![MLS Insight: RMLS™ Distribution Services]()
by Gail Hare | Apr 30, 2015 | RMLSweb
Distribution Services Staff Kim Hutchinson and Jeff Mitchell.
MLS Insight is a series about how things work at RMLS™.
Distribution Services at RMLS™ facilitates and manages the electronic transfer of RMLS™ listings outside of RMLSweb. RMLS™ listings appear on the internet and are utilized in applications that support REALTORS®—all in accordance with agreements between RMLS™, our real estate firm participants, and third party vendors. Currently we have almost 6,000 active data access agreements.
When RMLS™ began serving REALTORS® in 1991, there were no property listings on the internet. In fact, as natural and universal as the internet now seems, the World Wide Web was only invented in 1989 and it was not until 1993 that commercial providers were allowed to sell internet connections to individuals. That is when the explosion began in earnest and web traffic over the internet increased by 300,000%.
At RMLS™, an internet presence was approved by the Board of Directors in November 1995, and the first appearance of RMLS™ listings occurred in late April 1996. The internet created radical change in the way business was conducted in many industries, and 1998 was a year of intense discussion and debate in the real estate community about how the internet could and should be integrated into the multiple listing service. That November, the consensus from those discussions became the first RMLS™ Internet Policy. It put the brokerage in the driver’s seat. The basic premise of that first policy—that no listings would be posted on internet without the consent of the participating firm—remains the guiding principle for data distribution today.
Today, RMLS™ listing data is utilized in a variety of ways by our participants. Many offices and individual brokers have their own websites, where they display the listing data according to the IDX (Internet Data Exchange) and/or VOW (Virtual Office Website) policies. These policies are hammered out by National Association of REALTORS®. Firms may also instruct us to send only their own listings to various internet portals or syndication aggregators. This is how listings are funneled to sites like Zillow, Homes.com, OregonLive, etc. Firms can also request data sets to drive products that are used internally, with no consumer display. These can include statistical analysis, AVM creation, CRM programs, transaction management platforms, etc. Because Distribution Services is not part of the core MLS service, data access fees are charged that offset the expense of the program. The service providers, not the subscribers, pay these access fees.
Jeff Mitchell, Distribution Services Technician, manages all the agreements and administers the flow of data. Jeff says that when our subscribers ask about the format of the IDX data, he explains “RMLS™ makes IDX data available in a raw data format, so you will need an IDX Service Provider to process and populate this data on your website.” Forms and Documents on RMLSweb has a list of IDX service providers that are already established with RMLS™. Each of these service providers offer different services, as well as different monthly fees. We are also happy to work with new providers, but it takes some time for them to ramp up.
Kim Hutchinson, Data Quality Technician, works with the RETS computer that dishes up the data. Kim, along with other staff at RMLS™, work closely with RESO, the Real Estate Standards Organization, whose mission is the standardization of both the process and real estate data that is distributed. This benefits our subscribers by increasing the variety of tools and applications available to them.
The Distribution Services department is committed facilitating the flow of our participants’ listings outward in accordance with their direction and with timeliness, quality, and efficiency. You can contact Distribution Services via email or by phone at 503-872-8053.
The next post will focus on the RMLS™ Forms Committee. If you have questions on any RMLS™-related topic that you would like to have answered, I encourage you to post a comment.
![MLS Insight: RMLS™ Distribution Services]()
by RMLS Communication Department | Apr 30, 2015 | RMLSweb
Distribution Services Staff Kim Hutchinson and Jeff Mitchell.
MLS Insight is a series about how things work at RMLS™.
Distribution Services at RMLS™ facilitates and manages the electronic transfer of RMLS™ listings outside of RMLSweb. RMLS™ listings appear on the internet and are utilized in applications that support REALTORS®—all in accordance with agreements between RMLS™, our real estate firm participants, and third party vendors. Currently we have almost 6,000 active data access agreements.
When RMLS™ began serving REALTORS® in 1991, there were no property listings on the internet. In fact, as natural and universal as the internet now seems, the World Wide Web was only invented in 1989 and it was not until 1993 that commercial providers were allowed to sell internet connections to individuals. That is when the explosion began in earnest and web traffic over the internet increased by 300,000%.
At RMLS™, an internet presence was approved by the Board of Directors in November 1995, and the first appearance of RMLS™ listings occurred in late April 1996. The internet created radical change in the way business was conducted in many industries, and 1998 was a year of intense discussion and debate in the real estate community about how the internet could and should be integrated into the multiple listing service. That November, the consensus from those discussions became the first RMLS™ Internet Policy. It put the brokerage in the driver’s seat. The basic premise of that first policy—that no listings would be posted on internet without the consent of the participating firm—remains the guiding principle for data distribution today.
Today, RMLS™ listing data is utilized in a variety of ways by our participants. Many offices and individual brokers have their own websites, where they display the listing data according to the IDX (Internet Data Exchange) and/or VOW (Virtual Office Website) policies. These policies are hammered out by National Association of REALTORS®. Firms may also instruct us to send only their own listings to various internet portals or syndication aggregators. This is how listings are funneled to sites like Zillow, Homes.com, OregonLive, etc. Firms can also request data sets to drive products that are used internally, with no consumer display. These can include statistical analysis, AVM creation, CRM programs, transaction management platforms, etc. Because Distribution Services is not part of the core MLS service, data access fees are charged that offset the expense of the program. The service providers, not the subscribers, pay these access fees.
Jeff Mitchell, Distribution Services Technician, manages all the agreements and administers the flow of data. Jeff says that when our subscribers ask about the format of the IDX data, he explains “RMLS™ makes IDX data available in a raw data format, so you will need an IDX Service Provider to process and populate this data on your website.” Forms and Documents on RMLSweb has a list of IDX service providers that are already established with RMLS™. Each of these service providers offer different services, as well as different monthly fees. We are also happy to work with new providers, but it takes some time for them to ramp up.
