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Pulse: Readers share the biggest issues with listing technology

August is Listings Tech theme month at Inman. All month, we’re digging into listing technology, a conversation which spans portals to single-listing sites, landing pages, 3-D tours, photography, videos, promotion and more.

Pulse is a recurring column where we ask for readers’ takes on varying topics in a weekly survey and report back with our findings.

August is all about listing technology — which means we’re diving deep into what’s good and what’s bad and what could use a little improvement. Last week, we kicked off the conversation by asking our readers to share the main problem areas in listing tech.

We asked you to weigh in with your concerns and question marks. From lack of optimization on MLS platforms to difficulties in getting real estate agents to adopt new tech, here are all the issues you talked about.

  • MLS platforms are not optimized to support modern media like video, tours and floor plans.
  • Marketing with tenants in a condo. 
  • I never really looked at “listing technology” as something separate. It all kind of flows together. There is one thing I would love to see though, and that is for the information on MLS input forms to go directly into the MLS. Currently, the forms are electronic but need to be read by a human and entered into the system.
  • Hard to admit, but the biggest problem these days is incomplete or sloppy data entered by agents. Searches like “must be single level” or “must have garage” or “cannot be senior-only” are ineffective, or even detrimental. Our clients are increasingly choosy and also very tech-competent themselves. This is a value-add that would help agents, but we shoot ourselves in the foot with our carelessness. In my 35-year career in tech, prior to real estate, we called this data entry problem “GIGO: garbage in, garbage out.” 
  • Almost all the brokerage and technologists I know believe getting agents to use the technology (i.e., adoption) is the biggest issue. 

What did we miss? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Editor’s note: These responses were given anonymously and, therefore, are not attributed to anyone specifically. Responses were also edited for grammar and clarity. Inman doesn’t endorse any specific method and regulations may vary from state to state.