My thanks again to RentSpree for sponsoring this month’s Vendor Alley. I just grabbed this latest image from their Instagram feed. Super impressive. To learn more how RentSpree can fit in your business just ask Lauren! And congrats on the nine year anniversary!
Join Rob and I live this Friday- TOMORROW (3/7/25) just click on this link => Industry Relations LIVE
Hive MLS and SourceRE Announce Investment and Long-Term Partnership
“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.
Comparable Solutions
DataCore from RECore:
“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.
In this episode of Industry Relations, Rob and Greg dive into the controversy surrounding dual agency, private networks, and the MLS’s role in protecting small brokers. They break down the industry’s long-standing acceptance of brokerage-level dual agency while questioning why teams are getting a pass. Plus, they debate whether Compass’s push to double-end deals is just standard brokerage strategy—or an attempt to reshape the industry. If you want unfiltered takes on where real estate is headed, this episode is for you.
Key Takeaways
• Is Brokerage Dual Agency Bad? Rob argues that the industry has historically supported it—so why the sudden outrage?
• The Compass Controversy: Greg and Rob discuss whether Compass is playing the same game as everyone else or trying to blow up the MLS for its own benefit.
• The Team Dual Agency Dilemma: Should teams be held to a different standard? Rob questions why brokerages get a pass but teams don’t.
• MLS Protection for Small Brokers: Rob suggests the MLS has always been designed to protect smaller brokerages—should that continue?
• The Future of Private Listings: If brokers create exclusive networks, will they face lawsuits—or is that just scare tactics?
Watch Us on YouTube
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Production and Editing Services by Sunbound Studios
“This achievement underscores the growing recognition among MLSs that floor plans are essential to a better home search experience for consumers. By making floor plans easily accessible through their MLS, these 100 organizations are helping homebuyers make more informed decisions by providing a clearer picture of a property’s size, layout, and flow-critical details that photos alone often fail to convey.
Additionally, MLSs that join CubiCasa’s Partnership Program gain access to CubiCasa’s nationwide directory of real estate photographers who include floor plans as part of their shoots. This resource makes it easier than ever for agents to integrate floor plans into their listings, leveraging the growing trend of photographers offering floor plan creation services alongside traditional listing photography.”
If you are a Vendor Alley reader you know I’m a big supporter of floorpans being a mandatory requirement on the MLS. Great to see this progress happening.
From Inman News: REX loses appeal in long-running lawsuit against NAR, Zillow
“A three-judge panel on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled against REX Real Estate, affirming lower court rulings that threw out its antitrust claims against the National Association of Realtors and Zillow and denied the now-defunct real estate brokerage a new trial against Zillow.”
Even the DOJ couldn’t help…
“On Feb. 13, the Ninth Circuit held oral arguments in the case, with each side and the U.S. Department of Justice getting a chance to speak. Alice A. Wang, counsel to the assistant attorney general at the DOJ’’s Antitrust Division, asked that the case be sent back to the district court, arguing that “an optional rule could be mandatory in practice,” “the adoption of an optional rule can itself be concerted action,” and “an optional rule can serve as an invitation for others to join in a common plan.”
But the three-judge panel disagreed.”
I’ve never fully understood REX. Always seemed like they had ulterior motives. 🤷♂️
The housing theory of everything
“But whether this or another approach is the best solution is not the key question. What matters is that housing shortages may be thebiggest problem facing our era, and solving it needs to become everyone’s highest priority. And as important as it is, we should be wary of letting it become politically tribalised: the disastrous politicisation of Covid vaccines in the United States highlights the danger of that. Some kind of creative, below-the-radar solution that turns this zero-sum game into a positive-sum one is likely to have a better chance.”
Long read but really does a great job of highlighting just how important housing is to society. If you were able to attend MLS Reset you got to hear Prof. Bryan Caplan speak about similar themes and how increasing housing might just be a true panacea this country needs. Which he also wrote about in his book, Build, Baby, Build: The Science and Ethics of Housing Regulation.
My thanks to RentSpree for sponsoring this month’s Vendor Alley.
I’ve written about how the industry should broaden its focus beyond just home purchases. In this tough market, we need to consider all aspects of housing. With integrations across all the top MLS vendors and suppliers, Michael and his team have made it incredibly easy to get started.
Follow this link to check out their white paper, “The Untapped Money Potential of the Rental Market.”
Or better yet schedule a demo with Lauren Martin.
Thanks again to RentSpree for their support!
Keller Williams takes on major investment from CoreLogic owner
“The news, which is expected to reverberate across more than 1,000 offices across the world, was shared internally with Keller Williams’ approximately 200,000 agents and associates in a call Monday morning, a spokesman told Inman.
“This is an exciting milestone for all Keller Williams agents and franchisees,” Gary Keller said in a statement. “We’ve built an incredible foundation and as we focus on each agent’s personal development and their continual sales growth, we welcome the partnership and backing from the team at Stone Point Capital.”
Well, I never thought I had much in common with Gary Keller, but it appears we both sold our companies to Stone Point Capital. Stone Point Capital also owns Lone Wolf. However, the headline is a bit misleading, as Stone Point Capital jointly owns CoreLogic with another private equity firm, Insight Partners.
I’ve written before that much (if not all) of KW’s success stems from its culture. Maintaining or growing a company’s culture isn’t exactly a strong suit of private equity firms. Time will tell.
But KW had to do something. Companies like eXp, real, and Compass are public, giving them greater access to capital. KW was on a path to going public but missed that window, and its revolving door of leadership hasn’t helped. For KW, private equity was really the only solution to help it compete in today’s real estate market.
The consolidation continues.
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”
From the Inman article…
“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:
“Non-member access” (formerly MLS Choice) Dues: $249/yr
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.
Here’s a taste…