Kim Hutchinson, Data Quality Technician, works with the RETS computer that dishes up the data. Kim, along with other staff at RMLS™, work closely with RESO, the Real Estate Standards Organization, whose mission is the standardization of both the process and real estate data that is distributed. This benefits our subscribers by increasing the variety of tools and applications available to them.
The Distribution Services department is committed facilitating the flow of our participants’ listings outward in accordance with their direction and with timeliness, quality, and efficiency. You can contact Distribution Services via email or by phone at 503-872-8053.
The next post will focus on the RMLS™ Forms Committee. If you have questions on any RMLS™-related topic that you would like to have answered, I encourage you to post a comment.
![MLS Insight: RMLS™ Distribution Services]()
by Heather Andrews | Apr 22, 2015 | Eastern Oregon, RMLSweb
Old homestead buildings along Haggerty Lane, Sherman County.
RMLS™ recently added Sherman County to its tax database, meaning RMLSweb now boasts complete tax information for the state of Oregon!
What does this mean for RMLS™ subscribers? Listings in Sherman County will auto-populate some public records information in Listing Load, making the listing broker’s job a little easier.
A few facts about Sherman County:
• The county was named for General William Tecumseh Sherman.
• When Wasco County settlers wanted to have their own political process, Sherman County was carved out of the northeast corner of Wasco County.
• Sherman County covers 831 square miles, with an assessed value of $433,693,873.
• Much of Sherman County is prime wheat-growing land, but the county is also known for scenic views and outdoor recreation.
(Source: Oregon Blue Book Online)
We’re happy to have Sherman County in the system. In 2003, RMLSweb only had public records for 10 Oregon counties and Washington’s Clark County. Today, we boast public records for all 36 Oregon counties and seven Washington counties!
![MLS Insight: RMLS™ Distribution Services]()
by RMLS Communication Department | Apr 22, 2015 | Eastern Oregon, RMLSweb
Old homestead buildings along Haggerty Lane, Sherman County.
RMLS™ recently added Sherman County to its tax database, meaning RMLSweb now boasts complete tax information for the state of Oregon!
What does this mean for RMLS™ subscribers? Listings in Sherman County will auto-populate some public records information in Listing Load, making the listing broker’s job a little easier.
A few facts about Sherman County:
• The county was named for General William Tecumseh Sherman.
• When Wasco County settlers wanted to have their own political process, Sherman County was carved out of the northeast corner of Wasco County.
• Sherman County covers 831 square miles, with an assessed value of $433,693,873.
• Much of Sherman County is prime wheat-growing land, but the county is also known for scenic views and outdoor recreation.
(Source: Oregon Blue Book Online)
We’re happy to have Sherman County in the system. In 2003, RMLSweb only had public records for 10 Oregon counties and Washington’s Clark County. Today, we boast public records for all 36 Oregon counties and seven Washington counties!
![MLS Insight: RMLS™ Distribution Services]()
by Heather Andrews | Apr 22, 2015 | Eastern Oregon, RMLSweb
Old homestead buildings along Haggerty Lane, Sherman County.
RMLS™ recently added Sherman County to its tax database, meaning RMLSweb now boasts complete tax information for the state of Oregon!
What does this mean for RMLS™ subscribers? Listings in Sherman County will auto-populate some public records information in Listing Load, making the listing broker’s job a little easier.
A few facts about Sherman County:
• The county was named for General William Tecumseh Sherman.
• When Wasco County settlers wanted to have their own political process, Sherman County was carved out of the northeast corner of Wasco County.
• Sherman County covers 831 square miles, with an assessed value of $433,693,873.
• Much of Sherman County is prime wheat-growing land, but the county is also known for scenic views and outdoor recreation.
(Source: Oregon Blue Book Online)
We’re happy to have Sherman County in the system. In 2003, RMLSweb only had public records for 10 Oregon counties and Washington’s Clark County. Today, we boast public records for all 36 Oregon counties and seven Washington counties!
![MLS Insight: RMLS™ Distribution Services]()
by RMLS Communication Department | Mar 31, 2015 | RMLS News, RMLSweb
MLS Insight is a series about how things work at RMLS™.
At their annual leadership retreat last month, the RMLS™ Board of Directors reviewed a list of potential projects and prioritized those they believe will have the best benefit for RMLS™ subscribers in 2015. Following is a brief description of the three projects that will get the attention of our software development team this year, following their completion of their work on reverse prospecting and the forms changes approved in 2014.
RMLSweb Menu Bar: This project will update the blue menu bar on RMLSweb so it always appears at the top of the screen. No matter what page you are on across the website, the menu will be locked and visible, so that you will not need to scroll up to go to a new location.
Prospecting Improvements: This project will include a variety of improvements to prospecting on RMLSweb, including the following examples:
• Options to refine the frequency of the auto-email to your clients, including days of the week and month as well as the number of times per day;
• Copying an existing profile (as a template) and creating a prospect from Advanced MLS search;
• Performing a reverse prospect search in Listing Load and CMA;
• Setting a minimum price change amount that will trigger a notification message to clients; and
• Customizing the subject line in prospect emails.
View Count Enhancements: This project will allow the listing agent to automatically schedule and email the Listing View Counts report to their seller. The plan is also to enhance functionality by allowing searching view counts by date range. Other goals include investigating the possibility of adding additional data to the reports, such as SentriLock showings and the number of active prospects that match the property.
The next post will focus on Data Distribution services at RMLS™. If you have any questions you would like to have answered, I encourage you to post a comment.
