The Realtor Property Resource (RPR) & You- A Call to Action

Greg, I think the impact it has is that of waking the sleeping giants. I believe this is DOA because FirstAm will get a partner and do it better, while also offering more value to the local mls.

NAR believes this to be an offensive that will put them in the cat bird seat. I believe this to be a re-do of the Maginot Line where people will simply bypass it. Worst case, it is the last straw that starts the anti NAR revolution.

I have had my issues with NAR for awhile, but saw value in the homeowner advocacy lobbists they are. That changed with their backing of the tax credit extension.

Hey Greg,
First and foremost the RPR is a huge member benefit. I’m not sure how much you’ve heard about the tool, but in my opinion it’s been needed for while.

I hear often from REALTORS a major challenge they face is the huge amount of misinformation or out-dated information available on line…which their clients run into each day.

By assembling this “Gold Standard” in data, it will empower members as the source for trusted, complete, and reliable real estate and property ownership data. This is a good thing for the industry and each member!

Another challenge REALTORS face is obtaining information outside their territory. RPR would assist these members and allow them to carry out a myriad of new activities for their clients like creating market to market comparisons, advanced analytic reports and the RVM value.

As for MLS’s, in the ballroom discussions there were many great questions and many wondering what it all meant for them. Also yesterday I was able to sit in on a string of suite meetings with MLS executive. These meetings took the demonstration and conversation to a deeper level. The MLS executives were there to fully educate themselves. They went through a very detailed demonstration of the RPR tool, and asked the pertinent questions for their marketplace. When confirmation was made that RPR will carry no offers of cooperation and compensation and the fact that it would firmly apply the MLS’s business rules to their data, sign a no compete, etc… the MLS executives I heard were eager for next steps.

Also remember the idea of cost savings through a national compilation of 3rd party data (tax and assessment data, property data, neighborhood, school, demographics, maps, trends, and reports) is a real benefit for many MLS’s…and of course would result in increased profits.

I should also mention the MLS’s that opt-in will get a branded version of the RPR system to integrate with their MLS system…so their members will be able to click right from a listing inside the MLS and land on a MLS branded/integrated version of the RPR. As a result, the MLS would be enhancing the members search experience and facilitating the discovery of additional market data. This is another huge value-add and was exciting for many listening yesterday.

BTW, Rob Hahn was hasty with his post yesterday and I mentioned that to him on Twitter. If you know Rob you know that he often admits that he likes to see the dark side of things.

Lots more…but this is a long enough comment already. 🙂

Hi Reggie,

As cool as RPR is I still have a few thoughts:

This doesn’t change the quality of listing data.
Our listing data is worth more than a trade for free tax data.
FirstAm and a tech partner could do the same thing

A few questions:
What are the restrictions on how LPS can use OUR listing data outside of RPR?
If a local MLS opts in, is there any restrictions put on them by RPR as to what else we can do with OUR data?

Exciting times. Dangerous times. Like you said, time will tell. There’s a posse of smart, deep pocketed people who put this together and equally smart, deep pockets who fear it.

I do like Rob Hahn’s take ( https://www.notorious-rob.com/2009/11/14/in-which-i-announce-the-death-of-rpr/ ). Why. Because it makes sense. And he’s not sugar coating, kum-by-yaing it. Rob’s critical thinking keen.

I don’t fully understand all the implications, but I do know that a possible game changer, crushes somebodies dreams. Who’s? The MLS, Zillow, local boards, etc.

Also, 30 years of observation tells me, entrepreneurs don’t sit around and discuss, “How we can we make the individual real estate agent’s life easier and more profitable.” It’s self interest, capitalism, ego, power, fame, etc.

Time will tell. In the mean time, focus on your individual relationships, skills, knowledge, etc.

Like I said, exciting times. Cheers.

PS. At least it’s owned by NAR and some 3rd party company.

First of all, I cannot believe no one commented on the fact that Greg used “Pelosi” as a verb. I had to change my shorts I laughed so hard.

@Tom – the RPR isn’t going to “wow” anyone unless it HAS the MLS data in the first place – at least that’s my take. If it doesn’t, it’s just another “zestimate.”

I too, was excited about the possibilities RPR had to offer – mainly because out here in the sticks the MLS is an archaic monopoly run by Mr. Potter’s evil twins – the two local traditional brokerages with fingers in every pie (mortgage, banking, insurance, development, etc.). It’s a teeth-pulling excursion to get them to add actual Seller Contributions to CLOSED data. Anything that will make them wake up and realize that IDX doesn’t stand for “I Don’t Xpect” much.

Surprised to hear of the chlly reception – hope to see this evolve back into the exciting venture it appeared to be at first.

Navy Chief, Navy Pride

So the NAR has become another aggregator. Data suppliers will be glad to have the customer and competitors will hope their running head start means something.

(It’s ironic how important *data* becomes at the levels discussed here, but not in a typical agent’s own business.)

Assembling a “gold standard” of data is marketing fluff and won’t happen. Not because of local board acceptance reasons, but because data at this scale usually contains errors in percentages that *increase* in relation to the size of the data set. As an obverse illustration, I know agents who work upscale markets whose databases are more accurate and current than any public or board-controlled system covering the same market. Their competive edge comes from answering clients questions from this rich knowledgebase, not from a recitation of information they *think* is correct.

As far as I can tell, we’re still talkin’ residential real estate here. Market analytics et al are useful for pricing, but for other details, I don’t think inspectors should worry about their job security.

Oh… and I really like the idea of saying someone got “Pelosied”. I think just about everyone will *forever* get it and that Greg should get etymological credit.

@Matthew What’s really ironic is that you’re saying data isn’t important to the typical agent’s business. Accurate data is crucial and should always be the goal!

Also to correct your statement, no we’re not just talkin’ residential real estate. RPR will include all property parcels in the U.S., commercial, residential and vacant land.

> Reggie “What’s really ironic is that you’re saying data isn’t important to the typical agent’s business. Accurate data is crucial and should always be the goal!”

I may not have stated that point clearly enough: what I was saying here is that CRM-related data is vital, yet most agents don’t take the time and trouble to collect and maintain and leverage it for the long-term success of their own business. Instead, they upload some contact info into yet-another-vendor-hosted-system then jump to the next shiny object… although some vendors try to “encourage” agents to stay by not allowing them to take all their data with them should they decide to leave.

So, the real irony is being overly concerned about the endemic lack of accuracy from large data suppliers/aggregators while paying only passing attention to the data that matters the most – yours.

My reference to residential real estate has to do with its personal, boots-on-the-ground quality; it’s Bob Wilson’s point, “you still need eye balls on the property.”

Rather LPS will be used as a marketing channel for an analytic product created FROM the data.

Reggie – How will RPR account for bad data in the first place? I know my MLS is chock-full of inaccurate information and data that has been input (whether knowingly or not) that couldn’t be correct if it tried. Like the agents on the NE side of town (why it’s prevalent on that side of town I do not know) that like to list acreage without decimal points. A 773 acre lot with a 3/2 home on it for $160,000? I don’t think so.

I know you’re a data kind of guy, so I’m sure you know the old phrase:

Garbage in, garbage out.

This assumes of course, that I am understanding you correctly…that MLS data will help feed into the RVM algorithm.