One of the guys I respect most in this business — indeed, one of the guys I learned the most from just by reading his excellent blog, MLS Tesseract — is Brian Larson of Larson, Sobotka. Brian was a key player in the creating of IDX back in the late 90’s and probably has … Read more
One of the most fun things about coming to a NAR event — whether Mid-Year or Annual — is the ability to connect previously unconnected dots and have an A-HA! moment. I had one such moment yesterday in the legal seminar put on by NAR. I thought I’d jot down a few thoughts, as the … Read more
I just got finished with the webex presentation put together by CMLS (Council of MLS), an altogether wonderful organization for those people who care about these arcane issues. I’m sure the recording and/or the transcript would be posted by CMLS soon enough. This is just a couple of first impression questions/thoughts. There are three main … Read more
At first glance, the biggest change in the new IDX Policy to be proposed at NAR Anaheim is that it removes entirely the section allowing Franchise IDX. The entire section is struck. There will be much rejoicing in the anti-Franchise IDX partisans, and much gnashing of teeth in parts of New Jersey, Texas, Colorado, and … Read more
I think this mostly analytical, mostly opinion post nows goes beyond the ambit of my NAR Midyear coverage. So, many many thanks to Zillow for sponsoring the Midyear series (I may have more of them in the future) but this post is sponsor-free. Predictably, the news from Midyear about Franchise IDX has resulted in mass … Read more
This post, and this series of reports and opinions from NAR Mid-Year 2011, brought to you by: The historic meeting of NAR’s Board of Directors is now over. I had the privilege of being able to listen in as a member of the “press” — which the blogosphere and RE.net can actually be. I hope … Read more
This post, and this series of reports and opinions from NAR Mid-Year 2011, brought to you by: [UPDATED Friday 5/13; see end of post] Yesterday, I reported on the decision of the MLS Policy Committee to suspend the Franchise IDX rule and refer it to a new working group for revision by the Annual Convention … Read more
Earlier today, I was interviewed by Matt Carter of Inman News, who wrote a story about Realty Alliance sending a formal letter to NAR asking that the MLS Committee repeal the rule allowing franchisors to display IDX. It’s a good breaking news story on a potentially important topic. Read it in full. I was quoted … Read more
As reported by Inman News, NAR’s Multiple Listing Issues and Policies Committee has approved a new addition to the Internet Data Exchange (“IDX”) policy as follows: Display of IDX Information by Real Estate Franchise Organizations Participants may provide IDX information to their real estate franchise organizations (“franchisors”) to be indexed for display on franchisors’ websites. For purposes … Read more