Category: Uncategorized

By Susanne Dwyer

Ask any agent, broker or constituent in real estate: There are challenges facing the Multiple Listing Service.

A discussion on the future of the MLS—what it can be, and what it should be—hosted by the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) recently illuminated those issues, and strived for solutions.

“An MLS should be defined not only by its data, but its access to the data, so brokers can get easy access to and keep the products and services they want and not necessarily what the MLS decides to provide to its members,” said Rebecca Jensen, CEO and president of Midwest Real Estate Data LLC (MRED), during the discussion, held on Jan. 10 in Los Angeles.

Jensen is board chair of The MLS Grid—a consistent data feed, licensing and rules for brokers, MLSs and vendors—as well as on the board of the Broker Public Portal (BPP). The BPP and The MLS Grid are two of a few initiatives in play, along with Upstream, which is backed by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and Realtors Property Resource® (RPR®).

Addressing the inefficiencies is key, the panel said.

“Our goal is to really work on the challenges…to find a way, through the efforts of all these organizations, to provide consistent data efficiency, to try to break down data silos that are huge pain points in brokerage communities,” said Jeremy Crawford, CEO of the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO), which has developed data standards used by hundreds of associations, brokerages, MLSs and vendors.

“As someone who lists and sells real estate, I need it to be more efficient—I need to not have to go multiple sources,” said Jeanne Radsick, broker of CENTURY 21 Tobias Real Estate in Bakersfield, Calif., and member of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Mergers & Consolidations Task Force. “I think the first step is we need to have one system.”

“We are playing a long game,” said Mark McLaughlin, CEO of Pacific Union International, based in the Bay Area and a member of 12 MLSs. “The solution for our businesses to drive efficiencies and economies of scale is very important to us, especially in the race to zero. The only way to do that is to have one database.”

“It’s all about how you define ‘one database,’” however, said Craig Cheatham, CEO and president of The Realty Alliance, a brokerage network that includes Douglas Elliman Real Estate and HomeServices of America. “As I talk to our brokers, it’s not about one MLS or one database; it’s ‘I just want to have access to my data, or my marketplace’s data.’”

Is it beneficial, even, for the existing inefficiencies to be streamlined?

“Fundamentally, the MLS needs to serve [agents and consumers],” said David Silver-Westrick, partner at Keller Williams OC Coastal Realty in San Clemente, Calif. “We serve them less and less with every year—not because we don’t intend to solve their problems, but because the world has moved on, and …read more

From:: Real Estate News

By Susanne Dwyer

A Southern California real estate professional perished tragically in the mudslides last week, one of more than 15 victims of the latest catastrophe to strike the state.

Rebecca Riskin, of Riskin Partners in Montecito—known as the “first lady of luxury real estate”—was killed as a result of the ensuing flood and mudslides in the Thomas Fire‘s wake, Riskin Partners confirmed in a release on Thursday. Riskin was a longtime Montecito resident, responsible for over 470 transactions totaling $2.17 billion, according to the release.

“The pinnacle of Rebecca’s life’s work and her lasting legacy lies in Riskin Partners and our enduring commitment to selling Montecito real estate,” said Dina Landi, managing partner of Riskin Partners. “We plan to continue Rebecca’s legacy and love for real estate with the same level of excellence, experience, and service that Rebecca so effortlessly embodied.”

Riskin is survived by her husband, Ken Grand, and a son and a daughter, as well as other extended family members.

(At press time,) the mudslides have claimed the lives of 17 people and destroyed 100 homes, reports the Wall Street Journal. Mudslides commonly occur post-fire season when the land has been stripped of vegetation, allowing water to quickly flow down hills in under 30 minutes of torrential downpour.

This incident, however, has been one of the more destructive. According to CAL Fire, Gov. Jerry Brown ordered mandatory evacuations for areas below the Thomas, Whittier, Sherpa and Rey fire burn areas last week, and multiple areas were under voluntary evacuation orders. But unlike the fires, which take more time to reach the communities within the hills, the mudslide happened quickly, leaving residents with less time to prepare.

Controversy surrounds the state’s preparedness, as residents report confusion when it came to delineating the mandatory and voluntary evacuations zones. Residents did not have time to make a decision about staying or going, and confusion about whether their area was in immediate danger could have played a role in the only 200 individuals (reported by WSJ) that heeded warnings to leave the Montecito area.

The heavy rainfall has tapered off, taking with it the risk of additional mudslides. Multiple rescue teams have been deployed. The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) reports it deployed a 14-member Swiftwater Flood Search and Rescue Team from the Long Beach Fire Department last week, along with others.

Multiple residents are still reported missing, but the rescue efforts are underway, having rescued over 20 injured or stranded residents (at press time). The WSJ reports that helicopters are airlifting people off rooftops, stating that a real estate agent was found alive, hanging from a tree branch, after his partner assumed worse hours earlier. Another real estate agent, Marco Farrell, survived the ordeal after he stepped outside to discover the oncoming mudslide and tried to warn neighbors, reports ABC News.

