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Since its inception in 2002, the Center for REALTOR^® Technology has been a technology touchpoint for NAR members—helping them recognize how to use cutting-edge technologies to solve their business challenges. CRT has embraced its mission of providing technology guidance to IT professionals at real estate brokerages and REALTOR® associations by testing and implementing existing and emerging technologies for brokerage and association environments. CRT has also taken the lead in developing and offering solutions to industry-specific problems such as listing theft.

CRT also serves as a bridge between the real estate and technologies communities—helping vendors recognize and respond to the unique needs of the real estate industry. For example, CRT has acted as a resource for technology providers that are developing applications using the RETS standard. This standard not only provides a mechanism for cross-vendor interoperability, but it also paves the way for a truly paperless transaction in the future. CRT supports RETS by publishing all of its software in an open-source model. Thanks to contributions from the technical community, CRT libraries are already embedded in many commercial products.

Looking back shows an impressive roster of CRT achievements. But looking forward is much more exciting. As IT professionals at brokerages and REALTOR^®associations face the challenges of an evolving industry, they will find an ally in CRT—an advocate that understands their specific issues and an advisor to assist them in providing high-quality technology to their organizations for years to come.

Mark Lesswing
Vice President
Center for REALTOR^® Technology
mlesswing@realtors.org

Future Innovations

Current Solutions

The Challenge: Drawing up a schedule that will let you attend all nine sessions presented by the Center for REALTOR^® Technology during the 2004 REALTORS^® Conference & Expo.

The CRT Solution: Four days of top-notch programs for IT professionals brought to you by CRT. Our staff and expert panelists will give you the inside insights into practical technologies that will help keep your brokerage, association, or MLS in the forefront. Check out these great options. 

• Delivering IT Value takes you inside the mind of your management team and outlines tactics and terms that will help you justify necessary technology investments. Fri., Nov. 5, 11:15 a.m.-12:45 p.m., Room 303A.

• Protecting Listing Content tackles the tough question of who owns the value created by listing information, then offers you technologies to protect this critical asset. Hear lively views on the business, technical, and legal perspectives from Andy Rapattoni, Jim Harrison, Michelle Yam, and Brian Larson. Fri., Nov. 5, 3:30-5:00 p.m., Room 312A.

• Technology Security: A Technical Perspective brings you up to speed on maintaining data integrity and protecting customer confidentiality. Plus, the session will show you tools to assess your organization’s current security profile. Speakers are Michael Dahn, Dimitry Petion, Jim Cowling, Jeff Levin, and Matt Cohen. Sat., Nov. 6, 9:00–10:30 a.m., Room 204C.

• Tech Toys for Real Estate introduces a range of IT tools you can use to enhance your business and professional image. Learn what’s hot and what cutting-edge devices you’ll be called on to support in the future. Sat., Nov. 6, 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Room 204C.

• Back Office Systems gives brokerages, associations, and MLSs new insights into technologies that will grow profitability and increase customer satisfaction. Get tips on how to select the most appropriate and cost-effective tools for your operation. Sat., Nov. 6, 1:00 - 2:30 p.m., Room 204C.

• Spam and Spyware: The IT Perspective will give you the weapons and strategies to fight these rising threats to electronic communications.  Presenters are Garry Marsoubian and Pat Smart. Sun., Nov. 7, 1:00–2:30 p.m., Room 204C.

All sessions take place at the Orange County Convention Center. Check your program for last-minute room changes.

Learn More: For a complete list of sessions, times, and room numbers, click here.

http://www.realtor.org/EducSess.nsf/TopicWeb?OpenView&Start=1&Count=1000&Expand=7#7

And remember to stop by the NAR’s Booth 1153 to see all the latest real-estate-specific solutions CRT has developed or researched.  CRT staff will also be available to address your technology questions and concerns.

Future Innovations

The Challenge:  Resolving the disconnect between the 71 percent of buyers who use the Internet to search for homes (2003 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Home Sellers) and the reluctance of some real estate practitioners to use e-mail to communicate with clients.

The CRT Solution: An innovative joint venture with the Houston Association of REALTORS^® that uses an open-source PBX system called Asterisk to bridge the gap between Internet-based buyers and telephone-based sales associates.

To achieve this union of new and existing technologies, the Asterisk server uses VOIP and an open-source, Java-based framework written by CRT to automatically call the sales associate and “read” the message from the prospect over the phone. Customers get an immediate connection with a salesperson, and sales associates are able to use the contact techniques they find most comfortable and effective. Messenger will be available to members of the HAR in late October. CRT sponsored this project as part of its Outreach Initiative, which is designed to assist real estate IT professionals with technology selection and implementation.

