Ask any agent, broker or constituent in real estate: There are challenges facing the Multiple Listing Service.
A discussion on the future of the MLS—what it can be, and what it should be—hosted by the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) recently illuminated those issues, and strived for solutions.
“An MLS should be defined not only by its data, but its access to the data, so brokers can get easy access to and keep the products and services they want and not necessarily what the MLS decides to provide to its members,” said Rebecca Jensen, CEO and president of Midwest Real Estate Data LLC (MRED), during the discussion, held on Jan. 10 in Los Angeles.
Jensen is board chair of The MLS Grid—a consistent data feed, licensing and rules for brokers, MLSs and vendors—as well as on the board of the Broker Public Portal (BPP). The BPP and The MLS Grid are two of a few initiatives in play, along with Upstream, which is backed by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and Realtors Property Resource® (RPR®).
Art Carter, CEO, California Regional Multiple Listing Service (CRMLS); Chair, Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO)
Addressing the inefficiencies is key, the panel said.
“Our goal is to really work on the challenges…to find a way, through the efforts of all these organizations, to provide consistent data efficiency, to try to break down data silos that are huge pain points in brokerage communities,” said Jeremy Crawford, CEO of the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO), which has developed data standards used by hundreds of associations, brokerages, MLSs and vendors.
“As someone who lists and sells real estate, I need it to be more efficient—I need to not have to go multiple sources,” said Jeanne Radsick, broker of CENTURY 21 Tobias Real Estate in Bakersfield, Calif., and member of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Mergers & Consolidations Task Force. “I think the first step is we need to have one system.”
“We are playing a long game,” said Mark McLaughlin, CEO of Pacific Union International, based in the Bay Area and a member of 12 MLSs. “The solution for our businesses to drive efficiencies and economies of scale is very important to us, especially in the race to zero. The only way to do that is to have one database.”
“It’s all about how you define ‘one database,’” however, said Craig Cheatham, CEO and president of The Realty Alliance, a brokerage network that includes Douglas Elliman Real Estate and HomeServices of America. “As I talk to our brokers, it’s not about one MLS or one database; it’s ‘I just want to have access to my data, or my marketplace’s data.’”
Is it beneficial, even, for the existing inefficiencies to be streamlined?
“Fundamentally, the MLS needs to serve [agents and consumers],” said David Silver-Westrick, partner at Keller Williams OC Coastal Realty in San Clemente, Calif. “We serve them less and less with every year—not because we don’t intend to solve their problems, but because the world has moved on, and …read more
From:: Real Estate News