“Excited about this one! The MLS innovation trend has been a popular topic for awhile now. Looking forward to interviewing Katie Smithson about REcore, a tech focused initiative from CRMLS. Join us for a lively and informative chat!”
Via PRESTA
Link to register: https://us06web.zoom.us/…/631…/WN_0fjU4EmFR8C6nfrv1swi3A
“The REcenterhub dashboard, developed internally by CRMLS, boasts new features to streamline productivity for real estate professionals. In addition to a completely new, modernized user interface, the dashboard offers customization options for both users and Associations, industry information such as market data trends and news articles, and enhanced interactivity for ease of use.”
I took a screenshot from a dev account (so it has limited product choices). My first impression is that I think they absolutely crushed it! I love the addition of market stats front and center, but it’s the easy access to critical tools/info that really nails it.
You can quickly add (and discover) products offered thru the MLS;
Quick access to the training calendar with one click registration!
I know I’ve been critical of MLS organizations building their own software but aside from a couple of minor things I would tweak, CRMLS has really done a great job.
I’ve written before about how SSO portals (dashboards), and training can have a huge effect on adoption and REcenterHUB is the closest I’ve seen to really hitting all the right marks. And to be fair I haven’t taken a serious look at any other competing SSO dashboard, but any vendor providing products through an MLS organization will love the improvements REcenterhub delivers.
California Regional Multiple Listing Service (CRMLS) Announces Agreement with Local Logic
“By working with Local Logic, CRMLS continues to expand our mission to provide as much property-centric data to our users by offering the most innovative data solutions,” said CRMLS CEO Art Carter. “Local Logic’s industry-leading data will provide our users with a competitive edge and empower them with incredibly comprehensive information that goes far beyond basics of a property.”
“CRMLS is known for its innovation and providing its users with industry-leading technology solutions to power their work,” said Vincent-Charles Hodder, CEO and co-founder of Local Logic. “We’re so excited to bring the power of our data insights to CRMLS users and clients.”
Local Logic has been on a roll lately. They seemingly have everything related to a property including demographics, location scores, neighborhood profiles, points of interest along with school and climate data. From the press release, this data will be available from CRMLS multiple MLS systems.
California Regional MLS (CRMLS) and NorthstarMLS Enter SSO Agreement
“This announcement marks the start of an evolution for NorthstarMLS with our mission of providing a collaborative marketplace of real estate data, tools, and services at the forefront,” said Tim Dain, NorthstarMLS CEO. “We believe that MLSs like NorthstarMLS and CRMLS have similarities that can and should benefit both MLSs and the customers we serve.”
CRMLS and NorthstarMLS have begun to work together to implement the necessary changes required to convert NorthstarMLS onto CRMLS SSO. The SSO integration is expected to launch later in 2023 within the new REcenterhub dashboard that CRMLS has designed and developed from the ground up.”
The trend continues as more MLS organizations are taking over their own tech stacks and in some cases like this one, successfully sell them to other MLS organizations who have the same/similar needs. MLSAligned so far is only interested in serving its owners, and other MLS-owned initiatives that are barely holdings on.
One thing is for certain, if MLS organizations are going to do this successfully they are going to need to invest in a good sales team.
Bright MLS, CRMLS, and BeachesMLS Enter National Data Share Agreement
“The data share is an important step forward in Bright MLS’ and CRMLS’ previously announced plan (February 2022) to collaborate on technology solutions for the MLS industry. The data share among Bright MLS, CRMLS and BeachesMLS is the latest in several innovative joint ventures that Bright and CRMLS are leading, including REdistribute, which provides brokers transparency on the distribution and consumption of their data while ensuring fair-market compensation for its usage, and Nestfully, a new leading consumer portal developed and run by the residential real estate industry, the source of principled and pristine data for home buyers and sellers across the country.”
Ooh la la
CRMLS Partners with Styldod for Advanced Image Analysis
“Styldod’s technology has proven to be amazing at sophisticated detection,” said Art Carter, CEO of CRMLS. “Styldod has served CRMLS extremely well as a staging product, so we’re confident that expanding our relationship to include business intelligence will be fruitful. We’re looking forward to how this new integration will empower agents and brokers with useful, harvested image data and help them avoid compliance issues.”
I’ve seen a demo directly from the Styldod team and this is some pretty cool tech. I’m looking forward to seeing how these photo recogintion software companies, including Restb.ai, go beyond the compliance use cases.
Thank you, next? In another sign that MLS organizations are starting to take control of their own destinies, Katie Smithson has left Zillow and taken a senior position at CRMLS.
