Austin Real Estate Blog

OCLC (an organization with a mission similar to RPR, but for libraries) has alienated itself from it's supposed beneficiaries. Could something like this happen with RPR?

In order to understand the potential problems with providing original real estate records to a communally-owned database, as RPR is suggesting, it’s useful to look at an analogous situation that exists in a similar community: the library world.

On July 6, 1967, the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) was founded as a cooperative effort among libraries to allow standardization and sharing of bibliographic records among libraries who signed up for this service. The records were to remain the property of the library that created them, but would be free to use for any member library, with only a small cost-recovery fee charged for various services. OCLC continued to grow, until today it serves 72,000 libraries all around the world, who participate by creating bibliographic records and sharing them. OCLC is also available for library users to search, allowing them to locate hard-to-find items through its online search options. So, libraries created bibliographic records for books and journals and CDs and DVDs, and users could find information on them through OCLC. And everything was fine, for a while.

Then, in 2008 OCLC announced its proposed “Policy for Use and Transfer of WorldCat Records,” which required that all records before and since that appear in OCLC would bear a line granting copyright (license) over the record to OCLC and prohibiting the record’s use in any other service that was similar to OCLC. Essentially, OCLC simply took over the license for those records. OCLC did not make those records, so how could they do this?

The answer lies in the way that copyright law is structured. The records stored in OCLC were comprised of facts. Facts cannot be copyrighted. I can’t copyright the fact that a house is located at a certain address or that it is on the market for a specific amount; I can’t copyright that grass is green and the sky is blue. I can, however, copyright the way that I describe the house, the look and feel of my real estate descriptions, and the formatting I use in creating a listing for the house. It’s the last issue, that of formatting and metadata, that created the situation with OCLC.

OCLC didn’t claim ownership over the information in its database; it couldn’t. Copyright doesn’t allow for ownership of facts. Instead, OCLC claimed ownership over the format and metadata (descriptions of the books) – the look and feel of the interface – as its justification for claiming the right to license the records. Because the information had to be entered in a format that OCLC set up when the initial database was first put into place, OCLC owned the format. The records in that format were thus the property of OCLC because the format was OCLC’s. Restrictions were outlined that restricted the rights of libraries to use the records, even for records they had created themselves and that logic would dictate those libraries “owned.” Despite public outcry, the provision was implemented in 2009.

But OCLC was a consortium of libraries working together, right? So how could they do something that was so clearly at odds with what the majority of the membership wanted?

The answer, sadly, is that OCLC’s leadership seems more interested in protecting its own financial interests than in being responsive to its membership. Once OCLC became the standard that most libraries used, it began to derive its own profit-driven agenda; since it essentially had a monopoly on the records that had already been created, it no longer needed to serve the libraries that had created it and built its success.

If any of this sounds familiar, it should. Similar situations are arising throughout the intellectual property world. If RPR successfully implements its proposed database, it can make a claim that the records contained belong to it, no matter who originally created the record, because RPR would own the format and metadata. This would allow for a widespread land grab that could end up costing members and others simply to get their own listings back.

Don’t think this could ever happen? It already has. Just ask a librarian.

Put this on my www.joecline.com/blog by accident. Here is the link, if you were looking for this post about the Realtors Property resource. I made this little ditty in Photoshop just for giggles. I was in a startup company a few years back and when the impending death sale of the company was in progress we had similarly themed, but much, much more professionally created posters. You know, don’t let any details slip out or you’ll sink the ship. Anyway, silence is great in war, but NOT WHEN YOU’RE TRYING TO GAIN BUY IN or when you’ve used association moneys to start your company!

Someone should let the folks at RPR know that we ARE interested, but are not going to swallow whatever they produce hook, line, and sinker.

All over Haiti, buildings and other infrastructure have been destroyed and people are struggling to survive.

The recent earthquake in Haiti has caused untold suffering and massive devastation to residents of this small island nation.  The humanitarian aid efforts are already underway, and rebuilding plans are expected to begin soon.  Many Austin residents have been moved by the plight of the people of Haiti, and contributions are pouring in from all over the world to assist those affected by this tragedy.  A number of local Austin organizations and companies are also working to help Haiti recover from this disaster and to provide clean water and food to the victims of the earthquake.

