What is RETS?

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RETS Overview
New Topic

• What is RETS?
• RETS background
• RETS benefits to real estate industry
  stakeholders
• RETS source code examples

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TopicObjectives

• Build familiarity with RETS
• Understand RETS benefits
• Identify opportunities to employ RETS

RETS is delivering real benefits
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What is RETS?An IT Standard

• Open standard for exchanging real estate data
• RETS is not closed or hidden
• A standard described in a document
• RETS is not software

RETS meets the needs of real estate industry
stakeholders
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What is RETS?Technical Principles

• Enables data suppliers to provide access to data
• Uses a standard data access interface
• Applies widely-used concepts
• Uses Internet standards where possible

Sample RETS implementations are available
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What is RETS?Community Organization

• Organized and funded by NAR
• Regular meetings sponsored by NAR
• Attended by all interested companies
  individuals
• Improvement ideas sought from industry
  participants
• RETS standard is changed by Change Proposals
• Workgroups address details of the RETS standard
• Plugfests are held to establish interoperability
• Compliance certification is available

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Who is Using RETS?
RETS Overview

• 40 of the top 59 MLS - hold 50 of listings
• All of Rapattonis 89 MLS customers
• All of Interealtys 38 MLS customers
• Marketlinxs 26 of 27 MLS customers
• FNIS - 16 of approximately 300 MLS customers
• Custom in-house MLS systems
• MRIS
• Denver Metrolist

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How do RETS Clientsand Servers interact?
Realtor client
MLS server
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What is RETS Used for?

• Data pulls for MLS data customers
• Homestore other data aggregators
• IDX/VOW web sites
• Brokerage systems
• Newspapers/book publishers
• Statistical summary/market trend analysis
• Attach a given client software product to
  multiple brands of MLS servers
• PC, laptop, PDA, cell phone

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What themes motivateddevelopment of RETS?

• High software development costs for data
  distribution
• Inability to plug clients into multiple MLS
  systems in an economic way
• High IT support costs

Pain leads to action
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When didRETS development start?

• Development began in 1999
• Collaborative effort between NAR and a number of
  industry technology leaders
• Driven by need to make access to and transfer of
  MLS information easier
• Versions 1.0 and 1.5 of RETS have been adopted
  by
• most of the major RETS service providers
• many of the RETS service consumers

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RETS Value Propositionfor each Stakeholder

• MLS Organizations Staff
• Brokers
• MLS Service Providers
• MLS Data Consumers
• MLS Customers
• Consumers
• Fostering Innovation

Read the full set of values for all
stakeholders www.rets.org/retsvalue/
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RETSExample Specification Text
7.7.3 Sub-queriesThis query language provides
for a nesting of sub-queries. For
exampleQuery((AREA1,2)(CITYACTON)),(LP2000
00) Example Query(STACT,SOLD),
(LP200000-350000),
(STRRIVER), (STYLERANCH),

(EXTWTRFRNT,DOCK), (LDATE2000-03-01),

(REMFORECLOSE),
(TYPECONDO,TWNHME),
(OWNERP?LE)Verbally,
this would be interpreted as return properties
with (ST equal ACT or SOLD) and (LP between
200000 and 350000, inclusive) and (STR beginning
with RIVER) and (STYLE equal RANCH) and (EXT
equal WTRFRNT and DOCK) and (LDATE greater than
or equal to 2000-03-01) and (REM containing
FORECLOSE) and (TYPE not equal toCONDO and not
equal to TWNHME) and (OWNER starting with P and
having LE in the 3rd and 4th characters).
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RETSMetadata Example

• ltMETADATA-RESOURCE Version"1.1.3" Date"Mon, 24
  Feb 2003 gt
• ltCOLUMNSgt ResourceID StandardName VisibleName
  ... lt/COLUMNSgt
• ltDATAgt Property Property Property
  ... lt/DATAgt
• ltMETADATA-CLASS Resource"Property"
  Version"0.0.0" ... gt
• ltCOLUMNSgt ClassName VisibleName
  StandardName ... lt/COLUMNSgt
• ltDATAgt RES Single Family Residential
  ... lt/DATA gt
• ltMETADATA-TABLE Resource"Property"
  Class"RES Version ..."gt
• ltCOLUMNSgt SystemName StandardName LongName
  ... lt/COLUMNSgt
• ltDATAgt EF ExtFeat Features
  lt/DATA gt
• ltDATAgt AR MLSArea MLS Area
  ... lt/DATA gt

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RETSCompact Decoded Query Example

• http//rets.ftc2.com6103/search?SearchTypePrope
  rtyClassRESCount1StandardNames1SelectSto
  ries,YearBuilt,StyleLimit10FormatCOMPACT-DECO
  DEDQueryTypeDMQLQuery (ListPrice50000-42
  0000), (CountyHAMILTON-OH),
  (ListingStatusActive), (ListDate2003-09-05)

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RETS Compact Decoded Results Example

• ltRETS ReplyCode"0" ReplyText"V1.1.6
  Success"gtltCOUNT Records"3" /gtltDELIMITER value
  "09"/gtltCOLUMNSgt Stories YearBuilt Style
  lt/COLUMNSgtltDATAgt 3 1979 Colonial
  lt/DATAgt ltDATAgt 1 1998 Rancher
  lt/DATAgt ltDATAgt 3 1908 Cottage
  lt/DATAgt
• lt/RETSgt

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RETS XML Query Example

• http//rets.ftc2.com6103/search?SearchTypePrope
  rtyClassRESCount1StandardNames1SelectSto
  ries,YearBuilt,StyleLimit10FormatSTANDARD-XML
  QueryTypeDMQLQuery (ListPrice50000-42000
  0), (CountyHAMILTON-OH),
  (ListingStatusActive), (ListDate2003-09-05)

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RETS XML Results Example

• ltRETS ReplyCode"0" ReplyText"V0.9.8
  Success"gtltCOUNT Records"5" /gtltREDatagt
  ltPropertiesgt ltResidentialPropertygt
  ltStoriesgt3lt/Storiesgt
  ltYearBuiltgt1979lt/YearBuiltgt
  ltHeatinggtlt/Heatinggt ltCooling /gt
  ltPoolgtNonelt/Poolgt
  ltTypegtlt/Typegt ltStylegt Colonial
  lt/Stylegt

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RETSComponents

• Transport http
• Request http parameters
• Query form DMQL
• Output data formats compact compact decoded XML
• Output metadata formats compact XML

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TopicSummary

• RETS offers a comprehensive solution to improve
  real estate industry data distribution
• RETS provides benefits to all industry
  stakeholders
• improved timeliness of data
• reduced operating costs
• increased revenue

Discussion Time
20
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