Did you know that 2016 marks the 25th anniversary of RMLS™?
RMLS™ staff members have been visiting association meetings this year to deliver thank yous and anniversary-themed goodies, as our partners around the region have been absolutely vital to the success of RMLS™ since 1991.
RMLS™ will close out this silver anniversary with a month of giveaways. We’ll be giving away 25 prizes in December, one for each year RMLS™ has been serving REALTORS® in the Pacific northwest.
Each week in December, we’ll spotlight a couple of RMLS™ departments who will choose a couple of lucky subscribers to receive a $50 gift card from Amazon, Home Depot, or Best Buy. If you’ve had an interaction with the RMLS™ Help Desk, Account Services, Training, Data Accuracy, Distribution Services, or the Front Desk in 2016, you’ll be automatically entered for these giveaways.
We have more to give away! Tell us how RMLS™ has impacted your real estate career in an email to communications@rmls.com—and you’ll be entered to win a cookie basket to share with your office or an iPad Air 2!
GIFT CARD WINNERS!
Data Accuracy:
Cy Vandermeer, Blue Pacific Realty (Brookings)
Cindy Whipple, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services NW Real Estate (Eugene)
Beth Earnest, Earnest and Associates Real Estate (Portland)
Distribution Services:
Andy Harris, Home Team Realty (Portland)
Ray Penny, NextHome All State Real Estate (Coos Bay)
Hunter Finch, Bandon Property (Bandon)
Front Desk:
Sherri Brown, Century 21 The Neil Company (Roseburg)
Steve Betts, Coldwell Banker Seal (Vancouver)
Nadia Mulyar, Premiere Property Group (Vancouver)
Training:
Emily Siskin, Premiere Property Group (Clackamas)
Cristina Tran, Better Homes and Gardens (Portland)
Sondra McFeters, Portland Digs (Portland)
Help Desk:
Sally Haskin, Ross Pacific Realty (Vancouver)
Zoe Brady, Equinox Real Estate (Eugene)
Richard Compton, Keller Williams Realty Professionals (Portland)
Check back with this post throughout December for a list of winners.
Our subscribers have spoken, and RMLS™ will be poring over every comment in the coming weeks. Over 2,700 subscribers took the 2016 RMLS™ Subscriber Satisfaction Survey, doing their part to voice their opinions and help us guide the organization into 2017.
This annual survey is crucial in the RMLSwebdevelopment process, as subscriber feedback can lead to RMLSweb improvements the following year. Data from the survey also helps set priorities for the organization as a whole, identifies areas of improvement in each department, and acts as an overall indicator of how the organization is performing.
Detail-oriented subscribers may have noticed the rating system change from a five-point to a ten-point scale this year. This was at the request of the RMLS™ Board of Directors. While this change eliminated the safety of a “neutral” option, doubling the number on a past survey response offered an easy way to compare results from previous years.
How did RMLS™ fare in this challenging year? Let’s have a look at a couple of key questions.
OVERALL SATISFACTION
RMLS™ subscribers rated their overall satisfaction as an 8.4. Adjusted for the new rating system, the overall score on this same question in 2015 was 7.6.
Opinions about every single survey question varied wildly, and this big question was no different.
Comments: “RMLS™ always does a great job responding to my questions or problems.” “Better than it’s ever been, but still not rockin’ it.” “Very friendly staff, just a bit costly to me, being a new agent.” “If I was more familiar, it would be more valuable.” “I would like to see more ‘appraiser friendly’ search options.” “Perfect service.” “I am a member of three other MLS services and RMLS™ is head and shoulders above them all.” “Darn close to invaluable.”
RMLSWEB PROJECTS THAT HELPED YOUR BUSINESS
RMLS™ released several improvements to RMLSweb since the previous survey. Few of these changes impacted all 13,000 subscribers the same way, but taking metrics gives us information on where RMLS™ got the most bang for its development buck.
In 2015, RMLS™ listed four system improvements, with ratings (adjusted) ranging from 6.6 to 7.0.
