Zillow’s acquisition of ShowingTime created a seismic shift in the real-estate industry around showing solutions. ShowingTime had been acquired by Zillow in a series of acquisitions to become the largest and most trusted provider of showing services in North America. The collaboration of three of the most prominent MLSs in the nation, Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), Bright MLS, and California Multiple Listing Service(CRMLS) received significant attention.
MRED, Bright MLS, and CRMLS created a joint “HUB” showing service based on the new RESO Data Dictionary standards for showings. Up to five targeted meetings per week were held by teams working together in an agile development process. A marketing plan was also created and implemented in addition to regular staff assignments.
Chris Haran, RESO Cross-Platform Interoperability Workgroup Chairman and CTO at MRED, Mark Bessett (RESO Universal Property Identifiers (UPI) Workgroup Chair, and CTO at CRMLS), and Ken Schneider (VP, Strategic Initiatives at Bright MLS), shared details about how and why the collaboration began, who was involved, how it evolved, and what has been achieved. WATCH THE VIDEO (32 minutes)
Haran led a series of RESO Showing Subgroup meetings that collected metadata from service providers to help build the HUB. This work led to new fields, resources, and lookups being added into the RESO Data Dictionary. It is expected to be completed by early 2023.
A hackathon was also held with more than 20 participants. This allowed for new ideas to be implemented and led to a daily standup meeting that will continue the course towards a 2022 launch.
Next steps include launching the Showing HUB within their respective MLS markets, and eventually sharing their code to other MLSs in order to solve problems in other markets. The 2022 RESO Fall Conference will feature an update on the project.
According to the three MLS executives the goal of the venture is not to monetize showings but to offer more technology options for brokers and an interoperable solution to meet the new subscriptions. These are core principles of RESO’s mission, to improve efficiency and foster innovation in the industry.