This will be the final entry in the series MLS Insight, about how things work at RMLS™. 

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:

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

At their annual leadership retreat, the RMLS™ Board of Directors reviewed a list of potential projects and prioritized those they believe will have the best benefit for RMLS™ subscribers. Following is a brief description of the three projects that will get the attention of our software development team this year along with a fourth that will be scheduled if possible. The forms changes approved in 2015 are also in the works.

Watch List: This project will create a new feature on RMLSweb enabling subscribers to add individual listings to a “shopping cart” and receive push notifications when the status or a price change occurs. Potential scope includes ability to tag tax parcel records for notification when a listing is published.

Mobile Innovation Project: This project will utilize information available in a mobile device – photos, GPS, etc. – to create a property profile for use in creating CMAs, running reverse prospecting searches, and starting an in-progress listing in RMLSweb.

Frequency of Auto-Emails: This project will re-engineer auto-emails to reliably run the entire process within an hour. As part of this project, subscribers should be able to refine the frequency at which auto-emails are sent to individual clients.

Facebook Integration: This project will allow subscribers to easily post their own listings to Facebook, and will also fix formatting problems for mobile devices when RMLS.com listings are shared to Facebook.

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 is a series about how things work at RMLS™.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was signed into law in 1998 with the intent to bring US copyright laws into the digital age. MLS listings normally contain several items subject to copyright, most prominently the photos and remarks. When a listing is loaded into RMLSweb, the understanding is that the listing content is authorized or legitimate, and there is no copyright issue.

This understanding is stipulated in the RMLS™ Rules and Regulations under Section 10.3 – Authority to Publish: By the act of submitting any property listing content to RMLS™, the Participant represents that the Participant has been authorized and also thereby does grant authority for the MLS to include the property listing content in its copyrighted MLS compilation and also in any statistical report on comparables.

In addition to the responsibility of the listing broker to ensure that there is no copyright infringement in the listing content they provide, RMLS™ also has responsibilities as a publisher under the DMCA. In order to limit liability for copyright infringement we may unknowingly include on our site, we have followed the safe harbor provisions of the DMCA since 2009. These provisions include appointing a copyright agent and making it easy for someone who spots a copyright infringement to contact us.  RMLSweb and RMLS.com have a link on every listing to report any claims of copyright infringement, and there are specific steps we follow to meet the requirements of the safe harbor when we are notified of a problem.

That covers the responsibility of the listing broker and RMLS™.

Does it end there? NO!! It does not.

Each website posting listing data is individually responsible for copyright infringement that might appear on that site. That means that every IDX website needs to protect itself under the DMCA safe harbor provisions.

The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) became concerned about potential liability for brokers, and in their model rules for 2016 they have required the addition of a section about copyright and the DMCA. The RMLS™ Board of Directors adopted this language and it has now been added to Section 10.3 of the RMLS^™ Rules and Regulations. This is an important advisory recommendation from NAR. If you have a website that displays listing content, make sure you ask your website provider about their compliance with the DMCA. Here is the new RMLS™ Rules and Regulations language in full.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a federal copyright law that enhances the penalties for copyright infringement occurring on the Internet. The law provides exemptions or “safe harbors” from copyright infringement liability for online service providers (OSP) that satisfy certain criteria. Courts construe the definition of “online service provider” broadly, which would likely include MLSs as well as participants and subscribers hosting an IDX display.

One safe harbor limits the liability of an OSP that hosts a system, network or website on which Internet users may post user-generated content. If an OSP complies with the provisions of this DMCA safe harbor, it cannot be liable for copyright infringement if a user posts infringing material on its website. This protects an OSP from incurring significant sums in copyright infringement damages, as statutory damages are as high as $150,000 per work. For this reason, it is highly recommended that MLSs, participants and subscribers comply with the DMCA safe harbor provisions discussed herein.

