From AI-ready MLS data to coming soon listings and better tech adoption, industry leaders shared ideas for making real estate systems work smarter during the RESO 2026 Fall Conference, Oct. 19-21, in Colorado Spring, Colo. Here are a few highlights.
Why MLS Data Standards Matter More Than Ever
During the RESO conference, industry leaders’ conversation around MLS certification focused on a growing challenge for the real estate industry: While many MLSs have modernized their data standards, hundreds remain on older standards or have yet to achieve certification. With AI increasingly shaping how real estate information is interpreted and used, speakers emphasized the importance of establishing a consistent, authoritative foundation for property data.
“We need to be the industry source for the map of industry data,” Sam DeBord, CEO of the Real Estate Standards Organization, said during a session on Wednesday. RESO develops data standards for the real estate industry and provides certification to help ensure MLSs and their technology partners use consistent, up-to-date data definitions and systems.
Rodney Gansho, senior director of engagement at the National Association of REALTORS®, underscored the purpose behind that effort. “It’s about moving [the industry] forward,” he said during the session. “Better data services and management for MLSs are for the benefit of brokers and the clients they serve.”
The discussion highlighted how RESO standards and certification help make property data more consistent and compatible across MLSs and brokerage platforms, while supporting emerging technologies like AI.
The conversation builds on a point explored in an earlier article by DeBord at REALTOR® News, Brokers’ Data Deserves Modern MLS Infrastructure, which examines why MLS modernization matters and why he says broader adoption of RESO standards is critical to the future of the real estate industry.
Clarity Matters With ‘Coming Soon’ Listings, RESO Speaker Says
Coming soon listings can mean different things in different real estate markets. From “Coming Soon” and “First Look” to “Sneak Peek” and “Pocket Listings,” MLSs have adopted a variety of statuses, each with its own rules governing showings, public display, syndication and days on the market.
During the RESO conference on Tuesday, Dan Troup, 2026 RESO board of director and CEO of the Broker Public Portal, said these variations can create challenges for MLSs, technology providers and the real estate industry who are working to ensure listing information is displayed accurately and consistently. Troup urged the industry to move beyond listing-status names and make the rules governing each listing explicit in the data.
Technology providers need to know whether a property can be displayed publicly, syndicated or shown to buyers, and whether its price history and days on the market can be displayed. Defining these permissions in specific data fields, he said, could help providers apply MLS rules more consistently and reduce confusion.
Troup also highlighted how inconsistent listing statuses can leave buyers unsure of what they see online and whether a property is actually available for purchase. “If we don’t think about the consumer on the other side,” he cautioned, the industry risks creating confusion.
Why Brokerages May Want to Rethink Their Tech Stack
From fragmented technology and limited business intelligence to low agent adoption, Nick Bailey, president of Bailey Enterprises, urged brokers at the RESO conference on Tuesday to take a more disciplined approach to technology. One of the industry's biggest blind spots, he said, is the difference between signing up for a product and actually using it.
Bailey, the former president of RE/MAX and Century 21, recalled brokerages report that 86% of their agents had created accounts or logged into a system, but fewer than 5% were actually using the product. For brokerages devoting significant portions of their budget on technology, that gap raises an important question: Are they paying for tools that deliver measurable value, or simply adding more complexity to agents' workflows?
Bailey encouraged brokers to evaluate their technology stacks, measure actual adoption and be willing to eliminate products that aren't delivering value. The most successful solutions, he said, tend to address specific friction points rather than attempt to reinvent the entire real estate transaction. Automating administrative tasks, simplifying listing input and making systems work together tend to deliver more value than adding another standalone platform, he said.
