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2-26-09 CalREDD Demo and Q&A

Categories: Current Events Posted by smurphy on 2/26/2009 8:20 AM | Comments (6)

The always welcome Chris Kutzkey from Siskiyou County introduces us to the lengthy work that has gone into the new CALMLS sponsored MLS database solution calREDD.

These folks are on a roadshow, demo-ing the new software that may replace FlexMLS if our MLS buys into it. Although it is not yet finalized, development is far along enough to give a pretty good overview of the product. It was running data from a Pennsylvania MLS and looked robust and fast. These folks are doing demos at Siskiyou and Tehama today too. There are 117 associations statewide, with memberships running from 30-12,500 members. 38 MLS's have less than 250 members. All are using various different MLS software solutions. From the sound of things, few have it as good as we do. 72 have signed Letters of Intent to look into the CAR sponsored CALMLS offering.

Seen above Scott Kucirek of CALMLS (CAR) and Warren Andrich, National Sales Director for Concentric, whom some remember from Supra (lockboxes). These two demonstrated the capabilites of this early version of the selected software solution for the proposed statewide MLS. Scott has a solid RE background having run 2100 agents and 47 offices with Prudential, and then going on to Co-found tech startup Zip Realty. He definitely knew what he was dealing with in terms of our expections, and anticipated many of our questions. Warren ran the demo, but was not really all that technical about the nuts and bolts of it. The product looked fast, stable, and sleek. It ran pretty much everything we do already with FlexMLS, and then some. The added plus being that it is based on much newer technology, it holds out the promise for more customization and innovative applications we haven't yet thought about. Plus much better mapping capabilities based on Googlemaps. Scott indicated CALMLS has negotiated strict requirements for tech support and other service levels from Concentric. Starting from no existing database model, the underlying technology is much different from the traditional databases we are used to seeing, which basically tried to mimic the old MLS paper books. It runs on Flex from Adobe (no relation to FBS FlexMLS), which makes it a highly adaptable web based solution. More about both Adobe Flex and AIR HERE

The three folks answered questions until we had no more. I can't go into it all, but from my notes the concerns included: Can we run FlexMLS and calREDD simultaneously until we are comfortable with the change? (Yes). Can somebody steal our data? (No). Will there be IDX and VOWs (Yes). Will there be access to Parcel Quest or similar (Yes). Will I be able to Auto e-mail? (Yes). Will I be able to transfer saved searches from FlexMLS to calREDD? (Not directly). I can't go into great detail, but I felt like most people's questions were satisfactorily answered to the degree that they could be at this very preliminary stage. There wasn't much hard demo about CMAs. Some questions that cannot be answered at this stage mostly include the cost. There is hope an economy of scale will radically reduce the cost. Also a lot of questions will be answered locally, when each MLS overlays their own rules over acess and policy.

They have done many local demos throughout the state. When asked what seemed to generate the most concern on his travels, Scott replied that it mostly fell into 2 categories. Large regional MLS's that have plans to expand themselves, and isolationist "moat builder" MLS's that seek to keep outsiders outside. Interesting. It's easy to forget how good we have things here.

Scott was quite candid. I stuck around after the demo to chat a bit. I pointed out that most of the negative stuff I was hearing from members was the "I don't want agents from _______ county bringing clients here to buy." He agreed that was a concern, but pointed out his experience from upstart Zip Realty which even with their rebates and other enticements, made only limited headway against established local agents. In real life, most people want local expertise and recognize the value. Clint Cronic brought up a good point about big bucks IDX operators possibly using data access to advertise locally, driving up his advertising costs. Again, Scott seemed to think this was a very minor threat. While there may be bigger buck operations in LA or wherever, they have to spend those big bucks on their own market just to compete. Why would they go after a much smaller market where they have no local advantage? All said and done, there are concerns remaining about CALMLS and calREDD, but I felt that the leadership on this initiative had heard and worked through a lot more than I expected. It really was incredible that they went to this trouble to meet with us locally and hear our concerns directly.

