Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

CMLS takes a stand on CCP

CMLS urges NAR to keep Clear Cooperation in new letter

“The debate over NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy is intense and complex,” CMLS CEO Denee Evans said in an open letter Friday afternoon. “Our position is measured and simple: CCP should remain in place. Modifications should preserve the spirit and effect of the policy. The CMLS Board of Directors has arrived at this conclusion after careful consideration of the objections to CCP.”

Bravo!

See you in Seattle at CMLS 2024!

Looking forward to seeing everyone next week. The rumors are true, I will NOT be doing the Industry Update this year (thought I would leave on top). However, I am the last presenter on Wednesday and will do my best to make it worth you staying till the end.

CMLS elects new board members

Chris Haran
Justin Haag

COUNCIL OF MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICES ELECTS NEW DIRECTORS FOR 2024

“The Council of Multiple Listing Services (CMLS), the professional trade organization serving the Multiple Listing Services industry and representing 231 member organizations with 1.8 million subscribers, has elected new directors for 2024. They will assume their roles on January 1, 2024.

Justin Haag, General Counsel and incoming President and CEO (Jan. 1, 2024) of Northwest MLS (Washington); and Chris Haran, Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer of MRED (Illinois), were elected to serve three-year terms on the CMLS Board of Directors. Matthew Consalvo, CEO of ARMLS (Arizona) was re-elected for a second three-year term.”

Megan Moore, CMLS

Congrats to Justin, Chris and Matt. They certainly have signed up for some interesting time in the MLS industry!

CMLS 2023 Industry Update – VIDEO

CMLS 2023 Industry Update with Greg Robertson and introduction (roast) by Andy Woolley

I know many of you have been asking for this. I’ve been looking for a good quality recording but hadn’t found one with both the introduction and my presentation. Enter, Mike Canova from GAMLS who shared this video with me at the recent RESO Conference. I took the video and edited it a bit by inserting the slides from both presentations. Still blown away how great Andy did on the introduction. Please share and enjoy!

Beignets, Gumbo, and Gratitude: CMLS 2023

It was great to be back in New Orleans last week. From what I heard this was the largest attended CMLS ever. With so much going on in the industry it made sense everyone wanted to be together. Plus it was the “10 year anniversary of the 10 days session”.

I hadn’t been to New Orleans since pre-pandemic. Not sure if it was just me but the streets seemed a little cleaner, and the beignets a little heavier.

News dropped of Redfin “leaving NAR” on Monday while I was traveling. GFK certainly knows how to work the press and the timing of the release was genius. I think towards the middle of the week the initial shock wore off and left most of whom I talked to with more of a shrug. Same thing with the news that Anywhere (and RE/MAX?) won’t require franchisees to join NAR. Since it’s not a mandate I don’t think anyone will care. But I do think the optics from outside the industry is the real story here. With NAR‘s recent bad press in the New York Times, inventory shortage, affordability, and high interests rates may lead some people to believe where there’s smoke there’s fire. Especially when you read the misleading headlines.

I didn’t get to attend many sessions. But heard a lot of good feedback on the “What If Mindset” presenter. I did give a talk at the CEO Forum held Tuesday afternoon and was surprised at the level of interaction I got from the group, which in my experience don’t easily share opinions in public. But this is the CMLS Conference after all. One thing I heard afterwards from some MLS execs was the concern that over the years CMLS has worked more closely with NAR and how that might “bite us in the butt” in light of all the shenanigans lately. But, who can tell?

The lobby bar chatter was filled with vendors telling lies to each other, talk of lawsuits, joint ventures, and changing business models and dinner plans.

I ate like a king, and broke my rule the first night. I did manage to get to bed early Wednesday night in preparation for my Industry Update session on Thursday. I spent all Thursday morning creating the slide deck and rehearsing in my hotel room. Which if anyone had a hidden camera would look like an insane person making funny faces and saying the same things over and over in to a mirror.

