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Please don't confuse my posts with "demanding access"... I'm making suggestions on how the RE industry could improve having buyers and sellers find and market property.
You (and several agents) keep making the comments that "we should do the work it takes to put it together and maintain it". Yet, you're completely glazing over the main point that you (the agents who work so hard and spend so much money!) are the reason it's inaccurate and missing data to start with... I've seen behind the curtain, so please don't act like it's even close to perfect. As for public access - the feeds are already there! Cleaning them up, making them relevant, and accurate is not the same as "demanding access".
See, I'm having a hard time with your claim that it's inaccurate and missing data on a large scale level. Unless you mean it's missing the data YOU want - which seems to be DOM & sales history.
I'm positive that there are errors overall - because we're not agentbots, there is always the potential for human error. Always. But as a whole, and I can only speak for my own MLS, our data is pretty dead accurate most of the time as we're self policing.
Believe you me, agents call other agents out on in accurate data. I've most definitely been the reporter - AND the reportee. (My secretary inputed the bath # incorrectly - there's your HUMAN error - and literally within two hours of it being live, another agent reported it.)
Not quite sure what you mean when you "see behind the curtain". Our MLS public vs. member portal is extremely similar - I'd say the public sees 95% of the actual MLS listing. And of course it could be improved - I'd be hard pressed to think of ANYTHING that couldn't be tweaked. (Well, except for Coke ... I'm old enough to remember how that New Coke crap went down.)
Awesome link... Are you provided any status on the efforts and committees? It's been well over a year since the last comment there and the technology is only getting better and more available.
I expect that the long time agents/brokers would be resistant to change... I'm no young guy myself, but I get a kick out of the old timer perspective. "We walked both ways uphill to market a property and carried buyers on our backs up 5 flights of stairs back in my day to get a sale done!". "You guys don't know how hard it was to close a deal back in the day".
I hope that the next generation of RE professionals understand the value of the data and work towards improving the services we all pay huge dollars for... I've sold 2 houses and paid 6% both times. So yes, I have skin in the game.
Here is a link to the website used to disseminate information on the development of the Real Estate Transaction Standard (RETS):
You should also be aware that an MLS does not get any part of the commission you pay for a home sale/purchase. They charge separate agent membership fees. My MLS charges an annual fee to have access. I pay the same fee if I sell 1 home or 50.
I agree with the above but if it makes you feel better most of the real estate web sites are direct feeds from various MLS's.They lack only the sellers personal information and info pertinent to the agents shuch as showing instructions.What else did u want to know? Taxes? Public info.
Mikey, there's too much in your comments to reply to so I'm going to hit the high notes.
1-The MLS is localized in each each region. SC alone has about 10-15 seperate MLS.
2-By and large the MLS is accurate therefore as a result Realtor.com is reliable.
3-The public cannot have MLS access. There is private information there about owners, such as alarm codes, if the house is vacant, owner phone numbers, etc. So how many of you really want the public to have access to MLS now? We go through yearly background checks for access.
4-Regardless of what you feel the public is owed, the fact is Realtors pay quite a bit of money for MLS. We created and own the system. It's not magic, but it's not cheap either. If you think the public deserves a database, you can certainly put one together. Others have tried...and we have zillow to show for it.
5-You can make light of your friend's "major" violation, but it really is that. He could have faced heavy fines and a license suspension/revocation for it.
6-The MLS doesn't receive any commission.
7-Commission is negotiable.
8-You really have no idea what it's like to be a Realtor until you are one. No more than you know what it's like to be an astronaut, a pro athlete, the president, a janitor.
9-If you don't trust your agent, get a better one.
I hope that the next generation of RE professionals understand the value of the data .
No need to wait for the next generation. This generation does recognize the value of this data and know it's one of our biggest assets. When you own something of value No need to give it all away just because someone things they should have it for free.
Keep in mind the purpose of letting 70% of the info out to websites is for marketing of the house. I suspect someday we may see large brokerage companies pull their listings from the MLS and public. Then have private agreements to share with a few other brokers and keep the data more private. But probably no time soon.
You should also be aware that an MLS does not get any part of the commission you pay for a home sale/purchase. They charge separate agent membership fees. My MLS charges an annual fee to have access. I pay the same fee if I sell 1 home or 50.
Thanks for getting it - these other replies are whacked! I don't even know what they're arguing about anymore. I'm not looking for direct access and seeing "secret" data in MLS - rofl alarm codes... I mean wow, post after post about "giving it away for free" and "security". I've seen what's in there and it's not the 8th wonder of the world. lol
Do these people realize how many licensed agents there are who can see this stuff and pass it on easily... News flash! You're not part of some elite industry with only a handful of "professionals". You don't even need to be a realtor for gosh sakes. You don't even need to be active with listings - just licensed and paying the bill. I think most of these people are arguing for the sake of arguing and have no clue there's a data standard like you linked in the works.
Anyway, I really do understand that each individual MLS is just simply equivalent to a software company that you license using... You pay for the system like an accountant would pay for a commercial accounting application. They get paid regardless of commissions. Like with most professional software, they charge large fees and it's a real good deal for them. Additionally, like other "monopolies" where you only have 1 choice in a region for their service, they don't provide the best value. I wouldn't expect different.
It's good to see they're working towards data standards, albeit slowly... I guess you can hardly blame them considering the size of the effort. Hopefully, NAR will push the standard and the data will get more relevant and useful for us all. That was really the crux of my entire first post. Unless there's oversight over the data and integrity at the source, it's $#!@ in the wind. I see every day how bad the data is in MLS.
Mikey, perhaps the confusion is at least partly due to the topic of this thread "why cant everyone get access to MLS". Perhaps a discussion on data integrity and standards would have been better received in a separate post.
Mikey, perhaps the confusion is at least partly due to the topic of this thread "why cant everyone get access to MLS". Perhaps a discussion on data integrity and standards would have been better received in a separate post.
ugh good point... I forget that people don't always read posts or worse skim them and reply based on topic.
Most people assume a post has something to do with a thread title. Seems pretty reasonable.
Agreed - but after 12 pages it clearly took a slightly different direction not unusual at all for a good majority of threads here on CD... I digress.
I fight the data battle so often in my day-to-day work it's too easy to get wrapped up in the "user" vs. "technology" side of things. We're not curing cancer here, so I won't get too caught up in semantics and minutiae. heh
At the very least I uncovered just how serious folks are about controlling the data the general public sees related to the RE industry, yet they seem mostly unaware that work is going on to standardize it all. In the end, I learned something here - so I'm happy about that.
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