We’re bullish on MLS. Or rather, the potential that lies within most MLS organizations. In fact, Marc and I think MLSs hold some of the most exciting possibilities in real estate and technology in 2009.
I know that may sound odd, and more than a little naive. For those of us with a close-in view of the MLS world, it seems at times hopelessly hamstrung by politics. Those just a little further removed see a fragmented, somewhat mysterious assortment of acronyms.
But let’s step back for a minute. Way back. Out to Mars. Looked at from this perspective — with political fault lines and puzzling borders blurred — we see an industry in a pretty compelling position.
Here’s why:
1. MLSs have the most valuable content assets in their entire category. And content, as we know, is King. No one touches them on quantity or quality.
2. MLSs have market share, adoption rates and, as a result, a distribution channel that is the envy of any other business entity on the face of the planet. Never mind why that is. It is.
3. The best and the brightest are lined up outside MLS doors. Everyone wants to do business with the MLS. There must be some value there, huh?
4. It appears as if users of the MLS really need it. It looks to pass the “if it disappeared tomorrow, would you really care?” test. That type of utility means the MLSs are not only relevant, but can solve problems for their customers.
These realities don’t disappear when we come back to Earth; we just lose a clear view of them.
That was the crux of a presentation we gave to several hundred MLS executives at NAR a couple months ago: You can kick ass — but you had better get moving. Click here for the slide deck, or view it below. You’ll miss a lot of the details without the discussion, but it’s a broad outline of our observations.
It starts with your brand. Yes, an MLS is a brand, and a brand is a unit of meaning. Ask yourself, “what does [my MLS here] mean? If you can’t answer that in two seconds, you’ve identified a core problem.
We offer some ideas for moving forward with this broader perspective, but the important thing is in the stepping back.
We absolutely believe:
1. Brokers have no better partner for surviving this market than their MLS
2. MLS organizations can take a leadership position in the online real estate category
3. Consumers — and the Realtors that serve them — can benefit immeasurably from products built by, or off of, the MLS (API, anyone?).
But that can only happen if MLS leaders step back and look at the bigger picture, forfeit near-term comfort for long-term value, and start messing with the playbook.
Last week at Inman, I moderated a woefully short session on the future or MLS that featured leaders that have done it. David Charron at MRIS [disclosure: 1000watt Consulting has performed work for MRIS] and Bud Fogel at Midwest Regional Data see the big picture and have done the hard work of sharing it with others.
It is my hope that more join them this year. I think they will be rewarded.
Here’s the presentation:
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A mist of difference
Freaking...
Spoken like a true non-broker.
Brokers and agents do not want to compete with MLS's (who get all this precious data from US) for website traffic, brand, or relevance in the home-searchers mind.
The MLS's were created to ensure commissions between brokers and to service the brokers. They have become massive for-profit companies that have a monopoly on OUR COLLECTIVE CONTENT and charge us for everything possible, raise fees whenever they want, and sell us back the right to use our content (in case you wonder why brokers and agents do not like or trust MLS's.)
And now MLS's are trying to build consumer focused websites to get their own direct web traffic and SKIP THE BROKER completely, so they can later begin to upsell the traffic (ala Realtor.com) back to the brokers.
After all, they don't have to pay their own ridiculous web services fees or deal with their own stupid restrictions because, as a monopoly, they make their own rules.
MLS's should be in service to, not in competition with, their members. Instead of looking at how cool they can present listing data for consumers they should be looking at how to best give that data back to the members who give it to them in a usable way.
MLS's are completely about politics and money- I have dealt with dozens of them as a Realtor, broker and website vendor and they are not trying to service their members- they are all trying to make money and further entrench their own power and self-imposed relevancy.
Don't mistake my candor for pure bittnerness- this is about transparency and telling it like it is- from the perspective of someone who pays over $12,000/year to my local MLS (as an agent) to use the data for my website. Think about that- I pay $300/year in dues to the MLS, give them my listing data and then have to pay $12,000/year just to display the MLS data on my website. And I have to jump through all of their stupid restrictions and rules. I can't show agent remarks on my website even though agents can show them to their own clients. I cannot show sold data, even though agents can show this to clients in a CMA. These are restrictions that the MLS doesn't have to impose on itself, and does not impose on their "partner" Realtor.com. But there is nothing that I, or anyone can do about it because they are a monopoly.
They don't need a presentation by 1000Watt empowering them to become more "relevant"- they need to better service their members and help their members become more relevant.
Greg:
We are quite aware of the tension that exists between MLSs and many of their broker customers, particularly on the public-facing site issue (though there are plenty of brokers who love the idea of their MLS feeding them free traffic through a public site).
As former tech vendors, we understand the absurdity of much of what goes into "protecting" broker data. In some cases, MLSs are protecting their members to death.
And $12,000 for a RETS feed from WFRMLS is indeed insane.
We agree with you: More value, new value, no new fees.
Hence the call to action.
You are absolutely right Brian, plus the MLS has the credibility in the marketplace with the Consumer and it is the Consumer that drives our marketplace.
The MLS must position itself as the funnel of the data with a "Members First" attitude, reducing costs at the same time as it increases service. It must be service based rather than profit based.
For what it's worth, here in Northestern Ohio, we are combining the databases of the two major MLS's – NORMLS & CRIS, depsite the politics and territorialism that ruled the past. No more dual membership fees – so agents are saving money and getting more! Keep your fingers crossed – cutover is Jan. 28th…
Fantastic presentation.
Compared to the alternatives, MLS data is the cleanest, richest, most reliable data on the housing market available. MLS's and Associations need to do a better job of leveraging that. It's a golden egg that many of us sat on, unawares, for too long.
Analyze it. Make sense of the market. Tell your members what their world looks like in greater detail than Zillow or Trulia can.
Will you be at any other NAR events this year? Maybe AE Institute in March?
@Jeff
We'll be at the NAR shows, and will most likely be at AEI as well. Hope to see you there.
I agree that the MLS's could dominate locally in terms of internet traffic but as an agent, I think the real question if they should.
The best example of an MLS who has gone public-facing is HAR. Yet look at their hypocrisy… they open up their members' listings in the name of customer service and transparency but then make it near impossible for their own agents to work with the MLS IDX feed. They have become a self-serving bureaucracy instead of a local trade organization.
I do not know how an MLS resists the temptation of self-interest over representation once they achieve market leverage using their member's data. We'll see what happens with MRIS.
Its a very nice blog.
Thanks.
In Honolulu, there are more elegant solutions than the MLS, but, as a broker, the MLS is still the best. May it survive and prosper.
Aloha,
Keahi
I have worked with many MLSes to try to get RETS feeds. I understand the expense but sometimes the fees are insurmountable and the red tape is thick. There are some MLSes that don’t work with vendors at all. They need to get it together, and some data consistency would be nice too. The RETS standard still does not make their db schemas interchangeable.
-Tyler
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