No more learning complex, proprietary data access codes. Just get on the Internet and do your search in plain English. REWebcom and OpenMLS have teamed to produce the first XML-based Internet real estate listing search technology with a new product called Xsearch!

Making its debut in Texas and Michigan, the OpenMLS-designed search tool is based entirely on XML (eXtensible Markup Language) and will "revolutionize the way we mine data from the web" says Doug Greenwood, president of OpenMLS.

Greenwood explains that traditional sites index information by crawling the Web and inspecting pages written in HTML code. Keywords are simply collected without regard to meaning or context. Just as HTML defines the display of data, XML defines the meaning of data. By reading XML code, indexing software will be able to correlate meaning with data. "This is precisely the approach OpenMLS has taken with Xsearch!. We index real estate documents that are stored in XML. The result? Fast searches that return listings meeting precise criteria."

Kevin Fowler, president of REWebcom, describes the first installation of Xsearch! as the new alternative to the traditional searching for real estate information. "The important distinction here is that we are searching actual XML documents out there on the web, not searching records in a database management system. Our point and click (software) interface contains the standard real estate search categories, such as: property type, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, square feet and price range. But due to XML technology, we additionally can provide a free-format input field, allowing searches based on any text (proprietary code) the consumer desires."

For example, users of Xsearch! can type in the name of their city, plus additional keywords such as "lakes" or "views." The search result returns all available listings in the area which include some description of a lake and views. This adds more functionality than HTML programs in which typing in the city, or a particular lake, would limit the listing search results to two distinct geographical locations.

"These examples demonstrate the power of XML; the ability to define information so that fine-tuned searches deliver accurate results with only a single request to the web server and without the use of traditional database systems," says Fowler.

Xsearch! utilizes the open standard XML specification, RELML (Real Estate Listing Markup Language). RELML is formalized in a Document Type Definition developed in a collaboration between OpenMLS, 4thWORLD Telecom, and HomeSeekers.com. The principals emphasize that Xsearch! is a stand-alone Internet product. It can also integrate with existing Real Estate Listing Management Systems that export XML documents.

"XML is the means by which the World Wide Web will meet its promise of easy access for consumers to world-class information services. Our mission is to assist the real estate industry in taking advantage of it," says Greenwood.

See more MLS News

Published: May 24, 1999

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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.