Comments: “I hate to admit that I didn’t know about most of these, but am looking forward to learning more about them!” “The new mapping system is nice!” “The new mapping tool is okay.” “Not a fan of the new maps.” “Anything new in regards to photos/logos/editing is always helpful.” “I love the increase in photo count!” “The photo watermarks are great, the virtually staged is helpful too.” “These questions make me think I need a class as I am not using half of the improvements.” “While these features sound good, the implementation of them is often clunky.” “Almost none of this has anything to do with appraisers.” “LOVE the watermarks – super handy for new construction/purposed homes!!!!!” “RPR is fabulous! So glad to have it as an additional tool for my use!” “I think RMLS™ has done a good job, and I appreciate the changes.” “Thank you!”
THIRSTING FOR MORE?
Respondents were sometimes open about their lack of knowledge about RMLSweb. Perhaps they were unfamiliar with the full suite of features or had no idea an improvement had been made that might make their day go easier.
If you’re wanting more education about RMLSweb, our trainers can help! RMLS™ trainers are constantly teaching subscribers the finer points of RMLSweb in one of the RMLS™ offices, online, and even on the road! Contact the RMLS™ trainers at (503) 236-7657 to discuss your needs and set up an appointment.
Now that the big picture is taken care of, each department at RMLS™ will start digging deep into individual responses over the coming weeks. If you completed the survey, you might hear from us! We frequently contact subscribers to answer a question or clarify a comment before moving forward.
Subscribers who helped us out with this crucial survey by giving us your thoughts, thanks again! We hope the results will help us shape RMLSweb over the next year to make it even better.
Our subscribers have spoken, and RMLS™ will be poring over every comment in the coming weeks. Over 2,700 subscribers took the 2016 RMLS™ Subscriber Satisfaction Survey, doing their part to voice their opinions and help us guide the organization into 2017.
This annual survey is crucial in the RMLSwebdevelopment process, as subscriber feedback can lead to RMLSweb improvements the following year. Data from the survey also helps set priorities for the organization as a whole, identifies areas of improvement in each department, and acts as an overall indicator of how the organization is performing.
Detail-oriented subscribers may have noticed the rating system change from a five-point to a ten-point scale this year. This was at the request of the RMLS™ Board of Directors. While this change eliminated the safety of a “neutral” option, doubling the number on a past survey response offered an easy way to compare results from previous years.
How did RMLS™ fare in this challenging year? Let’s have a look at a couple of key questions.
OVERALL SATISFACTION
RMLS™ subscribers rated their overall satisfaction as an 8.4. Adjusted for the new rating system, the overall score on this same question in 2015 was 7.6.
Opinions about every single survey question varied wildly, and this big question was no different.
Comments: “RMLS™ always does a great job responding to my questions or problems.” “Better than it’s ever been, but still not rockin’ it.” “Very friendly staff, just a bit costly to me, being a new agent.” “If I was more familiar, it would be more valuable.” “I would like to see more ‘appraiser friendly’ search options.” “Perfect service.” “I am a member of three other MLS services and RMLS™ is head and shoulders above them all.” “Darn close to invaluable.”
RMLSWEB PROJECTS THAT HELPED YOUR BUSINESS
RMLS™ released several improvements to RMLSweb since the previous survey. Few of these changes impacted all 13,000 subscribers the same way, but taking metrics gives us information on where RMLS™ got the most bang for its development buck.
In 2015, RMLS™ listed four system improvements, with ratings (adjusted) ranging from 6.6 to 7.0.
Comments: “I hate to admit that I didn’t know about most of these, but am looking forward to learning more about them!” “The new mapping system is nice!” “The new mapping tool is okay.” “Not a fan of the new maps.” “Anything new in regards to photos/logos/editing is always helpful.” “I love the increase in photo count!” “The photo watermarks are great, the virtually staged is helpful too.” “These questions make me think I need a class as I am not using half of the improvements.” “While these features sound good, the implementation of them is often clunky.” “Almost none of this has anything to do with appraisers.” “LOVE the watermarks – super handy for new construction/purposed homes!!!!!” “RPR is fabulous! So glad to have it as an additional tool for my use!” “I think RMLS™ has done a good job, and I appreciate the changes.” “Thank you!”