Learn More:  To see how a customer will actually use the Messenger system, visit

http://www.crt.realtors.org/projects/messenger/index.html

To find out how CRT’s Outreach Initiative can help your organization, go to

http://www.realtor.org/CRTWeb.nsf/pages/CRToutreach?OpenDocument

Current Solutions

The Challenge: To protect your organization’s privacy, data, and computer performance from the havoc spyware can cause.

The CRT Solution: Defeat insidious spyware on your systems by training your users in safe Web–surfing practices and by installing antispyware software program on your organization’s computers. While there are numerous programs that will help protect your systems from spyware, you can get started immediately by using two free programs CRT has found very effective--Spybot and Ad-Aware. Like antivirus software, these programs scan files and directories for known spyware. They also look for certain behaviors that may indicate spyware--rather than a legitimate user--is accessing or sending out confidential information. The programs also offer descriptions of detected spyware so you don’t run the risk of inadvertently deleting a needed program.

Protect your organization’s systems from drive-by downloads and deceptive cookies by keeping your antispyware software current and educating your users not to click “agree” when prompted by an unexpected browser popup. Also insist that no individual network users download new software without your approval. For more tips and techniques for countering spam and spyware, attend CRT’s special session, Spam and Spyware: The IT Perspective, on Sun., Nov. 7, beginning at 1:00 p.m. during the 2004 REALTORS^® Conference & Expo in Orlando.

Learn More:  To download a copy of Spybot, go to

www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

To obtain a copy of Ad-Aware, go to

www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/

Current Solutions

The Challenge: Finding the time and staff to locate or create the appropriate technologies for your real estate brokerage, association, and MLS.

The CRT Solution: A team of tech experts who will act as your research team, searching out or developing free or low-cost programs and tools that help you address the industry’s toughest challenges.

Because CRT believes that the future success of the real estate industry is tied to its successful implementation of technology, CRT has taken a lead role in the revision of RETS to improve data transport and increase standard compatibility with other industry standards such as MISMO.   

CRT has also advanced the implementation of current and future RETS standards with the 2003 release of the RETS client library for software developers and the 2004 release of REX. REX is a next-generation RETS server that allows the use of business rules when distributing MLS information. REX is configurable and provides role-based views of MLS data. The server’s flexibility enables REALTORS^® and other MLS data users to access property listing information using standard RETS data feeds 2.0.

CRT has also addressed the troubling issue of listing scraping with  reCaptcha, an open-source program based on CAPTCHA technology, which  prevents scraping by automatically displaying distorted images of a word and challenging the party to enter it correctly. With the release of NoScrape, CRT developed a tool that makes it virtually impossible to scrape listing information. NoScrape “draws” listing and photo information onto a customizable canvas that replaces tags in standard HTML. And to help IT professionals guard their organization’s data from the next, still unknown, Web security threat, CRT has launched REALTOR^® Secure. This innovative, multilevel program allows IT staff at brokerages, associations, and MLSs to complete a self-analysis and correct system weakness or to have their company’s systems reviewed and certified as using best security practices.

CRT has also seized the initiative in helping organizations take greater advantage of Internet-based property marketing by developing guides to implementing VOWS and IDX. To make implementation even easier, CRT has just released Retriever, a transient downloader written in PHP 4, which allows you to pull listing information from a RETS server and display it on a consumer-oriented Web site without the need to download data from the MLS to your server.

Learn More: For the latest update of RETS standard development and the newest RETS-compliant software, go to

http://www.realtor.org/CRTweb.nsf/pages/CRTRETS?OpenDocument

reCaptcha is available as free, open-source software at http://www.crt.realtors.org/projects/reCaptcha/index.html

NoScrape is available as free, open-source software at http://www.crt.realtors.org/projects/noScrape/index.html

An overview of Retriever’s features is online at http://www.crt.realtors.org/projects/rets/retriever/index.html

To read details about REALTOR^® Secure, go to http://www.realtor.org/crtsecure.nsf/pages/home?OpenDocument

Help improve technology security in the real estate industry. Take the  REALTOR^® Secure survey.  Go to: http://www.crt.realtors.org/surveys/realtorsecure/oct_feedback.survey

Let the Center for REALTOR^® Technology help you explain the business benefits of emerging technologies to your organization’s leadership. Suggest that your company’s or association’s top executives sign up for a free, quarterly CRT e-mail newsletter describing the value of new technologies in straightforward business language. Encourage them to subscribe at http://www.crt.REALTORS.org/newsletter-broker 

Take advantage of personalized technology consulting, courtesy of CRT. Let CRT help you find the best solution to your toughest tech challenge. If there are technology issues or products you’d like CRT to investigate or just a question you’d like answered, please e-mail info@crt.realtors.org

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Visit the Center for REALTOR® Technology at http://www.realtor.org/CRT