After being notified of new matches, agents can approve or decline listings that meet each client s unique search criteria.

Transcription

1 Real Estate Executive Newsletter The Professional Resource for Northern California Agents and Brokers Matrix Enhancements Coming June 8: Concierge Mode, Hit Counters On Monday, June 6, we will be conducting an enhancement release in the Matrix application to introduce two important new features that will further help agents customize their service to clients, and increase efficiency. These will be ready for general availability on Wednesday, June 8 following final live testing. Concierge Mode: Further Customizing the Auto- Feature Matrix offers agents a variety of ways to distribute listings to their clients, such as Auto . However, a one-size-fits-all approach rarely applies, even with the specifications that Auto offers. The Concierge feature goes one step further - - allowing agents to view and approve listings prior to s being sent. Concierge mode is enabled during the creation of an auto , as indicated above. It can also be accessed via My Matrix/ Auto / Settings. June 3, 2011 In This Issue TOP STORIES Matrix Update 6/8 Adds Concierge, Hit Counters Pro 3.25 Release 6/13: New Photo Upload Tool, Other Enhancements Broker Forum Draws Industry Leaders Together For Timely Updates June 15 Market Square Webinar Features Listingbook MLSLISTINGS NEWS Implementing NAR s New Opt-In Franchisor Display of IDX Listings May Market Update from Housing Trends e- Newsletter IN EVERY ISSUE Key Dates Compliance Report Customer Service Training Update Market Data March 8, Oakmead Parkway, 2 nd Floor Sunnyvale, CA (408)

2 After being notified of new matches, agents can approve or decline listings that meet each client s unique search criteria. The concierge style of is a proven tool in offering agents greater control over distribution of listing data, ultimately producing results with a greater degree of client interest. Hit Counters: Tracking Exposure to Your Listing in Matrix The Matrix Client Portal is one of its key value differentiators: agents can provide their clients with a customized environment in which to save searches, view listings and communicate directly with their agent, while simultaneously providing agents a way to track a client s activity in the system, and further customize their service to that clients most recent preferences and interests. Matrix s Hit Counters functionality allows listing agents to track the activity their listings receive through any Matrix portal used in the system not just the data from their own clients portals, but how many times any client or any agent has viewed a particular listing inside his or her own portal. Every click or visit in a client portal is a data point available to the listing agent. Statistics such as the number of times the agent s listing has been included in an auto to any client, or added to Favorites, Possibilities and Discarded, are all made available. These statistics track client activity in Matrix -- the number of times that registered clients have seen this listing inside their customized client portal. It also tracks additional information, such as how many clients clicked for more detail on a particular listing, marked it as a favorite or as a possibility. Matrix counts a hit based on multiple activities: This data is pulled from agents who have enabled concierge mode to preview their client s auto s before sending. These figures tell a listing agent how many times other agents have chosen to include (publish) or remove (reject) a listing bound for a client s auto . In concierge mode, when the listing is approved by an agent and sent to a client portal In auto mode, when the listing is included in search results sent to a client Real Estate Executive Newsletter Page 2 of 16 June 3, 2011

3 When the listing is actually viewed in the portal by a client Whenever a client takes an action on the listing (such as marking it as a favorite, or a discard) While many syndication systems offer statistics on listing exposure, the power of Hit Counters is that it provides feedback on activity throughout the entire Matrix auto- and client portal system feedback that can be invaluable, whether positive or negative. For example, listing agents who experience a high rate of discard might use that feedback to experiment with different marketing language, or additional photos, to increase interest. While the Hit Counters feature does not provide contact details for agents or clients who have saved or rejected a given listing, it can provide a sense of how active home seekers are receiving the listing. Note: Hit Counters reflects activity within MLSListings Matrix application only, not visibility that may be captured by other syndication sites. All hit counters will start at zero views on the launch date. Additionally, it should not be expected that initial data reflects activity among all 18,000 subscribers. As adoption of Matrix in general, and in particular auto and concierge mode, increases over the next several months, users can expect that Hit Counter data will increase as well, over time. Weekly Sales and Listing Statistics For the week beginning May 27, 608 new Class 1 listings and 166 new Class 2 listings were posted in the five counties represented by MLSListings, Inc. In addition, 488 Class 1 properties were sold and 144 Class 2 properties were sold. Total weekly sales volume for classes 1 and 2 for all Home Counties was $395,077,915 and the average sales price was $625,123 for classes 1 and 2 combined. *as of 6/3/2011, 2:30pm Real Estate Executive Newsletter Page 3 of 16 June 3, 2011

