Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

Everywhere

A message from Our Chairman and CEO

“Our collective vision is to become the best in the world at empowering real estate professionals with everything they need to realize their entrepreneurial potential. What makes this moment unique is not a transaction that combines two companies – it’s that the industry’s leading brands and professionals are coming together on a single, modern technology platform that will help real estate professionals save time, grow their business, and better serve their clients.”

It’s only January 9th and I’ve already gotten one of my predictions for 2026 wrong. Oh well. Gonna be fun to watch.

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.

ARMLS chooses CheckMate

VestaPlus™ Expands AI-Powered CheckMate™ Licensing Across the U.S.

“We are pleased to announce our collaboration with ARMLS and look forward to working together. Licensing CheckMate™ to both large and small MLS organizations validates our mission of providing scalable, forward-looking technology tailored to each organization’s needs,” said Annie Ives, CEO of VestaPlus™ “With AI built into our compliance tools, MLSs can manage data integrity more effectively and deliver lasting value to their members — whether they serve 42,000 members or just a few hundred.”

Big win for MLS led tech and for Annie and VestaPlus. Congrats!

Realtor.com goes Zen

Realtor.com® Acquires Zenlist

“We’re excited to join the team at Realtor.com® and view this acquisition as an incredible opportunity for our customers and team,” said Tom MacLeod, founder and CEO at Zenlist. “By tapping into Realtor.com®‘s trusted brand and scale, we’ll be able to enhance our platform, broaden our offerings, and continue delivering top-tier services and tools to even more industry partners and professionals.”

This makes a ton of sense, Realtor.com needs to move closer to the agent. It will be interesting to see if this helps Zenlist scale more quickly using Realtor.com’s “non-IDX” data.

What I also like about this deal is that Realtor.com gains a ton of young talent. Along with Zenlist CEO Tom MacLeod (who joined me as a guest on my Listing Bits podcast), there’s the super-smart Eileen Romito, VP of Sales and Operations, whom I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing and who has become a respected thought leader in the industry — and the stylish Andrea Bandio, Zenlist’s VP of Product and Design. I’ve highlighted Mr. Bandio before on this blog.

Congrats to Tom and the rest of the team!

Doorify invests in BPP

Doorify MLS Joins Broker Public Portal as Strategic Investor

“Our investment in Broker Public Portal is a clear signal of Doorify MLS’s commitment to technology sovereignty in real estate,” said Matt Fowler, CEO of Doorify MLS. “By taking ownership in this broker- and MLS-controlled platform, we’re ensuring our industry retains vital control over its technology infrastructure and data. Our core mission is to provide consumers with the most comprehensive MLS search experience, directly connecting them with the local experts – their agents and brokers. This investment fortifies a platform truly built by the industry, for the industry, fostering genuine engagement between consumers and real estate professionals.”

The tech that Dan and his team have put together in such a short amount of time is pretty amazing. And I was especially impressed by this statement from the release:

“With this addition, the strategic investors in the Broker Public Portal are comprised of 44 brokerages and 48 MLSs, serving 1,047,000 agents.”

There seems to be a lot of opportunity out there. The tough part is just fitting all the pieces together. Fortunately, Matt and his team have no shortage of ideas, and with his background at Solid Earth I’m confident they will be a perfect strategic partner.

Ocusell and Restb.ai partner to enhance FMLS listings

Ocusell Partners with Restb.ai to Enhance FMLS Listings with Built-In AI

“This partnership embeds Restb.ai’s advanced computer vision technology directly into Ocusell, giving agents and brokers powerful time-saving tools while maintaining the highest standards of accuracy and reliability,” said Hayden Rieveschl, CEO and Founder of Ocusell.”

This space is heating up.

Real Geeks and SkySlope announce integration

SkySlope and Real Geeks Partner to Deliver Seamless Workflows for Real Estate Agents

” SkySlope, a leader in real estate transaction management, has partnered with Real Geeks, a high-converting real estate CRM and marketing platform, to launch a powerful new integration that simplifies and unifies the agent experience—from first contact to final signature—without ever leaving the Real Geeks platform.”

I think it’s a good idea for any vendor trying to be a platform to let other applications work seamlessly with their tools. Lone Wolf does this well, as do others. I had a chance to chat with Chris Morgan, VP of Sales at Real Geeks about this integration.

“At the end of the day, agents didn’t get into this business to juggle platforms—they got in to help people navigate one of the most important decisions of their lives,” said Chris Morgan, VP of Sales at Real Geeks. “This integration with SkySlope is about honoring that by removing the noise. We’re not trying to be everything—we’re trying to be the right things, deeply connected, where and when agents need them. The real win here is simplicity. When tools talk to each other and workflows disappear into the background, agents can be more present, more responsive, and ultimately more successful. That’s the kind of progress we’re proud to be a part of.”

Love that quote, “We’re not trying to be everything—we’re trying to be the right things”.

FMLS chooses Lone Wolf in 5 year deal

Lone Wolf Technologies and FMLS forge strategic partnership to revolutionize transaction management for 60,000+ real estate professionals

“In a significant development for the real estate technology sector, Lone Wolf Technologies and First Multiple Listing Service (FMLS) have announced a groundbreaking five-year strategic partnership. This collaboration will bring Lone Wolf’s trusted TransactionDesk platform, including the industry-leading Authentisign eSignature solution, to FMLS’s more than 60,000 members. “

Absolutely huge deal for both parties. There’s been a bit of a logjam in deals like this in our space. I get to meet and work with a lot of great companies and talented people who love real estate technology and want to innovate.

I hope this is a sign that things are getting back to a place where we see more companies investing in the future so all this wonderful talent can be put to good use.

Inman acquires Blueprint

Very smart move. I had only attended Blueprint twice, but it was clear that there was a broader world of proptech that wasn’t being addressed by Inman or other real estate conferences and news sites. Blueprint covers a wide range of proptech companies, including innovations in how homes and buildings are constructed. It also attracted more of the venture/investor crowd, with a designated area where founders and entrepreneurs could pitch directly to potential investors.

When I attended the Blueprint conference last September, I ran into Emily Paquette, CEO of Inman, walking the trade show floor. She stopped, said hello, and we talked for a bit. At the time, I thought she was just scoping out the potential competition. In hindsight, with the residential side in such turmoil, it’s easy to see why Inman and their private equity partner, Beringer Capital, were ready to make expand their customer base and make an investment.

Arab MLS introduces Matrix MLS platform

Arab MLS and CoreLogic Collaborate to Revolutionize Real Estate in the Arab Region

“A comprehensive project was swiftly executed to extend the Matrix platform to support Arabic, ensuring the user experience meets the expectations of Arabic speakers for an intuitive, modern web application. This involved a complete redesign of the UX, including the layout of reports, displays, and screens. Arabic speakers expect navigation elements, icons, and various features to be oriented and function differently compared to English speakers. These capabilities were successfully introduced in July in the Egypt MLS, powered by Arab MLS and CoreLogic. Arab MLS plans to launch in the UAE before year end.”

I wonder if they added “Palace” as a new property type.

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