Get to Know RPR Because it Already Knows YOU

RPR, which stand for Realtors Property Resource, has been described as Big Brother, NAR’s answer to Zillow, the precursor to a National MLS, and many other things. But regardless of what opinion you may have of the system, it is coming, and it knows you. The project is the National Association of Realtors initiative to index the data on every parcel of land in the the USA. 

Every single one. They are starting with the public records, but guess what? If it is listed or has a sales history, they’ll have that too. If there is a violation on it, they’ll have it. Mortgage? Yup. Notice of default? That too. 

In short, they’ll have combined Zillow, the MLS data, your public records, RealtyTrac, and a few other sites into one source. If it is listed, they’ll have the broker information. It will even have a wiki-type feature that will allow registered users to edit what might be inaccurate informations, such as square footage of a listed property. Are you getting the picture? 

One more thing: it won’t be available to the public. It is only available to NAR members. It will be rolled out this March. 

It is not a national MLS, however, for several reasons, not the least of which is that there is no published offer of cooperation. But, like Realtor.com, there is nothing stopping you from contacting the listing agent and finding that out. Scary? Exciting? Both? 

Interesting commentary from Robert Hahn on RPR can be found on his blog. RPR has their own blog, which can be found at http://blog.narrpr.com. 

Individual MLS systems have the option to opt out, but here is the quandary if they do: at some point, someone was going to publish all this information, and Zillow has gotten a massive head start. If you are a licensee, who do you want at the head of the curve on this, a private company, or the NAR? It was going to be done anyway. 

We are witnesses to massive change. Forewarned is forearmed.