CRMLS Appoints Katie Smithson as new Chief Revenue Officer
CHINO HILLS, Calif., November 7, 2022 — On November 15th, California Regional MLS (CRMLS) will welcome their latest executive appointment, Katie Smithson in the role of Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). Smithson is a long-time veteran in the real estate industry with a history of MLS relation management and product innovation. Smithson has been in the real estate industry for 14 years, most recently as Director of MLS Relations for Bridge Interactive with Zillow.
In her new role, Smithson will be directing revenue operations, ensuring proper communication and collaboration between all the revenue-generating departments at CRMLS. She will be charged with improving customer satisfaction, product strategy, and sales performance.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming Katie to the CRMLS Executive Team,” says CRMLS CEO Art Carter. “Her experience is invaluable, and I am confident that she will be a great addition to the company as the MLS industry evolves and CRMLS moves forward as a company. “
“I am excited to join the extremely talented team at CRMLS,” says Smithson. “I’ve worked with them for years and always admired the caliber of leadership, so when this opportunity came along, it only made sense to say yes. I am inspired by the vision CRMLS has and can’t wait to help shape the future of our industry.”
As a vendor in the MLS Industry Smithson has an extensive track record of success in building B2B relationships, increasing returns, and developing product offerings. She has also served as a NAR REACH mentor, a board member for the Council of MLS with a CMLX 1 certification, and RESO Board Secretary.
About California Regional Multiple Listing Service (CRMLS)
California Regional MLS is the nation’s largest and most recognized subscriber- based MLS, dedicated to servicing more than 110,000 real estate professionals from 41 Associations, Boards, and MLS organizations. CRMLS is the industry powerhouse and thrives on providing the most relevant products and services to its subscribers. For more information on CRMLS, visit www.crmls.org.
A few things to unpack on this announcement. Here’s a description of Venture MLS from its website…
“Venture MLS has launched a $10MM fund built to back seed and early-stage companies within the property technology space. Founded in 2021 by prominent veterans of organized real estate, Venture MLS seeks companies that can leverage the unmatched experience, expertise, and connections it holds in this well-defined, underserved industry.”
$10MM dollars isn’t chump change, but smaller in regard to many other funds. Not sure, for comparison, the size of NAR’s Second Century Ventures. But I have to say I love everything about the messaging. Again from their website.
“Venture MLS will invest in a portfolio of innovative property technology companies working to deliver high-quality software systems for real estate professionals. The majority of investments in this space so far have targeted vertical integration under a single brand, including brokerages, media advertising, and resellers. Venture MLS focuses instead on brand-agnostic products for all U.S. real estate professionals.”
The story to me here is that MLS organizations are basically saying, well we can’t stop companies from being acquired, so we might as well get paid. Pretty pragmatic, but there are some nuances.
I do think Sarah is a perfect choice to lead the Business Development role here.
She has been with CRMLS for over six years, beginning in the Training and Product Development Department, and soon becoming the Director of Education & Product Development. She has been in real estate since 2001.
I talked to Sarah and she told me that Venture MLS is part of an effort by CRMLS to get ahead of industry changes by investing in technology companies working on MLS-tech that aligns with CRMLS values.
So, instead of hoping that there’s never another merger, acquisition, or other disruptions that uproot the systems CRMLS and its 110K+ users rely on, the nation’s largest MLS is switching to a proactive strategy: invest in new tech now and protect itself against disadvantageous changes.
I asked her if CRMLS would have the ability to “kill” any deals that didn’t “align” with “CRMLS values”. She stated that CRMLS would make its best effort ahead of investing so it only works with companies that were on a path for IPOs and/or aligned with CRMLS values. I guess the devil will be in the details.
Huge congrats to Sarah on her new role. Can’t wait to see what the future holds for this new development.
California Regional MLS launches venture fund, invests in Perchwell
“We’ve been able to meet their expectations by working with technology providers in the same way other MLSs do. However, the massive investments in the real estate technology space over the past two years have meant that expectations are much higher from both our users and the consumers they work with. Not only has the quality of products increased, but outside interests – including competing ones – are gaining greater control over the technology our users engage with most.”
Super bold move by CRMLS and their board of directors. Perchwell is super interesting. Maybe they can succeed where others (🦒) have failed.
Venture Capital is a numbers game, you have to spread a lot of money over several companies and hope one of them (at least) makes it big. You can’t put all your eggs in one basket. So I’m really curious about the other companies CRMLS is looking at currently into. I might even have a few recommendations.
Selling office compensation amounts may appear on all agent and broker websites
“As of Mon, Feb 15th, in compliance with the upcoming NAR-DOJ agreement, CRMLS will give users the option to display selling office compensation amounts on all agent and broker websites. CRMLS plans to comply with all terms, once finalized.”
Looks like it’s a trend! Great leadership from CRMLS!
