It's still early in the game, but it looks as though one of the nation's leading MLS and environmental information suppliers, VISTAinfo(NASDAQ: VINF), is entering into an agreement with Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE: FNF), a leading title insurance company. The two companies plan to merge their real estate information, technology products and assets into a jointly owned real estate services company.

Is this just another boring business announcement, a so-what for Realtors? Or could this merger possibly change MLS and transaction information delivery as we know it?

Under the proposed terms, Fidelity National Financial will contribute the assets and operations of several of its subsidiaries, tax, credit, flood, appraisal and property records businesses, in exchange for stock in Vistainfo.

Vistainfo's CEO Howard Latham says, "This is a combination of businesses that strengthens the whole VISTAinfo value equation, where we will be able to leverage financial strength, product strength, and customer strength that will give results from day one."

If you look at the strengths of each company, it becomes obvious that Latham isn't exaggerating. This spin-off/merger could rule the MLS/transaction management arena with a product set that every MLS organization, transaction management platform service provider, and working Realtor will want. In other words, this company could be friends with everybody from Homestore to the smallest Realtor.

Why? The beauty of transactions is that they can be snapped together in modules, like LEGO toys. Vistainfo isn't going to be pushing a transaction management platform, only a product set. Therefore it isn't going to directly compete with the big dogs n the usual sense, because this part of it will be free to Realtors, courtesy of parent title company Fidelity. Second, this group handles the dirty work like tax roll integration and environmental disclosures that no one else wants to touch because they aren't sexy like marketing tools or e-mail programs. However, it is these very unsexy but necessary pieces that are critical to a smooth transaction. I defy any ASP, broker or agent to say they don'twant or need these modules, including title insurance services, on their platforms. However, I suspect that Vistainfo will eventually roll out a business to consumer version of a transaction platform for brokers and agents who want it and for some reason don't want to do business with other providers.

The MLS advantage

So what does Fidelity want with Vistainfo? Access to agents. Vistainfo is the leading MLS information services provider, but only by a nose. Its products seat about 300,000 agents, only about 130,000 of whom are on Web-based Vistainfo systems. Snapping at its heels are Interealty with 270,000 agents, 216,000 of whom are Web-enabled. Then you have Homeseekers, who is coming up a close third with over 100,000 Web-enabled agents. Others, such as Realty Plus Online's Fusion MLS follow close behind and are gaining in numbers. Although Homestore's WyldFyre division has four MLS service contracts to date, (including the state of Alaska) don't count it out of the running. A year ago, Homeseekers wasn't in the MLS business either and has gained significant market share. Although it hasn't been announced, Homestore may intend to leverage its Gold Alliance relationships into MLS service contracts, using Wyldfyre to get there.

With only a few service providers competing for Web-based MLS information contracts, the competition is fierce and will depend largely on points of difference. Vistainfo's product set gives it a temporary advantage.

Why is this important? There's no question that the fastest, most efficient access to real estate agents is through their MLS information management systems, something HomeAdvisor quickly figured out when it made its deal with Interealty to provide productivity suites as an upgrade on contracted MLS systems. Homestore may think it has the same advantage with Wyldfyre, the company's MLS software maker. But Wyldfyre has market share with other MLS vendors, not for MLS contracts, a key distinction. If they think they can get eRealtor on MLS platforms they had better hurry, because MLS contracts are constantly coming up for review, and the likeliest horse to get them to the largest number of agents just left with a new rider.

As MLS contracts come up for review, incumbents like Vistainfo and Interealty have an advantage. All service providers are offering Web-based information management systems from now on. The ones who get the contracts will be the ones who can offer the most advantages for agents (or the sweetest revenue-sharing contracts with the MLS companies.)

In addition, Vistainfo offers productivity tools, which can be offered to agents on the MLS platform. Theirs doesn't have the name recognition of Top Producer, but since it's an add-on, why should the MLS care? At least the tools are available.

The Title Insurance Advantage

By creating a separate company with a well-funded and hopefully generous partner, Vistainfo has the opportunity to sell not only its environmental and productivity products but the residential property tax services, consumer mortgage credit analysis, flood insurance determinations, and automated-to-on-site appraisals provided by Fidelity. Why are these products sexy?

Because they clarify risk, something that lenders and insurers will be as interested in as Realtors.

Take what occurs in a typical transaction, says Latham. " Fidelity's real estate products include a mortgage credit service. When you apply for a mortgage it determines whether a buyer is credit -worthy. Fidelity's mortgage tax assures that property taxes are paid. The flood determination company assesses whether a home is in a flood area. The public records company has records for over 1000 counties in the nation with detailed property information. The appraisal company does full on-site to automated appraisals.

"These are touchpoints of real content around the real estate transaction. Then you add that to disclosure, commercial data, and real estate agents and you start to have a series of products and services that can speed through the real estate transaction."

In short, this product set can fulfill the promise of shortening and simplifying the online transaction process, offering realtime benefits to all parties who use the transaction services.

This merger should be big news to shareholders and Vistainfo competitors, as the company will go from about an $80 million to about a $230 million company in revenues, according to a spokesperson. Whether the partnership will result in an actual merger with Fidelity National Financial, Inc., or whether Vistainfo will join some core businesses split off from the title insurance company and form a new company has yet to be determined.

Published: February 16, 2001

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.