Mark your calendars. There's going to be a shoot-out in D.C. -- only the weapons of choice in this friendly skirmish are about as threatening as water guns.

Real estate consulting firm Clareity Consulting, in cooperation with three of the country's largest Multiple Listing Services, presents its latest "Law & Order" mini-session, the 1998 National Real Estate Internet Advertising Shoot-out (also known as "Where the Sam Hill do we put Our Listings and How can we Protect our Intellectual Property?") Friday, April 24, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Washington Hilton. This free shoot-out is open to MLS/Association leadership and large brokers attending the National Association of Realtors' midyear meeting in Washington.

"MLS" is the buzz throughout the real estate industry; home listings are the victims of a tug-of-war between the listing services, large online MLS databases, Realtors, and of course, consumers. Consumers may be obtaining more pull, but it's proving to be a hard-fought battle.

"Where, how, and to whom you license your listing database and other Intellectual Property is the most critical issue facing Multiple Listing Services and large brokers today," says Clareity co-founder Gregg Larson. The giant shadow of Microsoft, looming for quite some time, has just made its grand entrance into the real estate industry with its quest to obtain access to MLSs throughout the country. According to Larson, Microsoft has the lead role in an interesting play the entire real estate industry will be watching intently throughout 1998 and during the years ahead.

"The impact of Microsoft entering this already competitive arena has yet to be felt, but certainly it will require increased investment to remain competitive. Consolidation is inevitable," Larson says. He's betting that the "big brands" will win -- whomever can establish critical household name recognition in a manner that's nonintimidating to consumers.

Larson points to Homes & Land as an example. Its URL, www.homes.com, is a key to the site's success, he says. "Their URL is the best," Larson says. "People are going to make a guess, type in homes.com, and find this. No one in the history of the world has ever typed in homeseekers.com."

Even so, he adds, "Homes & Land only has about 200,000 listings; they don't have the depth of listings. Microsoft has raised the bar of competition. They'll be one of the top three brands, and other companies will have to spend tens of millions to be able to compete. Microsoft will force the other guys to spend more money or get out.'

It's not just about who has the deepest pockets, however; you've got to be clever, too. "The MLSs are running around in circles wondering if they should trust Microsoft with their listings," Larson says. "Microsoft could eventually cut out the middle man -- the MLSs -- and strike deals with Cendant or RE/MAX, for example. Microsoft wants to be the leading source of consumer home loans on the 'Net. They'll become an online mortgage broker and get referral fees -- it's a multibillion-dollar business."

The two-hour mini-session consists of four parts. Part 1, "The Shoot-Out," takes place from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Leaders from the five largest property listing services are invited to present their latest and best offerings and explain their respective values to the audience. Expected participants include: RealSelect (Realtor.com); Moore (Cyberhomes.com); NDS (HomeSeekers.com); Homes & Land (homes.com); and Microsoft (the Homeadvisor).

Part 2, "The Response," takes place from 10-10:30 a.m. Jay Huffman, Dale Ros, and Jack Johnson, the CEOs of MLSNI (Chicagoland), MRIS (DC/MD/VA), and the Northwest MLS (greater Seattle) will comment on the preceding Shoot-Out and discuss the respective positions of their MLSs, as well as their 1998 Internet advertising plans.

Part 3, from 10:30-11 a.m., is a question-and-answer session, moderated by Larson, which will open the floor to participants so they may interact directly with Internet listing vendors and various CEOs.

Part 4, "Conclusion and Parting Gift -- The Right Way to License Your Database," takes place at 11 a.m. A partner from one of America's leading Intellectual Property law firms will present a concise, easy-to-understand synopsis of the key elements and benefits of an Effective, Standardized Data Licensing Agreement. As a parting gift, participants will receive a legal primer on Data Licensing, courtesy of the law firm.

Informal networking begins at 8:30 a.m. Although the shoot-out is free, the event is subject to availability. You may guarantee a seat (or a "shot") by registering now via e-mail. For more information, call (612) 474-7620.

Published: April 7, 1998

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.