4 Broker Forum Event Draws Local Real Estate Leaders Together for Timely Industry Updates More than 70 local brokers gathered on May 26 th for MLSListings Broker Forum event in Foster City, CA to discuss the state of northern California real estate; emerging trends and technologies; and regional and national initiatives. Presentations included an overview of the new Realtors Property Resource (RPR) professional tool from the National Association of REALTORS ; an overview of the California Association of REALTORS (C.A.R.) and MLSListings new pilot program for REALTOR Ratings; and a keynote address from the WAV Group, an independent real estate consulting firm, presenting results from three national studies on broker perspectives. MLSListings 2011 Board of Directors Chairman, Robert Bailey, moderated all of these presentations. During his introductory remarks, he addressed two important industry issues affecting brokers. They include the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) new policy decision requiring Participants to authorize distribution of IDX information to their real estate franchise organizations ( franchisors ) to be indexed for display on franchisors websites, effective June 13, 2011; and a patent infringement lawsuit brought by CIVIX on four patents involving location-based search services used by the real estate industry. MLSListings President and CEO, Jim Harrison, provided an overview of MLSListings implementation plan to meet NAR s new, mandatory IDX authorization requirement, and Bailey gave a detailed overview of the impact of CIVIX s claims, which are not limited solely to the real estate industry, and include industry giants Microsoft, Expedia, MOVE and other major companies. Bailey also announced that NAR had negotiated a settlement with CIVIX to give blanket protection for MLSs and the industry as a whole from patent infringement claims. Under the settlement terms, if an MLS signs the agreement and pays their assessment, that MLS, its shareholder Associations, brokers and agents are protected. MLSListings Board of Directors voted unanimously to participate in the settlement to protect our brokers and agents as well as our vendor Tarasoft meaning full protection for MLSListings customers. Following the introductory remarks by Robert Bailey, Dale Ross, Chief Executive Officer and Jeff Young, Senior Vice President of Operations from RPR previewed some of the new broker tool kit resources planned for release later this summer by RPR. Four separate tools will be made available to brokers: Real Estate Executive Newsletter Page 4 of 16 June 3, 2011

5 broker branding elements on RPR display and reports; affiliated service support will allow a brokerage to promote its affiliated companies, such as mortgage, title, home warranty, insurance or concierge to its agents and consumers; a chart service; a management access only data tool for use in creating company-wide trend and forecasting reports for use with marketing strategies, business management and company sales analysis. Beyond introducing these new tool sets, Dale Ross did an excellent job addressing NAR s dues increase by explaining the need for the REALTOR political survival initiative: namely, the critical importance of its defense of the real estate industry and the potential overall economic impact of federal legislation proposed and not yet proposed affecting current and future homeowners and the overall stability of the housing market. During the keynote luncheon address, Marilyn Wilson and Victor Lund, Founding Partners from the WAV Group presented industry findings from multiple surveys they gathered nationwide and locally regarding broker issues with MLSs. They shared broker sentiment and concerns from the Bay Area involving what appears to be dysfunction because of too many MLSs in the Bay Area. Their research findings based on 60 telephone-based interviews with top brokers in the greater Bay Area expressed the brokers continued frustration with too many MLSs; too many conflicting MLS rules; and no standardization of the user interface or the data models from which brokers must acquire data for their websites. They also had significant concerns with the use of multiple lockbox systems in the region. On a positive note, the bulk of the survey respondents commended MLSListings and SFAR for providing the best service among the six Bay Area MLSs through a number of specific comments covered in the presentations made by the WAV Group. The Broker Forum event concluded with a presentation made by Sara Sutachan, Senior Research Associate from C.A.R. and Larry Romito, CEO of Quality Service Certification, Inc. (QSC) about REALTOR Ratings. MLSListings is in a pilot with C.A.R. and QSC to offer a free ratings service, underwritten by C.A.R., to measure a REALTOR S performance based on real reviews of homebuyer and seller clients. Sara gave a preliminary report on the program s progress since launching it earlier this year with nine brokers, and Larry followed up with a demonstration on how the QSC system works and how it integrates fully with the MLSListings system. MLSListings was pleased to offer this content-rich program, designed specifically for brokers. We look forward to hosting more of these events in the months ahead and into Real Estate Executive Newsletter Page 5 of 16 June 3, 2011

