The Sitzer v. NAR antitrust lawsuit has the potential to turn an industry-accepted compensation construct on its head. At stake in this case is whether four commission-sharing rules within the National Association of REALTORS® Handbook and Code of Ethics subscribed to by all REALTORS® amount…

[Note from editor: The “Mastermind Showcase” highlights companies and news from members of the GEM. Today’s showcase: FBS.] An employee-owned company with 40 years of MLS experience, FBS serves MLS and real estate professionals with a product suite that includes Flexmls, FloPlan, Spark, and Flexmls IDX….

[Note from the Editor: This is a sample Geek Estate Mastermind Newsletter (#37), which was published for Mastermind members last week. It’s the second newsletter we’re publishing publicly on the blog, the first was the analysis of Knock a few months ago. We’re making this…

FBS, the creators of the industry-leading Flexmls® System and Spark Platform, announced today the acquisition of Solid Earth’s Spring software platform along with the hiring of the Spring team. Combining the Spring® Portal, the Spark® API, and the Flexmls® System establishes a completely new, powerful platform that puts MLSs, brokers, and agents…

I read an article referencing a study on how For Sale by Owner (FSBO) sell for less. In my opinion, this is misleading because they are only looking at FSBOs that did NOT sell through the MLS. These days, most successful FSBO listings are on…

I wanted to continue the discussion/dialogue about MLS networks… First, this weekend I listened to the Listing Bits Podcast episode with Michael Wurzer which touches on the staying power of the MLS. Greg Robertson and Michael both have years of MLS technology, and discuss the future…

The future of MLS’ has been a hot topic recently, and was discussed at Inman Connect. Michael Wurzer from FlexMLS (a MLS software vendor) wrote a response titled “MLS Cooperation Creates Value for All Brokers, Not Just One” to Rob and I (and others). I’ll repost it…

What if… Buyers didn’t need the MLS to find homes. Zillow verified agents. Agent certifications and class hours were posted to a public blockchain. Zillow added private fields to each listing to indicate commission splits. You know, like the ones in the MLS. Those private…

I saw the news that Homesnap and Broker Public Portal formed an equally owned joint venture. (click here for prior writing on Broker Public Portal) A few things… First, I’m still unclear EXACTLY what the goal of Broker Public Portal is? Second, is the new joint venture…

Bright MLS launched their new website… Greg’s right, it’s audacious. I like it. There’s no sense batting for a single when a home run is possible. There’s one section I question in their Our Story section: We want to empower everyone to get more out…