Austin-based Whole Foods Market, Inc. has announced the creation of a fund to help provide relief to disaster victims in Haiti.  Donations will be accepted at all 289 stores throughout the United States, and will be distributed to a number of direct aid organizations, including Doctors Without Borders, Action Against Hunger, AmeriCares, Food for the Poor, Partners in Health, and the American Red Cross.  Whole Food Markets is also collecting donations of food, clothing, and money to support staff members who have been affected by the disaster in Haiti, and working with national organizations to facilitate the delivery of food and water to the areas hardest hit by the earthquake.

The American Red Cross of Central Texas is also active in the Haiti relief efforts, and is currently requesting donations of bottled water, food, and other supplies.  It is also looking for temporary shelter and medical services for those injured or homeless due to the earthquake.  Additionally, the American Red Cross has joined forces with the U.S. State Department to allow individuals to donate through their cell phone bill; simply text the word “Haiti” to 90999, and a $10 donation will be automatically added to the monthly charges for the cellular phone.

Several Austin firefighters and emergency workers are headed to Haiti to take an active part in the rescue and recovery operations on the ground; they will bring needed supplies and expertise to the relief efforts in heavily populated areas of Haiti, including Port-au-Prince.  Austin companies providing matching funds for relief donations include Austin Ventures, Silicon Laboratories, and the MFI Foundation.  Austin residents can qualify for these matching funds by making their donations through http://www.givetoaustin.org/helphaiti, Austin residents can qualify for these matching funds.

Seymour Fogel Mural

The Starr Building located at 107 West 6th Street, Austin Texas, has been sold. CB Richard Ellis represented the owner in the sale of the roughly 77,000 sq ft office and parking garage. The building has been around Austin some 55 years and houses a famous (to art and architecture folks mostly) mural by Seymour Fogel.

The mural itself is very pretty. I hope that the folks who purchased it try and make the finances work without plopping another high rise in a downtown that already has enough “towerage”.

Kemp Properties purchased the property and has previously restored other buildings like the Brown building. I think that’s a beautiful building so we ca assume that the Starr Building is in good hands.

Take a look at some of the photos from the listing agents at CB Richard Ellis. It looks like it would be a perfect set for Mad Men!

Starr Building Interior

Starr Building Exterior

Watch the whole thing. You’ll be glad that you did.

What Did Interest Rates Do This Week?
** based on Freddie Mac weekly average survey **

30-yr Fixed – Lower
This Week:  4.78% (lowest since April 30, 2009)
Last Week:  4.83%
1yr Ago:  5.97%

15-yr Fixed – Slightly Lower
This Week:  4.29% (record low)
Last Week:  4.32%
1yr Ago:  5.74%

Jumbo Fixed (Average 30-yr Fixed)
Last Week:  5.75%Previous Week:  5.75%

Highlight of This Week’s Major Economic Reports

Despite the nation’s economic challenges, there’s a lot to be thankful for this year.  For one, the housing market has started to see stabilization – thanks in combination to historic low interest rates and increasing affordability.  Then, there’s the first-time buyer tax credit, which was set to expire on December 1^st and has since been extended to April 30^th.  The original expiration helped to prop up home sales in October, which saw the fastest sales pace since October 2007, with existing home sales jumping over 10% and new home sales spiking 6.2% from September’s figures.

What to Look for Next Week

The latest unemployment picture will be framed with the release of November’s employment report.  Even though unemployment claims have slowly dropped in recent weeks, it’s expected we’ll see a rise in the 10% unemployment rate through the end of the year.

Short-Term Rate Outlook
Relatively Unchanged

Stay Informed:  What’s in the News

“America’s Fastest Recovering Cities” – Austin #3 from Forbes.com

http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/19/cities-recovery-unemployment-lifestyle-real-estate-top-ten_print.html

“Texas’s Existing Home Sales Climb, Prices Inch Up” from Texas A&M Real Estate Center

A total of 19,347 existing single-family homes were sold in Texas last month, a 15 percent increase from October 2008, according to MLS data compiled by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

The median price rose 1 percent to $143,300 during the same period, and the state finished the month with a 6.9-month inventory of existing homes.

Here is how select Texas cities fared in October (data current as of Nov. 24, 2009):

“US Job Losses to Bottom out Next Quarter: NABE” from CNBC.com

Economists expect the joblessness that has weighed down the nation’s economic recovery will start to slowly abate in 2010, but they predict consumers will continue to keep a tight rein on spending, according to a new survey.

