Finally Feeling Like Summer!

It is finally feeling like summer in Northeast Ohio. I hope you had a successful Spring and you are enjoying Summer 2019. As I write this there are many people talking about fourth of July celebrations and fireworks. The celebration of our Nation’s birthday is always a highlight for me.

Having just returned from the CoreLogic User Group meetings in Vancouver, BC., I have some updates for you from CoreLogic on the National housing market:

Annual U.S. home-price growth accelerates for the first time in 14 months

CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released the CoreLogic Home Price Index (HPI) and HPI Forecast for May 2019, which shows home prices rose both year over year and month over month. Home prices increased nationally by 3.6% from May 2018. On a month-over-month basis, prices increased by 0.9% in May 2019. (April 2019 data was revised. Revisions with public records data are standard, and to ensure accuracy, CoreLogic incorporates the newly released public data to provide updated results each month.)

After several months of moderation earlier this year, the CoreLogic HPI Forecast indicates home prices will increase by 5.6% from May 2019 to May 2020. On a month-over-month basis, home prices are expected to increase by 0.8% from May 2019 to June 2019, bringing single-family home prices to an all-time high. The CoreLogic HPI Forecast is a projection of home prices calculated using the CoreLogic HPI and other economic variables. Values are derived from state-level forecasts by weighting indices according to the number of owner-occupied households for each state.

Here in Northeast Ohio, our market was similar with a 3% increase May over May. Existing home inventory remains low across the Country.

Here at Yes-MLS we have been busily moving our IDX and VOW feeds to CoreLogic’s Trestle as we move away from RETS feeds to Real Estate Standard Organization (RESO) data dictionary, and then Web Application Programming Interface (Web API). Here is an easy explanation of why we are doing this.

RETS, which stands for Real Estate Transaction Standard was the first data transport we all adopted in real estate. While it is clunky it did help us to move large quantities of data to places like IDX/VOW websites, and portals like Realtor.com, Homes.com, Zillow, and Trulia. RETS is hard to learn for web developers and it forces the sender to expose a lot of data they may not want to share with recipients.

To put this in layman’s terms, picture a warehouse full of packages on pallets. That would represent the MLS and the pallet loads are the listing data. With RETS, we had to load the entire contents of the warehouse into a giant truck (the Internet), then ship it to whomever wanted to display listings (IDX/VOWs, and Portals). They might have needed only a pallet or two but we had to give them everything and ask them to filter out what they wanted to display. This was inefficient and less secure than we preffered but that was the best we had. Web API allows us to grab the pallets they want and ship only that data to them. Smaller, cleaner, and tighter packages for efficiency. The RESO data dictionary has helped us normalize the data so it can be easily translated across MLS lines.

After we complete the IDX and VOW conversions, we will be shipping back office feeds for brokerages and vendors, and then the portal data. It is truly an exciting time for MLS administrators.

In closing, I would like to draw your attention to the Broker Public Portal/Homesnap product. Yes-MLS is including this valuable service as part of your membership dues. The Homesnap app is now the official mobile app of Yes-MLS and will replace GoNEOHREX going forward. You will see more about that in this newsletter.

Have a great Summer and third quarter 2019!

Regards,
Carl R. DeMusz, RCE, CMLS²
President & CEO
Yes-MLS

Check out our redesigned reports

Hot off the press! CoreLogic® released another exciting enhancement for MyRental™ users. Both the online rental application and screening reports went through a tremendous overhaul. The new designs are sleek and concise, allowing you to make more confident leasing decisions—and also making it easier to accept quality tenants. Plus, the reports are now also delivered directly to your dashboard for quick retrieval.  VISIT MYRENTAL ❯ Don't  take our word for it. Check out our new reports for yourself: Rental Application Multi-State Criminal Multi-State Sex Offender Terrorist Alert Credit Report Eviction History Previous Address History To get started, simply login to your MyRental account and order an individual report or conveniently bundled package.  Helpful Tips: Tip #1 - Did you know that landlords and property managers can run a tenant screening and include the rental application for FREE? All you have to do is defer the cost of the screening to the tenant with either the Premium or Premium Plus package.  Tip #2 - MyRental.com is a "pay as you go" service. You pay by credit card each time you run a report. There is no invoicing, and we accept Visa®, MasterCard®, Discover® and American Express®.  If you have questions or need help, simply reach out to our customer service team, Monday - Friday from 8:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. EST or Saturday from 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. EST at 877-496-3352 or at customerservice@myrental.com.