6 Pro 3.25 Release Slated for Monday, June 13 Features New Photo Upload Tool, Enhanced Online Self-Help, Other Updates Our next major enhancement release for pro.mlslistings.com is slated to take place on Monday evening, June 13, adding some long-requested improvements as well as retiring a few outdated functions. User-facing Listing Management changes include a new photo upload tool, as well as compliance-related changes. The release also includes updates for the Realtor Ratings pilot program participants as we further tailor the program based on subscriber workflows and feedback, and impacts to Teams impersonation process. Additional details will be provided to the respective subscriber subsets, and in Release Notes on the day of the enhancement. New Photo Upload Tool: Similar process, better quality, higher resolution We are replacing our existing photo management tool with a new application that provides significant enhancements, including: expanding the maximum number of photos per listing from 9 to as many as 25 reports and displays now include all photos, up to 25 enhancing photo quality by increasing resolution of photos to 640x480 The new tool is integrated with our RETS database for distribution to all IDX feed vendors and clients with no changes. All existing photos in listing management will be seamlessly migrated to the new application. Migrated photos for listings including Actives, Pendings, Status 2-4, Expireds within 10 days, Withdrawns within 30 days, and all Drafts. The new photo upload tool requires Flash 10.2 or higher, in parity with the previous tool. Step by step instructions for using the new photo upload tool are being developed and will be available on the day of the release, June 13. Click on Add Photos to reveal the browser upload window below. To remove/discard photos from a listing, simply drag them to the Recycle Bin. Real Estate Executive Newsletter Page 6 of 16 June 3, 2011

7 Note: Migrated images cannot be edited within the new tool; users wishing to edit such photos must make changes separately, and re-upload the new version. New images should be in final form prior to uploading; however users can crop and rotate images in the new tool during the upload process. Users can manage changes to photos by discarding an existing image to the Recycle Bin and uploading a new version. Broker Center: Opt-In Franchisor Display of IDX Listings The June 13 release also enables an important option in the Broker Center, through which brokers must opt in to permit IDX display of their listings on franchisor websites. This functionality was added in accordance with NAR s recent decision on franchisor IDX permissions, detailed in the article on page 10 of this issue. Action item: To continue providing their listings to franchisors via IDX datafeeds, brokers must select this choice inside the Broker Center, once it becomes available after the June 13 release. See the screenshot below. Brokers must only take an action if they want their listings to be indexed by Franchisors; otherwise the default selection is set to no, opt out. Note: This does not affect standard IDX displays of data by franchise offices, only display of data by franchisor company websites. Brokers must change this setting after June 13 if they wish to allow their listings to be indexed by Franchisors. MyNewPro expands to include customer support, compliance, other key resources and information, accessible 24/7 The June 13 release also marks the launch of an enhanced, searchable online resource center. What users know today as MyNewPro is expanding to Real Estate Executive Newsletter Page 7 of 16 June 3, 2011

8 accommodate a wealth of new information for subscribers, available when and where an agent needs them. The existing MyNewPro site will remain a one-stop shop for all news and resources relating exclusively to the Progression to Matrix, and we are adding several new sections as part of the expansion. All content formerly in the Resources section of pro.mlslistings.com such as subscriber forms, MLS Rules, VOW information, forms and more has been updated to a better-organized and searchable home. Our training offerings, including new courses, updated how to s, learning options and library of materials covering topics from listing management to Matrix to RPR have been collected and catalogued in a dedicated, searchable site. Our customer support department has created a host of content under Support, including step by step guides designed around the most common user questions and requests from the most basic browser questions to managing lockboxes to links to Association Tour information and more. The Support and Training sections are further linked to better cross-reference information in these tabs. New tabs better organize existing content from Resources What s New offers a snapshot across each of the tabs Each tab has a sub-navigation menu specific to its unique content Real Estate Executive Newsletter Page 8 of 16 June 3, 2011