“Fed Remains Cautious on Strength of Recovery” from The New York Times

The Federal Reserve’s new economic forecast and minutes from a session earlier this month reveal that policymakers continue to fret over whether the economy is strong enough to hold up without government stimulus efforts, such as the temporary fiscal programs for the housing sector. Concern about the recovery comes as Fed officials begin debates on when to start raising interest rates, which have been held at virtually zero since last December, and on ending their program to purchase $1.25 trillion in mortgage-related securities. The real estate industry fears an increase in mortgage rates, but the Fed also wants to focus on reducing its holdings and bringing its balance sheet back to normal.

Marie Funston | Sr. Mortgage Advisor | (512) 750-7270
9442 N Capital of Texas Hwy., Suite 1-600
Austin, TX 78759
Fax:  (512) 343-1224
Marie@austinmortgageadvisor.com

If you’re an agent you should do some research on the proposed RPR or Realtors Property Resource.

You can read about it here.

http://www.inman.com/news/2009/11/12/mls-buy-in-key-nar-database?page=0%2C4
and here
http://www.inman.com/news/2009/11/14/rpr-execs-under-fire-nar

Below is a snippet from the 1000watt blog posted on Inman. If you’d rather a more concise description skip down past the quote.

The NAR has taken over certain technology assets of Cyberhomes from LPS (formerly known as FNRES) in order to bring its RPR (Realtors Property Resource) project, as well as its consumer-facing play, HouseLogic, to market. To do this, they have created Realtors Property Resource LLC — a wholly owned subsidiary of the NAR.

Certain LPS executives, including Cyberhomes GM Marty Frame, will be making the transition over to NAR/RPR (see Inman News article). Frame will serve as the president of the new entity. Dale Ross, who was co-founder of MRIS, the nation’s largest MLS, will be CEO. LPS will also provide call center support and other services as part of the deal.

The RPR database will contain parcel information on nearly 150 million properties through a data license from LPS, which (along with First American) is one of the two major sources of public property data.

This is interesting news, but let’s back up a minute for those of you who have more well-rounded lives than I (my fellow online RE junkies can skip down to my take on what this deal means).

The RPR is the national property database initiative that the NAR has been quietly working on for some time. It has gone by a number of names over the past couple years, including “Gateway,” “The Real Estate Channel,” and the “Library/Archive.” It will aggregate tons of property data, including public records, in one place. This will be a Realtor-only database. The idea is to keep agents and brokers competitive amidst widespread data diffusion and other challenges.

HouseLogic.com is a NAR-owned public destination site that will be unveiled next week at the NAR EXPO. The site is part of the NAR’s long-term strategy to engage consumers on behalf of its members.

RIN is the “Realtors Information Network,” a for-profit arm of the NAR from which the RPR sprung. It was conceived for the purpose of creating an ill-fated online real estate service nearly 15 years ago. It was proprietary, something like a Prodigy or early AOL-type service. It blew up, costing the NAR millions. It was from that failure that the present-day Realtor.com was born, in 1996.

Thanks to Brian Boero and Inman for the above snippet.

If you don’t subscribe to Inman here’s the gist…

Sometimes it feels like this is my relationship with NAR...

REALTORs Property Resource in a Nutshell

Basically, NAR would love to create another cash cow like Realtor.com by taking our MLS data and building a system around it, then selling it to the likes of ANYONE WHO WILL PAY FOR IT including government agencies. Can you say appraisal districts? Hope everyone is ready for their taxes to go up once we expose our complete MLS data (even in aggregate).

A Better Idea

And you folks are Realtors like me…. Why doesn’t our MLS ever agree to give any of us all the data for free so I can sell it to other people? IDX feeds for members are $200 per year now (or thereabouts).

I’ve got an idea. Why don’t all the MLS systems around the country give me the data. Then, you know, I’ll build a website with your images, your listing data, and publicly available records and then I’ll sell the services to you and other entities for a profit? Of course your dues may go up a bit since you’ll have to hire someone at ABOR to handle all this data exchange, help NAR with any issues they have, etc, etc.

Sounds like a good deal, right? Who’s on board?

I’m not a data entry robot working to make NAR and their partners money while paying Realtor.com $50 a listing to “showcase” my data on their website, not to mention a website that is worthless without said data.

Who Wants Higher Property Taxes?

