RPR Looks Ahead to Broker Tool Sets

When describing the Realtors Property Resource™ (RPR), it’s clear to see the benefit for REALTORS® and their clients and customers by way of RPR datasets such as assessor and recorder data, active and off-market listing data, mortgages, foreclosures and pre-foreclosures, demographics, schools and geographic information. But if we take a step back and ask the question “How can Brokers leverage the RPR database?”…the answer is really quite fascinating.

I recently had a great conversation with Jeff Young, Senior Vice President of RPR. Jeff and RPR President Marty Frame are heading up what we’re calling the Broker Tool Sets Initiative.  As we were talking, our conversation moved to RPR at a macro level, and specifically ways we could help real estate firms leverage RPR’s massive database of property information and reports, while also recognizing the tremendous investments that brokers have made in technologies and branding to create valuable tools for their agents.

Jeff mentioned this because we recently started to have conversations with Brokers around the country about the most valuable tools that we can build into RPR to support and enhance their current technology and marketing systems.  Toward that goal RPR began its Broker Tool Sets program in August of this year. Jeff shared that “by creating tools which are compatible with say, existing CMA tools which the broker has invested in, RPR can offer instant value at the brokerage level which supports their agents, rather than attempting to recreate the wheel.  On a data side, access to RPR’s vast data sets has the potential of reducing the Broker’s cost by using the RPR applications for Brokers at no charge.  This is a savings that can go right to the Broker’s bottom line.”

We’re also having conversations about the most valuable types of market reports. Again we’ve already started to see common themes, especially where Brokers with multiple offices crossing market areas, even states, have interest in a one-source tool that will allow them to see a clear picture of their entire market area through the ability to access RPR’s vast resources of public record, mortgage and foreclosure data to create trending and forecasting reports for any market. RPR is also creating high value internal branding tools for Brokers which will include the ability to brand Affiliated Service companies such as mortgage and title to only their agents and offices, and on RPR reports.  RPR plans to have the Broker Tool Sets market ready in Q1 2011.

One thing is for sure, Brokers, like the REALTORS® they serve, can benefit from the datasets RPR provides. If you have questions about this new initiative, please feel free to reach out to us. Also be sure to check back here on the blog, we’ll be posting more on the Broker Tools initiative in the coming months.