RISMEDIA, March 21, 2007-Following Monday’s lead article on RISMedia.com, by Stefan Swanepoel titled “MLS: Industry Asset or Public Utility,”
a debate has arisen on RealBlogging.com as to whether Trulia can or
should become a national MLS. The discussion on this topic was recently
fueled by Trulia’s announcement that they had, in addition to their
agreement with the Keller Williams Group, secured distribution
agreements with the three Cendant brands to promote their listings on a
national basis; Coldwell Banker, Century 21 and ERA.
Many are starting to ask “How far are we away from a national MLS?”
or “How far are we away from the time when large numbers of consumers
will list their homes for sale on a national Web site?”
According to Swanepoel, the process of consolidation with about 900
local MLSs will be slow, many of which are still stuck in the old
paradigm. He acknowledges that significant change has already occurred
but “becoming a national MLS will be very complicated and whoever
attempts to carry the mantle will quickly discover that this is by no
means an easy or straightforward initiative. There are many sticky
issues that will need to be addressed before a national, quasi-public
utility ever becomes a reality – items such as data ownership, data
security, data standardization, data integration, third party
participation, etc.”
Jeff Tomlin from Point2 also warns that “an MLS is a lot more than a
consumer facing real estate Web site. It’s a system that allows for
cooperative sharing of information between brokers. Many feel a
National MLS must have a public facing component, but any National MLS
system needs to be broker centric, or it’s just a Web site.”
Meanwhile the industry is looking for candidates they believe might
step up to the plate. Names often listed as frontrunners include
Trulia, Google, Yahoo, Zillow and Point2. Of course this can change at
any time and one should never rule out Realtor.com, along with some of
the existing large regional MLSs; Metropolitan Regional Information
Systems, SoCal MLS, MLS of Northern Illinois, South East Florida
Regional MLS and First MLS. It’s possible that they could form the
foundation of a regional conglomerate or even a national MLS.
“Consolidation is driven by consumer expectation but also
practically by broker demand,” says Stephen Roney, president of First
American Residential Group.
“Technically there is no reason a national MLS would not work,” says
Jim Sherry, a leading industry consultant. “It’s all about getting the
egos of out the way first,” he says.
To participate in this interesting open discussion visit www.RealBlogging.com and post your views today.
RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.