9 The new Rules and Forms section offers direct access to the latest forms, as well as our official Rules as well as tips on the most common violations and how to avoid them. Our What s New section will offer a snapshot of the latest updates in the new resource with features from each department, as well as the latest R.E. Newsletter and other key MLS news and information. As a key communications conduit with subscribers and a valuable forum for customer feedback, MyNewPro received strong interaction and significant user activity in the past year. We are pleased to be increasing its offerings and value as a subscriber tool. After the June 13 release, the new resource will be available via links in the gray navigation bar at the top of the page at pro.mlslistings.com, and individual sections will be directly accessible via dedicated URLs to be released shortly. Stay tuned we look forward to your feedback! Listing Management Changes: Disable Auto-Close; other minor updates The listing management changes and compliance-related updates in the Pro 3.25 release impact a fairly small subset of users. The most visible of these, impacting less than four percent of total listings, is the disabling of the legacy Auto Close feature, which previously enabled an agent to guess on an estimated Close of Escrow (COE) date once a listing is moved into Pending status. In the current real estate climate, the ability to accurately predict or estimate a close date is becoming more and more difficult, and this feature is no longer efficient; in most recent cases, it resulted in an auto-close of a still-pending listing, requiring customer support fixes and, in some cases, agent fines. After the June 13 release, any new or edited listings will not have access to the Auto Close feature; existing listings with Auto Close will be phased out as the COE dates pass. Other minor updates relating to Listing Management include the deletion of the Other Keysafe-Call checkbox as a showing instruction option; renaming Keysafe to Lockbox where applicable to remove outdated terminology, updating warning text for consistency and better visibility in some sections, and other minor updates. A full list will be available in the Release Notes on the day of the release. Real Estate Executive Newsletter Page 9 of 16 June 3, 2011

10 Register Today for our Next Market Square Wednesday Webinar June 15: Listingbook Market Square is a new informational tool provided by MLSListings, Inc. to help our subscribers make informed choices about the best-in-class third-party products and services they purchase to enhance their business. Offered every other Wednesday, the free webinar series provides an in-depth review of the featured product, including its key benefits, and an overview of how users can get started and apply it in their daily business. Our next Market Square Wednesday Webinar will feature Listingbook, a powerful customer relationship management tool and our most popular product to date, according to both agent use as well as client adoption. The webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, June 15 at 11:30am. Register now to reserve your space! May Market Updates from Housing Trends enewsletter The Housing Trends enewsletter (HTEN) is a free monthly real estate market update that can be shared with clients and prospects via , Web sites, Twitter, Facebook through any online means to solidify the agent s role as the consumers' real estate expert. Click here to view the May issue of Housing Trends enewsletter, and regional data for California submarkets. The link is also available on our consumer resources page at The e-newsletter is filled with local and national real estate sales and price activity provided by MLSs and the National Association of Realtors, U.S. Census Bureau key market indicators, housing market video reports, blogs, real estate glossary, maps, mortgage rates and calculators, consumer articles, and information on 50,000 neighborhoods. A proven lead generator and client retention tool, the Housing Trends enewsletter is one of several no-cost benefits available to subscribers of MLSListings, Inc. For more information and to sign up, click here. Implementing NAR s New Opt-In Franchisor Display of IDX Listings At the 2010 Annual Convention last November, the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) Board of Directors approved an amendment to the Internet Data Exchange ( IDX ) policy authorizing Participants to provide IDX information Real Estate Executive Newsletter Page 10 of 16 June 3, 2011

