Frequently Asked Questions

When are new data and reports released?

How much does an RBI subscription cost?

How do I embed a custom chart on my website or blog?

How do I share a link or chart on my Facebook business page instead of my personal profile?

What areas constitute the "Mid-Atlantic Region?"

What happens when a ZIP Code straddles multiple cities?

Do all ZIP codes contain data every month?

How did the methodology improvement in Jan-2011 impact historical and new stats?

When are new data and reports released?

Monthly market activity reports are released on the 10th day of each month at 10:00am.  If the 10th occurs on a weekend or holiday, the reports will be published at 10:00am on the next business day.  Publishing on the 10th allows agents to update their sold listings within a few days after the end of the previous month.  It also allows data to be reviewed and cleansed to provide accurate results.

Mid-February is when annual summary reports are published.  This release date is based on the February 1st deadline for agents to submit comparable data for the prior year.   Once the annual data has been processed and checked for data integrity, the reports are generated and published.

How much does an RBI subscription cost?

Less than a tank of gas. When we did our initial market research and looked at the price points our competitors charge and the long-term commitments required, we were shocked (and, full disclosure, a few of us had some ideas about joining the overpriced pack!). One national provider that charged over $100 dollars a month and apparently scrapes listing info from public websites as its data source. Another provider requires the subscriber to download the application on his/her computer and re-install when any new features are added - and also costs more than a Benjamin per month.

We decided we'd go out the door with low monthly pricing, no sign-up fees, and no long-term commitments - finally give MRIS customers access to business-changing statistics without breaking their budget. rbiPRO is available for $19.99 per month. rbiEXPERT costs only $29.99 per month. Either of these services will improve your market knowledge and, more importantly, will help you price homes with confidence and increase your business from referrals and the web. Visit the product comparison page to learn more and sign up today!

How do I embed a custom chart on my website or blog?

Watch this Quick Demo to learn how, in just a few quick steps, you can have auto-updating charts on your website or blog.

How do I share a link or chart on my Facebook business page instead of my personal profile?

Unfortunately for those agents that prefer to post links to their Facebook 'fan' page, the 'Share on FB' button will post content to their personal page by default.  This is a function of how Facebook has elected to configure their fan and personal page permissions and is not under the control of 3rd party websites like rbintel.com.  That said, here are two suggestions:

(Note, these are relevant to those users that have been set up as "admins" on their company "fan" page)

Option 1:

1. Log in to Facebook with your personal Facebook account (or whichever account that has been configured as an admin for your 'fan' page.

2. Go to your 'fan' page (either by searching for it, or by clicking the link on the left-side menu).

3. Look under the "Admins" module on the menu on the right side of the page.  Click on the link that states "Use Facebook as {insert your company name here]"

4. As long as this session remains open (and you don't close your browser window), you are effectively using the web and FB as your 'page'. 

5. Open up the RBI website, navigate to the page you're interested in posting on your wall or go to the chart you've customized, and click the 'Share' button.  This should do the trick.

Option 2:

An alternative that we'd recommend - Don't go through the steps listed above, simply open up two tabs in your browser.  In one tab, go to the content you're interested in sharing.  In the second tab, go to your 'fan' profile page.  Copy the URL from the RBI tab, paste the link in the "What's on your mind?" bar of your page, and let Facebook do the rest.  If you are set up as an Admin for your page, the content you've added to Facebook will be rendered as though it was shared by your 'page', not by your personal Facebook account.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to use our 'Contact Us' form and we can walk you through the process. If you have any other paths to get this done, we're all ears - please pass them along.  Remember, the challenge inherent in the way Facebook 'pages' are configured is common when interacting with any 3rd party sites, it's not just your pals at RBI putting out the hoops for you to jump through!

What areas constitute the "Mid-Atlantic Region?"

The Mid-Atlantic Region includes the jurisdictions relating to the MRIS Shareholders (Associations and Boards of Realtors).  Below is a list by state of the jurisdictions included in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

• DC - Washington, DC
• Maryland - Allegany County, Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Calvert County, Caroline County, Carroll County, Cecil County, Charles County, Dorchester County, Frederick County, Garrett County, Harford County, Howard County, Kent County, Montgomery County, Prince George's County, Queen Anne's County, St. Mary's County, Talbot County, and Washington County
• Pennsylvania - Franklin County and Fulton County
• Virginia - Alexandria City, Arlington County, Caroline County, Clarke County, Culpeper County, Fairfax City, Fairfax County, Falls Church City, Fauquier County, Frederick County, Fredericksburg City, King George County, Loudoun County, Madison County, Manassas City, Manassas Park City, Page County, Prince William County, Rappahannock County, Shenandoah County, Spotsylvania County, Stafford County, Warren County, and Winchester City
• West Virginia - Berkeley County, Grant County, Hampshire County, Hardy County, Jefferson County, Mineral County, Morgan County, and Pendleton County

What happens when a ZIP code straddles multiple counties?

The US Postal Service (USPS) database is used to determine each Zip Code and its corresponding city name. When a Zip Code straddles multiple cities, the USPS standard is followed and the default city name is used on the report. However, the data for the entire Zip Code is in the report regardless of how many city names may refer to the Zip Code.

Do all zip code reports contain data every month?

Due to the lack of market activity, a Zip Code report may not display data for a given month.

How did the methodology improvement in Jan-2011 impact historical and new stats?

RBI introduced a new system for statistical reporting. Beginning with the release of the January 2011 statistics, all data, including historical figures, were generated by these improved methodologies.

Why did we do this?

1. New data points - New information, such as Total Pendings, is now available. Also, the data can be analyzed by characteristics of the listing, such as sales by bank mediated status.