To qualify for this safe harbor, the OSP must:

• Designate on its website and register with the Copyright Office an agent to receive takedown requests. The agent could be the MLS, participant, subscriber, or other individual or entity.
• Develop and post a DMCA-compliant website policy that addresses repeat offenders.
• Comply with the DMCA takedown procedure. If a copyright owner submits a takedown notice to the OSP, which alleges infringement of its copyright at a certain location, then the OSP must promptly remove allegedly infringing material. The alleged infringer may submit a counter-notice that the OSP must share with the copyright owner. If the copyright owner fails to initiate a copyright lawsuit within ten (10) days, then the OSP may restore the removed material.
• Have no actual knowledge of any complained-of infringing activity.
• Not be aware of facts or circumstances from which complained-of infringing activity is apparent.
• Not receive a financial benefit attributable to complained-of infringing activity when the OSP is capable of controlling such activity.

Full compliance with these DMCA safe harbor criteria will mitigate an OSP’s copyright infringement liability. For more information see 17 USC §512.

NAR has additional information on its website, including a recent video on photo copyright. In the case of copyright infringement, the old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” surely applies.

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 is a series about how things work at RMLS™.

Before we plunge headlong into the new year, let’s take one last look back at 2015.

It was a year of growth and change, energized by real estate market conditions. Closed sales recorded through November approached or exceeded 120% of closed sales in the previous year in almost every area served by RMLS™. This translates into a 20% increase in dollar volume of transactions. 2014 posted approximately $15 billion in sales, and 2015 will see over $18 billion in volume for all properties sold through RMLS™.

The improvement in real estate prospects has not gone unnoticed by job seekers. RMLS™ started the year with 10,676 subscribers and is projected to end 2015 with over 12,200 subscribers, an increase of 14%.

Some highlights of 2015 for RMLS™:

• Eight new RMLS™ classes were added to the list over the course of the year, including RPR Basics, SentriLock Essentials, Android Essentials, iOS Essentials, Utilizing RMLSweb Statistics, RMLS™ Rules and Regulations, RMLS™ Rules and Regulations Jeopardy, and Mobile Apps for REALTORS®. (To register for any of these classes, please contact training@rmls.com or call the Help Desk at 503-872-8002 or 877-256-2169 toll free.)

• RMLS™ was invited and became a Home Energy Info Accelerator Partner in May, when that US Department of Energy program was established.

• A listing forms change in July featured a new supplement for green/energy information.

• We became the fifth MLS in the nation to be certified with RESO (Real Estate Standards Organization) Data Dictionary version 1.3 in August. (We went on to surpass that level in December and were certified compliant at 1.4 Silver.)

• A new photo loader was introduced on RMLSweb in October which allows up to 32 images per listing and features high-resolution imagery and built-in basic editing tools.

• A new Beaverton training venue was inaugurated in November.

• A new mapping interface for RMLSweb was released in December.

• The Financial Tools on RMLSweb were modified to work with multiple browsers in February and the outdated default values within the tools were updated in December.

We want to take this opportunity to say a special thank all of our subscribers. We appreciate the opportunity to serve you and look forward to sharing our 25th anniversary celebration with you in 2016.

If you have questions on any RMLS™-related topic that you would like to have answered, I encourage you to post a comment.

The RMLS™ Training Staff: Ryan Jacobsen, Caryl Frazier, Melanie Huff and Lynn Solmonson.

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

When was the last time you attended a training class held by RMLS™? Whether you want to tame your smartphone or research real estate statistics in a specific ZIP code, we’ve got you covered. Our training staff aims to adapt to meet the needs of subscribers—we’re even testing out a new training facility in Beaverton this fall, to help reach more REALTORS® on the west side of the Portland metro area!

New Classes

RMLS™ Training has greatly increased its class offerings this year. This month was the debut of the Mobile Apps for REALTORS® class, which focuses on 50 apps available for iPhone, Android, and Windows devices that can help REALTORS® get organized, stay productive, and feel safe and secure.

RMLS™ also rolled out introductory classes for iPhone and Android users this year. Android Essentials for REALTORS® and iPhone Essentials for REALTORS® focus on teaching users how to get the most out of a smartphone device.

Want to be the expert in your market area? In the RMLSweb CMA and Statistics class, our trainers will show you how to get the statistical data you need to do just that. We’ll use the RMLSweb statistical modules to examine MLS areas for trends that will help you become more knowledgeable about your market area.

