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After Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, displayed listings from Zillow and Redfin, it quickly removed them following complaints about breaching MLS agreements. Microsoft faced backlash from MLS affiliates and the heads of Redfin and Zillow, who demanded the removal. As we discuss in today's email, this incident highlights ongoing concerns about unauthorized data use by big tech companies, especially as AI platforms like ChatGPT use listing data for new applications.

Developers are increasingly reusing and recycling building materials, with JPMorgan Chase's new headquarters claiming to repurpose 97% of its old building. Despite this progress, significant barriers remain to achieving a circular economy in construction. While materials like steel, aluminum, and wood are commonly reused, challenges persist with glass, concrete, and gypsum. In a new article, we explore the reality behind up-cycling our buildings.

This week in Propmodo Technology, we explore energy management. Outdated utility data systems are stalling the renewable energy revolution. Utility sophistication varies, with some providing real-time data access while others lag behind. Standardizing national utility data could create more transparent and efficient systems, benefiting both consumers and utilities. But, this transition faces significant challenges due to the complexity and regulation of the utility landscape.

Now, let's dig in!

Microsoft Takes Down Property Listings After Backlash

A few days after it was revealed that Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, was displaying listings from sites like Zillow and Redfin, the site quickly took the listings down. The use of this listing data from popular online portals was seen as a breach of MLS agreements, which state that only members of a service can publicly display proprietary listings. Since Microsoft is not a member of any MLS, many complained that Bing’s portal, even if it directed traffic back to the original listing, was not lawful.

If the outcry wasn’t enough to make Microsoft executives change their minds, they also had to deal with calls from the companies where they were getting the listings. It is reported that the heads of both Redfin and Zillow reached out to Microsoft to explicitly state that their listings were not allowed to be aggregated on their search engine.

This might not be the last battle that MLS affiliates have to wage to protect their listings. Unauthorized publication of listings is easy to spot and a clear violation of MLS agreements. But, listings are likely being used in a much less conspicuous way by big tech companies. AI platforms like ChatGPT are working on real estate appraisal applications. These machine learning algorithms need to be trained to be accurate, and one way to train them, especially to be timely, is by using listing data.

If it gets out that one of the companies developing AI has scraped listing data, it could be grounds for MLSs to sue. This is what has happened in the news and media industry, where eight publications are suing ChatGPT for what they believe is unauthorized use of their content to train AI software. The illegality of this use of listing data might be much harder to prove, though, as there is no precedent yet on what data can and cannot be used by AI programs.

Bing Real Estate never really posed a large threat to Zillow, Redfin, or any MLS. But protecting data is a critical reason why MLSs exist. Now we will see how far these organizations will go to prevent the use of their data by non-members as more data starts to get used by AI and the tech giants that control it.

Up-Cycling

Insider Insights

💰 Cashing in: The real estate investment trust KKR has announced that it will be purchasing $50 million worth of its shares to help keep its stock price high and hopefully avoid any further drop in its stock price.

⚡️ Property stimulated: Chinese developers are reporting higher sales thanks to the recent stimulus package created by the central government to help save the struggling property sector.

Overheard

Propmodo Technology: Energy Management

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Propmodo Daily is written and edited by Franco Faraudo with contributions from readers like you and the Propmodo team.

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