What should innovators in the multiple listing service, brokerage, vendor and mortgage space do when they start moving beyond standards set by organizations like the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) and Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO)?
Joseph Deller, the vice president and product development manager of financial management firm Wilmington Trust, thinks it’s important to inform MISMO, the standards arm of the Mortgage Bankers Association, as you work on new data innovations in the mortgage space.
“What I would suggest is, first, make sure you engage with the standards organization,” Deller said. “You might find out you’re not so far ahead as you might think.”
Deller explained that these organizations have the ability to change standards in advance of the implementation of new data technology. He also believes the standards can do a good job telling you if your technology has value.
“A lot of times, the way these standards evolve is by something new taking place or something revolutionary taking place,” Deller said. “You can get out there, ahead of where they are. If what you have is really good, the standard will follow.”
Rebecca Jensen, the president and CEO of Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) — a Chicago area MLS — has seen that first-hand with MLS Grid, a collaboration of MLSs that aims to unify and standardize property information on a shared platform.
At MLS Grid, there have been debates on how to handle coming soon, or pocket listings, but there’s no standard set by RESO right now. She thinks you need to keep the standards organization informed, but you can’t wait for it.
“Don’t necessarily just wait for it,” Jensen said. “Somebody has to go first.”