I think they went out of their way to make the widgets in the demo look familiar to everyone, but I know at least one person there was disappointed to see it was so conventional, and didn't have much of the look and feel (and capabilities) of the latest social networking sites. After all, what we broadly do is networking. Anyway, there will be a decent demo online in a week or so at www.calredd.com, but what's up there now is only a placeholder. It will be worth your time to take a look next week.

I got there early, anticipating a bigger crowd. Those who missed the demo missed a lot. Skip Murphy

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Comments

We hope all of you in Shasta decide to stick with us at FBS and the flexmls Web system. A couple of things I'd like to point out from the post:

1. Mapping -- The aerial imagery and routing we provide your MLS is from Google. What was it from their Google maps implementation that was impressive? Perhaps they showed street view, which we likely will implement but haven't yet had much demand for it because the MLS already has pictures of the front of the houses. Certainly driving down the street on the web is a novelty but the quality of the photos and the experience still leave something to be desired from my view and don't add much to the house selling process. That being said, we'd love to hear from you if this is a key feature for you or if there was something else about the mapping that you think we should implement.

My recommendation for improving the maps we offer you is to incorporate parcel maps we can get from Shasta County (www.shastagis.co.shasta.ca.us/.../...ch_new.aspx). Adding a parcel layer will do three important things: (1) increase the accuracy of the mapping down to the parcel level, instead of relying on street segment parsing; (2) improve property history accuracy tied to parcel number instead of address; and (3) provide more detail maps of each listing, with parcel boundaries.

The mapping system in flexmls Web is based on OpenLayers, which allows us to bring in content from many different sources, including Google, Microsoft, the local County (parcels, fire district boundaries, etc.).

2. The Adobe AIR development platform is new and provides some nice development options, but we believe the technologies powering flexmls Web are better suited to the Web over the long term. To run the Adobe AIR environment, you need to download and install it from Adobe. Granted, many users already download Adobe PDF reader but will emails sent to your customers require them to install the entire Adobe AIR platform?

FBS has long followed open web development standards so that any browser can be used. We believe this approach makes the system more accessible to more people, which is what the web is about.

3. Database Design. One of the most powerful aspects of flexmls Web is our database design, which allows the MLS control to add and change fields directly through the system without custom programming. This ability to make your system responsive to the changing needs of your local MLS is one of the biggest considerations in moving toward a statewide system. FBS is a strong proponent of data standards through RETS (I was the chair of Real Estate Standards Organization Board last year), but we also know from our 30 years of MLS experience that real estate is local. With flexmls Web, your local MLS can add a new field in minutes based on your needs.

3. Cost. I look forward to learning more about costs of CALMLS. Serving over 110 MLS organizations across the country, we at FBS know well the costs of providing MLS services and I'm confident our pricing is and will be very competitive with all offerings.

4. Competition. FBS strongly believes in competition. I've been posting for over a couple of years on the FBS Blog about why competition is important for MLS systems. (http://blog.flexmls.com/?p=216) Competition is what keeps systems strong and alive. If FBS doesn't do a good job, a competitor will come along and knock us out. We live with that every day. The question I have for proposals like CALMLS is what will competition look like five years from now if they are successful? How responsive to your needs will they be when they are the only game in the state? Of course, I ask these questions from my bias as an MLS vendor who wants to compete but I think these questions are important for MLSs such as your considering the long-term future of your MLS as well. Competition is what makes our economy work and it falters only when competitors become "too big to fail".

One example I recall from early on with the CALMLS project was that they were proposing to allow something like 8 photos per listing. I don't know if that's still the case or not, but flexmls Web allows an unlimited number of big photos to help you market your listings. We offer that because we believe it is a competitive advantage for you and us.

Bottom line: We look forward to the competition from CALMLS and will, as always, work hard to keep your business. I would love the opportunity to come meet with you all to discuss this in more detail. There are many facets to the issue and it would be fun to have a few hours or more to talk with you about them.

