Do you still build RETS integrations?
Only where a service you depend on offers nothing else, and we will tell you that is the situation rather than presenting it as a normal choice. RESO ended support for RETS in June 2018 and replaced it with the RESO Web API; RESO's own documentation calls RETS deprecated. Where RETS is unavoidable we isolate it behind a transport boundary so the rest of your system does not depend on it and migration later is contained. Our default and recommendation is the Web API.
What is the RESO Web API, in practical terms?
It is the current standard transport for real estate data: a REST interface using OData conventions, with a published Data Dictionary that defines resources and fields. In practice it means authentication is standard, queries are expressive, incremental replication works from modification timestamps, and field names follow a published standard rather than one service's local naming. That last point is what makes an integration maintainable when you add a second source.
What does CMA actually stand for?
Comparative Market Analysis. It is the process of estimating a property's value by reference to comparable properties that have recently sold or are currently listed. We mention it explicitly because it is sometimes expanded incorrectly, including in older copy on our own site that we have corrected. What we build is the data layer that supports the analysis: comparable selection, adjustment visibility, and traceable figures. The valuation judgement remains with the professional who signs it.
Can you put MLS listings on our website?
Yes, that is IDX display, and the technical part is usually the easier half. The harder half is compliance: what may be shown, how it must be attributed, how long it may be retained, and which listings must be excluded because a seller opted out. Those obligations come from your agreement with the service and differ between services. We build them as configuration and verify against the rules you confirm, but we do not interpret your agreement for you.
Why not just use an off-the-shelf plugin?
For a single feed and a simple site, a plugin is often the right answer and we will say so. Custom integration earns its cost when you consume multiple sources that need reconciling, when search performance matters, when you need the data inside your own application rather than just displayed, or when a plugin has already broken once and nobody can maintain it. The recurring failure mode of plugins is stale inventory, and stale inventory in an IDX context is a compliance issue.
How do you stop sold properties from showing as available?
Incremental sync alone does not, which is the honest answer. Updates get missed and deletions are frequently silent, so drift accumulates. We run periodic full reconciliation against the source alongside incremental updates, so differences are detected and corrected rather than discovered by a member of the public. We also monitor feed freshness and alert on it, because the failure is quiet by nature.
Can you combine several feeds into one search?
Yes, and it is the most demanding version of this work. The difficulties are deduplicating the same property appearing in multiple sources, reconciling fields that disagree, and keeping search fast across the union. We resolve conflicts by explicit rule with source and timestamp recorded, so a disputed figure can always be traced back. We scope this carefully, because the effort scales with the number of sources rather than staying flat.
Is property data available everywhere?
No, and this is worth establishing before designing a product. MLS systems are prevalent in some markets and absent in others; public records access, licensing terms, and data quality differ substantially by jurisdiction. We assess what is actually obtainable and licensable in your specific market first, because building on data you cannot license is the fastest way to lose a project.
Do you build automated valuation models?
We build the data layer, the comparable selection, and the interfaces that support valuation, and we integrate third-party valuation providers where you have access to them. We are careful not to overstate this: producing a defensible valuation is a professional judgement with regulatory weight in many jurisdictions, and software that presents an estimate as a valuation creates a liability. Our role is to make the inputs and adjustments transparent to the person responsible.
How long does a property data integration take?
A single RESO Web API source with listing replication and IDX display is typically a matter of weeks rather than months, assuming access and entitlements are already in place. Entitlement approval from the service is frequently the longest lead time and is outside our control. Multiple sources, heavy media, or migration from a legacy integration extend it, and we estimate after the source assessment rather than before.
Have you done this for a real estate client before?
We have not published a real estate case study, and we will not imply otherwise. What we have built repeatedly is the underlying engineering: third-party API integration, incremental replication with reconciliation, media pipelines, and search infrastructure, including the OTA and channel integrations described in our hospitality work, which are structurally similar problems. On a property data project we will be explicit about which parts are familiar ground for us and which are new, so you can weigh the risk yourself.
