HI Everyone,
Well, I just wanted to share some of my worries and concerns with all of you on ActiveRain. I believe that
the pace and evolution of information availability and technology is leaving the NAR and MLS systems behind in the dust.
Let me state that I have been a REALTOR for 12+ years. That I have believed it better to be a REALTOR than just a licensed agent. But... now I am begininng to wonder, if NAR and the MLS systems are looking out for their own interests and not the interests of their constituents (the REALTORS).
I think MLS systems are acting like dictators not ready to give up control of their fiefdom (see Egypt and the Middle East). They are tyring to control the REALTOR information flow and dissemination when they need to start integrating a more holistic information sharing approach. In addition the local boards need to wake up and look beyond the next 6 months projections and start seeing how to be the front runners of gathering and sharing local information on housing.
At the moment, the MLS is more accurate in my area then other sites such as Zillow or Trulia, but those site are getting better and better each month. I wish I could say the same about our MLS. In the meantime, in my local area, the MLS system is not available for anyone without IE browser. And it is not available for our smart phones. I could access on my phone local MLS data back in 2000. Now in 2011 when smart-phones are so prevalent, it is impossible to access our MLS on our phones. How smart is this? Penny wise, pound foolish? Our MLS systems should be available to the agent in the field, so that (s)he doesn't have to question his clients information from a questionable smart phone sourc. of properties in the local area and their availability. We need to give consumers TOP QUALITY info, or move over. But at least in my area I see the MLS board, and REALTOR board, failing to grasp the tidal wave of change in information access.
It is not just the job of the MLS to keep up with other innovative real estate sites, but to try to keep in front of them. After all, real estate is our Business! We should devote our energy to having the BEST most ACCESSIBLE information out there. Otherwise, we become obsolete. People don't come back. They go where the innovation is, and once it passed you, they look for the next spot. As of now, the MLS still has the most accurate knowledge, but I fear that, like Egypt, and the rest of the Middle East, the stronghold the MLS systems has on REALTORS is going to be shaken off in the near future, by more accessible, more accurate, and more versatile internet options--- and REALTORS reputations and usefuleness will fall behind if they don't keep up with the information on their own.
Information and guidance is what we provide as real estate agents. If our buyers are getting there information, in more resourceful ways, then we become less competent. Our local boards, and our MLS systems need to be aware that the times they are a changing and we better act quick to ensure that our agents have the best tools, to provide the most complet information to our consumers. Not that we hoard that information, but that we have it too!
Gerard Maher, Gulf Coast Realty Serving the Mississippi Gulf Coast
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