We were very excited to kick off our MLS Advisory Group.   Last Friday, January 6th, we had our first meeting reviewing progress, priorities for the next 90 days, RESO standards and the NDA used by the pilot participants.   It was a lively discussion where the group provided clear insight on items Upstream should consider that would facilitate wide-scale adoption.   

This is not a group of “wall-flowers” or Upstream zealots.  We carefully selected, with the help of CMLS, executives that would push back on our activities while offering constructive options.   The MLS Advisory group has representation from:

• Council of Multiple Listing Services (CMLS)
• MLS Property Information Network (MLS PIN)
• UtahRealEstate.com
• Carolina MLS
• Houston Association of REALTORS®, Inc.
• MetroMLS
• Midwest Real Estate Data LLC (MRED)
• IRES, LLC
• Northeast Oklahoma Real Estate Services (NORES)
• Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABOR)
• Greater El Paso Assoc. of REALTORS MLS
• California Regional MLS (Matrix)
• Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. (ARMLS)
• MetroList Services, Inc.
• The MLS/CLAW
• Heartland MLS Inc.
• Realcomp II Ltd
• Hilton Head Island MLS (HHIMLS)
• Intermountain Multiple Listing Service
• My Florida Regional MLS (MFRMLS)
• Palm Springs Regional MLS
• MetroTex Assoc. of REALTORS
• Gulf South Real Estate Information Network, Inc.
• Cove Group

We look forward to our next meeting on Friday, February 3rd.

PILOT
 
Upstream continued on-site Discovery meetings with both MLS and Brokerage Pilot participants.
 
The Pilot team completed these Discovery meetings:

• November 16, 2016-Northstar MLS-Minneapolis, MN
• November 28, 2016-MLS Listings-Sunnyvale, CA
• November 29, 2016-RMLS-Portland, OR
• December  5-7, 2016-Miami FL
  • The  Keyes Company
  • Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty
  • EWM International

 
Upcoming Discovery  meetings:

• January, 10, 2017-NTREIS, Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
• January 16, 2017-West Penn MLS-Pittsburgh, PA

 
Ongoing Phase II Pilot market communications:

• Confirmation of participation from Realcomp MLS
• Confirmation of participation from the Austin Board of REALTORS®

 
DEVELOPMENT
 
The Product Team completed Sprint 11 in December 2016.  The work delivered in Sprint 11 comprised three key areas of focus: enhancements to the API for Upstream, enhancements to the listing management user interface, and new work on administrative features for Brokerage, MLS, and Upstream staff users.   
 
Several enhancements to the API are worth highlighting.  Most significantly, the Sprint 11 release included support for a flattened, RETS format for listing delivery. The development team also extended retrieval capabilities such as getting additional agent information by agent ID.  Back-end data processing (ETL) was also enhanced. Finally, the team built in controls governing the usage of the API which helps to maintain a healthy test environment for the vendor community that is developing against the API.
 
The cumulative improvements to the listing UI were significant.  Many came in clean up and deferred work that existed before the NAR Convention.  Working with photos is more robust, and we improved the display of distribution vendors to be more intuitive.   Finally, the Administrative Module included both development and field level analysis.
 
Sprint 12 will continue to build upon the deliverables of Sprint 11.  Specifically, we’re improving the UI in both listing management and administration areas.  We’ll continue to enhance the functional requirements as we complete two additional site visits.
 
STAFFING
 
No headcount changes or additions.  We are running lean!.
 
AGREEMENTS
 
The Agreements Work Group is working on the final agreements (non-beta).
 
GOVERNANCE
 
Upstream had a full Board of Managers meeting scheduled on December 14th.   At this meeting we reviewed status, operations, go to market strategies, and ratified:

• Formal relocation of corporate office address from Dallas, TX to Bellevue, WA
• The board approved these changes to the Executive Committee and Board of Managers:
• Executive Committee
  • Robert Moline will step down as Chairman
  • Dan Elsa is now Chairman (formerly Vice-Chairman)
  • Craig Cheetham is now Vice-Chairman (formerly Secretary)
  • Cary Sylvester is now Corporate Secretary (current Board of Managers)
• Board of Managers
  • Alon Chaver was added to board to hold Homeservices seat (formerly held by Bob Moline)

 
NOTE FROM THE CEO
 
I can't be more excited about 2017.  My first six months at the helm of Upstream focused on assessment, stakeholder management, evangelism and establishing control and cadence.  My focus was deliberate.   The next six months has a myopic focus: velocity.   We are poised well to get massive traction in 2017 with amazing broker support and a long line of vendors wanting to integrate.  We've responded to our pilot participants additionally developing an RETS-like delivery format and are aggressively creating a RESO API interface.  With three ways to integrate, there's no reason to be left behind.  As we turn the page on 2016, the media outlets were quick to write "click-bait" articles about the fate of the industry.  As entertaining as they are, we should never forget that the best-paid copywriters work for the National Enquirer.  To steal from Mark Twain, "the reports of our death, now or in the future, have been greatly exaggerated."