Author Archive

Leaders of REALTOR associations and MLSs have 3 options and it’s time to pick one. Over the holidays, I read “Flash Foresight” by Daniel Burrus, which I highly recommend. Burrus says, “predicting the future is easy … but predicting it accurately is hard”. Can you relate? He goes on to say that we are generally too focused on our current challenges (the housing market, difficult transactions, challenges in lending, etc.). Instead, he recommends that you think about the challenges and problems you are ABOUT to have next.  If that is difficult,... [Read more]

Like so many of you, I have been thinking about how to make a bigger difference in 2012 by giving back to the real estate community.  You have been so amazing and good to me for nearly 30 years and I want to do more.  There has never been a better time to listen and understand the challenges so many leaders are facing right now, due to the big shifts taking place in organized real estate. My wife Sue and I give graciously to our church and other organizations throughout the year.  In 2012, I will commit 10% of my time to giving back to the community by sharing my talents... [Read more]

… some challenges and successes relating to digital music and parallels between the music and real estate industries.  Mike Masnick will speak about this at Inman Data Summit January 25 – 26. For instance, as consumers now have ever more real estate-related information at their fingertips from both third-party and industry sites, the role of the real estate professional has shifted from gatekeeper of information to enabler, Masnick said. “There is still a role for middlemen to (help consumers) understand the process and the pitfalls and the best practices... [Read more]

30 leading REALTOR associations in South Carolina and Indiana are working together to identify new ways for reducing operating costs, balancing budgets and becoming indispensable to their members. This group represents a “cooperative” of 28,000 REALTORs (95%) across two entire states. REALTOR association execs and board members are well aware of the “value crisis” that is brewing. Membership is declining and so is income. Technology is moving faster than most association decision-making and the data, which used to be exclusive to the local MLS, is... [Read more]

I don’t typically plug conferences and we all have plenty of meetings to attend, but I want to make sure you know about this one.  If you are going to Inman SFO in July, you might want to add the Inman Data Summit to your travel plan. This is a first ever event for Inman and I am honored to be involved on the Board of Advisors with some of the smartest people in the business.   Check it out and I hope to see you there on July 25-26.  I will also be staying the rest of the week.  Why not, it’s San Francisco! I’ll keep you posted with more details of... [Read more]

For the past few months, I have been mostly quiet about my ideas and vision for the future of our industry.  I realized sometime last year that the “noise level” has been getting louder and louder so I intentionally  stepped away from these distractions to really listen and learn from what I was hearing. I have a lot to share about what I learned while avoiding the distractions and based on my work with 100 organizations over the year. I have a lot to say about your future and the future of the real estate and MLS industry in general. In May, I stepped away... [Read more]

Here is the new RESO Board of Directors for next year.  This is a very talented group of leaders.  The future of RETS is in their hands and I am excited about the possibilities.  Please follow along in the coming months as the industry really needs implemented standards.  We all have a role to play to support the RESO board in 2011. Congratulations to Rebecca Jenson, Pat Bybee, Art Carter, David Charron and Rob Overman and the returning directors.  We support your efforts. RESO 2010 Election Results  Read More →

There is a big shift taking place in the real estate industry right now and it’s your springboard to your future. MLSs have never experienced declines in membership and revenues like they are dealing with now.  As a result, everyone is working harder than ever to balance budgets, search for new sources of income and be more relevant.  Most MLSs are now competing for their piece of a shrinking pie and many are trying to figure out what to do to survive the next few years.  We frequently hear, “how can we do more with less and still provide excellent service... [Read more]

Discover Software Announces Client Portal, Mobile, and Desktop Versions Valencia, Calif., Nov. 2, 2010 – Discover Software, Inc (Discover) announced today that it is raising the bar once again with several new innovations in its flagship product, Discover MLS. First, with its exclusive DiscoverCache technology, normal use of Discover MLS creates a re-usable cache of listing data. Beginning in November, users can harness the power of that local data with a one-time installation of Discover Desktop. This new application extends the capabilities of Discover MLS with true... [Read more]

What’s in Your MLS Future?  According to two of our industry’s best, one thing is for certain:   There is a big shift taking place in the industry and leading MLS organizations are thinking and acting differently.   Your survival will depend in large part on the actions you and your leadership take in the next 12-18 months.   As internet-based solutions continue to arm consumers with increased information, MLSs that simply maintain or protect what they have will be left behind. We recently interviewed Russ Bergeron of MRED and Bob Bemis of ARMLS,  two of  our... [Read more]