RPR Executes Agreement with Kansas Association of REALTORS® Subsidiary for Upstream Training

Press Release (ePRNews.com) - CHICAGO - Feb 13, 2017 - Realtors Property Resource, LLC (RPR) a wholly owned subsidiary corporation of the National Association of REALTORS® has executed an agreement with Kansas Association of REALTORS® owned Real Estate Business Resources (REBR), to provide third party training support for the Upstream Project. REBR staff will be utilized to complement RPR’s existing national training network to provided web-based end user training on the Upstream system, as the project begins its Beta testing phase in 2017.

“RPR is pleased to be working with an experienced organization such as REBR, who understands the specific needs of agents and brokers, to provide expanded training resources in support of Upstream Beta testing,” said RPR CEO Dale Ross. “By leveraging REBR’s resources and experience to augment RPR’s existing training programs, the Upstream project is positioned to user support for upcoming Beta testing in 2017.”

Since the launch of its Residential Platform in 2010, RPR has created a national network of trainers, providing both live and webinar based classes to over 80,000 agents annually. With the potential for rapid market level expansion, RPR has contracted with REBR to provide additional webinar training resources in multiple markets during the Beta testing.

“We are excited and proud to be an integral part of the Upstream Project,” said REBR Chairman Brian Jones. We look forward to supporting agents and brokerages in using this game changing technology.”

Five market areas are targeted as Phase I Upstream Pilots, composed of as many as 16 separate brokerage firms. To understand the training requirements of each firm, RPR staff conducted a series of in-market Discovery meetings over Q4 2016. Each meeting consisted of project overview, technical discussions, and a focus on training through interaction with brokerage training staff, and observation of current listing input processes by both agents and listing coordinators.

A parallel initiative was also just completed with each of the five Pilot MLSs, where RPR Industry Relations and training staff held on-site Discovery meetings with MLS staff, to discuss training resources, and market specifics such as whether Upstream would be supported by MLS training staff, or by regional Association partners. In some markets, RPR conducted extended site visits with Association staff to establish training support programs for the Upstream project.

“Our goal has always been to minimize the impact Upstream has on our stakeholders,” said UpstreamRE, LLC CEO Alex Lange.  “Having a dependable and client-centric support and training team is imperative to our success, and our partnership with RPR and REBR creates that winning combination.”

The Upstream training programs will be a collaborative effort with RPR’s Customer Support Center in Omaha, NE. In support of the Upstream project, RPR training and customer support staff have been developing programs which will allow RPR to provide the necessary support for the Upstream system to agents, brokers and brokerage staff on the listing input and distribution side, as well as MLS or Association staff.

As with all core RPR products and features, the support plans are created through stakeholder feedback and involvement, and are customized to take into account each brokerage firms and MLSs business rules and processes.

About Realtors Property Resource® (RPR®)

RPR, a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Association of REALTORS®, is an exclusive online real estate database providing REALTORS® with the analytical power to help their clients make better informed decisions while increasing efficiency in the marketplace. For more information about RPR, visit: https://blog.narrpr.com.

About REBR

REBR is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Kansas Association of REALTORS®. Its purpose is to identify, research, track and produce business applications for today’s real estate community that target profitability.

About UpstreamRE, LLC

UPSTREAM is a new data management company created by and for the industry and consumers to provide a central point of entry and repository for real estate property data, with the goal of improving efficiency, providing broker/agent control over data which they have generated and for which they are responsible, and enhancing the consumer’s experience by delivering more accurate, timely and consistent property information throughout the country.  The UPSTREAM™ board of managers includes representatives of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, Century 21, Coldwell-Banker, ERA, Keller Williams, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®, The Realty Alliance, RE/MAX, and non-affiliated brokerages. For more information about Upstream, visit: http://www.upstreamre.com