“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.
“The new name, Cotality, reflects the company’s deep commitment to collaboration and connectivity, both internally and externally, while honoring its CoreLogic roots. It also signifies its approach of totality, delivering comprehensive data and insights across the entire property ecosystem and beyond. Tying it all together is the company’s spirit of vitality – placing the idea that helping people thrive is at the center of every insight and workflow.”
“Dionna Hall, CEO of BeachesMLS, stated: “At BeachesMLS, we are committed to providing our members with innovative solutions that enhance their business success. Partnering with PropStream allows us to offer a powerful lead generation tool that complements our existing resources, empowering agents to find more opportunities in today’s competitive market.”
Good to see Brian Tepfer continue to get traction with PropSteam. I think it’s a great way for MLS organizations to offer their members choice in generating more business. I got a demo from, Jessica Richardson, PropStream’s Head of Industry Relations, and was impressed with their platform.
“One of the ways I believe people express their appreciation for humanity is to make something wonderful and put it out there.”
Steve Jobs
Dear Vendor Alley readers,
Dan Woolley and I have partnered with Cole Boyer to launch a new app called Tuesday. We think we have created something wonderful and we can’t wait for you to see it.
Tuesday is an agent-only app that transforms MLS data into a social feed, similar to Instagram, Twitter (X), or Facebook. With Tuesday, agents can:
Follow cities and zip codes
Follow their office
Follow other agents
So instead of searching the MLS, you can now follow the MLS. You can think of Tuesday as if your MLS system and Instagram had a baby.
The inspiration for Tuesday comes from the Tuesday morning broker meetings where agents gather to learn about new listings, price drops, discuss the market, and connect with colleagues (and their competition). Our hope is that Tuesday will be the first app agents reach for in the morning.
Some of you have seen demos of Tuesday in its early stages or at MLS Reset. You also may remember that Tuesday won “Crowd Favorite” at the iOi Summit last year. Next week we are finally launching Tuesday.
Big shout and thanks to Tim Dain (the mad scientist himself) for his support and being Tuesday’s inaugural MLS customer. Cole will be doing an online presentation on Tuesday, March 25th at 9AM PT to launch Tuesday to Northstar MLS members.
Cole Boyer, Tuesday’s CEO, presenting at the MLS Reset conference
Here’s where you come in: While Tuesday will initially be available to Northstar MLS members only, we are eager to spread the word about our app throughout the industry. As a bootstrapped company, getting widespread exposure is challenging, and your influence would be invaluable. We would greatly appreciate if you could share this link so MLS executives, brokers, and agents can sign up and see Cole’s presentation about Tuesday on March 25th:
We believe that a strong MLS is vital to organized real estate. With compensation going away we need to focus on cooperation more than ever. We need better ways to engage brokers and agents to help foster that cooperation. We need a new way to MLS.
I’ll be writing a little more about its origin story, and thinking behind it. Until then, see you on Tuesday!
gr
P.S. If you are an MLS executive who would like a private demo, reach out.
“If we head toward a more fragmented model where brokerages run their own exclusive listings, data quality has to be priority number one. The current MLS system, for all its quirks, has driven huge advances in data sharing and usability. Ditching that without a solid replacement could spell chaos—and consumers, who’ve gotten used to reliable info, would be the first to lose it.
It all sounds great on paper: We’re a large brokerage, we have tons of listings, and people will come to us because of our inventory. But in 2025, there’s a basic expectation for client user experience that sets a very high bar, and frustrated clients are the last thing you want!”
Andrea Badino, VP of product and design at Zenlist, has some great points here. In a world where listings are everywhere but the MLS, what happens? With a decision on CCP looming it’s important to consider all the consequences.
“This initiative signals a broader industry shift toward MLSs taking proactive control of their data ecosystems. Rather than relying on a small group of third-party solutions and major public entities with competing interests, Hive MLS and SourceRE are working together to build an MLS Data Exchange without vendor-specific constraints, technical dependencies, or timeline limitations.”
I’ve struggled— and I think the industry has struggled— to find a good naming convention for the type of solution Hive MLS and SourceRE describe in this release. They call their solution a “data exchange.” I believe this solution falls into the same category as other offerings in the market.
“DataCore gives your organization complete control over its most valuable asset—your data. Easily manage, share, and protect information with a secure, flexible solution designed for the way MLSs and Associations operate. Keep your data flowing where it needs to go while ensuring it stays protected every step of the way.”
“At Amplify, we empower MLS organizations and national brokerage firms by placing them at the forefront of their ecosystem. Our pioneering real estate platform provides unparalleled control, flexibility, and adaptability, allowing MLSs to tailor their operations to meet specific needs.”
I believe all of these solutions can be traced back to AMP, which was RPR’s “Advanced Multi-List Platform.” AMP was shut down in early 2018, and at the time, it was described as:
“back-end multiple listing service database for small and medium-sized MLSs”
Carlos Grass, one of the co-founders of Amplify, later acquired AMP’s assets from RPR (which is wholly owned by the National Association of REALTORS®). I had the opportunity to interview Carlos and Paul Hethmon on my Listing Bits podcast, where we discussed Amplify, its solution, and the broader category. It’s a great overview of the space.
A Name for This Category?
