by Heather Andrews | Mar 21, 2013 | Baker County, Clark County, Columbia Basin, Coos County, Curry County, Douglas County, Lane County, Market Trends, Mid-Columbia, Portland, RMLS Market Action, RMLS Primary Service Areas, RMLSweb, Statistics, Union County, Wallowa County
The archive of RMLS™ Market Action statistical summaries on RMLSweb has a fresh new look, thanks to RMLS™ Business Analyst/Policy Manager Christina Smestad.
If you have never seen them, statistical summaries compile many years of data from our Market Action newsletter for most areas in the RMLS™ region so readers can compare long-term market movements in key areas.
In order to improve the statistical summaries we standardized the data, added a few numbers not previously compiled, and reworked the layout to be more readable and printer-friendly. Our revised versions combine average and median sales price into one report and add inventory counts to the summary report. We think you’ll like what you see!
Available reports include average sales price, average and median sales price by area, closed sales, market percent and time by price, median sales price, new listings, pending listings, and a summary report. Affordability summaries are available for the Portland metro area, Clark County, and Lane County. Statistical summaries are currently available for those areas as well as Baker County, Columbia Basin, Coos County, Curry County, Douglas County, Mid-Columbia, Union County, and Wallowa County.
The treasury of statistical summaries may be accessed online two ways. Currently, subscribers logged in to RMLSweb may navigate to Toolkit->All Documents, then expand the folder titled “Market Action Statistical Summaries” on the left sidebar to find subgroups of specific geographic regions (see image at left).
As of March 28, a shortcut will be available allowing users to access quick links to statistical summaries directly from the RMLSweb menu. Subscribers logged in to RMLSweb may navigate to Statistics->Statistical Summaries for a more navigable list of geographic areas.
Moving forward, RMLS™ will update the statistical summaries more frequently than the annual updates of the past. We’re also working to expand the reports into other areas: Polk and Marion Counties, Grant County, North Coastal Communities, and Cowlitz County are planned additions for the future!
by Heather Andrews | Mar 19, 2013 | RMLSweb
RMLS™ is changing password requirements on RMLSweb!
Starting March 27th, all subscribers who log in will need to change their Private ID (password). Moving forward, the system will continue to require a password change every three months (or if you’ve received notice about unauthorized access of your RMLSweb account).
Currently, Private IDs must be between 7 and 8 characters, include both letters and numbers, and are not case sensitive.
As of March 27th, new Private IDs will require the following:
• Private ID length must be between 8 and 12 characters.
• Private IDs must contain both letters and numbers.
• Private IDs can (but are not required to) contain the following special characters: ! @ # $ % ^ & *
• Private IDs are now case sensitive, but just changing case (“RMLS1234” to “rmls1234” for example) is not acceptable for a new Private ID.
Need to think of a great password? Check out “The Usability of Passwords,” “Why Multi-Word Phrases Make for More Secure Passwords Than Incomprehensible Gibberish,” or this great infographic about password security. Alternately, don’t use one of the 25 Worst Passwords of 2012.
Questions about the new requirements? Contact the RMLS™ Help Desk at (503) 872-8002, or (877) 256-2169 toll free.
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by Heather Andrews | Mar 8, 2013 | Guest Post, RMLS News, RMLSweb, Statistics
Today’s post is courtesy of Gerry and Mike (left), who comprise the RMLS™ Training Department. If you’ve ever gone to any RMLSweb trainings in the Portland metro area, you’ve most likely met at least one of them. The department has some exciting news to share…
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The RMLS™ Training Department is excited to announce that we have extended our webinar library to include four new webinar classes in addition to the three already available!
Web-based seminars, or webinars, are online workshops that have been in use for many years, but did not really gain widespread popularity as a training tool until the late 1990s. RMLS™ has undertaken an extensive webinar project in an attempt to provide another educational opportunity for our subscribers.
All of our webinars are scheduled for a maximum of one hour. The classes focus on specific parts of RMLSweb and can be viewed in the comfort of your home or office.
The newest webinar classes are:
• Creating a Prospecting Profile
Ever wish you had a personal assistant that could take your buyer’s criteria, monitor the results, and email it to them? Welcome to the wonderful world of Prospecting Profiles! Learn how to customize an advanced search using specific criteria that matches your buyer’s needs and have those results automatically emailed.
• CMA Overview
A comparative market analysis (CMA) is one of the main tools that you will use to assist sellers in arriving at a suggested sale price. Our webinar includes an overview of setting up and producing a complete CMA report for your client.
• Searching with Map Range
Learn how to master the different ways to map an area using the rectangle, circle, and polygon functions to help narrow down a specific location.
• RMLSweb Statistical Tools
This webinar will direct you to the various statistical tools available to subscribers on RMLSweb.
…and don’t forget our existing webinars: Listing Load Overview, Navigating Search Results, and Customizing Search Results!
Signing up for one of our scheduled, live webinars is the same as signing up for any of our classes: simply log in to RMLSweb and select Toolkit/Training Registration from the blue navigation bar at the top of our home page. Once in the Training Calendar, click on the hyperlinked name of your desired webinar, read the class description, and click the button to register. You may also register by calling (503) 236-RMLS (7657) or (877) 256-2169 toll free. After receiving your request we will send you confirmation by email which will include class details and instructions on how to join the webinar.
Joining a session consists of a video and audio connection, in which the video uses a link to GoToMeeting, while the audio connects users to the RMLS™ conference call system, which has the advantage of allowing questions to be asked at any time during a presentation—much like a regular classroom.
RMLS webinars is another in our series of training tools for subscribers. Remember: at RMLS™, service is our last name.
