Inman

Regional MLS provides sold property data for public display

The Northwest Multiple Listing Service, a regional MLS that serves western Washington, is making available sold property information to real estate companies for public display.

John L. Scott Real Estate today announced that the company now carries the comparable sold property information at its Web site, www.JohnLScott.com.

The company last week announced a new home-search tool that is powered by Microsoft Virtual Earth.

“The information displayed … will largely be limited to what people can currently access through public records, but in a format that is more relevant to a buyer or seller’s needs and easier to understand,” the company announced.

In addition to viewing homes for sale throughout the Pacific Northwest, Web site visitors can access information about completed sale transactions that includes the selling price, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the square footage, and an exterior photo of each property. This information is not limited to John L. Scott property listings, the company announced.

Web site users can access sold property information by address, which can be refined by entering specific property characteristics such as square footage and number of bedrooms. This type of search will call up a list of 10 sold homes “that have characteristics meeting the specified criteria,” according to the announcement.

Users can also conduct a radius search around a home that is currently for sale to find sold properties.

“The addition of comparable sold property information is not intended to serve as a CMA (comparative market analysis) or an appraisal,” said J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate.

The company, which has 132 offices and 4,500 sales associates in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.