro. 

Leveraging LiDAR technology and Cotality’s proprietary CoreAI, agents can create ANSI-compliant floor plans in minutes—eliminating the traditional 24–48 hour processing turnaround— with 99.96% accuracy. Fully integrated into Matrix™, everything uploads with one tap, with room dimensions and descriptions automatically added to the listing.

According to a 2025 WAV Group study, 85% of buyers find floor plans extremely valuable. They are the new essential marketing standard that buyers expect. 

There’s a clear gap between what buyers want and what most listings deliver. CorePlans help close that gap. 

Available first to MLSs with the new Matrix Listing Manager, then rolling out to additional providers that meet requirements. Want to learn more? For more information, reach out to your Cotality rep to schedule a demo or visit cotality.com.

CMLS Brings It To The Table 

I’m looking forward to speaking at CMLS Brings It To The Table and joining industry leaders for an important conversation about how AI is showing up in real estate and why the decisions your organization makes now will define your competitive position. Join us and be part of the discussion.

Register here: https://councilofmls.org/brings-it-to-the-table-2026/

Your MLS just learned to talk

FBS Launches Flexmls MCP Server, Connecting MLS Organizations and Their Subscribers to Real Estate’s Most Trusted Data Through AI

“Interacting naturally with the full breadth of MLS data elevates both the level of insight and the confidence behind it. For subscribers, that shows up in better decisions, faster workflows, and more informed client conversations. For MLS organizations, it reinforces what they already are: the source of truth for the market.”

— Kim Prior, VP of Product, FBS

OK, so here’s what FBS actually built: a way for Flexmls subscribers to connect ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini directly to their MLS account using the Model Context Protocol (MCP). You ask a question in plain English, and the AI answers it using your MLS’s actual, complete, standardized listing database.

The nerdy detail that matters here is MCP. It’s an open standard that’s quickly becoming the way AI tools connect to outside data sources. FBS building on it (rather than rolling their own proprietary thing) is the right call. It means subscribers can move between AI platforms freely. Use Claude today, switch to Gemini tomorrow. The plumbing stays the same.

And this is where it gets interesting for the MLSs themselves. The Flexmls MCP Server works for agents pulling comps, sure, but the MLS can use it too. Market reports, local intelligence, all generated from their own data. That’s the MLS reinforcing its position as the authoritative source in its market. Which, honestly, is something a lot of MLSs need to be doing more of right now.

Each MLS controls activation. Authentication runs through existing Flexmls credentials. The data governance stays where it should: with the MLS. FBS clearly thought about the security question before anyone could ask it.

What I’m curious about is adoption. Sure it’s seems cool, but will MLS members even know what to ask? Is a chatbot the way forward? Plus there are real estate agents, and AI agents. How do we account for those use cases?

That being said, 330,000+ subscribers across North America now have a path to plug AI into their actual workflow. Real connection to real data, ready to go.

Can the MLS Keep Up with AI?

The Industry Relations Podcast is now available on your favorite podcast player!

Overview

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.

Key Takeaways

  • AI is accelerating faster than the industry can process. The timeline for disruption is shrinking dramatically compared to past technology shifts.
  • Every MLS function may be automatable. Compliance, customer service, and operational roles are increasingly viable for AI replacement.
  • Speed is now a strategic advantage. Current governance models and decision-making structures may be too slow for what’s coming.
  • Ownership, governance, and culture are the real strategic issues. These are the only planning conversations that matter right now.
  • Vendor dynamics may shift. AI lowers the barrier to building software, potentially reshaping the vendor landscape.
  • Entrepreneurial opportunity is expanding. While traditional job paths may shrink, AI creates massive opportunity for independent builders.
  • Data control debates continue. The tension between protection, access, and innovation remains unresolved.
  • The industry must become more nimble. Adaptability — not certainty — will determine who survives the next phase.

Connect with Rob and Greg

Rob’s Website 

Greg’s Website 

Watch us on YouTube

Our Sponsors:

Cotality 

Notorious VIP

The Giant Steps Job Board 

Production and Editing Services by Sunbound Studios

Real estate AI search, “actually useful”

I’m obsessed with Redfin’s AI search

“For all the questionable-at-best ways AI is being bolted onto things these days, AI search on a real estate website strikes me as actually useful. I realized that over my many years of searches — both when I was actively looking to buy a home and as a leisure activity — I’ve gotten really good at navigating the likes of Zillow and Redfin. This, I assure you, is a skill that comes with extremely limited benefits, and I probably could have spent that time doing something more useful, like reading a goddamn book, but here I am. With natural language search, you don’t need to spend hours tinkering with filters and keywords like I have; the AI just does all that administrative stuff for you.”