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by Heather Andrews | Mar 1, 2013 | rmls.com, RMLSweb
New features and enhancements to RMLSweb are implemented regularly, including during our monthly scheduled outages.
Here are some of the changes we implemented in February to improve the site for subscribers…
Map Checked Switched to Bing Maps
RMLS™ is continuing to switch its map systems over to Bing Maps, and this month we’ve integrated Bing with the map checked feature of RMLSweb.
This means that when plotting multiple listings on a map for a client tour, the map will match other mapping features on RMLSweb and their enhanced map performance.
This is the third of a series of five rollovers into Bing. Our final two changes will be to switch the Listing Load mapping module to Bing, followed by switching Map Search. Look for the complete transformation in coming months!
RMLS™ Inventory on Desktop
Perhaps you’ve already noticed this new feature on the left sidebar of the RMLSweb desktop: we’ve added a feature showcasing collective listing data. In a glance, subscribers can see just how many active listings are in RMLSweb, the number of sold listings for the last 12 months, the dollar value those listings represent, and the total number of listings in the system. The numbers are updated daily.
Shorter Session Times
Starting this week, subscribers logging in to RMLSweb will be automatically logged out after 90 minutes of inactivity. This is a shorter session time than the site had previously (four hours), but we’re making the change based on some of the initial findings of our unauthorized access project on RMLSweb.
We’ve also got some exciting developments coming soon in March…
Chat with RMLS™
We will be adding a new way to contact RMLS™—chat! Access RMLS™ staff online by clicking the chat button at the top of the right sidebar. A chat window will open, and staff will assist you shortly.
Representatives from Help Desk, Training, Accounting, and Front Desk/Membership will be available during normal RMLS™ business hours. During the times when no staff is available, the pop-up window will allow you to send an email, and a representative will be in touch as soon as possible.
RMLS.com Facelift
Our client-facing website, RMLS.com, will have a new look starting March 5th! We think you’ll like what you see. Besides the new look, consumers will now be able to search listings by either an address or MLS number.
As Gail Hare, Executive Vice President, posted last week, the RMLS™ Board of Directors recently made tablet and browser compatibility for RMLSweb the number one priority for our technical team this year. Look to the RMLS Blog and RMLSweb desktop for updates as that major project progresses.
If you have any questions regarding these changes, email Help Desk at helpdesk@rmls.com or call us at (503) 872-8002, or outside the Portland area at (877) 256-2169.
by Heather Andrews | Mar 1, 2013 | Events, RMLSweb
Here’s a quick rundown of upcoming real estate events and education for March in Oregon and Southwest Washington. If you have an event that’s not listed here, let us know in the comments!
March 7: Top Producers Discussion (1 CE)
The Oregon chapter of the Council of Residential Specialists presents a panel discussion with top producers from Eugene, Bend, and Salem. Galand Haas, Shelly Hummel, and Amy McLeod will discuss their techniques for success, and answer questions. Contact Jane Robertson at (503) 228-9560 or oregoncrs@oregoncrs.org for more information or to register.
Location: George Fox University, Tigard OR — $10 for non-members
March 7: Owner and Manager Forum (1.5 CE)
Portland Metropolitan Association of REALTORS® presents “Something New, Something Old, Something SOLD: Updates, Trends, and Red Flags in 2013.” Company owners and managers are welcome to attend this event with Phil Querin, Evan Swanson, and Alan Brickley, legal professionals in real estate.
Location: Multnomah Athletic Club, Portland OR — $15
March 14: HOA and Condos (2 CE)
Ryan D. Harris of Vial Fotheringham LLP leads a class featuring the legal concerns of home owner associations and planned communities. Contact Andrea Milbrett at (541) 902-2560 or cocbrmls@oregonfast.net for more information or to register.
Location: Florence Event Center, Florence OR — $20
FREE RMLSweb Training
If you are an RMLS™ subscriber, we have many free educational opportunities at a location near you. View the current calendar for your area by clicking the link.
-Brookings
-Coos County
-Eastern Oregon
-Eugene
-Florence
-Gresham
-Hood River
-Portland
-Roseburg
-Salem
-Vancouver
Don’t forget to check out our webinars for training outside these areas, and the Open House hours at the Portland office each Friday (10am-noon) when subscribers may consult with our training staff for individualized attention.
You can also find ongoing education and training classes through a number of different associations in the Portland metro area and beyond. To search for classes in March, classes check out the current event listings at the following associations:
Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors® (PMAR)
East Metro Association of Realtors® (EMAR)
Clark County Association of Realtors®(CCAR)
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by Gail Hare | Feb 22, 2013 | RMLS News, RMLSweb
RMLS™ is one of a handful of multiple listing services that does its own development work rather than purchasing a vended MLS system. At their annual leadership retreat each February, the RMLS™ Board of Directors sets priorities for the programming and development team for the coming year.
We recently held this annual retreat, and the clear mandate and number one priority for 2013 was decided: full browser and tablet compatibility for RMLSweb. This project will make our system fully compatible with current versions of Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer; and add compatibility for the iPad, Android, and Windows Surface tablets.
In the 2012 Subscriber Satisfaction Survey, 49% of our subscribers who responded were “very interested” in tablet and browser compatibility. This is not surprising, because tablets outsold notebook computers in the US in 2012, and are projected to outsell all PCs worldwide by 2016.
The treasury of statistical summaries may be accessed online two ways. Currently, subscribers logged in to RMLSweb may navigate to Toolkit->All Documents, then expand the folder titled “Market Action Statistical Summaries” on the left sidebar to find subgroups of specific geographic regions (see image at left).
