It's time for MLS consolidation
Perspective: A new look for MLS
By Inman News, Thursday, June 11, 2009.By AMANDA M. ADAMS
Editor's note: This guest contribution was submitted as a part of an essay competition focusing on MLS issues, trends and troubles. Click here to find out more about "A new look for MLS," an Inman News editorial project that will continue through the month of June.
The multiple listing service system as we know it will not be around in the near future if drastic changes are not made immediately. This may sound bad at first, but I think in 10 years when we look back we will wonder how we ever got along with the MLS system as we know it today.
First of all, MLSs that are clustered in the same geographical areas need to be consolidated into larger regional MLSs or even statewide MLSs. With the current technology and local user-based customization there is no need to have the smaller MLSs.
There are many areas where this is already taking place, but more needs to be done. This will be tough due to the political and financial situations that many MLSs are in. But it must be done in order for the good of all involved: both agents and their clients. Imagine knowing that you have access to ALL of the listings, and not just what was entered by the agents who are members of your local MLS.
I am not saying that we need a national MLS, but for most areas a statewide MLS would be better than having 10 or so regional MLSs. It would then be easier to "pool" the data from these statewide and regional MLSs into a national MLS database.
Once we have consolidated most of the smaller MLSs we need to go through the MLS rules and clean out all of the mundane rules. Many current MLSs have so many additions and changes to the NAR or state-model rules that it is difficult to understand them. There is no need for many of these rules, and they should be removed.
The best way to do this is to have a smart group of agents start fresh and write up what they feel the MLS rules should be, then adapt their ideas with what we currently have into a new set of MLS rules.
Then we need to think about the consumer. Many agents still have a backwards opinion on what the consumer should be allowed to see. I hear agents say, "I only want to show the most basic listing info on my Web site so that people will have to call me for more information."
What they don't think about is that the consumer will find the information elsewhere if you don't provide it to them. I want my Web site to be known for its detailed and accurate listing information.
That way people will keep returning to it and know that I am providing them a service and not just trying to "capture" their information by teasing them with the bare minimum.
As a young professional these ideas all seem so easy to me, but time will tell if the majority of real estate professionals step up and start thinking to the future instead of the past. It's not about "what we have always done," but about "what we can and should be doing."
Amanda M. Adams
Realtor
RE/MAX Realty Today
South Lake Tahoe, Calif.
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Submitted by Lenn Harley on June 11, 2009 - 3:41am.
Leave my MLS alone. It's fabulous. We are regional covering MD, Northern Virginia and DC.
We're big and we're comprehensive. The IDX is wonderful.
Leave us alone.
Lenn Harley
Broker
Homefinders.com
http://www.homefinders.com
Submitted by Stanley Nichols on June 11, 2009 - 7:14am.
Sorry Amanda, your wrong! A regional MLS system is the way to go. Southern California doesn't care what is going on in Northern California.
Backdrop stats and data collection for other regions may be helpful, but up front day to day "stuff" .... NO.
Stan Nichols,
BankResales.com,
BuyersHomeFinder.com
Submitted by ProGold i2 & ViewMyListing.com on June 11, 2009 - 7:21am.
We work with MLS boards on a daily basis providing feeds to help offices eliminate duplicate data entry into their ProGold office management software.
The continuing changes that the MLS boards are doing is only hurting their clients. One would wonder why they dont communicate more efficiently with their members.
If you are looking for a feed with your MLS and your office management software you should consider www.progoldi2.com. What was once a $6500 program is now free to download and use and as an add-on you can get an MLS feed to help you save time and money. We are here to help more offices keep their doors open and open up staff hours to do more 'money making' duties to get thru these trying times in our economy.
We do have live chats to help as well. Come on America, let's get thru this together.
You might also want to look into the US housing market being a victim of bad government decisions in the following article.
http://www.viewmylisting.com/us-housing-alan-greenspan.htm
Submitted by Bart Wilson on June 11, 2009 - 12:16pm.
Amanda,
The MLS is doing a fine job at destroying itself.
In 10 years, the MLS will not be the same as it is today and in fact, it may have a different nomenclature in another decade. It will be called something else because today we have Twitter, Blogs private real estate portals, ForSaleByOwner.com, Kayyah.com and more to come.
What we all need to do as professionals is learn to stop the political IN-fighting and get our local MLS boards to STOP changing the MLS vendor every three years.
If you are happy today with Rapatonni MLS or Paragon or whatever... why do we have to piss off brokers every three years by changing to a new system? Pure stupidity in my opinion.
FSBO's are going to increase whether we like it or not and are going to go the route of using a real estate attorney. Discount e-brokers like Redfin are going to continue to erode our traditional brick and mortar broker models.
Listings that expire or get withdrawn are going to be a new source of leads for hungry or starving agents, too.
All of these new ways of doing business, overlapping technologies are going to blur the lines. So what we call an MLS system today is going to be something very different from now.
Bart Wilson
Founder & CMO
Voyager International
http://www.Voyager360.com
Submitted by Jerzy (George) Szkup on June 11, 2009 - 5:09pm.
George Szkup
www.DestinationTucson.biz
Here is my 2 cents worth of information and opinion.
I work in Tucson Arizona and I feel that we have excellent MLS. I am also member of two "neighborhood", Phoenix and Sierra Vista MLS. I find them inferior and harder to work with. Combining MLS for Phoenix area, with all of Southern and Southeastern Arizona would make sense. A State wide MLS would not hurt but... if you live in Prescott you may have very little interest in what is going on in Nogales. If you live in Tucson, you are certainly interested in Green Valley, Pinal and Maricopa County real estate.
As for national MLS, in my opinion, Realtor.com will do for the next five or so years.
George in Tucson
http://www.DestinationTucson.biz