MLS – Coming Soon – Off MLS

When sellers hire a Broker/Agent to sell their property, they usually have a similar goal.  That is, they want to sell their property in the least amount of time, for more money, with the least amount of difficulty.  As members of Yes-MLS, our members have subscribed to a service whereby they have agreed to share their listing information with other members so that they may better serve the buying and selling public, and invite those other members to enter into cooperative agreements with them for the sale of their listings, including offers of compensation to those other members who act as Buyer Agents or representatives.  Through this type of cooperation, properties for sale are exposed to a larger number of potential buyers, thus helping Sellers and members to attain their mutual goal of selling faster for more money, in less time, with less difficulty.

Even so, there are occasions where we see a property listed as an “Office Exclusive” or “Off MLS” or “Opt-out of the MLS”.  Whatever it may be called, it will not be shared with other members of the MLS.  There are instances where a Seller desires a greater amount of privacy or security and may elect to “Opt-out of the MLS”.  Whatever reason the Seller has, it is, and should be, the Seller’s option to do so.

Likewise, there are instances where a Seller wants their property shared in the MLS but they are just not ready yet to show the property in its best, most saleable condition, or perhaps they have something else going on in their life which makes showing the property impractical for them.  Again, it is, and should be the Seller’s option to elect to have their property entered into the MLS in the “Coming Soon” status for a period of time, before permitting showings and considering offers.

The “Coming Soon” status was created to give sellers, the ability to jump start the marketing of their property while making repairs, or upgrades, or other preparations that will help the property to be offered for sale and shown to potential buyers in its most marketable condition. 

Yes, the “Coming Soon” status was and is intended to assist the listing brokers in their efforts to help their Sellers to get their homes sold for more money in less time.  This would be in the best interests of the Seller and their listing Broker.  However, the “Coming Soon” status was never intended to avoid or circumvent the selling of the property on the open market.  On the contrary, the “Coming Soon” status was created to expose the property to more potential buyers and to heighten buyer interest in the property.  When done right, the “Coming Soon” listing may result in a faster sale at a more favorable price for the Seller, than the conventional listing.  Isn’t that exactly what the seller hired the Listing Broker and Listing agent to do, sell in less time for more money?

Both the “Opt-out of the MLS” and the “Coming Soon” status are options the Seller may elect, based on what best fits their needs and what they see as their best interests.  Listing Agents/Brokers have a duty to present all the options to the Seller, to share the property information in the MLS as an Active listing, to enter it into the MLS in a “Coming Soon” status, or to “Opt-out of the MLS”.  This is a decision Sellers should be making, not the Agents or Brokers.

Even so, the principles of economics cannot be ignored.  Those principles tell us that the more interested buyers there are, the better the offers will be.  Listing Brokers and/ or Listing Agents who purposely short cut the “Coming Soon” process, or fail to advise their Sellers of the risks involved in “Opting-out of the MLS”, not only risk not getting the best deal for their client, but also possible sanctions by Yes-MLS, the NAR Code of Ethics,  the Ohio Real Estate Commission, and possible Fair Housing violations.

When taking a listing and taking advantage of the “Coming Soon” status, or explaining the “Opt-out of the MLS” option, members are urged to always keep the best interests of their Sellers in mind and to become familiar with the rules and requirements governing the use of the “Coming Soon” status in Yes-MLS.  

