Listing Bits Greg Robertson

Approximately 8 million appraisals were conducted in the US last year. By contrast, there are only 40,000 active real estate appraisers. So, it's no surprise that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are exploring appraisal modernization initiatives like the desktop appraisal option.  
But to make these alternatives to the traditional appraisal work, we need data in the form of an accurate floor plan. And we need it at scale.
 
Jeff Allen is EVP of Innovation Labs Clear Capital, a leading property valuation tech company, and President of CubiCasa, an easy-to-use app for automating the creation of real estate floor plans. On this episode of Listing Bits, Jeff explains how the barrier to entry to become an appraiser has sparked a total transformation of the industry.
 
He discusses his work helping GSEs test alternatives to the traditional appraisal, describing why floor plans are an essential part of ‘bringing the house to the appraiser’ and how he discovered the CubiCasa technology that automates the process. Listen in for Jeff’s insight on the copyright dispute over real estate floor plans and learn how to support the creative partnerships necessary for CubiCasa to scale.
 
What’s Discussed:  
 
How Clear Capital serves large financial institutions in the realm of property valuation
How the barrier to entry to become an appraiser has sparked a total transformation of the industry
Jeff’s work helping GSEs test alternatives to the full traditional appraisal
Why floor plans are essential in ‘bringing the house to the appraiser’
How Jeff discovered the CubiCasa tech for automating floor plans and how it works
The creative partnerships necessary for CubiCasa to achieve scale (e.g.: real estate photographers)
How the desktop appraisal option supports CubiCasa’s efforts to scale
The other major appraisal modernization initiatives coming from Fannie and Freddie
Jeff’s take on the current copyright dispute over real estate floor plans
 
Connect with Jeff:
 
CubiCasa 
Email: jeff [at] cubicasa [dot] com
Jeff on LinkedIn
Clear Capital
 
Resources:
 
10K Research and Marketing
Appraisal Subcommittee
Dodd-Frank
Desktop Appraisals
Vendor Alley
FloPlan App
Greg’s Post on FloPlan
Copyright Dispute Over Real Estate Floor Plans
Designworks Homes v. Columbia House of Brokers Realty
CMLS’s Amicus Brief on the Floor Plan Copyright Dispute
NAR’s Amicus Brief on the Floor Plan Copyright Dispute
 
Our Sponsor:
 
Cloud CMA for Brokers

We're baaaaaack!  
 
I spend a lot of time at conferences explaining why MLSs, brokers, and franchisors should let the ‘professionals’ build their technology. And yet, there are real reasons why these stakeholders might want to design their own.
So, when is it appropriate for an MLS to create its own tech stack rather than relying on a vendor? And what does the development process look like?
Faith Geronimo and Colleen Yasuhara are the CEO and COO, respectively, of Hawaii Information Service (HIS), the MLS provider for the islands of Hawaii and Kauai. On this episode of Listing Bits, Faith and Colleen explore HIS’s history of building its own technology and explain their decision to spend the last four years creating a new MLS system.
Faith and Colleen discuss the transition from their initial system, REsearch, to the new HIMLS, describing HIS’s partnership with software developer MEV and their experience working with a team of Ukrainian developers. Listen in to understand why the Russia-Ukraine conflict hasn’t disrupted the development process and learn how HIS leveraged research and user testing to inform the design of HIMLS.
What’s Discussed:  
HIS’s role as MLS provider for the islands of Hawaii and Kauai
HIS’s history of building its own technology
How Faith & Colleen’s decision to build a new system on their own was influenced by their ability to integrate public records and MLS data
Faith’s take on why Hawaii needs 3 MLS providers
What Faith & Colleen learned in their research on MLS systems and how it informed the design of HIMLS
How the pandemic influenced the development process and allowed for rigorous user acceptance testing
The timeline for the transition from REsearch to HIMLS from 2018 to present
HIS’s partnership with MEV and how they built the portal and web API together before tackling the MLS
Faith & Colleen’s experience working with developers in the Ukraine and why they flew the team to Hawaii early in the process
How Ukrainian developers continue to work on HIMLS despite the Russian invasion and how they’re handling the conflict
Connect with Faith & Colleen:
The Story of HIMLS
Hawaii Information Service
Hawaii Information Service on YouTube
Faith on LinkedIn
Colleen on LinkedIn
Resources:
HIMLS Update on YouTube
Inman Connect New York
CMLS Conferences
Craig Pennington
Paragon
Matrix
Realist
RESO Web API
MEV
Alex Natskovich
 
