Written by: John Giaimo, Realty Times
As many of you heard, MLS Technology Holdings, Inc., a consortium of some of the largest MLSs in the country, invested in Remine, essentially agreeing to oversee their technology development and operations.
I find this to be a very smart, tactical move to make sure future development originates from an MLS and broker/agent lens.
From my point-of-view, this could help MLSs and their brokers to maintain and control more of their data and privacy, something that has been eroding over the last ten years.
And with the large amount of real estate technology investment and acquisitions, having a group of MLSs keeping their members’ interest in the forefront can make a big difference.
The industry has been buzzing about recent acquisitions, from DotLoop and ShowingTime being bought by Zillow, and Cloud CMA being acquired by Lone Wolf Technologies, to name a few.
The reality is that Zillow changed the market years ago, and Costar is posturing to make a much bigger play in the residential real estate. Things are indeed rapidly changing.
And that’s why this collaboration just feels different. It’s a way for MLSs to take back some of the control over technology development for their members, and do it in a way that’s far less self-serving. Ideally, no one knows the needs of their brokers and agents like an MLS or Association does.
According to the announcement, the MLS Consortium (MLS Technology Holdings, Inc.) is there to oversee the Remine organization, not run it. This allows the MLS partners to more keenly direct the work of Remine, without interfering with their day-to-day operations.
I like the move – it takes guts to go head-to-head with some of the larger players in the market, but they have the market knowledge and courage to compete in the market, while also being collaborative with other technology vendors.
Time will tell, but from my point-of-view, this is a step in the right direction.
This article was originally published in Realty Times.