Sincerely,
Michael Wurzer
President and CEO of FBS
mwurzer at flexmls dot com

The feature I liked was the ability to have multiple searches automatically saved. Currently, when you start a new search you have to go through a number of steps to save it and retrieve it or back out of it and begin a new search. This product remembers your searches automatically by date and time.
The major benefit is access to data in neighboring counties. Michael, we have neighboring MLS's that have dug a moat around themselves and won't share their information unless we join their association, pay their dues, learn their MLS software, etc. Not that I plan to invade their market and list and sell, but at least I would be able to help my clients that want a second home in Mt. Shasta, Lake Almanor or Trinity Center. I could provide the information and possibly make a referral.
Other parts of the state have problems with having several different MLS's serving their market area. They must join multiple boards, abide by differing sets of rules and pay redundant fees.
Flex was given kudos by the presenters for having a product superior to other systems used around the state. The MLS committee did a good job reviewing the MLS software vendors and choosing your company. However, unless you can get our neighboring areas on board with Flex this may be the better way to go to get the data we desire. Those of us that have used Paragon know how inferior that system is to Flex. Yet that is the system our peers have selected north and south of us.

Hi Michael,

Nice surprise to have you here. Thanks for your reply. Interestingly, the presenters paused several times in their demo, waiting for kudos for their product that never came. A number of the features they thought were spiffy, are things you have implemented already. That speaks well to your product. Also of major note, was when they mentioned tech support and seemed to expect horror stories. Our membership could only complement FWS for quick and thorough support. Thank you for that.

A lot of the “features” were in development, and so it’s easy to imagine their ultimate superiority over what we have today. That gives them something of an advantage in a demo. We all have imaginations.

To be truthful, for a real estate application (which is all about PLACE and LOCATION), I don’t think I’ve seen any well executed implementation of mapping technology yet, including theirs. This is another place where our wishes compete with the actual reality.

Nobody cares about the underlying technology, either. I threw that in there because they did. As soon as I heard that calREDD ran with Flash, I cringed. It won’t run on my iPhone. At least not now. But FlexMLS on an iPhone is no fun party either. The Trulia app for finding open houses with an iPhone is forcing me to use, or at least acknowledge (what I think is) a competitor to my own interests. Can you compete with that? On the surface the calREDD platform looks ultimately more inviting to those kinds of innovations. But hey, I’m just a salesperson.

There is strong truth to what you say about competition. If Concentric does turn out to be the only vendor in the state, it will inevitably become mediocre, no matter how great it may start out. I hope you continue to compete. I hope we have several vendors to choose from ultimately, that play well together.

There’s the key. That play well together thing. If everyone has proprietary systems in place, then we can’t network. Our whole reason to have a MLS is to network, and if I can’t network with other MLS’s around here, it’s a limitation. That limitation will eat us alive, in a world of Zillows and Trulias. I can live with sub-optimal widgets. I will starve with no network, or if the network moves to another platform I’m not on.

All vendors in this marketplace should stop worrying about features, and start worrying about interoperability, ease of use, and connectivity, IMHO. There always going to be a startup with flashier code that can give a killer demo. If you look around at the faces in that room, they don’t care all that much about saving searches and mapping features, they only want to sell.

Well, except maybe my colleague Erin. She expected better social networking features from the demo. She may have a point. I hope Trulia and Zillow don’t overtake us while we are arguing about who does the better photo resizing, or some crap.

That’s just my opinion, and no, I’m not on the MLS Committee. Skip

I just now see my avatar makes me look grumpy, but I don't see a way to change it, so please know that I'm not.

Thanks for following up with comments. I completely agree with you about the need to avoid proprietary solutions and focus on standards. That's why we've put so much effort into RETS. We've already implemented data sharing where we're bringing in data from a Rapattoni system in the Florida Keys and we'll soon be implementing a data sharing arrangement with competing MLS systems in Minnesota as well. This also is the model CARETS employed in Southern California.

Has anyone approached the other MLSs with you which you'd like to share data to see if they will provide you with a RETS feed? If so, we can make it available to you in your current system. No one has to switch vendors, you all can pick which vendor you like best and use RETS to exchange data.

Let me know if you'd like to see how our cross-MLS data sharing functionality works. It's already built into the software and works quite well, especially with the mapping where it's easy to see where listings may overlap.