Navigating tectonic technology shifts and proactively innovating for the future, for the last 40-plus years, real estate software company FBS has been laser-focused on serving MLSs (multiple listing services) with technology.
On a mission to keep MLS subscribers in the driver’s seat with a number of industry-first innovations under their belt, FBS continues to lead the way through its reliability, experience, tenacity and well-managed growth.
Founded in the late ‘70s, FBS has evolved to meet the needs of MLSs—and when Michael Wurzer took the reins from his father back when the internet was just taking off, his No. 1 goal was to transition the company to the Web.
Stepping into the role of president and CEO 27 years ago, Wurzer’s main focus was positioning the company for the future. Two milestones that laid the foundation for continued success involved building Flexmls, a Web-based system giving real estate professionals the autonomy to run their business on their own terms, and establishing FBS as an employee-owned company—an ownership model that allows FBS to constantly think long term in order to make good decisions with its customers to focus on the next 10 or 20 years rather than the next one or two.
“We help guide MLSs to standard solutions whenever we can, but we recognize that each market is different, so we help them create systems that are flexible enough to allow them to express their local decision-making,” says Wurzer.
With a focus on standards—a theme for FBS through its many iterations—Wurzer’s future-focused mindset has positioned the company as the leader of MLS software that helps MLSs make the market work through national standards and local customization.
“Brokers and MLSs are always getting bigger, so you want to have different standards that help people not have to see the differences from MLS to MLS,” says Wurzer, ensuring a balanced platform that’s both efficient and effective for every size brokerage, MLS and agent team.
Lighting the path as far as standards-based innovation, since launching Flexmls, the team at FBS has been helping its MLS customers increase competition through cooperation.
“While folks tend to talk about cooperation first when defining the MLS, the goal is and always has been competition,” says Wurzer.
“The important thing for innovation is related to increasing the choices brokers, agents and consumers have so that they can be different from each other, and that’s competition. That’s where things like standards and APIs create a foundation for others to innovate on top of,” he explains.
While the pace at which MLSs innovate continues to pick up speed, FBS is focused on the infrastructure, quickly moving data to where it needs to be and making it available in standard ways through APIs.
And while data is the lifeblood of the MLS, maintaining data quality, depth and integrity is mission-critical.
“Something we constantly iterate on is ‘garbage in, garbage out,’” says Wurzer, underscoring the importance of the tool sets that can be used to manage the system and create rules to program it to help correct problems.
“MLS technology companies like FBS are the ‘boots on the ground’ for getting standards implemented,” says Sam DeBord, CEO of the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO)—an underlying driver of technology innovation in the industry. “Our standards ‘products’ are only valuable if our member organizations are using them in the marketplace, and FBS has always been a leader in this space.”
Leading the way, together
Having proven time and again that they can serve any size MLS, FBS goes above and beyond to ensure that each and every customer understands just how much they matter to the company. That proves out in their MLS contract retention rates, which hover around the 100% mark each year (and have consistently done so for decades), and their ongoing chart-topping MLS customer satisfaction rates for product, service and support.
“FBS’ approach is different than anything I’ve experienced within the industry,” says Metro MLS CEO Chris Carrillo, who can’t say enough about the way in which FBS helps support the Wisconsin-based MLS and member success through partnership collaboration and problem-solving. Metro MLS has been an FBS/Flexmls customer for more than 20 years.
“This is where they shine,” says Carrillo, recounting the experience of working with Wurzer and his team to lead the charge on implementing a “coming soon” status—one simple example in a sea of many throughout the decades-long partnership.
Having identified some problems in the marketplace where they weren’t able to deliver on market needs, Carrillo and his team sat down with FBS to develop a smart status that is still heavily used today.
“It’s very rare to be given a seat at the table and to be provided the opportunity to share what you think,” says Carrillo. “But that’s exactly what FBS does as they build relationships with their customers and involve us in building the roadmap that will get us to where we need to be.”
Key to building those relationships, according to Carrillo, is investing in the right people.
“They have the best staff bar none from top to bottom,” says Carrillo, who encourages MLSs—whether they’re a customer or not—to lean on FBS.
“If you have an issue that you need addressed, and you’ve never spoken to an employee at FBS, reach out to them because they’re going to take the time to listen to you,” he adds.
Spending nearly 90% of his time focused on how the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS) can better serve its 40,000 subscribers, COO Bill Berendes points to the mutual investment in the partnership as a key piece of the puzzle when it comes to the way in which FBS supports the Tempe, Arizona-based MLS, and FBS/Flexmls customer for more than 15 years.
“We spend our time thinking about how we can always be improving,” says Berendes. “And while there’s no such thing as perfection, there’s an opportunity to constantly be evolving and improving. That’s what we focus on, and FBS allows us to dream up things and push the limits in a way in which no one else can.”
Keeping the investment in the relationship percolating continuously, Berendes notes that there’s no close second when it comes to ARMLS’ longstanding partnership with FBS.
Regular monthly meetings not only provide the opportunity for Berendes and his team to check up on items on their hot list, but they also set the stage for FBS’ product people or client services group to provide a heads up about things they’re considering in order to gauge whether they’re on the right track.
“While the meetings are 90% tactical, they’re an investment we both make that continues to build the value of the relationship,” adds Berendes, highlighting the tremendous amount of trust and mutual respect between the two organizations.
“We can always count on them to execute, and while it’s not always perfect—because it’s software, and there’s no such thing as perfect software—they always respond with a sense of urgency as they work toward a resolution.”
FBS is deeply vested in the industry with dedicated and ongoing efforts to support the driving forces behind MLS success in a variety of ways.
“Having FBS on our side as a business partner is what allows us to serve the marketplace better, to serve our members better, and to bring together the community,” says Denee Evans, CEO of CMLS (the Council of Multiple Listing Services).
“Not only is FBS a great partner, but they’re also an active, productive contributor to the community, participating in thoughtful conversations by providing insight and information and supporting CMLS as an entity.”
With everything going on in the industry today, there’s more opportunity than ever before to help facilitate transactions in the orderly marketplace known as the MLS. And for those who have FBS in their corner, the future’s looking bright as far as continuing to innovate for members and consumers alike.
For more information, please visit https://wearefbs.com.
