CAAR Blog

MLS’s were originally developed, according to NAR, with the intent of serving as “a facility for the orderly correlation and dissemination of listing information so participants may better serve their clients and customers and the public.� Today, they have become much more – they have become “marketplaces for showcasing housing prices and amenities.�

 But the MLS as we know it, is and will be going through enormous change over the next few years. Baby boomers, according to the report, are typically not overly techno-savvy, so they are generally happy with the current MLS systems on the market. Gen X and Y, on the other hand, are demanding more and more from their MLS system. At the route of this generational difference, is Web 2.0 and the interactive philosophy of the younger generations.

 There is also significant geographic pressure on MLS’s to expand/combine their territory. Over the past decade, the natural marketplaces that agents operate in have expanded geographically. With the housing boom, many were priced out of the core markets and real estate markets expanded to meet the customer’s needs. We saw this in the Charlottesville area as Waynesboro, Orange and other “distant� locations became part of the main market. The expanding market area required agents to join multiple MLS systems do business in “their� marketplace.

 34% of REALTORS® surveyed said the ideal MLS boundary would be “statewide,� which was up from 19% the year before. At the very least, agents expect to have one market area served by one MLS. There is a great deal of pressure to “fix� this and MLS’s are starting to address the problem.

 The two most common solutions are as follows:

1. Merging of MLS systems – about 10 to 15 years ago, there was a major effort to merge MLS systems and we are now in the second wave of these merges. There are organizational turf wars and issues to overcome, but many MLS’s are either planning or looking into merging with one or more neighboring system.
   
2. Data sharing – the advent of RETS (Real Estate Transaction Standards) has opened the door for MLS systems to share data with each other. RETS has been around for a few years, but is now really taking off and doing what it intended – allowing the free flow of MLS data. (CAAR is in beta testing with an MLS Alliance product that allows for data sharing between MLS systems. There are 4 other MLS’s that are part of the Alliance and the goal is to make it a statewide system).
   

Many other changes to the MLS/listing data and the marketing of listings are detailed in the report.  Mobile technology was the most interesting because it is exploding in popularity and will soon take another quantum leap as the next generation (4G) wireless networks are brought online.  This will make the transfer of data and the Internet to your mobile device much faster than it is today.  Text messages and the delivery of MLS data will likely create a whole new frontier and cause MLS rules to have to play catch-up once again.

 Another issue raised in the report is that NAR is losing control of the term MLS.  NAR has used MLS – Multiple Listing Service – for years, but the trademark has already been taken by Major League Soccer.  Recently, NAR and many local associations have tried to pass rules limiting the use of the term, but at least one lawsuit has already been filed by members.  Since NAR does not have the trademark, it is going to be impossible for them to stop the rampant use of the term MLS (i.e., “search the MLS�).  Non-members, including newspapers and websites, can freely use the term and there is nothing NAR can do to stop it.  Many question why NAR does not just create a new term, trademark it, and move on.  That’s exactly what REALTORS® in Indianapolis did when they came up with Broker Listing Cooperative (BLC).

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