Real Estate Products, Services

In an ironic twist at this year's NAR convention, two major consortiums have emerged pledging to serve Realtor members and to streamline the transaction process - but neither of them carry a stamp of approval from the NAR and, more significantly, it was not clear whether Realtor.com or its parent, Homestore.com, would participate in either group.

One of the consortiums is "Conntrax," which has compiled a massive database of settlement service providers nationwide; and the other group is the "Alliance for Advanced Real Estate Transaction Technology," which intends to create open standards for data exchange within the industry.

Among heavy hitter names in the Conntrax group are Dun & Bradstreet, IRED, Clareity Consulting, Ernst Publishing and Kinnexus.

Included in the AARTT group are 9keys, AppraisalHub, Bowstreet, Commission Advance, Deloitte & Touche, GHR Systems, Homeadvisor Technologies, Homebid, iLumin, Inciscent, InfoStream, Instanet Forms, InteliTouch, Interealty, iProperty, MarketLinx, Property I.D., Supra Products, and VISTAinfo.

Subscribers to the Conntrax directories will be able to find settlement providers anywhere in the country, including title companies, lenders, appraisers, brokerages and almost anyone else involved in the transaction.

"Conntrax's directory services are the key to the success of a number of important technology efforts in the real estate segment and, as such, represent a significant value add," said Craig Coleman, a Conntrax management leader. "The directory will make greatly expanded service levels possible for a number of technology providers in this space."

For more information see: www.conntrax.com

AARTT co-founder Ari Vidali of iProperty said although several attempts are underway to define specifications for portions of the real estate industry, including online mortgages, it may take years for the different sub-industries to integrate the systems.

By defining the core data elements necessary by all e-real estate participants, the development of "comprehensive real estate transaction markup language" (CRTML) will significantly speed the development of a seamless data exchange.

"The main purpose for founding the Alliance is to turbo-charge cooperation among existing vertical standards efforts and build interoperability between them," Vidali said. "We believe that strong technology alliances within our industry are crucial for innovation and value creation."

Vidali said CRTML would act as the "connective tissue" between real estate transaction systems, allowing participants to migrate core business processes toward a fully integrated real estate e-transaction. He said he hoped the streamlined process would create new value "for everyone involved by dramatically reducing the friction present in the transaction today."

Said Bruce Smith, senior manager, Deloitte and Touche, "One cannot underestimate the importance of an initiative like AARTT and its potential impact on the real estate transaction, if we are to achieve the true synergy that we envision -- and that is demanded by the consumer -- for the future of this industry." For more information contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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