The vast majority of MLSs either need more information about the project before giving their support or flat-out aren’t interested in participating.

The success of multimillion-dollar big-broker project Upstream hinges on whether MLSs are willing to play ball. The yet-to-be launched platform is ultimately intended to function as a middleman between brokers and the recipients of their data, including MLSs and vendors.

But a recent survey suggests the vast majority of MLSs are not yet on board, either because they need more information about the project or because they flat-out aren’t interested in participating.

In an online survey fielded between November 2016 and March 2017, real estate consulting firm WAV Group asked members of the Council of Multiple Listing Services (CMLS) about their awareness of certain industry initiatives and whether they were participating or planned to participate in them. Seventy-one percent of CMLS member MLSs responded.

Source: 2017 CMLS Best Practices Survey Report

All were aware of Upstream and virtually all were aware of the other two initiatives mentioned in the survey: the Broker Public Portal and the Advanced Multi-List Platform (AMP).

The Broker Public Portal is the first national public-facing MLS website, while AMP hopes to be an MLS back-end system provider for small-to-midsize MLSs. National Association of Realtors (NAR) subsidiary Realtors Property Resource (RPR) is building both AMP and Upstream with several millions in NAR member funds.

All three initiatives depend on MLS participation. But most appear to be skeptical of them. Only 20 percent of respondent MLSs were either “already participating” or “in full support” of AMP, while 30 percent said the same about Upstream and 35 percent said the same about BPP. The rest said they either are “Not sure, need to know more” or have “No interest in participating.”

“Given all three of these initiatives are in various stages of development, it seems likely more MLSs will commit (or not) in the later stages of development,” the report said.

“Almost all MLSs expressed that their interest is tied to whether or not these services would benefit the brokers they serve and the agents they support.”

A portrait of Alex Lange

Alex Lange

Upstream CEO Alex Lange told Inman he wasn’t surprised by the survey results, but said the stats in the report are based on the number of MLSs, not the number of agents they represent. The nation’s 700 or so MLSs vary in size from a few dozen subscribers to more than 80,000 and the report doesn’t break down its percentages by representation.

“The top 55 MLSs represent over 1 million agents so, in theory, I’d only need the ‘right’ 8 percent to cover almost everyone,” Lange said via email.

He also noted that the survey came out before Upstream publicly decided to align to standards from the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) on Sept. 21. That decision has resulted in more support from MLSs, at least in part because it will eliminate some of the expense of MLS integration with Upstream, according to Lange.

By the end of the month, he expects to have signed commitments to participate in Upstream from MLSs representing 250,000 agents. These MLSs are either agreeing to integrate with Upstream and accept listings first entered into Upstream, or agreeing to feed listings from the MLS to Upstream at broker request.

Even if MLSs choose not to participate, Upstream has “strong support” among brokers who are prepared, if necessary, to enter their listings in both Upstream and their MLS at once and turn off syndication in the MLS, except IDX and VOW feeds. “It’s still less entry than they do today and they gain distribution control,” Lange said.

Marilyn Wilson

Marilyn Wilson

WAV Group’s Marilyn Wilson told Inman that neither Upstream or AMP are “ready for prime time yet,” so MLSs don’t fully understand the scope of what they would be signing up for — making it tough for them to be fully supportive.

As for the BPP, she said 700,000 agents already have access to it, “so it looks like that initiative has made some great progress even since the survey was fielded.”

WAV Group is a consultant for both BPP and Upstream.

Email Andrea V. Brambila.

Like me on Facebook! | Follow me on Twitter!

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
Only 3 days left to register for Inman Connect Las Vegas before prices go up! Don't miss the premier event for real estate pros.Register Now ×
Limited Time Offer: Get 1 year of Inman Select for $199SUBSCRIBE×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×