In Texas, we are a non-disclosure state and they want to sell the info to government agencies. Um.. I’m pretty sure that all the appraisal districts will love that. Personally, I think this is the dumbest thing NAR members could do to themselves. If NAR wants said data for their system our MLS should charge them accordingly. I think $100 per listing sounds about right. Then we could automatically get a featured listing in Realtor.com and have $50 profit that could go to reduce or eliminate our MLS fees.

Sounds more fair to me. NAR can go and partner and sell the data, but they need to BUY IT FIRST.

Aside from all this… Why do I, as an agent in central Texas need, or care about accurate valuation or data about property in Montana? I’m not licensed there. I don’t sell there. And NAR Code of Ethics Article 11 says I can’t because I’m not competent in the workings of real estate in Montana.

Why should my dollars go to fund a NAR company that makes profits for LPS Real Estate (an RPR partner) and allows the data that is our lifeblood to go out to whomever?

I’ve only been thinking about this for a few days so I could be wrong. I would love to hear what other folks at our board or at any board across the nation think. If you are for or against the RPR and have an interest in real estate other than being a salesperson please disclose it so we can get a read on where each stakeholder stands.

Joe Cline – REMAX Capital City

solar panel qualifying for a solar incentive

Will Austin be giving away free solar arrays? No, of course not, but a new program which allows home owners to obtain low interest loans to install solar arrays has begun. The program will allow people to cut their electric bills while paying the loan on their property taxes. This is aimed at making the transition to green living easier on the Austin home owner.

The expected amount added to one’s property tax bill would be about equal to the amount saved on energy from the grid; meaning no impact to the typical home budget.  Since Austin exempts most renewable home improvements, including solar, from a home’s property tax valuation, the homeowner also adds value to the property, without increasing the taxable value of the home.  A green step forward is fiscally available for any Austin home owner interested in the upgrade.

With a large enough roof system, you could effectively remove yourself from the electrical grid. Or you could sell your extra power back to the utility. You’ll still want a back-up system, just in case of another hurricane like Katrina. Would this affect the electricity supplier in the area? It might. Too many people cutting back at once could strain the local utility. In the long run such a strain would be minor compared to the benefits that will come from the shift.

The largest obstacles to success might be keeping up with the rebates. $4 million was allocated for the fiscal year starting Oct 1, 2009. At this time more than $3 million has already been allocated.

In keeping with the goal of becoming a green state, Texas has strived forward, establishing itself as a leader in green energy. Recently there have been several alternative energy resources that people are watching closely, among them is wind energy. To some the results are astonishing; however to Texans it is nothing new.

When a person thinks about wind-generated electricity, he sees those huge windmills, the long blades whirling in the breeze. And the state that leads the way in wind-generated power is Texas. The increase of 436 megawatts in the 3rd quarter brings her total wind-power capacity to nearly 8800 Megawatts, or approximately 28% of the total U.S. wind-generated power. California, by Comparison, generates less than 3000 megawatts by wind.

The Texas wind generation plants produce enough to power 2.5 million homes. Compare that to the total U.S. of 9 million. Texas is a true leader in this field.

The production of wind turbines is down because of the recession, but Texas still pushes ahead. And it has nearly three times the turbine-power megawatts of Iowa. Taking the steps to move forward with clean energy it will not be long before the country turns to Texas once again to see what to do correctly.

The American Wind Energy Association credits the stimulus bill for helping complete energy projects and for starting new ones.

Water treatment plant (activated sludge tank)

The Austin city council has a battle brewing over water, or, more accurately, over a water treatment plant. A city the size of Austin needs water treatment plants. They have 3, and the push is on for a fourth. However, the city council is divided. Some members don’t want it, and plan to push for a conservation measure which would consider infrastructure management and drought, demand, and regional supply. Although all of these issues should be considered, the benefit of the additional plant is also being considered.

Current projections indicate the proposed fourth water treatment plant would cause water bills to rise 15%. The conservation measure mentioned above is likely to be introduced to the council on November 5, 2009. Each measure will later come before council for a vote. The current anticipated vote seems to be 4-3 in favor of the plant. If this proposal carries, those against the plan could opt to bring forward another resolution to direct the city’s manager to find ways to lessen the impact on lower-income families.

As the efforts continue, both conservation and water treatment are on the table for discussion. Only time will show us if a solid, beneficial compromise will be reaches by both sides. Back up measures are being created in case a compromise is not reached.