The Gateway

A proposal for a national property information database, called the Gateway, has stirred mixed reactions among real estate professionals.

Intended to give Realtors, consumers and others broad access to property information, the details of the Gateway are still being worked out by members of a National Association of Realtors advisory group that was formed last year to create a future vision for multiple listing services.

At this point, the advisory group envisions that the Gateway would carry information supplied by brokers, MLSs and other sources about all types of property, including residential, commercial and vacant land. The Gateway could be NAR-owned and broker-controlled (see Inman News article).

Among the comments that Inman News readers have shared about the proposed Gateway:

• "It's this type of strategic thinking that will allow us to leapfrog the 'interlopers.'"
• "An ever-moving consumer wants access to more than just the state in which they currently reside. If we don't provide this, someone else will"
• "If all access is granted to everyone with the Gateway concept, who would need a Realtor?"
• "I wish the NAR could explain to its members how this 'Gateway' is going to be good for Realtors. ... Why not return the MLS to what it was before, a private way for cooperating brokers to share information about listings."
• "Talk about locking the barn after the horse is gone! Now that the Internet is literally stuffed with data -- some of it good, some of it not so -- NAR has plans for Gateway."

While the Gateway is not intended to be a national MLS, it could become one if that's what participants want it to be, said Gary Thomas, a Southern California RE/MAX broker who leads the advisory group.

The Gateway could include tax information, for-sale-by-owner information, and tools to track property appreciation trends and compare information for separate parcels, Thomas said.

Some industry professionals have questioned whether the Gateway could impact NAR-affiliated Realtor.com, which also offers property information to consumers, and some have said the Gateway would be a good way for the association to keep real estate information in the hands of industry professionals.

There are many details to be worked out, Thomas noted, and the current operating agreement with NAR would prevent the Gateway from offering consumer access to property information, for example.

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