AS NVAR MEMBERS, you are now among the nearly 85,000 subscribers who will ultimately be using the new Bright platform by the end of 2018. This change represents months of work integrating and customizing the tools and systems necessary for you to do your job.

The Bright platform offers a fuller view into every property in the Bright market area and integrates localized listing information and public record data into the search experience to expand the options offered to subscribers.

One of the main goals in Bright is to provide brokers and agents with a simpler MLS. As part of that goal, Bright has tried to make searching easier and more responsive to regional distinctions, which includes improving map tools and map layers.

Hopefully, you have already acquainted yourself with the new Bright platform. Here are highlights of features you can now access in Bright:

DRIVE TIME

The Bright Drive Time search is powered by INRIX, which collects data from almost 100 million GPS-enabled vehicles and devices, then turns it into searchable information you can use to help your clients find their next home.

It allows you to identify the location(s) that your clients commute to regularly, the time(s) of day they travel, and their preferred commute times. Bright will display the results that fall within those commute parameters and make it easy for you to share the results with your clients.

This additional insight could help them spend a little more time at home and less in the car!

FINANCIAL TOOLS

In addition, the new Bright MLS platform gives you access to fully integrated financial tools, such as the Buyer Closing Cost and Seller Net Sheet calculators.

Since these tools are connected directly to Bright, the property information auto-fills from the listing ID or address, and your preferences can be saved to your account.

This will save time and make it even easier to create closing reports for your clients so that they can make an educated decision about a home purchase or sale.

PUBLIC RECORDS 360 AND MAP FEATURES

When researching a property for a listing presentation or for comps, you likely need to look at both listing and public records information. The 360 Report includes the most recent listing, a full property history, and the detailed public records – all in one report!

The 360 report isn’t the only place where you can quickly access listing and public records information. The results popups within the map include basic listing and public records information, such as price, assessment, owner, number of bedrooms, and links to the full reports to quickly learn even more about the property.

The map in Bright offers the ability to click on any parcel to see information about surrounding properties. You can use this to get a better view of the neighborhood in areas where your clients are searching. The map popup shows basic public record information and even the most recent listing when available.

In addition to simplifying the MLS, Bright was also formed to provide a larger marketplace to help subscribers better compete in this rapidly changing industry. Moving forward, Bright will strive for continual innovation and to provide better tools that will help subscribers provide the very best consumer experience.

As consumer expectations in the real estate market change, Bright will continue to evolve and help subscribers succeed.

To watch videos on these and other features of the Bright system, visit www.youtube.com/brightmls.