MLS Insight: RMLSweb Development Projects on Tap for 2015

MLS Insight: RMLSweb Development Projects on Tap for 2015

MLS Insight is a series about how things work at RMLS™.

RMLSweb menu barAt 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.

MLS Insight: RMLSweb Development Projects on Tap for 2015

MLS Insight: Ensuring Data Accuracy on RMLSweb

Wanda Kennedy and Vallerie Bush -  the RMLS™ Data Accuracy team

Wanda Kennedy and Vallerie Bush – the RMLS™ Data Accuracy Team

MLS Insight is a series about how things work at RMLS™.

The accuracy of data in listings posted by RMLS™ is something we take very seriously. Data accuracy makes the MLS real estate marketplace hum with the least possible friction. Because we understand that the reason we have rules and regulations is to facilitate a fair and efficient platform for our REALTOR® subscribers, RMLS™ has always focused on education and data correction instead of punishment and income for the MLS.

In fact, we renamed our Rules and Regulations Department to the Data Accuracy Department to reflect this mission!

Of course we still have a process for taking formal complaints—the standing Rules and Regulations Committee to review complaints and impose sanctions (fines in most cases), and the Hearings Committee, whose job it is to conduct hearings if sanctions are appealed. (Hearings are conducted in substantial accordance with the procedures applicable to Professional Standards.) This year, the Rules and Regulations Committee is chaired by RMLS™ Director Rick Jenkins and the Hearings Committee is chaired by RMLS™ Director Mark Meek.

However, the great majority of the work of the data accuracy process is proactive at RMLS™. We respond to all inquiries, questions, and complaints from our subscribers and also conduct regular audits and data checks. To give you some idea of the scope of this effort, here are some numbers from 2014 to ponder:

  • Our Data Accuracy staff, Vallerie Bush and Wanda Kennedy, responded to more than 8,000 issues—an average about 670 per month.
  • Of these, about 5,300 came from the REPORT ISSUE button that appears on the lower right corner of all Agent Full reports in RMLSweb.
  • The department took over 3,100 phone calls.
  • In proactive audits, 399,541 listings were reviewed and 6,400+ violations identified. (For frame of reference, 81,594 listings were added to RMLSweb in 2014.)

We also try to analyze Listing Load to prevent inaccuracies at the data collection source if we can. For example, we have blocked the ability to mark both Short Sale and Bank Owned/REO with a YES at the same time. Entry of a sold price with a +10% difference from the listing price will produce a warning message. If the property type INPARK is selected, then the style options become limited to the manufactured home types.

The system also runs auto-checks for certain potential issues upon the publishing/saving of a listing, automatically sending an email to the listing agent to alert them of a possible problem. Emails are automatically sent when there is a missing school, missing tax ID, or when the status has been pending (PEN) for over 3 months.

News Flash! One of the reasons for an extended pending is a lease option. The Board of Directors approved a new status for pending listings with lease option terms.  The “POP” status will be available later in 2015.

One of the responsibilities of the Data Accuracy Department is to comb for possible fair housing violations. Some history is relevant here. In 1995, RMLS™ entered into a conciliation agreement after a fair housing complaint. The particular complaint was due to a listing that advertised “available for adults over 40.” As a result, RMLS™ promised to conduct fair housing/HUD checks on all listings in the future and to promote fair housing on RMLSweb. RMLS™ also paid $30,000 in the settlement, which was a lot of money for a company only three years old. Today, there is a list of words that are flagged in Listing Load upon the publishing/editing of listing remarks. Staff members review a system-generated fair housing/HUD file daily with a more extensive list of possible word violations, and all remarks (public, private, supplemental remarks) are reviewed.

Data accuracy makes RMLS™ better. I encourage you to click the REPORT ISSUE button if you think you see a possible problem on a listing. If it isn’t really an issue we’ll let you know, and if it is we will contact the listing agent to get that data corrected! You will remain anonymous, unless you are submitting a formal violation report that you intend to have reviewed by the Rules and Regulations Committee.

ReportIssueButton

The next post will focus on RMLSweb development projects that were approved by the Board of Directors for 2015. If you have any questions you would like to have answered, I encourage you to post a comment.

 

MLS Insight: RMLSweb Development Projects on Tap for 2015

RE Technology: A Free Resource for RMLS™ Subscribers

RE Technology LogoRE Technology debuted on RMLSweb last month—a free resource for RMLS™ subscribers interested in harnessing technology for their benefit.

RE Technology is a portal accessible through RMLSweb that allows subscribers to access information, reviews, and product ratings of available real estate technology products—similar to Consumer Reports or CNET. Visitors to the site may access product reviews, a directory of companies offering services to the real estate industry, webinars, and more.

Access RE Technology on RMLSweb either by looking in the Toolkit menu or in the left sidebar under Links.

Keep on Top of Consumer Trends

Together, RE Technology and RMLS™ are providing subscribers free, unlimited access to information about real estate technology. Subscribers can use RE Technology to find case studies and testimonials from other REALTORS® about products that are having an impact on consumers.

If you put the consumer first in your business, you will win! RE Technology helps by allowing subscribers to learn about technology tools before buying them. With RE Technology, subscribers can find out what other REALTORS® say, review product ratings, view recorded webinars, or even reach out to an expert to answer questions.

Get More Comfortable with Technology

RE Technology makes researching technology easy for today’s busy professional. A product directory gives access to information about every product listed by almost every company in real estate, organized by (currently) 98 categories. These categories allow subscribers to browse dozens of product listings, each with user ratings from other REALTORS®.

Search for New Products

RE Technology has more than 2,500 products listed in the product directory, accessible by category. Subscribers can ask questions, see product ratings, rate products directly, schedule product demonstrations, participate in webinars with other REALTORS®, and more.

