5 Technology Trends That Will Change Brokerage in 2016

Technology will continue to play a significant role in the operations of real estate brokerages in 2016. The MLS will remain the data hub of property information but there are many significant industry changes in the pipeline, including:

1. Data Standards - The National Association of REALTORS® is requiring the every MLS become standardized in how they provide data to brokers. The standard is set by the Real Estate Standards Organization or RESO, and the fields are defined by the Data Dictionary. Data standards are great for our industry and will allow vendors to deploy property search solutions and other applications more quickly because of a reduction in data mapping and data mapping maintenance.

2. RESTful API – API refers to Application Programming Interface. It allows software applications to talk to one another to share information. An example that you are probably familiar with is when you click an address on your mobile phone and it opens up your mapping application so you do not need to cut and paste the address. The nation's MLSs are required by the NAR to support the RESO API by mid-summer. This will allow your broker applications to "talk" to the MLS and provide a more efficient way to keep your broker applications synchronized with the MLS data.

3. Upstream, LLC – Project Upstream will begin its service offerings in some markets during the first half of 2016. Although the information is sparse, the solution promises to allow brokers to perform Add/Edit and other listing maintenance functionality in the broker's back office solution then push the information to one or more MLSs using an API referenced above. This effectively perfects the broker's copyright ownership of the data. The thesis is that if all brokers own and control their data, they will be able to reduce piracy and improve data sharing across broker solutions.

4. Forms Nationalization – The biggest news from the National Association of REALTORS® annual convention in November was that zipForm will be offered as a member benefit. It is important that brokers weigh in on this issue if this represents a change in your market. If you are in a market that uses Instanet, Forms Simplicity, DotLoop or some other forms solution, you should have a conversation with your vendor and with your association(s) to discover the timing and impact to your business – if any. ZipForm is a decent document management tool, but does not have many of the features that brokers require for transaction management.

5. Broker CRM – Customer Relationship Management tools have become a prerequisite for recruiting and retaining agents today. These powerful solutions allow the brokerage to deliver everything that an agent needs to sell real estate – integrated contact management, calendar management, email, transaction management, drip marketing, flyers, CMA, agent website, lead management, social media, AVM, single sign on, and anything else you can imagine. With the introduction of MLS and public records data, these applications can become the centerpiece of selling real estate. They fold everything together around the consumer so the agent is always connected. Of course, these are all mobile enabled and must support teams!

Consider setting a goal to become a tech-savvy brokerage in 2016. Our goal is to be your trusted advisor when you are in the market for technology or data. Let us know if you have any questions and we'll be happy to help in any way.