Coming in 2013: Full Browser and Tablet Compatibility

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.

How to Create a Combined Report

Printing multiple reports is more convenient than ever!

We’ve received input from subscribers about their desire to print multiple reports, such as History and Tax full, along with Agent and Client Full reports. It’s now possible! The Combined Reports feature that is now available on RMLSweb allows agents to print multiple reports for a maximum of 25 listings at one time. Agents can gather information related to a particular property or set of properties with fewer clicks of the mouse!

To create a Combined Report, select up to 25 listings on the Search Results screen and then choose “Combined Reports” from the “Select Report” drop down list. Due to the size of the report, Combined Reports are limited to 25 listings. You can drag and drop reports to arrange in the sequence you choose and also print or PDF a Combined Report.

A new report called Client Map is also available in Combined Reports. This report shows information similar to the Buyer Tour Map report and also has a large map image. Client Map is available on its own or can be included in Combined Reports.

If you’d like help getting to know Combined Reports, view this tutorial for more information:
Creating a Combined Report

For additional information or to attend a class on the RMLSweb system, please contact RMLS™ Training at 503-236-7657 or access the RMLS™ Training calendar under the Toolkit option. For immediate assistance you can contact the RMLS™ Help Desk at 503-872-8002 (toll free 877-256-2169 or via e-mail at helpdesk@rmls.com).

New RMLSweb CMA Available Now!

The new, improved CMA report has arrived

The transformed RMLSweb CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) has a brand new look and feel, as well as a new location! In addition to an extensive remodel of CMA, RMLSweb also now contains a Radius Search and enhanced User Preferences. Creating a CMA has never been easier and yet offered so many customizable options to set your CMA apart from the rest!

Highlights of the CMA include:

1) Navigate forwards and backwards without losing data
2) Adding comparables via seven different methods (MLS Numbers, Radius Search, Map Search, Address Search, Advanced Search, MLS Number Search, Saved MLS Numbers)
3) Saving the CMA in progress
4) Printing to PDF, printing to your printer, or e-mail with the touch of a button
5) Reorder your comparables or the pages of your CMA report by dragging and dropping them into the order you desire
6) Incorporate properties that are in different categories (ex: Farms/Ranches + Lots/Lands)
7) Display your recommended price through a graph
8) Customize your report with pages dedicated to Company Information, your Resume, and/or color themes to match your office/team
9) Auto-populate subject property information with Tax ID or previous MLS #

For more information, print out our quick reference guide.

Want a trainer to come out to your office and demonstrate this enhanced functionality? Call our Training Manager, Kerry Meeuwsen at 503-872-8051 or e-mail kerry.m@rmls.com.

Press Release: RMLS™ Awards Scholarships to PSU Students

For Immediate Release: May 25, 2010

RMLS™ Awards Scholarships to PSU Students

Four Portland State University students receive the RMLS™ Scholarship

PORTLAND, Ore. – RMLS^™ (Regional Multiple Listing Service), the largest Realtor^®-owned multiple listing service in the Northwest, has donated four $1,000 scholarships to students in Portland State University’s Center for Real Estate program.

“We are pleased to be a part of PSU’s program because we understand the importance of attracting motivated and skillful individuals into the real estate industry,” said Kurt von Wasmuth, President and CEO of RMLS™.

The award reception, which was held last Friday, May 21 in PSU’s Urban Center, was comprised of students, teachers and those working in the Portland real estate community, to honor those receiving scholarships. The recipients of the RMLS™ scholarship were: Raihana Ansary, Eric Hayes, Emily Picha and Nicholas Wright.

With an array of food and beverages, the reception was an intimate gathering and gave students the chance to speak with a representative of the company that sponsored their scholarship. These motivated young students spoke of the various projects they were working on and enlightened the crowd about their desire to pursue goals in the real estate industry.

“Each of the RMLS™ Scholarship recipients is a student in Portland State’s Graduate Certificate program in Real Estate Development, which is a 25-credit program focused in training in real estate finance, real estate development, and real estate economics,” said Director of the Center for Real Estate, Dr. Gerard C.S. Mildner.

As stated on PSU’s Center for Real Estate program’s Web site, The Center strives to “provide the real estate industry with talented and well-prepared graduates seeking careers in real estate.”

The reception demonstrated the success of Portland State’s program in helping to mold students into future leaders of the real estate world.

About RMLS^™

RMLS^™ produces and provides multiple listing and related services to facilitate cooperation between its more than 12,000 REALTOR^® subscribers. It is the primary source for real estate information and the premier Multiple Listing Service in the Pacific Northwest. For more information, visit www.rmlsbenefits.com.