11 to their real estate franchise organizations ( franchisors ) to be indexed for display on franchisors websites. During follow-up debates on this same topic at the May 2011 meetings, the Board of Directors voted to keep the current IDX policy in effect until the Multiple Listing Issues and Policies Committee reconvenes with the Board at the 2011 Annual Convention in November with their full report and recommendations. In conjunction with these activities, the Board amended the existing IDX policy to permit display of IDX listings on franchisors websites only if a listing broker affirmatively consents ( opts in ) to franchisor indexing and display, effective Monday, June 13, Impact Franchisors have until Monday, June 13, to discontinue the display of IDX listings from MLS Participants who have not affirmatively consented to displaying their listings on franchisor websites. MLSs must permit Participants to affirmatively consent the display of their listings on franchisor websites. At MLSListings, Participants can grant consent to a franchisor display through a blanket Opt-In process available in the Broker Center after June 13. This decision mirrors similar guidance published by NAR in a recent article dated May 18, 2011, as follows: To facilitate implementation of this discretionary opt-in, MLSs can presume that any Participant affirmatively consenting to display of their listings gives that consent on a blanket basis unless the Participant expressly directs otherwise. If an MLS provides a direct data feed to franchisors, only the listings of Participants who have affirmatively consented to displaying their listings on franchisor sites can be displayed. Franchisees who provide IDX information to their franchisor for display or have their site indexed by the franchisor will need to let the franchisor know which participants have affirmatively consented to display their listings on the franchisor's site. Only the listings of Participants who have affirmatively consented to such display can be displayed on franchisor sites. Important Note The intent of the MLS Policy Committee and the large independent real estate firms who spoke out about this Franchisor indexing policy was to repeal the policy adopted in November of 2010; however, for parliamentary reasons they could not advance this effort because the NAR board requires a minimum 30-day advance notification of a repeal vote before any formal action can take place. Real Estate Executive Newsletter Page 11 of 16 June 3, 2011

12 The Opt-in decision was intended to give brokers control over where their listings are distributed, displayed, and indexed. The MLS Policy Committee and the Board are clearly expecting to change this policy again in November Currently, a NAR work group has been formed to work out these efforts. During this interim period, MLSListings plans to use a simplified approach to support the Opt-in to Franchisor display of listings because the policies will most likely change again based on input expected from the NAR work group later this year. Significant NAR Policy decision which relates to this new Opt-In to Franchisor Display The MLS policy on Participant ownership (MLS Policy Statement 7.85) was adopted in 2005 to make it clear that Participant consent is required for any use of their listings that are not part of the defined purpose of MLS. The policy is further interpreted and explained by Cliff Niersbach, Vice President, Board Policy and Programs at the National Association of REALTORS, as follows: Display of listings on franchisor sites is essentially analogous to display on third-party aggregator sites. Those displays also require listing participant consent and has never been construed as everywhere or nowhere. Absent direction from the Directors to the contrary, the same must be assumed with respect to display on franchisor sites. Clear and Indisputable Fact The brokers own their data and have a right to determine which third party sites their listings can be submitted to. MLSListings Action Plan Communicate the new policy to all its brokers and their vendors Facilitate a method for collecting the opt-in decisions and disseminating that to franchisees and franchisors Ensure all parties are prepared to comply with the policy by June 13, 2011; as well as to ensure compliance of that policy is strictly enforced. Adopt a board policy to comply with the new NAR policy decision, and implement the actions necessary to remain consistent with their policy. Implementation MLSListings will use a blanket Franchisor Opt-In option using the Broker Control Center, as follows: After June 13, to allow the indexing or display of their listings on franchisor websites, Participant brokers can visit the Broker Center tab of the pro.mlslistings.com website, then click on the IDX Opt In link and select preferences. See the graphic image on the following page. Real Estate Executive Newsletter Page 12 of 16 June 3, 2011

13 Under the blanket-based Opt-In option, all listings associated with the Participant will be automatically flagged based on the broker ID, allowing the display of that Participant s listings on all franchisor sites if a broker changes the default to Yes. On a limited basis, should a broker decide that he wants to selectively restrict his Opt-In Franchisor display of listings to specific franchise websites, Participants should contact MLSListings Compliance department at , option 5 to handle these individual requests. Separately, the Franchisees who are the responsible Participant in the MLS and who also receive data feeds for their IDX sites will have to devise a system to insure their franchisors know which listings they can index and those they cannot. The franchisees will receive a flag in their data feed from the MLS identifying the listings which can be indexed by their franchisor under the blanket opt-in policy option. This electronic flag option built into the franchisee broker s data feed received from the MLS will not be available for selective restrictions of the Opt-In Franchisor display of listings policy. It is the franchisee that is providing access to IDX listings to their franchisor who is ultimately responsible for compliance with this NAR display policy. MLSListings recognizes the impact of NAR s decision and the aggressive timelines associated with these changes by June 13. A series of communications for brokers are now in development on this topic, including suggestions on how to administer these changes with their Franchisor indexing features. Look for these updates in the coming weeks. Upcoming Key Dates June 15, 2011 MLSListings Board of Directors Meeting July 20, 2011 MLSListings Board of Directors Meeting August, 2011 ***No Board Meeting in August*** Real Estate Executive Newsletter Page 13 of 16 June 3, 2011

