I have been in the real estate industry since 1994. Real estate agent, sales manager, franchise sales, and currently Franchise VP for Assist-2-Sell, America's Leading Discount Real Estate Company.
Actually the MLS is/was designed for the sharing of information. Realtors could share information about active listings, sales, expired listings etc.. This was to streamline and improve cooperation. Compensation is a part of that equation but is only a small piece of the puzzle. Many seem to get cooperation and compensation confused, they are 2 very different things. For Sale by owners can offer to compensate a real estate agent without being in MLS. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying we should do away with the MLS, I think it has great possibilities. One of the biggest frustrations home buyers have is with the number of web sites and inaccuracy of information. MLS has data protections is place in the form of fines and other penalties to ensure accuracy. There is a tremendous opportunity to leverage the network that is built and quality information that is in place. We should provide data feeds of quality information to whoever wants it. Zillow, Trulia, etc.. Let developers use the information and come up with great consumer friendly was to deliver real estate info. We should make it as easy as possible to get the info. In the end is will drive more buyers and sellers to us. Ryan Elliott ryanassist@gmail.com
Forgot the post the link for the previous post, here it is. http://www.futureofrealestatemarketing.com/trulia-ropes-in-prudential/ Ryan Elliott ryanassist@gmail.com
I read a post on the future of real estate marketing blog today(link below)that makes my point about MLS. The big news is Prudential has agreed to give their "feed" to Trulia. These agreements to provide feeds are further confusing the consumers. I spoke with some friends over the weekend about searching for real estate online and everyone one of them said it is a pain. I asked them to explain. They said there are so many sites, Realtor.com, Truila, Zillow, Craigslist, propsmart, and the list goes on. Not to mention the countless FSBO sites. The newspapers, yahoo, google, and MSN are in the game. The problem is, none of these sites have all the listings and there is no standard for info. In the end my friends tell me it is almost easier to get in the car and look in neighborhoods you are interested. It is time for a uniform open database of listings from around the country. MLS or otherwise, it is time. Ryan Elliott ryanassist@gmail.com