Finally, the RMLS™ Rules and Regulations Overview class will strengthen your knowledge of the RMLS™ Rules and Regulations! These rules and regs help keep the data accurate and useful for all our subscribers.

How to Access RMLS™ Training Opportunities

Come to us or we will come to you!

Did you know you can have an RMLS™ trainer come to your office with our RMLS™ Updates Class? With the recent release of the new photo loader and the annual forms change, now might be a great time to take advantage of this service. We also offer the new classes listed above at your office location. Just email training@rmls.com or call us at (503) 236-7657 to set up an appointment.

Find schedules for regular classes in the RMLS™ training rooms on RMLSweb under the Toolkit menu—click on “Training Calendar” for a list of schedules. Scroll to the bottom of the list for access to the ongoing webinars offered on a regular basis, which can be accessed from the comfort of your own home or office. Register online for any of the classes by selecting “Training Registration” under that same Toolkit menu.

New Training Facility in Beaverton

This fall, RMLS™ is offering classes at a new training facility in Beaverton. The Round in Beaverton is located at 12725 SW Millikan Way, which is MAX-adjacent and offers free parking for class attendees.

We’re looking forward to offering classes at this location, but class attendance will be key to continuing to use this facility in 2016. If you like having a training facility in Beaverton, come to a class this fall to show your support!

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 is a series about how things work at RMLS™.

One of the thing I enjoy most about writing this column is the ability to provide extra-early notifications of upcoming changes. So when the Board of Directors approves a new program or there is some other significant change coming, you can get a heads up well in advance of implementation. We told you about the new mapping in July, and there are now two more improvements to RMLS™ services to share with you. Both should be available before the end of the year.

REALTOR® Agent Profiles

At their August meeting, the RMLS™ Board of Directors approved the addition of links to the REALTOR® agent profiles being collected by Realtor.com. They will appear in the Find A REALTOR® section of RMLS.com, in the RMLSweb roster, and possibly on report banners. When accessed through an RMLS™ avenue, the Agent Passport will not be branded with the Realtor.com logo. If you want to get a jump on creating your profile, there is a there is a quick start guide on Realtor.com.

Financial Calculators on RMLSweb

A little history… Since our earliest days, RMLS™ Directors have consistently promoted inclusion of a robust set of financial tools for RMLS™ subscribers. It has not always been easy to reach this goal. The first tools provided were released in 1994 and were called PC Financials. A DOS 3.5″ floppy disk was provided at no charge to each subscriber. The 90s were the decade when Windows took over computing, so it was not long before the attempt was made to recreate these financial functions in a Windows-based program. These attempts were not met with success before RMLS™ migrated totally to its current web-based MLS system, RMLSweb in 2002.  A set of financial tools was licensed and added to the system that same year, and those same tools still live in the Toolkit menu. Over the next decade, the company licensing the tools to RMLS™ changed hands several times and eventually we lost the ability to effectively update and repair the program. It was not multi-browser compatible, and many subscribers attempting to utilize the tools got an error message instead.

Fast forward to 2014. The RMLS™ Board of Directors remained firm in its belief that RMLS™ should provide robust financial tools for subscribers. After surveying the marketplace for other alternatives, RMLS™ took the opportunity offered in June 2014 to assume in-house control of the code for the tools we were already using. The first improvement was to make the tools available through multiple browsers, which happened in January this year. Next we hired a researcher to update the default values, and I am happy to announce that those values will be updated and much more accurate later this year. Stay tuned to the RMLS™ Weekly Report for more information.

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 is a series about how things work at RMLS™.

RMLS™ is now the fifth MLS in the nation to be certified on the RESO Data Dictionary.

Yes, I’m yelling—because this is a major accomplishment, and it’s very hard to convey how much of an achievement it is because so many of the terms have to be defined. It’s not like saying we won the World Series or the Preakness or sold the most real estate, which most people would immediately understand and relate to.

• RESO is the data standards organization for real estate, whose mission is the standardization of both the process and real estate data that is shared throughout the industry.
• The Data Dictionary provides a common standard that defines real estate data in consistent terms and data structures across hundreds of MLSs, so that data can be more readily shared and understood.
• NAR requires that all affiliated MLSs adopt the RESO Data Dictionary January 1, 2016.

