Published:
NAR Tech Acquisition Will Create National Property Database

The National Association of Realtors® has
acquired technology to create a database of all properties in the U.S. so
Realtors® can better assist consumers in a high-tech, fast-paced business
world.
The technology acquisition includes licensed data and secured data
aggregation services from LPS Real Estate Group, a wholly owned subsidiary
of Lender Processing Services Inc. (NYSE: LPS), a leader in real estate
technology. NAR will use the assets to develop the Realtors® Property
Resource, a parcel-centric information database covering all of the more
than 147 million property parcels in the country as a resource for NAR
members. NAR is planning to launch RPR in the second quarter 2010.
"Realtors® are the first, best source for real estate information, and
the RPR(TM) is another emphatic feature to that resource. RPR(TM) will give
Realtors® nationwide data on all properties at their fingertips so they
can respond quickly to consumers interested in residential and commercial
real estate. This is exciting news and a terrific NAR member benefit. NAR
is committed to keep Realtors® central to the transaction and to the
buying and selling experience with their clients and customers," said NAR
President Charles McMillan, broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Real
Estate in Dallas-Fort Worth.
NAR CEO Dale Stinton said, "These acquisitions will allow Realtor®
interests to control the program and the content. Realtors® need to
respond quickly to today's tech-savvy consumers, and the RPR(TM) provides a
means for multiple listing services (MLS), commercial information exchanges
(CIEs) and real estate brokerage business models to support the Realtor®
community, rather than requiring Realtors® to purchase data aggregated by
third parties."
RPR(TM) is not a national MLS, and will carry no offers of cooperation and
compensation, Stinton added. "It is a private, NAR members-only benefit.
The assets acquired by NAR will be directed through a wholly owned
subsidiary corporation, Realtors® Property Resource, LLC," Stinton said.
The management team of RPR(TM) includes CEO Dale Ross, co-founder of the
Metropolitan Regional Information System, the country's largest regional
MLS; President Marty Frame, former General Manager of Cyberhomes; Senior
Vice President of Industry Relations Mona Steen, former SVP with
Cyberhomes; and Jeff Young, NAR director of the Realtors® Property
Resource(TM) and 2008 president of the Michigan Association of Realtors®.
RPR(TM) will provide nationwide access to public record information such as
tax and assessment data, liens, zoning, permits, environmental information,
and information on neighborhoods, school district and community
demographics, along with advanced search features for property searchers,
as well as market-to-market comparisons and referral opportunities not
currently available.
"We're honored to have been selected by the National Association of
Realtors® to provide technology, data and other services for the
RPR(TM)," said Jay Gaskill, president, LPS Real Estate Group. "Being
involved with such a transformational industry initiative serves as an
endorsement for our company and the premier products and services we
provide to MLSs and associations, brokers, franchisors and sales
associates."
RPR(TM) will develop business strategies to make it affordable and feasible
for NAR members, and will complement, not compete with, MLSs and CIEs.
While many MLS and CIE systems provide a range of services, no two are
alike. Brokers are looking for tools that support their agents across
multiple markets with similar service levels and access to robust and
valuable data. RPR(TM) is designed to support local MLS and CIE models to
create a common experience for agents and brokerages.
RPR(TM) will have many partners, including the California Association of
Realtors® and the Florida Association of Realtors®, offering a number
of technology applications which will be incorporated within the RPR(TM).
"The California Association of Realtors® believes the RPR(TM) project
provides the significant opportunities of scale and reach necessary to
serve our members future needs for many years to come. We are already
working closely with the RPR(TM) team to incorporate additional
functionality directly into the RPR(TM) system using Realtor®-owned
zipLogix electronic forms as well as Relay transaction management and risk
reduction software for members nationwide," said Joel Singer, CAR CEO.
"The Florida Association of Realtors® and its 122,000 members are excited
about the launch of Realtors® Property Resource(TM), which we believe
will be a valuable addition to the toolkit for Realtor® business success.
The Florida association and its business subsidiary also look forward to
discussing potential partnerships to further enhance the value of RPR(TM)
to Realtors® nationwide," said John Fridlington, FAR EVP.
For more information on the Realtors® Property Resource(TM), visit
www.realtor.org/about_nar/realtors_property_resource.
About Lender Processing Services
LPS is a leading provider of integrated technology and services to the
mortgage and real estate industries. LPS offers solutions that span the
mortgage continuum, including lead generation, origination, servicing,
workflow automation (Desktop), portfolio retention and default, augmented
by the company's award-winning customer support and professional services.
Approximately 50 percent of all U.S. mortgages by volume are serviced using
LPS' Mortgage Servicing Package. In fact, many of the nation's top
servicers rely on MSP, including eight of the top 10 and 14 of the top 20.
LPS also offers proprietary mortgage and real estate data and analytics for
the mortgage and capital markets industries. For more information about
LPS, please visit www.lpsvcs.com.
LPS Real Estate Group provides market-leading MLS Systems, broker and agent
technology and software service solutions, public record data, data
aggregation services, and content relevant to real estate professional
services. Through relationships with hundreds of MLSs, associations and
broker organizations, LPS Real Estate Group's tools are used by over
350,000 real estate agents in the United States. For more information about
LPS Real Estate Group, please visit www.lpsreg.com.
The National Association of Realtors®, "The Voice for Real Estate," is
America's largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members
involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate
industries.
Information about NAR is available at www.realtor.org. This and other news
releases are posted in the News Media section.
REALTOR® is a registered collective membership mark which may be used
only by real estate professionals who are members of the NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and subscribe to its strict Code of Ethics. Not
all real estate agents are REALTORS®. All REALTORS® are members of
NAR.
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