Business Scale-Up and Productivity Program Announcement, North Vancouver, BC (L to R): Morgan Carey, CEO, Real Estate Webmasters; Terry Beech, MP, Burnaby North-Seymour, Government of Canada; Vy Luu, Director of Product, Real Estate Webmasters; Hon. Navdeep Singh Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Government of Canada)
Real Estate Webmasters Partners With Government, Google and Slalom to Bring Modern MLS Technology to World
Real Estate Webmasters (REW) is developing a multilingual multiple listing service (MLS) that will revolutionize real estate industries on a worldwide scale.
Major partners in real estate, government and technology have already jumped on board to back this leader in real estate tech.
REW has received funding and engineering support from Google, and has partnered with software engineering company Slalom for its international data architecture. Most recently, the Government of Canada (GOC) has stepped in with a huge show of confidence through their Business Scale-Up and Productivity (BSP) program. This exclusive program offers match-funding to the most innovative companies who show the highest merit and can deliver on the stringent program objectives.
REW has committed more than $2.5 million in advance toward the project. With the GOC match-funding program, the total investment will top well over $5 million.
As pan-European markets are targeted for initial launch, this international, multilingual MLS project has caught the attention of RE/MAX Europe, who will become the flagship customer to launch this new program.
“We are very excited at this announcement and are looking forward to the next steps of working with Real Estate Webmasters,” shares RE/MAX Europe CEO Michael Polzler. “Together, we are going to change the way real estate is done in Europe.”
This strong bond between REW and RE/MAX Europe first started five years ago, when RE/MAX Europe approached REW.
“At the time, they were in the market to replace their existing website vendor,” shares REW CEO Morgan Carey. “An organization this dynamic is very complex. We have spent the last few years going to Europe and meeting with regional directors so that we truly understand their platform needs as we replace their current vendor.”
As the two companies work together on moving their current website over to the cutting-edge and modern REW platform, they are also working together on shaping the multilingual MLS for international audiences.
“We share RE/MAX Europe’s vision of bringing a more organized structure to the real estate industry in Europe. One of those avenues is to work with the Government of Canada, who is also very passionate about technology growth, job creation and generating external sources of revenue,” Vy Luu, REW Director of Product, affirms.
The team plans to incorporate the successful practices of the current North American MLS system, including integrating the newly developed RESO data standards and processes for all real estate transactions.
“When you open up data, it facilitates competition and calls for higher transparency between both buyers and sellers, benefiting both sides,” Luu continues.
Once the international MLS system is in place in Europe, sales cycles could reduce from three years to as low as 90 days, on average. This time reduction is expected to have a significant economic impact for not only Europe, but in the world markets as economies strengthen.
For more information, please visit www.realestatewebmasters.com.
Zoe Eisenberg is RISMedia’s senior content editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at zoe@rismedia.com.
