MRIS Launches $25,000 Real Estate Innovation Challenge to Improve Home Buying Process

ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MRIS, a leading national real estate information and technology firm, has launched an incentive competition to find the next generation of applications that can help professional real estate agents better meet their client's needs. The goal of the $25,000 MRIS Real Estate Innovation Challenge is to inspire breakthrough technologies in the form of new desktop, mobile, or web applications that will measurably improve the way home buyers and sellers work with professional real estate agents.

“The Washington, D.C. metropolitan area has a deep base of colleges and universities to spur innovation and we’re looking forward to working in concert with undergraduate and graduate students to see what they bring to the challenge.”

MRIS invites local college and university students to enter the contest as part of the company’s mission to provide its customers with the most viable technology tools and, also, support local innovation and entrepreneurship.

“At MRIS, we are committed to continually improving the support we provide to real estate professionals. In an age when technology has dramatically changed the way people buy and sell real estate, we are in search of innovative, entrepreneurial ideas to help take MRIS to the next generation of applications,” noted John L. Heithaus, MRIS chief marketing officer. “The Washington, D.C. metropolitan area has a deep base of colleges and universities to spur innovation and we’re looking forward to working in concert with undergraduate and graduate students to see what they bring to the challenge.”

Competition Rules Excerpt:

There is no fee to enter. Interested entrants should visit www.mrisinnovation.com to complete the entry form and enter a description of 1,000 words or less of an innovation for the real estate market. The description should include the purpose, functionality, and usage. All entries must be received by December 1, 2010.

Judging:

Round 1: All eligible entries received during the Contest Entry Period will be judged by an independent panel of judges consisting of representatives from the real estate and technology communities. Each eligible entry will be judged on the following equally weighted judging criteria:

1) Viability as a commercial product

2) Applicability to filling a service need in the real estate market

The top twelve (12) entries determined by highest total scores will be declared the semi-finalists, pending verification.

Round 2: The twelve semi-finalists will be invited to travel to Rockville, MD in early January 2011 on a date determined by the sponsor. Each of the twelve semi-finalists will then present his/her innovation to a panel of judges. The presentation must consist of working prototype application(s). In the event of a tie for the total score in the second round, the winner would be determined by the highest score in the “viability for the idea in the real estate market” category.

One Grand Prize winner will be selected and notified on January 14, 2011. For complete competition rules and more information, visit www.mrisinnovation.com.

ABOUT MRIS

MRIS is real estate in real time ™, enabling its customers to list and sell nearly $300 million in real estate each day. A leading developer of real estate information technology, MRIS connects its customers with timely, accurate and actionable data. MRIS offers a growing portfolio of technology solutions, including broker and agent software products and an industry-leading consumer portal, HomesDatabase.com. Behind the scenes, the CURE Solutions Group subsidiary of MRIS provides back-end technology to other MLS systems through CURE, a proprietary solution. MRIS serves nearly 50,000 real estate professionals spanning a 22,000 square mile section of the Mid-Atlantic region, including Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and markets located in Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia. Visit us at mris.com, “Like” us on Facebook.com/MRISonFB, and follow us on Twitter, @MRIS_REal_News.