Lastly, members should keep in mind this excerpt from the Realtor Code of Ethics Preamble.  Realtors can take no safer guide than that which has been handed down through the centuries, embodied in the Golden Rule, ‘Whatsoever ye would that others should do to you, do ye even so to them.’

Additional information regarding the “Coming Soon” status may be found by clicking on the links below.
** Coming Soon Facts
** Coming Soon Input Instructions
** Coming Soon Form

Yes-MLS welcomes new employee
Quality Assurance Coordinator - Dominique Dean

Hi! I live in Brook Park Oh, with my two sons Sean (7), Liam (4) and my husband Ryan. I grew up in Washington State and after two successful enlistments in the Marines Corps my husband and I moved to Ohio. I recently graduated from Argosy University with a BA and a focus in Finances. Some activities I enjoy are running, drawing, listening to music and any water activities.

I would describe myself as goal-oriented, creative, and a fierce sense of determination to achieve whatever I put my mind to accomplishing.

Are You Taking Advantage of this Yes-MLS Member Benefit?

Do your tech skills need a polish? Do you need advice on what tools and apps can help boost your bottom line?

Then don't miss out on RE Technology! This free member benefit of Yes-MLS offers daily educational articles on everything related to real estate technology. Want a sample? Check out this list of RE Technology's most popular articles last month:

1. Will Buyer’s Agents Survive?
2. 5 Ways to Convert Open House Leads into Sales
3. How to Handle Tough Conversations with Clients
4. 7 Tips for Using Facebook Ads in Your Real Estate Business
5. Get Ready for the Summer Selling Season with These Real Estate Marketing Ideas

You can read all these articles here with your free RE Technology account. Your subscription will include access to live webinars, technology product reviews, helpful tips and tricks, exclusive offers, a comprehensive directory of thousands of tech products, and more!

Click the icon on the Yes-MLS DASHBOARD to get started

New RatePlug features just in time for Summer Market…

New pre-approval request, new flyer templates, and a new look for your buyers!
RatePlug still lets you share accurate home payment estimates from your trusted lenders directly within any property listing you send your clients, but now the process to get your buyers asking questions about their financing earlier, to avoid snags later is more user friendly than ever!

• No additional cost for Yes-MLS members to participate*
• Only promotes your trusted lending sources.
• Delivers interactive, real-time mortgage programs, payments and qualifying information. When you display affordability factors on your listings, great things happen!
• Informs you if your listing is eligible for special financing options (FHA, VA, USDA, etc.).
• Includes Property Flyer Program for your listings (now with 15 available templates).
• RatePlug users are selling homes 15% faster than non-users.

Click here to learn more or take a couple of minutes to opt-in to this tool that is included for FREE as part of your core MLS Subscription!

*lenders do pay a license fee to be displayed

One of the questions we(RPR) often receive is how to automate lead capture using RPR Reports. Essentially, how can an agent create a process that uses an RPR report to generate leads? Although RPR doesn’t have a system to do this out of the box, with a little creativity, it’s possible with Google Forms, your own Gmail and Zapier (yes, the free plan).

This article will walk users through the step-by-step of creating a report, building a form with Google, and automating the follow-up with Zapier and Gmail. There will be a manual step of copying the report URL to Zapier, but the report can be used for multiple submissions. Let us explain…

Imagine offering your website visitors a branded Market Activity Report that showcases recent neighborhood activity like new homes, price changes, and open houses. Or perhaps offering visitors a detailed School Report for a local school. Or maybe even a Neighborhood Report highlighting the local area. It’s all possible with just a small amount of effort on your end.

For this example, let’s use the offer of a Market Activity Report that showcases neighborhood activity like new homes, price changes, and open houses. This strategy works well, given that one report can work for multiple people. The key is to create a new report each week, so the information is fresh.

This tutorial is divided into 3 parts:

1. Creating the Market Activity Report in RPR
2. Creating a Form with Google Forms
3. Connecting your Form to Zapier