Wednesday, December 07, 2005
The MLS System and REALTOR.com©
The MLS System and REALTOR.com©
By Lee Thurburn, MBA, President of NetOffer, Inc.
History of the MLS
When the real estate profession first began to coalesce during the 1920s and 1930s the primary way that local brokers and agents shared information about properties that they had for sale was through publication of regularly circulated flyers, newspapers, and publication books. This was a sporadic system and it would often be several weeks or months between the time that a listing was obtained by a broker and the time that the majority of other brokers would learn about it and have the change to sell the property.
During the 1960s the advent of the punch card reader and simple computer sorting machines allowed the first automation of the process. Listings would be entered into a puch card deck and fed into local office card sorters which would allow the local office to quickly match buyer preferences with local listed property profiles. Centralized computer systems were just beginning to become available and were very much controled by the operators of those systems. The publishing of MLS Listing Books, sometimes as infrequently as monthly, had become the primary method of distributing listing information.
By the late 1960s and the mid 1970s most of the local MLS systems had migrated to a centralized computer system that was based on the traditional main-frame distributed processing model. This meant that access to the system was controlled by officees that had remote teleterminal connections into the main system. The 'client' interface was very elementary and the information that was produced by the system was distributed in the form of MLS Listing Boods that would be distributed every couple of weeks. Agents and Brokers also had the ability to perform relatively sophisticated searches of the main database but the information was was generated was often very cryptic and required some professional assistance in interpreting.
By the late 1980s and the mid 1990s the systems had progressed to become very sophisticated with the ability to access the system quickly and through much improved user interfaces, however, the system was still based on the old distributed processing client server model. This meant that the only real way of accessing the MLS data was from a brokerage office terminal. The information that came out was much more graphically oriented with photos available online and the publications (MLS Books) were much more user friendly, but, still the primary way of distributing information was through the bi-weekly publication of MLS Books.
During the late 1990s the Internet revolution was taking place and the MLS was beginning to feel the impact of the presence of the Internet. REALTORS have always know that the main value that they added to a real estate transaction comes from the access to and awareness of informaiton about properties on the market. Since the inception of the profession during the 1920s the benefit of being a REALTOr was directly tied to the control over access to this information. The Internet threatened this monolopy ovef information and REALTORS were very reluctant to release information to companies that might let that informaiton out of their control.
I was directly involved in one of the very first MLS --> Internet operations in the U.S. I was the Chairman and Founder of a company named FlashNet Communications, located in Fort Worth, Texas. FlashNet was founded in the summer of 1995 on the premise of contracting with the local MLS to place real estate information on the Internet. In fact, in October of 1995 we were one of the very first companies in the US to place MLS data on the Internet through a contract with the Greater Tarrant County MLS organization. I rememver, very vividly, the discussions and concerns of the local Board at the time and the primary area of concern was over how much information to release to the public without requiring that a REALTOR get involved.
The MLS System Today
Today's MLS System is much different that described above. Today, the MLS System is undergoing a dramatic new wave of competitive pressures from Internet based information brokerages. Keeping in mind that the primary benefit to being a REALTOR has always been the access to a restricted database of information that the public could not get to, with the advent of the Internet and the MLS System integration into Realtor.com the value of being a REALTOR is rapidly dissapating. Now, the general public can, through searches on REALTOR.cOM, and hundreds of other websites, search for and review information about properties across the U.S. During the late 199s the MLS and the National Association of Realtors, through REALTOR.com opened their information database through a variety of 'portal' websites where the puclic can get to the MLS data.
While the information that can be viewed through the MLS 'portals' is not the complete data that REALTORS can view directly through their MLS Accounts, the majority of information about the property is visible. Prospective Buyers can now learn almost everything they want to know in advance of deciding whether or not to visit and view the property. This has the dual aspect of making the job of the REALTOR much less time intensive while also causing many Buyers and Sellers to question the historically established commissions that are charged for Listing and Sales related services.
As a result of these changes alternative Internet based forums for the marketing of properties, and alternative REALTOR pricing models, have begun to florish. The most common of these are the Internet Real Estate Search Engines and Classified Advertising Websites, along with the FLAT FEE Discount Real Estate Brokers.
What is the Future of the MLS?
