I love the vibe of this. Here’ a sneak peak of their new website.
“The name captures the spirit of what our event has always been:
– A celebration of our role in sustaining a healthy housing market.
– A place where the MLS community comes together to discuss the issues that matter most.
– A welcoming environment to meet peers, ask hard questions, and share bold ideas.”
See you there!
Denee Evans to Step Down After 10 Transformative Years Leading CMLS
“Leading CMLS has been the honor of a lifetime,” said Evans. “Together, we’ve built something lasting—an organization that supports, elevates, and connects the MLS community like never before. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished and confident in what comes next. While I’ve decided not to renew my contract at the end of the year, I remain fully committed to supporting a smooth transition and continuing our momentum through 2025.”
It’s amazing to look back over the past 10 years and see everything that’s happened in our industry. Denee certainly had her work cut out for her. I imagine this will be a well-deserved break for her and her family.
But as we all know, this is the “Hotel California”, so I’m sure we’ll see Denee again.
Thank you, Denee, for all you’ve done for the industry.
Council of Multiple Listing Services Announces Rene Galicia as Chief Operating Officer
“He brings extensive expertise in business operations, legal counsel, and strategic industry leadership from his previous role as Executive Vice President, Policy Counsel & Strategic Partnerships. With a proven track record in real estate and MLS, Rene has driven operational excellence and policy innovation across several high-impact roles. Most recently, he led customer engagement (support, training, compliance, and shareholder relations) and policy initiatives at Bright MLS, earning recognition as a HousingWire Vanguard and RISMedia Newsmaker for his transformative contributions to the industry.”
Rene is a great addition to the team! His wealth of legal and MLS experience will no doubt make an impact as CMLS moves into the future. Congratulations to Rene and the entire CMLS organization!
Word spread over the weekend, that we lost Peter Shuttleworth. Mike Wurzer, CEO of FBS, wrote a great post about Peter you can read here. Below is an excerpt:
“A lot of people throw the term partnership around easily but Peter was very intentional and selective when he used that term, which is one of the many reasons CMLS honored him by naming their annual MLS Executive of the Year Award after him (PDF). In creating the award, CMLS wrote: “Peter’s motto of, ‘You should always have a seat at the table to listen, participate and help shape ideas’ is an ideal that all MLS Executives should desire. When Peter retired he left a legacy of integrity, professionalism and resoluteness to serve as the standard for any MLS Executive to aspire to be.” Well said, CMLS!”
I like that word “resoluteness”. It means a strong determination to achieve or persevere something through challenges. With things being as they are now, I believe resoluteness is something we can all aspire to.
I have my own story about Peter and how he helped me. This was back in the days when CMLS was known as Northwest Council of MLS. “Northwest Council”, as we all called it, had two conferences a year. Perhaps it was because I would sit in on a lot of the meetings, or would love to discuss all things MLS in the lobby bars of these events, Peter once asked to speak with me. He told me there was an opening for a “business representative” on Northwest Council’s board and he thought I would be a great candidate.
I was accepted, and was the business representative for Northwest Council for about 10 years. It opened a whole new world for me.
Thank you Peter. Rest in peace.
I wanted to follow up on a previous post I wrote where I asked,
What would you say if someone asked, “What is an MLS?”
At that time I wrote:
“I’m struck by how difficult this question is to answer—even for myself, someone who writes a blog and co-produces a couple of podcasts in the industry. Part of the challenge, I think, stems from the recent settlement changes; we’re still working to define and understand the evolving role of the MLS.”
I received great feedback from the post, some of which I summarized in this Google Doc.
I then took those responses and fed them in to Chat GPT and asked for a two sentence response and a short paragraph. Here’s what it fed back:
“Two-Sentence Definition
An MLS (Multiple Listing Service) is a professional network where real estate agents and brokers share detailed property information to connect buyers and sellers. It ensures accurate, up-to-date listings and promotes fairness and efficiency in the home-buying process.
Short Paragraph Definition
A Multiple Listing Service, or MLS, is a trusted platform where real estate professionals collaborate to share accurate property details and market data. It acts as a centralized hub, allowing agents and brokers to connect buyers with homes and sellers with qualified buyers. By fostering transparency, fairness, and efficiency, the MLS streamlines the often complex process of buying and selling homes, making it easier for everyone involved.”
I then asked Chat GPT what it thought a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) not taking in to account the prompt I just fed it. Here’s what it said:
“A Multiple Listing Service, or MLS, is a trusted platform where real estate professionals collaborate to share accurate, up-to-date property listings. It connects buyers, sellers, and agents efficiently, ensuring transparency and fairness in the home-buying and selling process.”
I think the last one is my favorite of them all. What do you think?
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!
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.
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!
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!
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.
