Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

ICE [Sponsor]

The ICE MLS Conference: what we heard, what we learned, and what’s next

On May 4-5, ICE brought the MLS community together in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. for two days of sessions, hands-on training and candid industry conversation.

Here’s what stood out.

Some assumptions got challenged

I presented a session called What If We’re Wrong? Five Assumptions that Could Break the MLS and it didn’t offer tidy answers. It offered better questions. 

I also moderated the Ask Me Anything session with ICE leadership. An open, off-the-cuff discussion where attendees could ask anything about product vision, upcoming enhancements and what’s next for the platform. 

Amy Gorce and Lucie Fortier kept that energy going during their fireside chat about the evolving role of the MLS, where data accessibility is headed and what organizations need to be thinking about right now. 

Paragon Connect: the real-world view

We spent a lot of time at the conference deep diving into Paragon Connect, specifically what it looks like to evaluate, transition, train and get your membership to use it.

Stacy Herbel, Briana Therrien and Shaina Kelly shared what a successful transition looks like from the inside, including back-end evaluation, change management, cross-MLS documentation and training rollout. Their message was simple: the MLSs that do the preparation work don’t regret it.

Sara Fogg, Brian Alford and Denise Ware took a more hands-on approach, detailing admin tips, field rules and custom reporting. The kind of session where notetaking was essential.

There was also a Train-the-Trainer track covering property search, the Collaboration Center, LIM and EasyCMA. Attendees who completed both sessions walked away with a Train-the-Trainer certificate.

ICE also shared what’s coming on their roadmap, plus a look at features from 2025 that a lot of users still haven’t discovered.

The energy in the room was hard to put into words, so we’ll let the video do the talking.

Watch the ICE MLS Customer Conference recap — you might spot yourself.

What the numbers say

The post-conference survey results saw 82% of respondents rating the conference “Extremely Satisfied” and 98% giving it a 4 or 5 out of 5. Every single respondent said they’re likely or very likely to attend next year. 

The survey comments said it best:

“This was the best conference I have attended in 15 years.”

“The quality of the content and agenda scheduling at the conference was excellent.”

“I have been excited to partner with ICE since the start, but this conference got us even more excited to see what the future holds.”

If Paragon Connect has been sitting on your to-do list, this conference was a good reminder that it’s worth moving up.

Learn more about Paragon Connect

Many thanks to ICE for sponsoring Vendor Alley this month.


ICE [Sponsor]

Doubletake: It’s time to take another look at Paragon Connect

If you haven’t taken a serious look at Paragon Connect lately, you’re making a decision based on outdated information. And in an industry where we love to complain about vendors not keeping up, we should probably hold ourselves to the same standard.

So let’s do a doubletake.

What’s actually changed?

Paragon Connect has become a full-featured, browser-based platform built for how agents actually work today — on any device, without the headaches of legacy desktop installs.

The transition is real — but worth it

Getting agents to update their habits is basically an Olympic sport. But the MLSs that have gone through it will tell you the same thing: the preparation matters more than the platform. Back-end system evaluation, solid documentation, cross-MLS help guides, accreditation-aligned training — do the work upfront and the landing is worth the effort.

The bottom line

Platforms matter. User experience matters. And sticking with “good enough” because the alternative feels risky is how you end up behind the curve.

Paragon Connect has put in the reps. It deserves a fresh set of eyes.

Go take another look. You might surprise yourself.

See you in Florida!

ICE [Sponsor]

The new MLS platform

If you haven’t heard, ICE continues to invest in modernizing the MLS experience, and the result is the Paragon Connect MLS platform. 

Paragon Connect is a new experience for Paragon users, a modern MLS platform that works the same on desktop and mobile, and users are impressed.

In the recent Paragon Connect CSAT survey, the numbers tell a compelling story.

44% of end users — nearly half of all respondents — rated their experience a 5, “Very Satisfied.” That’s nearly 45% of users who didn’t just tolerate the platform. They loved it.

When you look at the scores, the trend is clear. The largest group landed at the top of the scale, with scores of 3 and above, making up over 80% of responses. 

That’s a user base that is engaged, invested, and — most importantly — satisfied.

For MLS organizations still evaluating whether Paragon Connect is ready for their membership, this data is worth paying attention to. End user satisfaction is one of the hardest metrics to move in this industry. Scores like these reflect real investment in the platform and a genuine commitment to the user experience.

The agents have spoken. The data backs it up. If Paragon Connect has been on your radar, now might be the right time to take a closer look.

ICE [Sponsor]

The world envies our MLS system — Do we appreciate it enough?