Interesting perspective on AI and Real Estate. Sadly, the article is being the Verge’s paywall.

See you on Tuesday!

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Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO, talks about Zillow ChatGPT integration

An Interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman About DevDay and the AI Buildout

“Well, with these apps in there, is there a sense on your side it’s like, just to go back to the, “We have all this usage, it’s going to be better if I can just use Zillow in the app”? This idea of going somewhere else and Zillow says, “Oh, I’d rather them be in our app, we spent so much time on it”, do you feel you have the power to dictate, “For the user, it’s a better experience and because the users are here, if you’re not there, someone else will be” — and you’re sort of able to, dictate sounds bad, but if it’s a better user experience, that’s better for everyone else?

SA: No. Here’s another place that I think my early career training was useful. There was a version of this we could have done where it was a better user experience, but terrible for the partners.

What would that look like?

SA: Well, I mean, on that Zillow example, what if you just said like, “Hey, ChatGPT, find me all of the houses that meet these things”, and we said we’re going to control the UI.

Oh, right. So there’s not even a presentation layer of the Zillow app, you’re just getting the results.

SA: Yeah, yeah. But I felt really strongly that when we do this, it’s something that the whole ecosystem benefits from, and specifically that new startups can rocket into existence because of it. So we did this in a way where you very much have the relationship with the other site. You’re calling them by name, we’re suggesting them by name, they’re taking over the UI, they’re linking their account. So I think there was something we could have done that was maybe slightly more user-friendly, but not good for the other companies, and I really didn’t want us to do that.”

I’m a big fan of Ben Thompson’s blog Stratechery. Anytime his posts or interviews cross paths with real estate tech I get a little tingly. The clip above is very revealing. It’s clear Sam thinks the better version of the Zillow integration is one where ChatGPT controls the UI and UX. But his experience tells him he needs partners to succeed. Which is pretty lucky for Zillow in more ways than one.

Another point I would make. One could argue that ChatGPT version of returning results via a Zillow app is better, for the industry long term, than the current method of search results showing up on Google’s platform natively.

You might need a subscription, but I highly recommend listening to the full interview or reading Ben’s latest update.

Rob Hahn on the Zillow / ChatGPT controversy

I was being bombarded with texts and emails about my recent post on the Zillow ChatGPT app and whether Zillow was thumbing its nose at IDX rules. I didn’t have time to sit down and write my thoughts about it. Lucky for all of us, The Notorious ROB did an excellent job of explaining why he thinks there’s nothing to see here. Zillow also issued a response.

I’m never shy about calling out Zillow or anyone else when I think they’ve crossed the line, but in this case I agree with Rob — launching an app inside ChatGPT doesn’t violate IDX rules.

But I will say, I’m 100% sure that with things moving so fast we will be faced with data issues that may not be so straightforward.

“Hey Lucy, sell this house”

Meet Lucy, an AI assistant that’s ‘all about empowering’ agents

“Rechat is a real estate marketing superapp that allows brokerages, teams and agents to select from an array of connected modular solutions for email, video marketing, digital display advertising and social media campaigns. It also provides CMA generation, websites, communication networks, CRM functionality and a smart transaction management center with digital signatures, intuitive form builders and business analytics.”

Remember the days when “there’s an app for that!” Now it seems all you need is a single Superapp! But seriously, the UI looks great. Broker only for now. Looking forward to see a fun demo.

Something tells me that this Lucy will be better at keeping up with her tasks than this Lucy!

“Speed her up!”

Styldod [Sponsor]

My thanks again to Styldod for sponsoring this month’s Vendor Alley.

Wanna go down an AI rabbit hole for a while? Check out REimagineHome. You simply upload an image of a room you want to redecorate or the exterior of a home you want to re-landscape, and REimagineHome will magically render different layouts and design options using their AI technology.

I uploaded a photo of a room at our studio, and it completely reimagined the space with a whole new vibe. It’s mind-blowing.

Styldod’s tech powers REimagineHome, and it’s easy to see how powerful it is. You can also imagine how this kind of technology could be used proactively to help with compliance issues before they happen.

Check out their AI Media Module for Listing Creation: Styldod

And once again, big thanks to Styldod for sponsoring this month’s Vendor Alley.

Sponsored By Cotality