I was backstage with Sunny getting ready for my session. Andy Woolley was set to introduce me. I was told that Andy would go out first, then introduce me and I would come out second. I had no idea what actually was about to happen. They announced Andy and my handler told me to go on stage as well. Then Andy delivered a masterclass in roasting. He had the crowd howling and he’s expertly delivered well timed cuts and jabs, all at my expense. It was hilarious!! Bravo Andy!

With so much going on in the industry, my Industry Update session was one of the best yet. And the last slide got a standing ovation (or so I’m told, I left the stage pretty quickly). I hope to have that video of Andy and I posted soon. The feedback I received was so kind and I’m glad I could bring a bit of levity to everyone’s day.

I left the CMLS Conference feeling a bit tired (NOLA) and also energized. I’ll have a few announcements due to meetings I had at the event in the weeks to come.

My thanks to Denee and the entire CMLS staff for having me and once again putting on such a great event.

CMLS announces new board of directors

CMLS Announces New Directors for 2023

“The Council of Multiple Listing Services (CMLS), the professional trade organization that serves the Multiple Listing Services industry and represents 1.7 million subscribers, has elected new directors for 2023. They will assume their roles on January 1, 2023.

Brad Bjelke, CEO of UtahRealEstate.com (Utah); Jeff Bosch, CEO of IRES, LLC (Colorado); Shelley Specchio, CEO of MIBOR Broker Listing Cooperative (Indiana); Colette Stevenson, CEO of REsides, Inc. (South Carolina); and Rob Wagoner, Senior VP & MLS Director, Heartland Multiple Listing Service (Kansas and Missouri) were all elected to serve a three-year term on the CMLS Board of Directors.”

Great group of people! Well deserved. It’s going to be an interesting time in the MLS industry (what year isn’t it?) for these folks. Congrats everyone!

Looking for a new gig?

Program Coordinator – CMLS

“The person we select will have strong organizational and project management skills, have great attention to detail and experience within the MLS industry. We are seeking a Program Coordinator who is a self-starter, a team player and a collaborator who works with the Director of Programs, the CMLS team and our members to establish the best-in-class programs and resources the industry has to offer!”

The find out about this job or post a job, please visit the Vendor Alley Job Board.

Industry Update Video – CMLS 2022

Photo Credit: Sam Scott

Many thanks to John Warner for recording this video last week at the CMLS 2022 Conference. Enjoy!

See you next week in Orange County!

Right before I’m heading off to CMLS Drew Meyers and I will be co-hosting a soiree in Costa Mesa next Tuesday, the 27th. If you haven’t registered and want more information click here. The venue will be a garage/workspace where Dan and work sometimes and I keep my two classic VWs. So if you wanna check out my sweet 15 window ’59 Bus, have a few drinks, and hobnob with some of proptech’s finest join us!

And for those of you heading down from Los Angeles from the iOi Summit, I know a few have reached out about car-pooling or sharing an Uber. Hit me up if you need a ride and I’ll try and connect everyone. See you soon!

Bright MLS, CRMLS, and MRED Announce Virtual “Hackathon”

Bright MLS, CRMLS, and MRED Announce Virtual “Hackathon” To Test the Boundaries of Innovation and Offer Feedback on Showing Services API

“CRMLS, Bright MLS, and MRED announced in June that they were working together to ensure scheduling showings remains a seamless part of the user experience. Their mission is to create a solution that encourages innovation and allows both existing and new entrants to work on a universal set of standards in the showing services arena.

The project’s goal is to place the choice of which showing services to use in the hands of brokers. All participants in the hackathon will receive documentation of the Hub interfaces (APIs) and access to a working Hub in the cloud. This will allow participants to build new integrations with the Hub and showcase the platform’s ability to unite showing services. “

The potential to add a showing service component to any software solution is great. Will we see a day where every feature in an MLS system becomes a microservice?

Sponsored By MLS Reset