NAR Board Approves Nationwide Listing Data Entry System

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

The NAR Board of Directors has voted to approve a partnership to create an online system for all listing data posted by real estate brokerages, creating a single back-end entry point for distributing listings to MLSs, brokerage websites, Realtor.com® and other sites chosen by the broker.

The arrangement will bring together NAR and its wholly owned REALTORS Property Resource® (RPR) subsidiary with UpStream RE, LLC, a company formed by a coalition of brokerages, networks and national franchises. The organizations will work together to develop a system based on the RPR® Advanced Multi-list Platform (AMP™) that will allow brokerages to use one application to input data for multiple platforms, including Realtor.com, local MLSs and broker websites.

To learn more about the new data entry system, watch this video on REALTOR.org.

The initiative, approved by the Board on May 16 at the 2015 REALTORS® Legislative Meetings and Trade Expo in Washington, will be funded using NAR operating reserves.

Speaking before the Board voted, RPR CEO Dale Ross said the company has been successful in its mission of providing property information to REALTORS® on the web and via a popular mobile app and needs to act resolutely to keep pace as technology evolves. "The train has left the station," he said, referring to the real estate industry’s desire to develop a unified data-entry tool. "Technology moves fast."

NAR CEO Dale Stinton added that the partnership is a key strategic move for NAR and reflects the organization's tradition of making forward-looking investments in the real estate industry.

In other action, the Board of Directors:

• Approved funds to help two Texas real estate companies fight a patent troll's effort to extract licensing fees from them for their use of certain search technology on their websites. NAR is part of United for Patent Reform, a broad industry coalition formed to push for changes in patent law that would protect end users of technology from abusive lawsuits.
• Voted to support efforts by two state REALTOR® associations to advocate for ballot measures to prevent the possible future imposition of sales taxes on real estate transactions.
• Adopted a Commitment to Excellence, which encourages REALTORS® to strive for excellence in a number of competencies, including the NAR Code of Ethics and understanding real estate the laws and regulations. The Commitment to Excellence also extends to the way REALTORS® interact with one another and with consumers, and to the need to stay current on industry developments.
• Adopted a plan to support lending, counseling and other programs intended to help so-called "boomerang buyers" reenter the home buying market with confidence and the resources they need to succeed. Boomerang buyers are households that lost their home during the Great Recession and are now considering entering the market again.
• Created a program to recognize associations doing an exemplary job using resources from NAR's housing opportunity, smart growth, and diversity programs. The new Community Outreach Awards will be presented every other year.