It is too early to assess the full scope of property damage or the impact on pending real estate transactions, but the CAL OES Twitter account reports that the mudslides lifted …read more

From:: Finance and Economy

By Susanne Dwyer

A Southern California real estate professional perished tragically in the mudslides last week, one of more than 15 victims of the latest catastrophe to strike the state.

Rebecca Riskin, of Riskin Partners in Montecito—known as the “first lady of luxury real estate”—was killed as a result of the ensuing flood and mudslides in the Thomas Fire‘s wake, Riskin Partners confirmed in a release on Thursday. Riskin was a longtime Montecito resident, responsible for over 470 transactions totaling $2.17 billion, according to the release.

“The pinnacle of Rebecca’s life’s work and her lasting legacy lies in Riskin Partners and our enduring commitment to selling Montecito real estate,” said Dina Landi, managing partner of Riskin Partners. “We plan to continue Rebecca’s legacy and love for real estate with the same level of excellence, experience, and service that Rebecca so effortlessly embodied.”

Riskin is survived by her husband, Ken Grand, and a son and a daughter, as well as other extended family members.

(At press time,) the mudslides have claimed the lives of 17 people and destroyed 100 homes, reports the Wall Street Journal. Mudslides commonly occur post-fire season when the land has been stripped of vegetation, allowing water to quickly flow down hills in under 30 minutes of torrential downpour.

This incident, however, has been one of the more destructive. According to CAL Fire, Gov. Jerry Brown ordered mandatory evacuations for areas below the Thomas, Whittier, Sherpa and Rey fire burn areas last week, and multiple areas were under voluntary evacuation orders. But unlike the fires, which take more time to reach the communities within the hills, the mudslide happened quickly, leaving residents with less time to prepare.

Controversy surrounds the state’s preparedness, as residents report confusion when it came to delineating the mandatory and voluntary evacuations zones. Residents did not have time to make a decision about staying or going, and confusion about whether their area was in immediate danger could have played a role in the only 200 individuals (reported by WSJ) that heeded warnings to leave the Montecito area.

The heavy rainfall has tapered off, taking with it the risk of additional mudslides. Multiple rescue teams have been deployed. The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) reports it deployed a 14-member Swiftwater Flood Search and Rescue Team from the Long Beach Fire Department last week, along with others.

Multiple residents are still reported missing, but the rescue efforts are underway, having rescued over 20 injured or stranded residents (at press time). The WSJ reports that helicopters are airlifting people off rooftops, stating that a real estate agent was found alive, hanging from a tree branch, after his partner assumed worse hours earlier. Another real estate agent, Marco Farrell, survived the ordeal after he stepped outside to discover the oncoming mudslide and tried to warn neighbors, reports ABC News.

It is too early to assess the full scope of property damage or the impact on pending real estate transactions, but the CAL OES Twitter account reports that the mudslides lifted …read more

From:: Real Estate News

By Susanne Dwyer

On April 11, 1968, President Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act into law. This marked an important and historic change in our nation’s commitment to property rights, recognizing that property rights should not be abridged because of discrimination based on race, color, national origin or religion. In later years, the law was amended to prohibit discrimination based on gender, disability and familial status.

The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) will commemorate this historic piece of legislation with a year-long campaign beginning in January and highlighted by a reception at the National Museum of African American History and Culture during NAR’s 2018 Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo in May. The campaign will incorporate a review of history that recognizes our early opposition to fair housing and celebrates real estate leaders and organizations that helped change our policies. Today, we’re leading efforts to expand fair housing protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

We’ll also look at ongoing fair housing issues affecting our communities. Fair housing isn’t just about the transaction. Our livelihood and business as REALTORS® depend on a free and open market that embraces equal opportunity. We need to take a leadership role in identifying and addressing these issues. Whether it’s school quality or access to healthy communities and economic opportunity, these issues not only affect the choices of homebuyers and renters; they make it harder in some communities to be a successful REALTOR®.

By commemorating this law, NAR, as the “Voice for Real Estate” and a champion for private property rights and homeownership, will raise awareness about the importance of equal housing opportunities. The National Association of Real Estate Brokers, the Women’s Council of REALTORS®, the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, the Asian Real Estate Association of America, and the National Association of Gay and Lesbian Real Estate Professionals will join NAR in commemorating the fair housing anniversary. These organizations are firmly committed to equal housing opportunities and recognize the unique and important role each organization has in this noble endeavor.

You can go to fairhousing.realtor to learn more about the commemoration and to find materials and resources you can use to participate. Consider the following actions to join in this commemoration:

1. Help your company, community, and local and state association identify and commemorate fair housing history and champions in your state.

2. Post what you’re doing on fairhousing.realtor. Share ideas, adapt what others are doing to meet your needs and work with local chapters of our national partners.

3. Work in your committees to support efforts to get Congress to pass changes to the Fair Housing Act to expand fair housing protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

This column is brought to you by the NAR Real Estate Services group.

Fred Underwood is the director of Diversity and Inclusion, NAR Community and Political Affairs. For more information, please visit www.nar.realtor.

For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.

The post Fair Housing Makes Us Stronger appeared first on <a target="_self" rel="nofollow" …read more

From:: Real Estate News