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One-stop shop in real estate

By Artur Urbanski

Real Estate Broker/Owner with Cimpler Real Estate, Inc. CA BRE# 01330941

June 30, 2007 06:46 PM

A client asked if there is a single MLS to search listings at, as she is trying to find a “one stop shop” in real estate.

Here is my reply:

There is no real "one-stop shop" in residential real estate. Realtor.com comes close but, even they don't have all data as some local MLS' opted not to display their data via Realtor. For your information, there are 900 MLS out there and until recently they didn’t see any advantage in sharing data. Your other option is to look to large brokers search engines, such as Coldwell Banker, Re-Max or Prudential. They have global databases. However, I am not sure if they make it available on-line for clients or you would have to ask some of their agents for help. Zip Realty and Intero are growing fast as well. You would need to check with them yourself.

Multiple MLSs lack of single data standards, multiple “look and feel” standards, use of sometimes prehistoric software are among reasons why clients are responding so well to what Trulia and Zillow have to offer. Trulia has only listings for a few cities for now, but I am sure that this will be changing soon. Zillow deals with appraisals now, but it has “Make Me an Offer” feature. While Zillow data are not very accurate, it gives a good comparison of neighborhood and cities.

Northern California MLSs started to feel the heat and are rapidly either merging, or integrating their databases. For example, in the San Francisco Bay Area after years of hassle and need to go from one MLS to another, we have two major databases at the moment, Quattro and NCREX. Each of them allows for access to four or more MLSs. Additionally, there is agreement for a “read only” access between Quattro and NCREX. That’s a step in a right direction. To summarize, Realtor.com is closest to your answer for a “one-stop shop” in real estate today.

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Randy L. Prothero

eXp Realty - Hollister, MO

Missouri REALTOR, (808) 384-5645

I think the best bet is to find a good Realtor in the area you are interested and they can set you up with an MLS search for that area. Many times they will have an IDX search on their websites for their area.

Jun 30, 2007 06:58 PM

Artur Urbanski

Cimpler Real Estate, Inc. - Burlingame, CA

Helping property owners to maximize property value

In most cases this might be a right solution. However, sometimes it might not work. Let imagine that you are moving form NYC to the San Francisco Bay area. You don't know where you want to settle, East Bay, South Bay, Peninsula or any other place. Until recently, you would need several MLSs and quite a few agents to work with, as agent on the Peninsula might not know market in Marin, San Francisco, East Bay or Silicon Valley. Clients have new needs and requirements and this creates opportunities for us to provide different and better service.

Jun 30, 2007 08:34 PM

William Johnson

Retired - La Jolla, CA

Retired

Great Post and a timely subject. There may soon be a solution. There is interest and discussion at the state level in California of providing one uniform MLS platform for all of California. If that happens and it surely will, that will drive CAR and NAR into providing another joint service beyond the Standard Forms, the standard On-Line Transaction Management , RELAY, and perhaps next a uniform MLS product crossing over the many regions of the country. A natural extension would be a new type of IDXproduct that could rely on the uniformity of the data fields to various versions of the feed for various different reasons. The sold data might also be a natural outtake for trend and forecasting and for valuations. Should be very interesting over the next few years to so how all this might manifest itself. REALTOR.com may take on a even greater significance for REALTORS and consumers.

Jun 30, 2007 10:26 PM

» Bill Burress Nationwide Mortgage Originator

» Bill Burress Nationwide Mortgage Originator - Fort Myers, FL

One stop shop?

You know the old saying. "Jack of all trades and Master of none".

BLOG ON

Jul 01, 2007 02:16 AM

William thanks for sharing this information. CAR is definitely a leader among realtor associations. I am personally a big fan of RELAY and mandated the use of it in our office. We have a little problem with this as San Mateo Association (Samcar) promotes its own forms - PRDS. RELAY does not support PRDS. Just on the side - I have nothing against PRDS, but cannot see the justification of promoting a different than CAR forms. I thinks the effort and disadvantages fat outweigh a few, fairly minor benefits. I am increasingly impressed with San Francisco Association, because of Quattro and the fact that they offer RELAY as a part of agent benefits (and they charge less!)

Jul 01, 2007 06:09 AM

Bill, you definitely have a point. I certainly believe that a good local agent will be the right source for local experise to most clients for long time. However, there are other emerging market segments, as the one I describe. Service like Trulia might serve better clients with more global needs.

Jul 01, 2007 06:13 AM

One-stop shop in real estate

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