Every portal, every AI tool, every slick PropTech platform? They all run on MLS data. Strip that away and you’ve got a very expensive app that shows nothing. The MLS is the quiet engine room of American real estate — and at a time when the industry is navigating more change than ever, that foundation matters more, not less.

Lucie Fortier makes that case better than most in her latest piece. Worth a read. 

ICE [Sponsor]

ICE Is Bringing Paragon MLSs Together This May — And You’re Invited

If your MLS runs on Paragon, clear your calendar for May 4–5.

ICE is hosting the ICE MLS Customer Conference at the Sawgrass Marriott in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL — an invite-only gathering built exclusively for Paragon MLS professionals. No fluff, no filler. Just two days of real conversations, hands-on training, and the kind of peer networking that actually moves the needle.

The speaker lineup alone is worth the trip:

  • James Dwiggins, CEO of NextHome, sits down with Lucie Fortier for a candid fireside chat
  • Greg Robertson What If We’re Wrong? Five Assumptions that Could Break the MLS
  • Amy Gorce of REDistribute breaks down the complexities of data licensing and distribution

Add in live product demos, evening social events at one of Florida’s most iconic resorts, and a room full of your MLS peers — and this one’s a no-brainer.

This event is exclusive to MLSs on the Paragon platform, so spots are limited to your community.

👉 Register here: https://mortgagetech.ice.com/event/ice-mls-customer-conference#overview

See you in Ponte Vedra Beach. 🌴

My thanks to ICE for sponsoring this month’s Vendor Alley

ICE [Sponsor]

The way agents work has changed.

They’re not sitting at a desk all day. They’re in the car, at a showing, walking a property, or juggling three conversations at once. The MLS has to keep up with that.

That’s where products like Paragon Connect come in.

ICE is leaning into a more flexible, mobile-first MLS experience, something that lets agents search, manage listings, and collaborate without being tied to one device. It’s built around the idea that work happens everywhere now, not just in the office.

You can check it out here.

My thanks to ICE for sponsoring Vendor Alley this month.

Bright MLS adds ICE’s Paragon Connect

Bright MLS to Integrate ICE’s Paragon Connect into Its Technology Ecosystem

“Our relationship with ICE allows us to expand access to the Bright experience beyond our traditional geographic borders in a way that respects how agents and brokers already work,” said Brian Donnellan, President and CEO of Bright MLS. “We’re committed to innovation that empowers agents, and this is one more way Bright is making the MLS more accessible and useful in a rapidly changing marketplace.”

My take is Bright is hedging. They’ve been building their own stack (Bright Solutions plus their research arm), but they’re not afraid to bolt on something that helps them scale faster or reach beyond current boundaries. Partnering with ICE gives them optionality without ripping out their existing systems.

For vendors, big MLS organizations are building hybrid ecosystems, some in-house, some licensed, and others launched as entirely new entities, all under pressure to modernize fast as rules, compensation structures, and user expectations change.

And yes, it also means ICE just landed one of the few whales left. Congrats to Lucie and her team at ICE.

ICE Paragon Connect [Sponsor]

Lucie Fortier just dropped a mic.

Her latest post is a must-read for anyone tracking where MLS data, AI, and real estate innovation collide. ICE isn’t just building tech, they’re building trust.

With a clear stance on data ownership, enterprise-grade security, and AI tools that actually help real estate pros (think: natural language search and chatbots that don’t suck), ICE is proving that working with MLSs can drive real transformation.

Lucie connects the dots between agent empowerment, consumer transparency, and platform consolidation, and ties it all back to ICE’s roadmap. The takeaway? When the market shifts, ICE leads with integrity, intelligence, and innovation.

My thanks again to ICE Paragon Connect for sponsoring this month’s Vendor Alley!

ICE Paragon Connect [Sponsor]

Let’s be honest, nobody gets fired up about compliance checklists or infrastructure diagrams. But if you’re building anything in PropTech and not thinking about security, you’re basically playing Jenga with live data.

Innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It happens when MLSs can experiment without worrying about bad actors. When AI tools don’t accidentally leak client info. When your systems are locked down tighter than a Supra box on a Friday night.

Security isn’t just another box to tick, it’s the launchpad. It’s what lets you scale, automate, and actually sleep at night.

Lucie Fortier and the team over at ICE Paragon Connect just dropped a new post on how security turns risk into resilience, and why it’s the quiet engine behind the tech breakthroughs everyone loves to hype.

👉 Check it out: From risk to resilience: How security fuels real estate technology breakthroughs

Sponsored By ICE