Arizona moving forward with statewide MLS
State association votes to acquire ARMLS
By Matt Carter, Monday, August 8, 2011.
The Arizona Association of Realtors is moving forward with a plan to build a statewide multiple listing service, approving the acquisition of the state's largest MLS today as the first step in the process.
With the 70-27 vote to acquire Tempe-based Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service Inc. (ARMLS) for $4.75 million, Arizona Realtors also brought ARMLS CEO Bob Bemis on board to lead the effort to build a statewide MLS.
Bemis called the deal, expected to close by the end of next month, a "big win for every Realtor in Arizona and the start of something very much needed, here and elsewhere."
Arizona currently has 21 Realtor associations and 14 separate MLSs. The state association has been studying the feasibility of a statewide MLS for more than a year, and the board was presented with a preliminary business plan in March.
Proponents said a larger MLS system will provide better economies of scale, and be in a better position to compete with third-party publishers like Zillow and Trulia. Arizona MLS will be self-sustaining even it fails to attract other MLSs, they said, and neither ARMLS or state association members will see a rise in their subscriber fees or dues as a result of the acquisition.
The overwhelming support for the ARMLS acquisition by the state association's board bodes well for the prospects of a statewide MLS, said Tom Farley, CEO of the Arizona Association of Realtors.
"I think the margin of passage surprised a number of people," Farley said. "My guess is that in the next couple of days my phone is going to be ringing," as MLSs and associations will want to be involved in helping build the new platform that will power Arizona MLS.
FBS' flexmls system -- already in use by ARMLS, TARMLS and the Santa Cruz MLS -- will power Arizona MLS. MLSs not currently using flexmls will be invited to participate in designing a framework to include data fields, reports and business rules.
The Arizona Association of Realtors will continue to develop an integrated business platform, "ARBI," that will provide members with a single point of access to data and services including the MLS, public records, electronic forms, digital signatures, transaction management, and broker back-office support.
The appeal of using ARBI to have "single sign-on" capabilities and to bring MLS data into electronic forms was probably another reason for the support for moving forward with a statewide MLS, Farley said.
But ARBI will be "MLS agnostic," he said, and will be provided as a member benefit regardless of whether an association or MLS has joined Arizona MLS. Once the system is up and running in Arizona, ARBI -- an acronym for Arizona Realtor Business Interface -- may also be licensed to other associations and MLSs outside of the state, Farley said.
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Submitted by Tim Ziifle on August 9, 2011 - 10:01am.
REALTORS ARE SO STUPID!!
It is fascinating to watch how the national, state and local REALTOR Associations' actions continually undermine their individual member's knowledge, expertise, professionalism, and continuing education efforts by providing FREE access to MLS systems via various third-party parasitic websites.
MLS systems exist and are only created soley by the efforts of the individual Realtor. And for their individual effort, Realtors now get to pay horrendously high fees to their local, state and national associations while their associations give their data away for free!
Well it's not exactly free, because the local, state and national associations charge BIG non-member shared fees to these third-party parasitic websites, in order to provide the aggregated MLS data to them. After all, every career-association executive of every association has the main responsiblity to grow the association's coffers in order to garner more power and to ensure their continued employment. That is Job One.
They also know that if their revenue generating efforts can be disguised as a "single sign on capability" or "a member benefit" or "better economies of scale" or "more efficient" or "broader dissemination of listing data for the benefit of all" or it will allow Realtor associations to "be in a better position to compete with third-party publishers like Zillow and Trulia" which, by the way, only now exist because the Realtor associations previously sold out their individual members data(read that also as interests)for a few dollars into the associations' coffers, then they know the vast number of stupid individual Realtor members will continue to buy into the associations' revenue generating efforts.
And do these additional revenues provide for lower or "no increase" in the local, state and national association fees to the individual Realtor members? If you believe this propaganda, just count yourself among the legions of stupid Realtors, as your individual efforts continue to be undermined by your associations, while you remain clueless!