2. More accurate data - Some methods for calculations on prior reports were based upon flawed assumptions. These calculations are now more accurate, such as the count of Active Listings.

3. Provide new reporting - Previously, reports were limited in the data and the time frames available.  For example, Zip Code reports were not available prior to  2006. In the future, we will be able to provide new reports on geographies such as city, neighborhood or election district.

Details on New Methodology (in alphabetical order):

Active Listings - This count of Active Listings will be significantly lower than before. Prior methodology included Contingent listings in the Active count. The new methodology removes the Contingent listings and instead counts them as Pending. The count represents Active Listings at the end of the time period.

Attached - The value for Attached in the Sold Summary includes the listings that fall into the categories of Attached/TH and Condo/Coop.

Attached/TH The value for Attached/TH in the Sold and Active Detail sections is determined by the Type of listing. Excluding any listings marked as Condo/Coop, the Attached/TH category includes:  Attach/Row House, Back-to-Back, Duplex, Garden 1-4 Floors, Hi-Rise, 9+ Floors, Mid-Rise 5-8 Floors, Multi-Family, Over Storefront, Penthouse, Quad, Semi-Detached, Townhouse, Triplex and Vacation Rental.   The Type of Garage/Parking Space value is not used in this calculation.  (See Detached for related information.)

Sold to List Ratio (NEW) Previously, only Ratio of Average Sold Price to Average List Price could be calculated/displayed. The definitions of both the legacy and new calculations is below along with an example.

Scenario:
Listing A: List Price = 100,000; Sold Price = 90,000; Ratio = 90%
Listing B: List Price = 200,000; Sold Price = 150,000; Ratio = 75%
Listing C: List Price = 1,000,000; Sold Price = 700,000; Ratio = 70%

• Average Sold Price to List Price Ratio - This represents the average of the ratios for the gross sales price to the original list price for individual listings. Uses the Average of the Ratios ((90+75+70)/3) = 78.3%   (does not use the aggregated values)
• Ratio of Average Sold Price to Average List Price - This is the ratio of the aggregated average gross sold price to the aggregated average original list price of listings.  Uses the Aggregated Averages and obtains the Ratio - (313,333/433,333) = 72.3%

Condo/Coop - Condo/Coop indicates a listing where the listing is part of a Condo or Coop building.  There is no breakdown by Bedroom for Condo/Coop.  Ground Rent listings used to be included In this value.  It was removed (see Ground Rent Listings).

Days on Market (DOM) - The ranges for DOM now match the facets on the interactive reports on the RBI website. Instead of 5 ranges, there are 11 ranges. A value of zero for DOM can mean two things: the listing sold the same day it was listed, or the listing was entered as a Comparable/Sold into the system.

Detached - The value for Detached in the Sold and Active Detail sections is determined by the Type of listing.  Types in Detached include: Bed & Breakfast, Detached, Double Wide, Dwelling w/Rental, House of Worship, Mobile, Other, Patio Home, Rooming House, Vacation Home. The Type of Garage/Parking Space value is not used in this calculation.  (See Attached and Attached/TH for related information.)

Financing - this section counts the number of listings by the New Trust Loan Type.  Owner represents both Owner and Owner 2nd.  Other includes: Government Bond, Other, Private, State/Local Gov'tProg, Tax Deferred Exchange and Unknown.   Previously, Assumption incorrectly included Government Bond, Owner 2nd, State/Local Gov't Prog, Tax Deferred Exchange and Unknown

Ground Rent - Ground Rent listings are now in the Residential category of the Sold and Active Detail sections and are distributed accordingly using the criteria for Attached/Detached and Bedrooms. Previously, Ground Rent listings were in the Condo/Coop value. This will affect Baltimore County and Baltimore City reports due to the high amount of Ground Rent listings in those jurisdictions.

Inventory - Last Year and Percent Change - NEW - The new report shows both current period and last year's as a comparison.  The percent change is also calculated.

New Contingents - New Contingents is a count of listings that changed to Contingent (with or without a kickout) during the month and were Contingent at the end of the month.  The underlying logic has not changed, however, the value may be lower due to listings that were Pending more than once. Since the data was processed after the listings sold, a listing that was Pending more than one time in its life will only be counted once as Pending. As noted earlier, these were included in the Active count as well in the previous methodology.

New Listings - New Listings Is a count of listings that came on the market during the time period.

New Pendings - New Pendings is a count of listings that changed to either Contingent or Under Contract during the month (New Pendings=New Under Contracts + New Contingents).  The underlying logic has not changed, however, the value may be lower due to listings that were Pending more than once. Since the data was processed after the listings sold, a listing that was Pending more than one time in its life will only be counted once as Pending.

New Under Contracts - New Under Contracts is a count of listings that changed to Under Contract during the month and were Under Contract or Sold at the end of the month.  The underlying logic has not changed, however, the value may be lower due to listings that were Pending more than once. Since the data was processed after the listings sold, a listing that was Pending more than one time in its life will only be counted once as Pending.

Price Ranges - Both the Active and Sold Detail sections use new price ranges.  Previously, there were two formats and they were condensed into one.

Total Pendings - NEW - This represents the number of listings that were Contingent or Under Contract at the end of the time period, regardless of when the listings were contracted.

Units Solds - Listings with a status of Contract with a Contract Date and Close/Settlement Date in the same month used to be included in Units Sold.  This is no longer true. Only listings with a status of Sold are included.

Overall, any number may not match exactly, even if it is not specified above. This is because we re-processed all the data from the past 13 years. Listings have been deleted, added (comparables), or edited over time and the re-processed data takes these changes into account. The numbers will be close, unless a change in calculation was indicated above (i.e. Active Listings).