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Today's MLS: The Realtor's New Best Friend

by Karen Kage

Location, location, location remains a guiding principle in real estate.

However, for today's residential real estate professional, a new mantra of information, technology and service also applies. To remain competitive and provide the highest value service to home buyers and home sellers, a REALTOR® must combine traditional people- skills with the ability to access, understand and manipulate information.

It used to be a "good" Realtor could be identified by his or her dog-eared yellow legal pad (covered with coffee mug stains, no doubt), #2 pencil and, if they were organized, folder after folder of select properties for sale. Fortunately for everyone involved, these tools have given way to the desktop and laptop computers and, now, even hand-held computer-like devices. Similarly, the old land-line telephone and fax have given way to more efficient cell phones, and the Internet has replaced the old, cumbersome source books for property listing information.

Keeping up with the changes, the Multiple Listing Service (MLS)— one of our oldest and most basic real estate tools— has been transformed into an Information Age ally. In this article, I will review trends that have helped bring about the modern MLS, some of its new, exciting "modes and means," and what we might look for in the future.

The Modern Realtor

Customer service, sales skills, market and product knowledge and a keen sense of consumer and social tastes remain essentials for success in residential real estate. Today's Realtor must also be adept at technology. And we're not simply talking about having a cell phone in every coat pocket here. Rather, we need to have the knowledge of and the skill to strategically and effectively "work the technology," be that in the form of functions like e-mail, Internet searches, personal Web site design, construction and management, database maintenance, multimedia presentations, direct mail marketing campaigns and even cable television advertising and promotion.

This rush to technology has two key drivers. First, research from the Web site www.realtor.com reveals that a majority of home buying and selling now begins on the Internet. If you miss that consumer connection, you miss a lot of potential commissions and fees. At the same time, our field is attracting more and more full-timers, especially young people right out of college who are choosing real estate as a career. These technologically savvy folks have responded to market realities perhaps quickest of all.

The Power of Today's MLS

As mentioned at the start, the Multiple Listing Service has been transformed by our industry to meet and exceed the modern Realtor's thirst for timely, accurate information. Let's review some of its "modes" and "means."

Immediacy and reach. On any given day, a major metropolitan area MLS may add new listings for as many as 710 homes now for sale, with the updating accomplished in near-real time. For example, in Michigan, the Realcomp II Ltd. MLS (Realcomp Online™) serves more than 11,700 Realtors collectively; has approximately 38,000 properties listed for sale at any given time; and we may send out as many as 8,300 individual e-mails daily in answer to queries by REALTORS® acting on behalf of buyers and sellers. The Realtor has expanded his or her scope of operation much wider at a much faster rate, especially valuable for us in an era where family dynamics, corporate relocations and the trend towards multiple home ownership by a single family cross so many traditional geographic boundaries.

Power. The power of the modern MLS is further demonstrated in at least three ways. The first is its existence as an electronic product, accessible 24/7, by the Web, e-mail, and even wireless. Next, Realtors are able to download a distributed database generally updated daily, if not more frequently, and using Realcomp's LandShark™ software, the database can be downloaded to the user's laptop computer en mass. Third, the MLS database entries can be linked to additional property photos beyond the basic entry photo to virtual (multimedia) tours and property Web sites. Many commercial properties such as office buildings or industrial parks already have their own Web sites. As a result of the trend toward more mega-value homes trading, individual residential property Web sites and virtual tours will likely make more economic sense and become more prevalent.

Security. In this Information Age, we must be up-front about issues such as accuracy and shelf life of data, privacy, security and copyright protection. The MLS sets the listing rules, which can include monetary or privileges sanctions for submitting incorrect information. Obviously, patterns of "mistakes" are of more concern than a single erroneous submission. At Realcomp II Ltd., we continue to enter data into the system on behalf of Realtors at no additional charge, as a service of membership and because we believe it fosters consistency and accuracy in the listings. An excellent turnaround time encourages that behavior.

Every MLS should have a state-of-the-art computer network and database security, including log-in control through a password system which discourages "sharing" of MLS access to nonmembers. At Realcomp, we own a perpetual license to the source code for our system, allowing us to do all code and network management in-house, which we believe further promotes system security.

With respect to copyright, the MLS data itself cannot be copyrighted, but the way in which the data is formatted can be copyrighted. Each broker submitting listings garnered by individual Realtors is the owner of the data, but at Realcomp we handle any copyrighting as part of the Realcomp II Ltd. service as a part of basic membership.

Service and costs. High-tech need not mean low-touch. In Michigan, the Realcomp II Ltd. MLS is supported by a "local and live" customer service staff for 85 hours per week. This is the best possible demonstration that technology can free companies to better serve their client.

Regional Multiple Listing Services can also have significant cost advantages, compared to maintaining multiple memberships in Boards/Associations of Realtors and their local MLSs. Membership costs for the Realcomp II Ltd. MLS have been the same for four years. The cost of membership and services—including access to data from other, outlying MLSs—are less, in real dollars, than what many Realtors were paying a decade ago for a single, local MLS.

The Future

The more the merrier, if done intelligently.

The existence of sophisticated database capabilities and Internet access pave the way to value-added services for MLSs and their member subscribers. One of the most successful for our system has been Public Record Data access, where users can search among all properties in ten Michigan counties.

Another exciting trend is Data Sharing Arrangements. Blanche Evans discussed progress being made in this arena in a recent Realty Times article, including our experiences so far in Michigan. In that article, I commented on the two models being employed: actual data sets being swapped and incorporated into each others' computer systems; and a system of guest IDs and passwords. We are continuing to energetically pursue these arrangements.

Finally, I would like to touch on new media relationships. One example includes working with local cable systems on Home Preview programs. We find that the modern-day guise of this tried-and-true format is doing an excellent job in creating name recognition for Realtors within specific communities. As on-demand services mature, we envision consumers being able to initiate inquiries through their cable television service, much as they can do today on Web sites.

As our industry evolves and matures, incorporating new technologies while anticipating the needs of the ever-changing consumer, the MLS is proving its worth for Realtors more than ever. Stay tuned for the next chapter in the MLS chronicles; it is sure to be an exciting one!

Karen Kage is the chief executive officer of Realcomp II Ltd. Realcomp II Ltd. is Michigan's largest Realtor-owned Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and provider of real property information. Through direct service subscriptions with participating Brokers and their Agents and various Data Sharing Arrangements with bordering MLSs, Realcomp has grown to serve more than 11,700 Michigan Realtors, nearly one half of all Realtors in the state. For more information about Realcomp II Ltd., please visit www.realcomp.com.

Published: January 23, 2004

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