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Hi there. My local MLS - the TREND MLS (PA, NJ, etc) hides valuable information on comps from the consumer. When my agent sends me recent comps, I cannot see the price history! None of it. It won't even show me the list price at the time of the offer, let alone all the complete price history. It only gives the sales price. This is obviously very valuable information they are hiding from the buyer.
Given the lawsuit against the buyer's agent (New York Times article) the take-away is you cannot count on your agent to give you the information. You must find it yourself.
Why would the MLS hide this from the consumer? I sent them an email but they didn't reply.
Do any other regions do this? Is there anything I can do to change it?
We already have to go though an agent to get the comps in the first place, and then even when we do we can't get transparency!
Hi there. My local MLS - the TREND MLS (PA, NJ, etc) hides valuable information on comps from the consumer. When my agent sends me recent comps, I cannot see the price history! None of it. It won't even show me the list price at the time of the offer, let alone all the complete price history. It only gives the sales price. This is obviously very valuable information they are hiding from the buyer.
Given the lawsuit against the buyer's agent (New York Times article) the take-away is you cannot count on your agent to give you the information. You must find it yourself.
Why would the MLS hide this from the consumer? I sent them an email but they didn't reply.
Do any other regions do this? Is there anything I can do to change it?
We already have to go though an agent to get the comps in the first place, and then even when we do we can't get transparency!
Evie, if you want to get the price history of a given property, ask your realtor.
I'm with Bill on this one - I'd suggest you ask your Realtor specifically for this information. In my MLS it doesn't appear on every sort of data sheet, but I'm happy to provide it to clients when that's what's wanted.
In my MLS (Which we call the BLC) the consumer doesn't get all this info either, but you can always go to the public records yourself and search it all out.
Why, though, would your Realtor not give you the info, all you have to do is ask. Realtors enter into a fiduciary relationship with the clients, that is one of trust and care, loyalty, honesty, obediance... Uhhh, I forget all of them, but I'm sure another Realtor remembers what all the words are.
SO, if my client asks, it is my duty to tell them. It is as easy as that!
I'm with Bill on this one - I'd suggest you ask your Realtor specifically for this information. In my MLS it doesn't appear on every sort of data sheet, but I'm happy to provide it to clients when that's what's wanted.
Best,
David Beckett
My area is not a cookie-cutter development type place. There is no new construction, so the trying to pin down exact comps is very difficult. Plus, I am looking in a very wide price range as I can afford much more than I will probably spend. I am also an information junkie, and want to know as much as I possibly can before I spend hundreds of thousands of dollars.
So, this means that there are over 30 comps to look at and examine. Sure, my agent could spend a day writing up the complete sales history report for me and will give me the information I request. This is a massive waste of time for both of us and very frustrating.
But, perhaps more importantly, the lack of transparency and openness is so troublesome! Why are the institutions hiding this information from consumers? Don't they want us to know? I don't get it.
And, as agents, if your MLS does not readily provide this information to your clients, doesn't it annoy you as well? Aren't you paying a lot of money for this service?
Has anyone had success in getting the MLS to be more user-friendly?
You just need to ask for it. In the MLS system we have, I can access tax/sales history info, export it to excel and then format, examine and mine the data however I, or my client wants. I don't think there are any transparency issues, as it seems to me your agent just wasn't sure of exactly what you wanted. Ask and ye shall receive.
My area is not a cookie-cutter development type place. There is no new construction, so the trying to pin down exact comps is very difficult. Plus, I am looking in a very wide price range as I can afford much more than I will probably spend. I am also an information junkie, and want to know as much as I possibly can before I spend hundreds of thousands of dollars.
So, this means that there are over 30 comps to look at and examine. Sure, my agent could spend a day writing up the complete sales history report for me and will give me the information I request. This is a massive waste of time for both of us and very frustrating.
But, perhaps more importantly, the lack of transparency and openness is so troublesome! Why are the institutions hiding this information from consumers? Don't they want us to know? I don't get it.
Sometimes I think you deliberately misunderstand this stuff. The MLS is not a public data base. A limited window is provided to the public. A limited window is provided to agents as well. The rules of those windows are set by arrangements between the principals that supply the data. Their opinion on what can or should be public is widely divergent.
I personally will supply history files to clients who care on request. I don't print them on all properties but will if the client wishes. I will similarly supply tax records though I would also note that the MLS tax system is more constrained than that of the assessor.
Note that not even member brokers have a right to any query they wish to write. Rules constrain all.
Sometimes I think you deliberately misunderstand this stuff. The MLS is not a public data base. A limited window is provided to the public. A limited window is provided to agents as well. The rules of those windows are set by arrangements between the principals that supply the data. Their opinion on what can or should be public is widely divergent.
I personally will supply history files to clients who care on request. I don't print them on all properties but will if the client wishes. I will similarly supply tax records though I would also note that the MLS tax system is more constrained than that of the assessor.
Note that not even member brokers have a right to any query they wish to write. Rules constrain all.
The only other place I have looked at RE at in So Cal, the price history was right there on the MLS listings the agent sent us. So, when it isn't there and it is difficult to find, yes I do wonder why it isn't.
The agent I just fired was withholding information from us. So, yes, I am very very skeptical and hesitant. I just had another agent lie on the phone the other day.
I am not saying all agents are like that and if you happen to get a good one you can trust, that is great. But when you've gotten burned a couple of times here, you like to just know the facts are going to be where you can find them.
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