The REALTOR organization is comprised of well over 500,000 members across the U.S. REALTORS are one of the largest and most powerful political lobbying organizations in the U.S. The history of real estate and the legislative body of law is very extensive. All of these things contribute to providing the traditional real estate community with tremendously powerful tools to resist the changes that are coming and to attempt to thwart the advent of new forms of service through a combination of legislative, regulatory, and political mechanisms. In fact, in Texas you can see this happening currently as the TAR (Texas Association of Realtors) and many local Boards of REALTORS (such as Austin) have become very active in trying to impede the use of the MLS system by companies that specialize in what is known of as FSBO Listings on the MLS.
Over time, the many alternative models of providing service, coupled to the increasing awareness of the consumer, will dictate that the traditional model of charging 5%-7% (6% is the norm in Texas) for Listing and Selling a property will change. In the future there is no doubt that REALTORS will have to come to terms with earning less for the Listing and Sale of properties. Simply put, now that the market environment has evolved to facilitate, through the Internet and online databases, the rapid and complete dissemination of information about properties, and now that the information about properties for sale is no longer captive to the exclusive domain of the REALTOR, the REALTOR will have to adjust. Basic economic theory states that when a fundamental change to the supply and demand equation takes place the ability of the marketplace to maintain the old equilibrium point will be changed and a new equilibrium point will be set.
What this means is that given time, the competitive influence of the Internet and of new service pricing models will create an overwhelming momemtum to change the traditional pricing model. While there will be hold-out niche market providers of services that conform to the old model, the norm will gradually become the new model and consumers will have more choices.
How NetOffer Fits Into the Future
NetOffer is the largest provider of Discount FLAT FEE Real Estate marketing services in North Texas and one of the largest in Texas. NetOffer has invested many thousands of dollars in developing an automated system that is the most advanced in the nation and enables our clients to gain more immediate control over the MLS than any other system currently in operation. It is our technology that allows NetOffer to provide the highest quality service available, at a price that is well below what our competition can fathom. We are proud to be part of the new wave of Real Estate Professionals that offer you, the consumer, more choices. NetOffer can save you both time and money. Call us to learn more.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: Lee Thurburn
Address: P O Box 670965, Dallas, TX 75367
Phone: (972) 470-5888
Website: www.netoffer.com
By Lee Thurburn, MBA, President of NetOffer, Inc.
History of the MLS
When the real estate profession first began to coalesce during the 1920s and 1930s the primary way that local brokers and agents shared information about properties that they had for sale was through publication of regularly circulated flyers, newspapers, and publication books. This was a sporadic system and it would often be several weeks or months between the time that a listing was obtained by a broker and the time that the majority of other brokers would learn about it and have the change to sell the property.
During the 1960s the advent of the punch card reader and simple computer sorting machines allowed the first automation of the process. Listings would be entered into a puch card deck and fed into local office card sorters which would allow the local office to quickly match buyer preferences with local listed property profiles. Centralized computer systems were just beginning to become available and were very much controled by the operators of those systems. The publishing of MLS Listing Books, sometimes as infrequently as monthly, had become the primary method of distributing listing information.
By the late 1960s and the mid 1970s most of the local MLS systems had migrated to a centralized computer system that was based on the traditional main-frame distributed processing model. This meant that access to the system was controlled by officees that had remote teleterminal connections into the main system. The 'client' interface was very elementary and the information that was produced by the system was distributed in the form of MLS Listing Boods that would be distributed every couple of weeks. Agents and Brokers also had the ability to perform relatively sophisticated searches of the main database but the information was was generated was often very cryptic and required some professional assistance in interpreting.
By the late 1980s and the mid 1990s the systems had progressed to become very sophisticated with the ability to access the system quickly and through much improved user interfaces, however, the system was still based on the old distributed processing client server model. This meant that the only real way of accessing the MLS data was from a brokerage office terminal. The information that came out was much more graphically oriented with photos available online and the publications (MLS Books) were much more user friendly, but, still the primary way of distributing information was through the bi-weekly publication of MLS Books.
During the late 1990s the Internet revolution was taking place and the MLS was beginning to feel the impact of the presence of the Internet. REALTORS have always know that the main value that they added to a real estate transaction comes from the access to and awareness of informaiton about properties on the market. Since the inception of the profession during the 1920s the benefit of being a REALTOr was directly tied to the control over access to this information. The Internet threatened this monolopy ovef information and REALTORS were very reluctant to release information to companies that might let that informaiton out of their control.
