By Stefan Swanepoel
RISMEDIA, April 13, 2007-Many think that the notion of a national
MLS is a good one. According to Jim Sherry, technically there is no
reason a national MLS would not work. He says it’s more about getting
the egos out of the way first.
The consolidation of MLSs into super-regional ones or even one
national MLS has already taken its first steps with the consolidation
of MLS service providers over the past six years. Today three major
players, MarketLinx, a division of First American, Fidelity National
Real Estate Solutions and Rapattoni Corporation collectively manage
1,200,000 MLS desktops; approximately 90% of the market. So that is the
quickest and easiest way to go, right?
Many say probably not.
Some think the solution will come from one of
the industry’s aggregators. The logical player is of course
Realtor.com, but media favorite Zillow is often mentioned. Point2 says
they already are one. Others such as Oodle, Edgeio, Propsmart, BackPage
or Live Deal say they could easily be one.
Many say probably not.
Some think one should go directly to the brokers instead, like
vertical search engine Trulia. Having already signed contracts with
powerhouses Realogy, RE/MAX, HomeServices and numerous other large
brokers they could already be well on their way.
Many say probably not.
If vertical searching is the winning strategy then no one will beat
the deep base searching power of Google. Who could beat the powerful
Google search ability to sort through millions of listings and find the
right answer in a split second? Walt Baczkowski, MCAR CEO, says Google
may very well replace the MLS as we now know it today.
Many say probably not.
Google is an online marketing avenue, it’s not an MLS. There is a
huge difference between a search engine, a consumer site and a broker
MLS. Realtors don’t understand the value of the MLS says Mike Long, CEO
of Move.com, the managers of Realtor.com. Giving the listing
information away to others will result in a de facto MLS … with no MLS
rules.
Many say probably not.
Some like Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin feel that MLS rules are like a
thousand tiny shackles on Internet business, which limit the free flow
of information to the consumer.
And so the debate continues. It is not clear exactly where we are
heading. What does appear certain at this stage is that that
consolidation into larger MLSs is inevitable. As a matter of fact it is
already happening on a regular basis. Larger MLSs will inevitably lead
to increased standardization, which in turn will fuel further
consolidation and open the door for the creation of one national MLS.
The drive toward one national MLS seems to be born out of
frustration by regional brokers but it is being fueled by consumer
demand for more real estate information with listing data. MRIS CEO,
David Charron says a national MLS is a great idea, but the creation
thereof is complex as it will have to take into consideration local
licensing laws, nomenclature, customs, governance and compliance
management. Whoever decides to carry the torch will quickly discover
that this is by no means an easy or straightforward initiative. There
are also many other sticky issues that will need to be addressed before
a national, quasi-public utility becomes a reality – items such as data
ownership, data security, data standardization, data integration, third
party participation, and so on.
So while the industry grapples with its parochial issues – both
practical and legal – existing MLS systems will have to re-engineer
themselves into standardized mega regional systems or a national
system. Whichever direction is taken they will have to be relevant and
meaningful for brokers, agents and consumers alike, or face the
consequences of competition and possible obsolescence.