Just remember, when Realtor.com next proposes to SELL you "enhanced", or "show-cased" or "super-duper, new and improved agent-centric advertising" for your own listings, ask yourself why is this necessary? It was your individual efforts that created the listing in the first place and it is soley your data that makes it possible for Realtor.com to even exist! Why do you have to pay Realtor.com anything? Shouldn't this type of advertising be something that EVERY Realtor should receive for free?
What if every real estate broker and agent decided today to join a new local association, one that would only make all their listing information available to its members ONLY and ONLY limited information to the public along with individual members' agreement that their proprietary information could ONLY BE PUBLISHED IN AGGREATE BY THEIR NEW LOCAL ASSOCIATION AND IT COULD NEVER BE SOLD, LEASED OR GIVEN AWAY FOR A FEE TO ANY THIRD-PARTY PARASITC WEBSITE, do you think real estate brokers and agents might be interested in joining that association?
Think like Southwest Airlines. They disseminate their flight inforamtion and book reservations ONLY through SOUTHWEST.COM and they are likely the most efficient and profitable major airline in the country! They don't need third-party parasitic websites like Orbitz, Expedia etc. to be successful and neither do real estate brokers!
And do you think your national, state or local MLS is going to reduced you as a result of all the new-fouind efficienciesr fees from further aggregation?? Wake up!! The truth is that further aggregation of local information only ensures that local, state and national associations will continue to sell our individual listings to other third-party parasitic websites for BIG FERES at your expense and further marginalization!
Now these Associations have trying to reach agreement to aggregate all local MLS systems into a national MLS! YEAH!! The public can now know more about every market in the US than the vast majority of local REALTORS could ever know.
NAR obviously has an agenda that is totally out of sync with its members' interests and REALTORS don't even get it.
Think of the current career-association executives as being just like our current members of Congress, aka Princes and Princesses. You can voice your opinion with your individual voice or as the majority of REALTORS do, you just sit back indifferently, uninvolved and you say nothing. Consequently, you get TOTALLY ignored by both! Their mission is to grow revenues, which provides them with additional power to dictate terms – you are of NO consequence because you remain uninformed, uninvolved, quiet and therefore, stupid!
WANT FURTHER PROOF OF REALTOR STUPIDY?
What other industry’s trade Association do you know, would…
Charge its members thousands of dollars each year to be a member of both the local, state and national Associations and then,
Require its individual members to spend huge amounts of gas, time, effort and money collecting, photographing and inputting tons of information into the members’ collective Association database, which, by the way, totally supports the individual members’ ability to generate their individual incomes then,
Tells its members that it will now give all their information to third-party entities for an UNSHARED FEE and ultimately, to the public for free, which totally undermines the individual members ability to continue to earn their incomes, as a result of all their hard work then,
Advises its members that their Association NOW intends to combine all their individual member’s information into a giant national database, and give that away too for additional unshared fees, which will ultimately be made free to the public, so that eventually, there is absolutely little need for the public, anywhere in the country, to continue to believe that there are any valid reasons why they should hire the Association’s members for their individual knowledge, expertise and counsel and then,
The Association has the audacity to tell its members that their LIFE-LONG CAREER ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVES are looking out for the individual member’s best interest and to just make sure that all the future information they collect and input into the local database follows a standardized national format, is 100% correct and timely or they will be fined by the Association and then,
The national Association continues to propose more ways to generate additional revenues via, “Showcased”, “Enhanced” or “New And Improved Super-Duper, Deluxe Listing Advertising for a large, additional fee, all under the guise that this will ensure that REALTOR.COM remains competitive with the numerous third-party websites, which only exist because the national Association gave them access to the individual members’ data - for an UNSHARED FEE!
The individual Association members continue to actually believe this and continue to send in their thousands of dollars each year to their Association, in order to ensure the continuation of their MINDLESS REALTOR CULT! Many members even proudly wear a REALTOR pin to demonstrate their collective and individual stupidity and official cult member status!