I was directly involved in one of the very first MLS --> Internet operations in the U.S. I was the Chairman and Founder of a company named FlashNet Communications, located in Fort Worth, Texas. FlashNet was founded in the summer of 1995 on the premise of contracting with the local MLS to place real estate information on the Internet. In fact, in October of 1995 we were one of the very first companies in the US to place MLS data on the Internet through a contract with the Greater Tarrant County MLS organization. I rememver, very vividly, the discussions and concerns of the local Board at the time and the primary area of concern was over how much information to release to the public without requiring that a REALTOR get involved.
The MLS System Today
Today's MLS System is much different that described above. Today, the MLS System is undergoing a dramatic new wave of competitive pressures from Internet based information brokerages. Keeping in mind that the primary benefit to being a REALTOR has always been the access to a restricted database of information that the public could not get to, with the advent of the Internet and the MLS System integration into Realtor.com the value of being a REALTOR is rapidly dissapating. Now, the general public can, through searches on REALTOR.cOM, and hundreds of other websites, search for and review information about properties across the U.S. During the late 199s the MLS and the National Association of Realtors, through REALTOR.com opened their information database through a variety of 'portal' websites where the puclic can get to the MLS data.
While the information that can be viewed through the MLS 'portals' is not the complete data that REALTORS can view directly through their MLS Accounts, the majority of information about the property is visible. Prospective Buyers can now learn almost everything they want to know in advance of deciding whether or not to visit and view the property. This has the dual aspect of making the job of the REALTOR much less time intensive while also causing many Buyers and Sellers to question the historically established commissions that are charged for Listing and Sales related services.
As a result of these changes alternative Internet based forums for the marketing of properties, and alternative REALTOR pricing models, have begun to florish. The most common of these are the Internet Real Estate Search Engines and Classified Advertising Websites, along with the FLAT FEE Discount Real Estate Brokers.
What is the Future of the MLS?
The REALTOR organization is comprised of well over 500,000 members across the U.S. REALTORS are one of the largest and most powerful political lobbying organizations in the U.S. The history of real estate and the legislative body of law is very extensive. All of these things contribute to providing the traditional real estate community with tremendously powerful tools to resist the changes that are coming and to attempt to thwart the advent of new forms of service through a combination of legislative, regulatory, and political mechanisms. In fact, in Texas you can see this happening currently as the TAR (Texas Association of Realtors) and many local Boards of REALTORS (such as Austin) have become very active in trying to impede the use of the MLS system by companies that specialize in what is known of as FSBO Listings on the MLS.
Over time, the many alternative models of providing service, coupled to the increasing awareness of the consumer, will dictate that the traditional model of charging 5%-7% (6% is the norm in Texas) for Listing and Selling a property will change. In the future there is no doubt that REALTORS will have to come to terms with earning less for the Listing and Sale of properties. Simply put, now that the market environment has evolved to facilitate, through the Internet and online databases, the rapid and complete dissemination of information about properties, and now that the information about properties for sale is no longer captive to the exclusive domain of the REALTOR, the REALTOR will have to adjust. Basic economic theory states that when a fundamental change to the supply and demand equation takes place the ability of the marketplace to maintain the old equilibrium point will be changed and a new equilibrium point will be set.
What this means is that given time, the competitive influence of the Internet and of new service pricing models will create an overwhelming momemtum to change the traditional pricing model. While there will be hold-out niche market providers of services that conform to the old model, the norm will gradually become the new model and consumers will have more choices.
How NetOffer Fits Into the Future
NetOffer is the largest provider of Discount FLAT FEE Real Estate marketing services in North Texas and one of the largest in Texas. NetOffer has invested many thousands of dollars in developing an automated system that is the most advanced in the nation and enables our clients to gain more immediate control over the MLS than any other system currently in operation. It is our technology that allows NetOffer to provide the highest quality service available, at a price that is well below what our competition can fathom. We are proud to be part of the new wave of Real Estate Professionals that offer you, the consumer, more choices. NetOffer can save you both time and money. Call us to learn more.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author: Lee Thurburn
Address: P O Box 670965, Dallas, TX 75367
Phone: (972) 470-5888
Website: www.netoffer.com
# posted by DallasFlatFee @ 7:13 AM 
