Episode Summary

In this insightful episode of PropTech Pulse, host Kyle Hunter welcomes Greg Robertson, a 30-year veteran of real estate technology. Robertson, who founded his first real estate software company in 1992 and most recently sold W&R Studios (creators of Cloud CMA) to Lone Wolf in 2020, shares his expert perspective on the changing landscape of Multiple Listing Services (MLS). The conversation covers the evolution of MLS from physical books to today's post-settlement environment, current challenges facing the industry, and predictions for the future of real estate data sharing and ownership.

Topics Covered

• The three stages of MLS evolution (MLS 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0)
• Impact of the NAR settlement on cooperation and compensation models
• Current market challenges affecting MLSs and real estate professionals
• The balance between technological innovation and legal compliance
• MLS consolidation trends and data sharing models
• Data ownership debates and broker-of-choice implications
• Strategies for MLSs to thrive in the changing landscape

Key Quotes

• "We're in the MLS 3.0 stage where... what used to be the two pillars of MLS, which were cooperation and compensation... mandatory compensation is gone."
• "The top 23 [MLSs] represent a million of those 1.5 million realtors. So it's a very long tail."
• "The best marketing is having a great product. When you have a great product, marketing takes care of itself."
• "Be so good they can't ignore you... focus on the things you can control."

About Greg Robertson

Greg Robertson has been in the real estate technology industry for about 30 years. He started his first real estate software company in 1992, shipping software on 5¼-inch floppy disks. His most recent venture, W&R Studios with flagship product Cloud CMA, was acquired by Lone Wolf in December 2020. Greg is known for his insights on MLS systems and real estate technology trends.

Resources Mentioned

• MLS Reset conference
• Clear Cooperation policies
• NAR settlement and its implications

PropTech Pulse: From the entrepreneur's desk to the industry front lines and into real-world operations – taking the pulse of real estate technology in just 20 minutes.