THAT’S WHY REALTORS ARE SO STUPID!!
Submitted by randye britt on August 9, 2011 - 2:02pm.
wow, lots of truth in the comment but lots of anger. still amazing how realtors can believe that going statewide will benefit them. are they really going to drive from sorry vista( i lived in ft. huchico for awhile ) to tempe just to show a house. or perhaps the realtors in flagstaff will want to drive to cochise county to show the abandoned copper mines.guess putting on snow chains in feb to leave phoenix just to go up the mts. to show a lot is what they want. the only thing i know is if they are changing to statewide they probably need to get bids from other mls providers just to get the economies of scale this should provide. anyway it is their business not ours outside of Az.
Submitted by Cameron Paine on August 15, 2011 - 6:10am.
Tim and Randye, you guys are barking up the wrong tree. Tim, especially, your comments are just plain inaccurate. Consolidation of the MLS is the best possible thing that could have happened for Arizona REALTORS and here are the reasons why:
1. Consolidation brings economies of scale that allows the MLS to operate at reduced costs. Reduced costs means the MLS can continue to provide the same level of products and services - despite declining revenue as a result of the declining market/membership.
2. Consolidation allows brokerages spanning multiple MLSs to operate more efficiently and effectively. Consolidation is not, and has never been about REALTORS being able to take a client from Sorry Vista to Tempe. It is about being able to make an accurate referral and having MORE information as the professional than your client can get online.
3. Consolidation is about members having one set of Rules & Regulations to follow, one common data feed for IDX websites, one fee for statewide MLS data, and being able to chart one common direction for MLS subscribers.
A few clarifications; Even REALTOR MLSs are not directed by NAR. They have a Board of Directors made up of Participants and Subscribers in the MLS. I suggest Mr. Ziffle get involved by running for a seat on the Board. You will find it is more difficult to make wild accusations when you have information at your disposal.
Lastly, the best way to protect your listing data is to be able to negotiate from a position of stregnth. Who do you think will have more clout when it comes down to it, an Arizona Statewide MLS with one negotiator, or 14 separate MLSs each wanting something different?
There are more than 800 MLSs in this country. Why? Because they just kind of grew that way. Starting fresh, no one in their right mind would have designed the MLS system the way it is now and my guess is they would have started with one MLS per state. Let me be clear; there should be 50 or fewer MLS in the entire country.
Arizona is to be congratulated on their forward thinking and their success. Well done, and good luck!
Cameron M. Paine
CEO
Connecticut Multiple Listing Service
Submitted by randye britt on August 17, 2011 - 1:36pm.
there is my point the only ones who really defend consolidation are the ones who will get a bigger check because their job is bigger. now when this arizona consolidation is completed lets get an accurate count of how many employees total for all the individual mls versus how many employess are currently working for the consolidated statewide. this is true economies of scale, not referrals, i can do a referral now to california and have done so, i can make a referral to canada also.
its all about the benjamins coming into the employees pockets. not helping the realtors.
get this folks az is keeping the same provider FLEX, the realtors will be the same, the listings will be the same, lenders will be the same . so what changes, just the paychecks of the employees who thought up this. if you look at nar magazine or msg boards it is basically the employees who are calling for this and saying how poorly served we and the public really are.
Submitted by Brad Bergamini on August 30, 2011 - 9:25am.
I am still very skeptical of the statewide MLS. It seems to encourage Realtors to operate outside their realm of expertise. The public deserves better representation. Overwhelming passage is not a surprise, Maricopa Realtors out number the local agents in other counties.
Now we need as Realtors to start a campaign of "How do you know your Realtor knows anything about the area he/she is trying to sell you"
We need to get back to the "Protect the Public" part of our code of Ethics..
Brad Bergamini
The Bergamini Group
Realty Executive Northern Arizona
http://bradbergamini.com
http://EverythingPrescott.com