14 August 22-23, 2011 September 21-24, 2011 September 28, 2011 NAR 2011 Leadership Summit, Chicago C.A.R. Fall Meetings and Expo, San Jose MLSListings Board of Directors Meeting A complete list of regional/national industry events and available registration links can be found on the Events Calendar at Compliance Monthly Departmental Update: May 2011 Note: these updates are now provided on a monthly basis. In the month of May, the Compliance Department handled 811 calls and 1217 cases. The department worked 1,120 newly reported violations and 97 pending cases from the previous week. The majority of these calls involved remarks violations, incorrect statuses and no photo. Of the 1,120 newly reported violations, 1,023 of them were resolved, and for pending cases 95% were resolved. In addition, 465 listings were reported via report a listing, bringing the current year to date total to 2,460. Education & Outreach Our Education and Outreach Services team continues to expand the breadth and scope of its outreach to subscribers, providing both training opportunities and informational visits to keep you apprised of the information and tools you need to close deals and sustain and grow your business. For the month of May, the Education Services Team conducted a total of 64 classes and orientations with 619 attendees, including the following classes: Education Services May 2011 Classes Attendance MATRIX Essentials 9 88 Matrix Masters 5 51 Matrix Easy Matrix Easy Matrix Easy Matrix / Realist CMA 3 29 RPR Workshop 9 88 Total Training events include new agent orientations, seminars, webcast tutorials, and hands-on lecture-lab courses. In addition to instructor-led seminars, we offer Real Estate Executive Newsletter Page 14 of 16 June 3, 2011

15 regularly scheduled live webcasts, and have a variety of videos available on MyNewPro. We encourage you to promote our ongoing training services on your Association calendars, and to visit our Events page at MyNewPro for the latest schedule. Onsite training events at individual companies can be scheduled by contacting Mark Messimer at mmessimer@mlslistings.com. Upcoming Association training events this week: June 8 - June 8 - June 9 - Matrix 10:30am Location: SCCAOR Santa Clara Matrix 1:00pm Location: SCCAOR Santa Clara New Agent 10:30am Location: SCCAOR Santa Clara Call Center/Support In May, the Call Center handled 6,138 cases, resolving 99.9% or 6,129 cases. 258 of these cases were related to MLSListings Pro access, searching and reports; 442 cases related to Matrix; 1,649 concerned listing assistance; 151 concerned HomeWorks and 564 concerned reciprocal access. The remaining cases were requests for basic support, with 423 regarding security, 838 regarding account settings, 323 regarding PERKS products and 58 cases related to mobile access. The average call length was 4 minutes, 24 seconds. Of the total number of Matrix cases, 111 concerned Client Portal/ Auto ; 101 concerned Reports/Displays; 98 concerned Search; 45 concerned CMA and 40 concerned maps. Of the total number of reciprocal access cases, 390 were regarding the East Bay MLSs; 73 regarded MetroList; and 59 regarded SFAR. Customer Satisfaction Survey For the month of May, our subscribers rated six (6) different criteria related to their customer support experience as follows: Staff professionalism & responsiveness 95.8% very satisfied; 2.8% somewhat satisfied; 0.5% neutral and 0.9% somewhat dissatisfied. Relevance and applicability of staff response to questions 94.9% very satisfied; 3.2% somewhat satisfied; 0.5% neutral, and 1.4% very dissatisfied. Real Estate Executive Newsletter Page 15 of 16 June 3, 2011

16 Staff effectiveness 93.9% very satisfied; 4.7% somewhat satisfied; 0.9% neutral and 0.5% somewhat dissatisfied. Staff knowledge of the topic being discussed 90.7% very satisfied; 5.1% somewhat satisfied; 3.2% neutral; 0.5% somewhat dissatisfied and 0.5% very dissatisfied. Follow-up 84.8% very satisfied; 4.1% somewhat satisfied; 9.6% neutral and 1.5% very dissatisfied. Overall Satisfaction 94.4% very satisfied; 3.3% somewhat satisfied; 0.5% neutral; 0.9% somewhat dissatisfied and 0.9% very dissatisfied. Real Estate Executive Newsletter Page 16 of 16 June 3, 2011