THIRSTING FOR MORE?
Respondents were sometimes open about their lack of knowledge about RMLSweb. Perhaps they were unfamiliar with the full suite of features or had no idea an improvement had been made that might make their day go easier.
If you’re wanting more education about RMLSweb, our trainers can help! RMLS™ trainers are constantly teaching subscribers the finer points of RMLSweb in one of the RMLS™ offices, online, and even on the road! Contact the RMLS™ trainers at (503) 236-7657 to discuss your needs and set up an appointment.
Now that the big picture is taken care of, each department at RMLS™ will start digging deep into individual responses over the coming weeks. If you completed the survey, you might hear from us! We frequently contact subscribers to answer a question or clarify a comment before moving forward.
Subscribers who helped us out with this crucial survey by giving us your thoughts, thanks again! We hope the results will help us shape RMLSweb over the next year to make it even better.
The RMLS™ Rules Committee has finalized revisions to the Office Exclusive/Authorization to Exclude Addendum. These changes—which will impact the form itself and the RMLS™ Rules and Regulations—were approved by the RMLS™ Board of Directors and will start rolling out next week.
Most notably, the form will have a new title: Authorization to Exclude from MLS Addendum. Clients listing a property who wish to exclude their property from RMLS™ will now need to initial their understanding of specific components. These components remind sellers about the value of listing their property on a multiple listing service.
Subscribers are advised to switch to using the new forms immediately. It will take some time for the changes to be reflected outside the RMLS™ system (for example, OREF zipForms), but RMLS™ is working hard to get changes reflected across all platforms as quickly as possible.
Questions about the revised Authorization to Exclude from MLS Addendum? Contact RMLS™ Data Accuracy at (503) 236-7657.
Just over 24 years ago, I joined the RMLS™ staff as its seventh employee. I came on board when RMLS™ was just one year old! Today, RMLS™ is a vibrant organization celebrating its 25th anniversary, but I will no longer have a front row seat as I am retiring at the end of this month.
In 1992, I answered an ad for a part-time Administrative Secretary. My job was to staff the board meetings (take minutes, etc.) and to produce Market Action, which had just started publication. It was prepared much differently then. Reports were run from the old Stellar system and then the results were retyped into a Pagemaker file for publication. There was a lot of proofreading needed! Two people would sit and read numbers back and forth for a few hours each month.
I have not missed but maybe two or three board meetings in the last 24 years, and, if you know a current or former RMLS™ Director, I think you should say “Thank you!” I don’t think you could find a steadier, more thoughtful or dedicated group of volunteer leaders.
I will miss my workmates. The RMLS™ staff is a wonderful group. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to connect with many of our subscribers, and it has been my pleasure to serve the REALTOR® community. Best wishes to you all.
MLS Insight is a series about how things work at RMLS™.
As we celebrate 25 years of service to the real estate community in the northwest, it is interesting to look at some of the high-level numbers that describe the business and economics of the multiple listing service.
Let’s start with the number of subscribers. In March 1991, before service had even begun, there were over 3,400 Portland-area REALTORS® committed to participating in the new multiple listing service. This March, we had 12,472 subscribers from all over Oregon and southern Washington. The March with the most subscribers was 2007 with 14,178 active REALTORS®.
The chart below shows the rise and fall of subscriber numbers (as of March of each year) plotted against total numbers of closed residential sales for the year across the entire MLS. Sales peaked in 2005 with a total of 57,745, two years prior to the peak in subscriber numbers. The number of sales has been steadily rising since the recession low of 31,028 in 2008. The 55,979 sales in 2015 were the second highest number recorded in a year at RMLS™.
Due to a much higher overall average sales price, the total dollar volume of residential sales posted in RMLS™, 2015 achieved a new high water mark of $17,567,003,000 despite fewer total sales than 2005. The average sales price across all RMLS™ sales in 2005 was $268,300 compared to $313,800 in 2015.
If you have questions on any RMLS™-related topic that you would like to have answered, I encourage you to post a comment.
UPDATE: May 5, 2016
By subscriber request, here are the same graphs broken down by state:
This will be the final entry in 
