Openn Negotiation Ltd (ASX:OPN) has entered into a pilot agreement with US Multiple Listing Service (MLS) organisation, bridgeMLS, Inc., designed to prepare Openn’s platform and technology for commercial roll-out in bridgeMLS and the Northern California, Bay Area market.
This agreement is through the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Openn North America Inc.
The pilot with MLS puts OPN’s platform in front of more than 3,500 real estate professionals, providing them with access to data for more than 80% of the California marketplace through data share agreements.
As a champion of innovation in the real estate sector and an active participant in the NORCAL Alliance group to further advance innovation and collaboration throughout the State of California, MLS seems a good fit with what OPN is aiming to achieve.
This pilot now means Openn is running five concurrent pilots across Canada and the USA.
Broad exposure to diverse markets
Openn executive director/CTO and Openn NA president Duncan Anderson said of the pilot, “From Pacific to Atlantic coast, we now have broad exposure to diverse market environments across five concurrent pilots.
“The North American market is delivering a clear and consistent message that the real estate industry is ready for transparency. This is our first pilot on the USA west coast, in one of its largest property markets.
"We are thrilled by the opportunity to partner with bridgeMLS to introduce Openn Offers to the northern California and Bay Area marketplace.”
The pilot will initially run for up to six months, during which Openn NA and bridgeMLS will test and evaluate the potential market fit and demand for the Openn platform with bridgeMLS members.
Partner support
Openn and bridgeMLS will work together to raise awareness of the Openn platform, including testing and obtaining feedback on the platform from real estate professionals in the Bay Area region.
A longer-term agreement will be explored through the pilot program, which would lead to an expansion of the rollout of Openn Offers to the Bay Area region and integration into bridgeMLS’s system platforms ConnectMLS and Paragon.
Openn NA director of operations Eric Bryant said, “bridgeMLS is a partner that brings great value to the table in our pilot phase because of their cutting-edge attitude towards advancement of new technologies in their marketplaces. These types of partners are valued in the North American expansion.”
bridgeMLS, Inc CEO DaVina Lara said, “Our team is always seeking opportunities to develop a strong relationship between agents and consumers.
"Openn provides a new opportunity to tighten that relationship through improved equality and transparency during the offer and acceptance process.
"Transparency is the backbone to trust and bridgeMLS looks forward to bringing the most transparent tool to our marketplace for both our agents and their clients.”