With all of the Hoopla and the surprises at Inman this week between MOVE/REALTOR.COM/Newscorp and Zillow/Trulia, the New York Times, etc, there is another possibility that will be spoken little of, if at all…and that is talk of a Broker MLS portal as part of a consortium with local MLS and Association public portals…for lack of a better term, the Network.

John and I have been considering and socializing various aspects of a network or consortium, with interesting result. There is much flesh to be put on the bones of this outline. Something that would enhance this concept is the sun setting of syndication by MLSs, leaving it the responsibility of brokers.

So, as with any onion, there are many layers, the future could resemble:

Broker/MLS National Public Portal Joined in a Consortium with Association/MLS Public Portals, AKA The Network

What’s at Stake

• The current real estate sales model

The Opportunity

• Position as the authoritative source of real estate information to the public, becoming a competitor for the public eyeballs at a greatly reduced capital cost…you own the data everyone wants
• Listhub, Zillow Trulia Data Battle will be expensive for both sides, and create an opening for an Industry entry.
• Creating the revenue from the data search, display, and other acceptable uses to pay for all of the costs of MLS services to real
• Synergies of this Consortium.

Stakeholders

• Consumers
• Agents
• Brokers
• Associations/MLSs
• Franchisors
• Vendors
• Consultants
• Portals

Projects

• Broker/MLS National Public Portal
• Association/MLS Public Portals
• Contract Alignment – LRM (Listing Rights Management) – Data contracts with specific data rights. This is critical. Exclusivity of data is a driver of value, and attainable.

Strategy – P C M

• Protect – Contract Alignment
• Control – LRM
• Monetize – Industry Public Portals

Major Portal Competition

• Zillow
• Trulia
• REALTOR.com

Portals are “Games”

• Traffic count indications
• 60 Million Uniques per month
• 5 Million Annual Transactions
• Changing rules of data display will not affect serious buyers, only gamers.
• Portals at vulnerable and at multiple risk
• Relationships with MLSs are weak
• Data Source from Point2 short term contracts
• Data Source from Listhub tentative – owned by Move
• Reliant upon MLS (free) data to build commerce

The Network is a Player

• The Network uses its data resources to propel it forward. All indications is that The Network must move now, to maximize the current landscape
• Third-party Portals pose a threat to brokers as the portals move upstream, creating relationships with consumers early in the home buying process, and cultivate consumers in a far more effective way than is possible for most practitioners. MLSs are at risk
• The Network is the alternative
• Network of Portals with combined traffic better than the Top Three
• Positioned to help Brokers and MLSs control and monetize their data (API Strategies) – LRM
• MLS Fees become a thing of the past for real estate professionals

Portals Are Vulnerable

• Be a competitive alternative to the top 3 in the real estate portal space
• Compete for the current dollars
• Find ways to monetize or benefit
• Position for future opportunities (dollars)
• MLS Public Portals
• Providing relevant search results to consumers, not hampered by revenue models of most portals
• Bringing Realtor® and consumers together online through the most dynamic and prolific Online Real Estate Communities on the Internet
• Data – Quantity and quality, the best of any portal
• Offering training and education resources to agents and consumers
• Sold data eventually – “that was then, this is now.” Sold data provided by forward thinking MLSs. Put the Zestimate to bed once and for all.
• Develop a public portal solution that is a WIN – WIN – WIN (Consumers/Practitioners/Organized Real Estate)
• A new online consumer experience
• Syndication Network – MLSs and Association Public portals
• Harnessing the power of the data, creating data products and revenue for the benefit of consumers and the industry
• Bringing REALTORS and Consumers together in a conversation
• Capitalizing on the community and organizing power of our MLSs and Associations to generate community created, hyper-local content

How? Create a “New Model”

• Key: “Industry Friendly” with Integrity
• Old Model – Single giant portals competing
• New Model – Create a network of MLS/Association portals and use the power of the organizations and brokers to help propel the “New Model” to the top, organize and share in revenue. Gain recognition and brand exposure in the marketplace to assist in the sale of other products

Industry Friendly

• Other MLS/Association Portals
• Broker Portals
• Agent Portals
• Franchisors
• Anyone who wants the data, under the provisions to be determined
• More Power Growing demand for data products….the MLS is data rich and can be used to construct many data products that have not yet been thought of.

MLS/Association Portals Will Come From:

• Public Portal
• Ad Networks
• Ads to local vendors
• Member Involvement
• Online Community
• Education
• Bringing the consumer and the REALTOR® together

Member Benefit

Sending leads back to members In a REALTOR® Friendly way

Emphasis on:

• Mobile
• Millennial
• Social
• Gaming
• Learning
• Community
• Content
• Search
• Display
• BI/Big Data

The Revenue Opportunities

People keep talking about “data,” but what is it that they are talking about?

• Information is the currency of the Twenty First Century – Toffler
• MLS Data – Availability, status, size, on market,
• Property Data
• Local Data added by associations and MLSs
• Community Data
• Behavioral Data

Components

• Vision
• Organizational structure
• Resources
• Budget
• New Hires – a few
• Responsibility
• Authority
• Accountability

MLS Portals

• Socialize MLS public portal acceptance to MLSs, Associations, Brokers, Agents
• Strive for as many public portals in the next two years as possible, by all competitors