Not convinced? Check out RE Technology’s Top 10 Articles of 2014 for a sample of their offerings.

RMLS™ by the Numbers 2014

How much work does RMLS™ do for thousands of subscribers across Oregon and Southwest Washington? This is the second year we’ve compiled numbers to show just how much RMLS™ has supported real estate activity over the course of a single year (read RMLS™ by the Numbers 2013).

RMLSweb
Number of times subscribers logged in to RMLSweb: 1,475,802
Photos uploaded to listings: 1,138,099
Property searches run: 513,354
Number of new prospect profiles created: 63,943
All residential properties listed for sale: 69,541
All residential properties sold: 48,052
Median sold price of homes listed: $251,000
Total dollar volume of homes sold: $14,067,725,000
Unique tax searches: 107,750
Reports viewed: 9,301,407
Broker tour searches run: 12,876
Open house searches run: 8,364
Statistical searches run: 26,926

RMLS™ Subscribers
RMLS™ subscribers as of December 2014: 11,279
New RMLS™ subscribers (compared to December 2013): 603
Increase in subscribers, above: +5.7%
Subscribers who attended training: 3,047
Number of calls to the RMLS™ Help Desk: 22,978
Number of Help Desk chats: 3,012
Number of incidents reported using the “Report Issue” button: 5,299
CE hours distributed by RMLS™ at no cost to subscribers: 4,260
Total attendance at RMLS™ training events: 4,800

RMLS.com
Total customer visits to RMLS.com: 3,375,870
Unique visits: 1,082,046
Total listing views: 2,299,823

Social Media
RMLS™ followers on Facebook (December 31st): 2,930
RMLS™ followers on Twitter (December 31st): 2,358

Don’t forget about the other numbers we regularly compile! In addition to publishing Market Action each month, we have statistical summaries available on RMLSweb with information dating back several years. Since 2012 we’ve also been compiling statistics about residential distressed properties in RMLSweb.

We love numbers here at RMLS™, and hope you find this data as fun and interesting as we do.

RMLS™ by the Numbers 2014

How much work does RMLS™ do for thousands of subscribers across Oregon and Southwest Washington? This is the second year we’ve compiled numbers to show just how much RMLS™ has supported real estate activity over the course of a single year (read RMLS™ by the Numbers 2013).

RMLSweb
Number of times subscribers logged in to RMLSweb: 1,475,802
Photos uploaded to listings: 1,138,099
Property searches run: 513,354
Number of new prospect profiles created: 63,943
All residential properties listed for sale: 69,541
All residential properties sold: 48,052
Median sold price of homes listed: $251,000
Total dollar volume of homes sold: $14,067,725,000
Unique tax searches: 107,750
Reports viewed: 9,301,407
Broker tour searches run: 12,876
Open house searches run: 8,364
Statistical searches run: 26,926

RMLS™ Subscribers
RMLS™ subscribers as of December 2014: 11,279
New RMLS™ subscribers (compared to December 2013): 603
Increase in subscribers, above: +5.7%
Subscribers who attended training: 3,047
Number of calls to the RMLS™ Help Desk: 22,978
Number of Help Desk chats: 3,012
Number of incidents reported using the “Report Issue” button: 5,299
CE hours distributed by RMLS™ at no cost to subscribers: 4,260
Total attendance at RMLS™ training events: 4,800

RMLS.com
Total customer visits to RMLS.com: 3,375,870
Unique visits: 1,082,046
Total listing views: 2,299,823

Social Media
RMLS™ followers on Facebook (December 31st): 2,930
RMLS™ followers on Twitter (December 31st): 2,358

Don’t forget about the other numbers we regularly compile! In addition to publishing Market Action each month, we have statistical summaries available on RMLSweb with information dating back several years. Since 2012 we’ve also been compiling statistics about residential distressed properties in RMLSweb.

We love numbers here at RMLS™, and hope you find this data as fun and interesting as we do.

RMLS™ by the Numbers 2014

How much work does RMLS™ do for thousands of subscribers across Oregon and Southwest Washington? This is the second year we’ve compiled numbers to show just how much RMLS™ has supported real estate activity over the course of a single year (read RMLS™ by the Numbers 2013).

RMLSweb
Number of times subscribers logged in to RMLSweb: 1,475,802
Photos uploaded to listings: 1,138,099
Property searches run: 513,354
Number of new prospect profiles created: 63,943
All residential properties listed for sale: 69,541
All residential properties sold: 48,052
Median sold price of homes listed: $251,000
Total dollar volume of homes sold: $14,067,725,000
Unique tax searches: 107,750
Reports viewed: 9,301,407
Broker tour searches run: 12,876
Open house searches run: 8,364
Statistical searches run: 26,926

RMLS™ Subscribers
RMLS™ subscribers as of December 2014: 11,279
New RMLS™ subscribers (compared to December 2013): 603
Increase in subscribers, above: +5.7%
Subscribers who attended training: 3,047
Number of calls to the RMLS™ Help Desk: 22,978
Number of Help Desk chats: 3,012
Number of incidents reported using the “Report Issue” button: 5,299
CE hours distributed by RMLS™ at no cost to subscribers: 4,260
Total attendance at RMLS™ training events: 4,800

RMLS.com
Total customer visits to RMLS.com: 3,375,870
Unique visits: 1,082,046
Total listing views: 2,299,823

Social Media
RMLS™ followers on Facebook (December 31st): 2,930
RMLS™ followers on Twitter (December 31st): 2,358

Don’t forget about the other numbers we regularly compile! In addition to publishing Market Action each month, we have statistical summaries available on RMLSweb with information dating back several years. Since 2012 we’ve also been compiling statistics about residential distressed properties in RMLSweb.

We love numbers here at RMLS™, and hope you find this data as fun and interesting as we do.