The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has been in the kitchen cooking up a recipe for a new soup for its members to slurp.
The hearty stock, made from Gateway, Real EstateChannel/TREC, and Library/Archive, is RPR, Realtor Property Resource, which will aggregate various data on residential and commercial real estate property across the country (”a parcel-centric information database covering all of the more than 147 million property parcels in the country”). Much of the meaty data clumps (MDC) will come from LPS, Lender Processing Services Real Estate Group. (stock up 54 cents today)
Another spicy ingredient is RVM, Realtor Valuation Model, a Kelley Blue Book-FICO score-Zillow-like concoction made with a golden standard sauce. WTF?
What’s in the Soup?
The RPR™ will provide a single-source national compilation of tax and assessment data; property data; neighborhood, school, demographic and psychographic information; and maps, trends and reports. It will be exclusive to members of NAR, who can share its information with their clients.
….. details of prior transactions, MLS-provided information, zoning information, transfer tax information….
…. public record information for commercial, residential and vacant land such as tax assessments and comparable data, liens, zoning, permits, environmental, neighborhoods, school districts and community demographics.
Who’s Stirring the Soup?
The management team of RPR includes CEO Dale Ross, who was a co-founder of the Metropolitan Regional Information System, (MRIS) the country’s largest regional MLS; President Marty Frame, former general manager of Cyberhomes; Senior Vice-President of Industry Relations Mona Steen, former SVP with Cyberhomes; and Jeff Young, NAR’s Director of the REALTORS Property Resource and 2008 President of the Michigan Association of REALTORS.
LPS will also be under contract to provide data center, customer care, and other services on behalf of the RPR™.
Who’s Paying for the Soup?
It is supposedly free to Realtors…at least the MLS/CIE information. But soup nazis will require some kind of payment or it’s “No soup for you.” For those agents dining at a gourmet MLS, there is will be no need to buy NPR soup. But if your local MLS is a data dive, you may have to pay..
Some NAR bite-sized tidbits:
- RPR will be available second quarter 2010
- only MLS/CIE Subscribers/Participants will be able to view MLS/CIE (Commercial Information Exchanges) sourced information
- There will be no public access to the RPR™
- the database and its data cannot be shared through consumer websites or listing presentations. (no listing presentations?)
- The RPR™ is not a national MLS, and will carry no offers of cooperation and compensation.
- a universal property id system (as URIs?) (via FBS blog)
- access to public record information for commercial, residential and vacant land such as tax assessments and comparable data, liens, zoning, permits, environmental, neighborhoods, school districts and community demographics
- tax and assessment data coverage in 92% of U.S. counties, and has an aggressive plan to provide coverage for as close to 100% of the country as possible within two years.
- The search features will allow nationwide property searches, as well as market-to-market comparisons. Advanced User Profile Features and social networking components will help REALTORS® create referral communities, as well as reverse-prospect specialized property types, such as vacation and waterfront to REALTORS® throughout the U.S.
- The RPR™ system will include online training and contextual help, along with support through e-mail, online chat and toll-free telephone.
- RPR will complement, not compete with, MLSs and CIEs
- Realtors Property Resource, LLC will be headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with offices in Washington, D.C. and Irvine, California.
Is the Soup Nutritious?
Aggregating well-balanced, comprehensive, and healthful property related data is good for Realtors’ well being. But like all public data, it can be inaccurate, incomplete, or stale — Zillow will tell you how stale public data has turned its stomach and given zestimates the dry heaves. If agents sup on the RPR soup with their local MLS MAP (meat and potatoes), however, they should be in good shape to apply their skills to whip up a great dish for individual clients…..BUT
A Fly in the Soup
The prohibition against using the data in listing presentations is not helping the Realtor feed the client. And it may be against the law— public records are designed for public consumption. Also, keeping the public data off consumer facing plates (websites) would probably include broker websites. This is a NARly fly in the soup which will surely upset some stomachs. I suspect real estate agents will pass the tasty public data to prospective clients, like slipping morsels to Rover under the table.
UPDATE: After this post, the prohibition against listing presentations was removed.
Also, if the data is not on a public facing site, like Realtor.com or broker websites, how is the RPR data attaching itself to listings? Is it listings in Column A and RPR data in Column B?
Pass the Pepto
RVM automated home valuation, which the NAR wants to be a “Gold Standard”, will probably by more like a gold Twinkie, sweet but full of empty calories. RPR Twinkies, like Zillow zesti-snowballs, will be OK, so long as home sellers have the right to throw it up opt-out of it.
Under the Department of Justice (DOJ) settlement with NAR, home sellers have the right to leave out AVM from their home marketing meal. But I suspect NAR will keep the RVM in the RPR soup, arguing it is not on a public facing menu. This is a midnight raid on the fridge, against the weight watching requirements of the settlement. NAR members will definitely get fat on the RVM fast food.
If Realtors get charged extra for the new soup, just wait on line for LotInfo.com, a New York secret spot smorgasbord, which will soon be going cross country with its delectable menu of property lot information.
Will RPR Send TruZilla to the Soup Line?
I wonder how the RPR will affect real estate media sites like Trulia and Zillow, so well loved and supported by REALTORS? Since the RPR data is not publicly available, the VCs are probably breathing a sigh of relief and will not yet have to sell off Trulia & Zillow in a Happy Hour giveaway. The Trulians can continue to feed on broker/agent SERPs while Zillow continues to chew its zestimate cud.
Burp.
Further Gorging:
From NAR:
NAR Tech Acquisition will create national property database (Realtor)
RPR Fact Sheet (Pdf)
Webcast by Dale Stinton, NAR CEO, and Frank Sibley, SVP Communications
From Social Media
REALTOR Property Resource: A possible business Model? (MLS Tesseract)
RPR Madness! NAR Unleashes national property database with Cyberhomes (Brian Boero, 1000 Watt)
The Coming Civil War in Real Estate: The RPR Saga Begins (Notorious R.O.B.)
Run Altos Run! NAR Announces RPR (Mike Simonsen, Altos Research)
Breaking News: NAR/RPR + Cyberhomes= (Jim Duncan, Agent Magazine)
Realtors Property Resource (RPR) What Do You Think? (Clean Slate)
Will the RPR drive up the costs of referrals (Matt Stigliano, Active Rain)
Realtors, Wary of Zillow, Build Their Own Data Tool (WSJ blog)
NAR Leaps into the Fray in a Big Way (FoREM)
Image thanks to Alphabet Soup Generator
Technorati Tags: NAR, National property resource, rpr, rvm, realtor, real estate technology