Our Sponsor:
Cloud Agent Suite

When Zillow announced its intention to acquire ShowingTime in February of 2021, a slew of companies jumped into the showing solutions space. But Instashowing had already been in business for two years, and despite the fierce competition, its young founder believes that his startup has an edge.
William Schoeffler is the Founder of Instashowing, a software company out of Bend, Oregon, that offers the premiere showing solution for forward-thinking real estate professionals. On this episode of Listing Bits, William shares the experience with an agent that inspired him to build Instashowing and describes the suite of listing agent tools his team is developing.
William explains how he raised $4M on the heels of Zillow’s acquisition of ShowingTime, discussing the expectation to grow that comes with that kind of an investment and the advantages Instashowing has over its many competitors. Listen in to understand the challenge of supporting several showing solutions in a single market and learn how William is forming a syndicate to allow MLSs to invest in Instashowing.
What’s Discussed:  
The experience with a real estate agent that inspired William to build Instashowing
How William raised $4M from industry giants Pete Flint and Greg Schwartz
The wave of competitors in the showing solutions space after Zillow’s acquisition of ShowingTime
Why Instashowing started selling to agents and brokers (not MLSs) when it launched in 2019
The advantages Instashowing has over its competitors
How Instashowing’s success in a given market hinges on full integration with its MLS
Why William believes the industry will return to a single showing solution product in each market
The suite of listing agent tools Instashowing is developing
The expanding vision and expectation to grow that comes with a $4M investment
Why William is not planning on adding a call center to the Instashowing offerings
How William is forming a syndicate to allow MLSs to invest in Instashowing
Connect with William:
Instashowing
William on LinkedIn
 
Resources:
Instashowing’s $4M Raise
Zillow’s Acquisition of ShowingTime
Tomo
Offerpad
BrokerBay
Homesnap Showings
MLS Aligned
SentriLock
CRMLS Glide
 
Our Sponsor:
Cloud CMA for Brokers

Ask the average consumer what they know about the MLS, and you’re likely to hear about their favorite Major League Soccer team. But CMLS wants to change that, and the organization is on a mission to educate the general public around the benefits of working with a real estate professional and listing a home on the MLS.
 
Katie Smithson is the Director of Enterprise Sales at Lone Wolf Technologies, and she serves on the Board of Directors for both the Council of Multiple Listing Services and Real Estate Standards Organization. On this episode of Listing Bits, Katie shares CMLS’s new In the Know Campaign, describing how the initiative seeks to convey the importance of the MLS to consumers.
Katie explains why CMLS partnered with 1000watt to develop assets for In the Know and how agents and brokers can use the campaign’s digital content to share the CMLS message with consumers. Listen in to understand how Lone Wolf is integrating In the Know content into Cloud CMA and find out how other vendors can get involved in educating consumers on the value of the MLS.
What’s Discussed:  
 
How CMLS’s Making the Market Work Campaign communicated the value of the MLS to its members
CMLS’s partnership with 1000watt to develop assets for the new In the Know Campaign
How the In the Know Campaign conveys the importance of the MLS to consumers
Why In the Know is not specific to a particular MLS system but advocates for the industry as a whole
CMLS’s hope that brokers and agents will share the campaign’s message with consumers
Why exclusive listings are not a good look for organized real estate in light of Fair Housing legislation
How listing on the MLS gives sellers the best exposure in a given market
How In the Know assets are designed for brokers, agents and vendors to put to use
How the Lone Wolf Technologies team is integrating In the Know content into Cloud CMA Live
Katie’s insight around how other vendors might get involved with the In the Know Campaign
Connect with Katie:
Email ksmithson [at] lwolf [dot] com
Resources:
CMLS’s In the Know Campaign
CMLS
RESO
CMLS’s Making the Market Work Campaign
1000watt
NAR MLS Clear Cooperation Policy
The Fair Housing Act
 
Our Sponsor: 
Cloud CMA for Brokers

Prior to 2003, Supra had a monopoly on the lockbox market. But NAR membership wanted choice, so the trade association invested in its first outside tech company, SentriLock. Today, a similar market dominance exists in showing service solutions, and SentriLock is stepping in once again to compete with the dominant player in the space.
Scott Fisher and Devin Beck are the CEO and Director of Revenue of SentriLock, the first and only combined lockbox, showing service and experience management solutions for real estate. On this episode of Listing Bits, Scott and Devin explain why SentriLock is expanding into the showing service space and how proptech consolidation accelerated industry interest in their new offering.
 