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July Market Action Released: Reports Show Improvement in Oregon & Southwest Washington Real Estate

We released the latest Market Action reports to RMLS™ subscribers yesterday. Many areas of Oregon and Southwest Washington are showing improvement as far as sales and inventory go – here are a few highlights:

Note how 2009 line is virtually flat compared to 2007 & 2008

Portland Metro Active Listings: Note how the 2009 line is basically flat.

Inventory: Inventory is showing steady improvement in Portland (7.3 months), Clark County (7.3 months), and Lane County (6.2 months). In most circles, 6 months of supply is considered a balanced market. The drop in inventory comes thanks to strong closed sales, but also because the number of active listings is growing at a much slower pace than usual.

Closed sales: The Portland metro area was finally able to post a gain in same-month closed sales for the first time since April 2007. Closed sales were up 8.6% compared to last July. Clark County posted a gain for the second straight month – closed sales were up 23.5% there. Lane County also posted an 11% gain. Baker County, Curry County, Douglas County, and the Mid-Columbia region also saw growth.

Clark Co. Pending Sales: Oh, so close to reaching July 2007 levels.

Pending sales: Same-month pending sales in Clark County grew for the fourth month in a row at 30.3%. In fact, Clark County pending sales not only surpassed July 2008 levels, but they came close to hitting July 2007 levels. With the exception of the Mid-Columbia region and Union County, same-month pending sales grew in all of our primary service areas.

Oregon Real Estate Agency Issues Fingerprint Card Fraud Alert

The State of Oregon Real Estate Agency has issued the following alert on its website:

The Agency is receiving calls from licensees asking if their fingerprint cards have expired. The licensees explain that someone stating to be from the Agency has called them and informed them that their fingerprints are going to expire. The caller is asking for credit card and social security numbers.

Fingerprint cards and criminal background checks do not expire with the Agency. Also the Agency does not accept any personal or confidential information over the phone. If you receive one of these calls, do not give your information out.

Supra Lockbox Activity – Updated through July 12: Back Up After Holiday

While, the number of lockboxes that were accessed dipped during the week of the 4th of July, they seem to have rebounded nicely. Comparing June 29, 2009 through July 12, 2009 the number of times RMLS™ subscribers opened Supra lockboxes increased 23.9% in Washington and 21.9% in Oregon.

Click the chart for a larger view (Oregon, left; Washington, right)

Archive
View an archive of the Supra lockbox statistical reports on Flickr.

5 Ways to Use the New Mapping Features in RMLSweb to Be More Effective in Your Business

We’re excited because we just released some upgrades to the maps in RMLSweb. Now you can use a map instead of MLS area in several searches, save a custom map to use with other searches later and navigate the RMLSweb maps with ease.

But what does that really mean with regard to how you do business? Here are some ideas that we came up with of how you can use these new features in your everyday life to save time or get better information for you and your clients:

1. Let’s say you tend to work in a particular area or neighborhood, but you’re constantly working with different styles of homes. Now you can draw a map of your farm area and save it. Then you can create several Hotsheets, Prospect Profiles or Summary Only reports based off of the same map, but with a wide variety of criteria.

2. If you’re working with a client who is worried about living in a good school district, our upgrades to the school information on the listing maps should come in handy. When you’re looking at a map of a particular listing, click on the Schools tab to see a list of schools nearby. (The default is set to look for schools within one mile but you can increase the radius in the upper right hand corner to up to 20 miles.) You’ll notice that we’ve added some demographic information about the schools like pupil to teacher ratio to help you look smart.

3. Rumor has it a lot of appraisers are looking approximately one mile out when getting comps for their appraisals. Now you can look for comps in that same proximity to get an idea of what the appraiser may be looking at. How? Use the circle search and watch the distance indicator when you’re dragging out the line. It’ll tell you how many miles you’re covering in your search.

4. I don’t know about you, but for me it’s much easier to remember a property from the picture than the address. So when I’ve mapped several checked listings from search results, I love the new feature that allows me to see a thumbnail of the property.

5. Now that more agents are going to search with maps instead of MLS area number it’s more important than ever to make sure your listings are mapping correctly. We’ve tried to make this easy for you. We’ve increased the size of the map on the Listing Load page so you can easily see if the listing is missing a map or mapped incorrectly. If that’s the case, just click Adjust map location, click the right location and click Accept.

For a detailed tutorial on how to search using map ranges, click the image above. We’ve also created a printable tip sheet for your reference. To schedule a training session on this new release, call your local RMLS™ office, or e-mail training@rmls.com.