I like to call these solutions “front-endless” MLS solutions—or perhaps “back-end database” MLS solutions would be just as fitting or maybe even “data exchange”. The goal here is for an MLS to say, “Here’s our data, come as you are.” Each company can then offer its own spin on the features and benefits of its solution.
I’m not sure how far off we are from a world where these solutions take off, but the fact that so many companies are bringing their own unique approach to this space tells me that something is brewing.
You may have recently read that the Phoenix Association of REALTORS (PAR) and the National Association of REALTORS recently came to a settlement regarding PAR controversial “MLS Choice” membership option. As part of the settlement PAR will change the offering’s name to “Non-member MLS access”
“The new “non-member MLS access” offering “will eliminate any further confusion,” according to the statement, and will not give users access to the “Realtor” title. However, the non-member option will still give non-Realtors access to the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS), as well as some products and services. Phoenix Realtors has had offerings giving non-Realtors ARMLS access since 1996, according to the statement.”
At our MLS Reset event Rob Hahn gave a presentation which he called “The Quiet Part Out Loud”. In it he posited that if the Phoenix Association or REALTORS (PAR) was successful that other local association would follow suit. I have to admit I really didn’t follow the presentation and it wasn’t until our latest podcast episode that I really understood the strategy behind PAR’s offering. I blame my lack of understanding to the naming convention PAR decided to use, “MLS Choice”. The new naming, “Non-member access” made it even worse. But I’ll come back to that.
Basically as I understand it, due to the the 3 way agreement if someone new joins PAR their membership dues would look like the following:
Phoenix Assn. of REALTORS Dues: $135/yr Arizona Assn. of REALTORS Dues: $175/yr National Assn. of REALTORS Dues: $156/yr
Which is a grand total of $466/yr
Membership to ARMLS would be $468 on top of those dues.
What PAR has done is created a new membership level (see below) that includes a different set of forms (but still passes all the legal smell tests) along with free continuing education classes, FastStats, Supra access and listing media services:
That’s $114 more than a regular PAR membership. Which translates to an 85% increase in revenue to PAR. But here’s the kicker, a current or new PAR member would save, $217/yr if they signed up/switched to the new plan. That’s real money.
Now I apologize to those of you who have read Rob’s posts and seen his presentation and already grokked this, but I was completely gobsmacked once I understood this fact. Here’s what I mean…
PAR is actually promoting not being a part of the Arizona Association of REALTORS and the National Association of REALTORS as a feature, not a bug! 🤯
Let’s assume about 95% of the 10,000 PAR members are on the legacy plan, paying $135/yr. Which is around $1.3M/ yr. If they get 50% to switch to “Non-member access” plan, then their annual revenue will jump to 1.8M/yr. An increase of $500K! That’s almost a 40% increase in revenue.🤯🤯
We’ve all been worried about how associations would survive without revenue from the MLS. And it turns out the answer is to offer a membership plan that doesn’t include State or National membership! 🤯🤯🤯
But here’s the problem. Nobody will understand this if you have names like “MLS Choice” or “Non-member access”. Yuck! 🤮 What do those names even mean?? You need better marketing if you are going to sell a plan like this. You need something sexy, and if you listen to the latest Industry Relations podcast you can hear Rob and I come up with the perfect name for this in real time.
“Lundy is proud to announce that five leading real estate organizations — FMLS, Realcomp Ltd. II, Bluegrass REALTORS®, HiveMLS, and MetroTex — have already partnered with Lundy to enhance their member and staff support. With many more MLSs and associations in the queue or actively onboarding, Navigator is quickly becoming the industry standard for AI-driven support. These organizations leverage Navigator to streamline operations, augment their support staff’s abilities, ensure policy consistency, and provide their members/subscribers faster, more accurate assistance.”
Unlike traditional knowledge bases, Navigator is an AI-powered solution designed to deliver direct answers—not just search results. It can complement your existing support team or, even better, provide members with direct access via text.
“Instant Answers via Text
Agents can now text or call Navigator at a dedicated support number to receive instant, organization-specific answers. By saving this number, they can reach out anytime, just like messaging knowledgeable support staff who can always assist. This ensures members and subscribers always have access to expert guidance.”
I’ve seen this in action, and it’s kind of amazing. Lundy’s work with voice search (have you checked out MetroList.com yet?) has given them a head start on some of this technology, which they’ve tailored specifically for real estate. You can tell this type of product is going to be a hit when people start finding new ways to use it.
“Richard Gibbens, Bluegrass REALTORS® CEO says, “The Lundy Navigator has revolutionized our operations by transforming our access to governing documents, rules and regulations, and board minutes. It’s made onboarding smoother, enhanced our access to institutional knowledge, and significantly boosted our efficiency.”
Now, I just hope no one digs through Vendor Alley to tally up how many predictions I’ve gotten wrong!
My thanks to REcore (pronounced R-E-core) for sponsoring this month of Vendor Alley. The needs of MLSs and AORs in a shifting real estate industry change faster than some technologies can keep pace with. Every MLS and Association deserves personalized technology, REcore mission is to deliver it.
They recently when through a rebranding initiative which I thought was nicely thought out and well done. You can read about it here. I have to admit a little bias here since I am also on the board of REcore.
Find out more and read my review of their dashboard solution here.
Rob and I will be live tomorrow (February 13th) at the 2025 Virtual MLS Summit. Join us for some fun! They have a great line up scheduled! The event is free, sign up here => Virtual MLS Summit