Scott and Devin share SentriLock’s approach to entering a new market with a dominant player, describing how their partnership with NAR and commitment to customer service differentiate them from the competition. Listen in for insight around the unique features of the SentriKey Showing Service and learn how you can benefit from their lockbox offering, showing service or combination thereof.
 
What’s Discussed:  
 
How Scott’s telecom background led him to the lockbox space
Devin’s efforts to diversify SentriLock’s portfolio of offerings
What inspired the partnership between NAR and Scott’s team
Why SentriLock is expanding into the showing service space
SentriLock’s approach to entering a market with a dominant player
How Zillow’s acquisition of ShowingTime accelerated interest in SentriLock’s new offering
How SentriLock’s lockbox and showing solutions are designed to stand alone yet work together
Why consolidation causes uncertainty in the MLS community
Why NAR is unlikely to sell SentriLock
How Scott sees their commitment to take care of the member first as SentriLock’s secret weapon
The features that differentiate SentriLock’s showing solution
How competition among vendors brings value to the industry
Connect with Scott & Devin:
SentriLock
Scott on LinkedIn
Devin on LinkedIn
Resources:
The Story Behind SentriKey Showing Service
Supra
CoStar’s Acquisition of Homes.com
REALTORS Relief Foundation
REALTORS Political Action Committee
 
Our Sponsor:
Cloud CMA for Brokers
 

At present, MLS data access is unnecessarily complex. And brokers are calling for a more efficient system with a single set of rules around how the data can be used. In response, the CMLS Data Access Concepts Workgroup drafted the Listing Exchange and Access Policy or LEAP. But does the new policy really solve these problems? Could it be improved in a way that recognizes the changing landscape of the real estate industry?
 
Sam DeBord is the CEO of the Real Estate Standards Organization, the trade group responsible for developing standards for the industry, and he writes for publications including REALTOR Magazine and Inman News. Michael Wurzer is the CEO of FBS, the leading innovator of MLS technology and one of the most respected real estate software brands, and he covers industry issues on the FBS Company Blog. Both Sam and Michael are active participants in the LEAP debate on Twitter and have written long-form posts on the topic.
 
On this episode of Listing Bits, Sam shares the goals of the proposed Listing Exchange and Access Policy, describing how it seeks to simplify the rules and make access to MLS data more efficient. Michael discusses his concerns around the draft policy, explaining why licensing should be a part of LEAP and what a usage-based pricing model might look like. Listen in for Sam’s speed limit versus toll road analogy for the issues at play and hear both sides of the debate on whether LEAP solves the fundamental problems brokers face in using MLS data.
 
What’s Discussed:  
 
LEAP’s goal to simplify the rules and make access to MLS data more efficient
Why Michael sees a problem with how LEAP treats IDX, VOW and Back Office the same
Michael’s argument that the value of aggregated MLS data as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts
Why Michael believes that licensing and pricing should be a part of LEAP
How the definition of a Participant is evolving and why Michael thinks LEAP should address the shift
Sam’s concerns around using policy to penalize companies who are using data well
Sam’s speed limit vs. toll road analogy for the issues at play in LEAP
Michael’s point that portals would be worth dramatically less without MLS data
The potential to charge licensing fees for MLS data based on usage (with free low-usage plans available)
Sam’s view that MLSs should make local decisions about pricing rather than NAR policy
 
Connect with Sam:
 
Real Estate Standards Organization
Sam’s Website
Sam on Twitter
 
Connect with Michael:
 
Michael’s Blog on FBS
Michael on Twitter
 
Resources:
 
Michael’s First LEAP Post: Look Before You LEAP
Michael’s Second LEAP Post: MLS Content Is Uniquely Valuable, License It Accordingly
Michael’s Third LEAP Post: A Picture Is Worth More Than…
Sam’s Post: LEAP Forward -- Six Questions to Answer on Broker’s MLS Data
Rob Hahn’s Blog on LEAP
Vendor Alley
LeadingRE
The Realty Alliance
CMLS
Draft of the Listing Exchange and Access Policy (LEAP)
Victor Lund on Twitter
FloPlan by FBS
 
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Cloud CMA for Brokers