Kim Hutchinson, RMLS™ Data Quality Technician, worked for many hours to analyze and map RMLS™ data to the RESO Data Dictionary 1.3, making sure that there was congruence without compromising the accepted meaning of the data collected and to make changes under the hood to conform with data length and type requirements.

Our Distribution Services staff has begun the process of reaching out to providers of services and products to our real estate community to let them know that the Data Dictionary filters are available for RETS feeds. We expect this will expand the availability of cost-competitive products useful to our subscribers in the future. The idea is that using a common standard will foster innovation and help to create more of a “plug-and-play” environment, where REALTORS® will be able to purchase software and use it with data from any MLS operating on the RESO standards.

I deferred my planned post focusing on our Training Department to share this news. 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 is a series about how things work at RMLS™.

At their June meeting, the RMLS™ Board of Directors voted to replace the current GeoJet mapping for RMLSweb with a new solution. We will continue to utilize Bing Maps, but will include layers for parcels, zip codes, schools, counties, etc. from Digital Map Products. Neighborhood boundaries will be a new addition.

Our contract with GeoJet ends at the end of this year, so it was an opportune time to review that part of the system. Bottom line pricing for the two solutions is very similar, but we are looking to reap benefits of increased functionality and reliability. Developers will be working on integration of the replacement solution during the later months of this year.

The next post will focus on our Training Department. If you have questions on any RMLS™-related topic that you would like to have answered, I encourage you to post a comment.

RMLS™ Forms Committee Chair Maureen Bonfiglio (left) works with RMLS™ staff member Christina Smestad to plan 2015 committee strategy.

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

The RMLS™ Forms Committee is responsible primarily for what information is collected in Listing Load on RMLSweb. They also consider how that information is available for searching, as well as the contract language in the Exclusive Right to Sell agreement that RMLS™ provides.

Maureen Bonfiglio, RMLS™ Director and Chair of the Forms Committee for the past two years, has actually been a member of the committee for more than ten years. She has reviewed and discussed thousands of suggestions in that time. In her words, “the RMLS Forms Committee is instrumental in providing the best venue possible for the successful marketing of homes for sale. Each year dedicated REALTORS® volunteer their time to serve on this committee to review suggestions from RMLS™ subscribers and address real estate trends. We encourage you to email us with any suggestion you feel would enhance the listing input or provide important information to our membership about a property. If you would like to serve on this committee please contact Christina Smestad at RMLS™.”

The 2015 Forms Committee will meet later in the summer. It usually takes two or three two-hour meetings to review and discuss all the suggestions.

Last year, for example, the committee reviewed about 170 suggestions over the course of two meetings. The work of the committee resulted in 47 recommendations for changes to the collection and searchability of property information, which were all approved by the RMLS™ Board of Directors in November 2014.

Changes approved include additional tax ID fields to denote parcels included with the listing, additional fields in several of the supplement forms, additional values in several fields, and an increased number of value choices in several fields (i.e., increasing Garage Description maximum choices from one to three, and Lot Description from one to two.) Search improvements include a streamlined search for residential listings with dual or multi-household living possibilities and any bedroom on the main floor.

A special subcommittee reviewed the Green/Energy Efficiency fields with the objective of aligning our fields with national efforts by NAR and NAR’s Green REsource Council. This will result in a new Green/Energy Supplement for RMLS™.

You will see most of those changes at the end of July. Two of the recommendations will be released shortly after that. The ability to add up to 24 photos will coincide with the release of updated photo-loader functionality. A new status – Pending Lease Option (POP) – will also be released a little later. Because accepted offers with lease option terms tend to stay in Pending status for extended periods of time, the new status will provide better information about them and better statistics for the accepted offers with other terms.

There has been a standing Forms Committee at RMLS™ since 1991, when our multiple listing service began. This goes a long way to account for the rich dataset RMLS™ maintains about property listed by our subscribers.

The next post will focus on mapping in RMLSweb. If you have questions on any RMLS™-related topic that you would like to have answered, I encourage you to post a comment.