The Real Estate gods must have been connecting the agent subconscious yesterday. As I was writing about the influence of technology on the real estate industry, Ardell DellaLoggia of Rain City Guide was writing an extremely thought provoking post entitled: Open Letter to NWMLS and Local Agents. Ardell asks us to consider the functionality of the MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE which is the hallmark database used by real estate agents. In short, she believes the system is broken and it needs repair. It no longer adequately addresses the needs of the consumer or, for that matter the agents.
I agree. I believe that the age of agent-controlled multiple listing services are coming to an end, much like the Alaskan Way Viaduct here in Seattle. They are functional, utilitarian (if you have access), ugly and fatally flawed by an outside source (e.g. The 2000 Nisqually Earthquake). Those of you who have driven over the Viaduct know what I’m talking about: it certainly gets you where you need to go, but access to it is limited, it’s claustrophobic and your choices of exits are limited. One feels trapped. Knowing it could fall down at any moment isn’t comforting either! There is hope on the way and one of the cavalry is Estately.com.
Estately.com very well may be the future of consumer real estate services in terms of property research and statistics and agent referrals. It’s not yet ready to take on the multiple listing services; however, there are a lot of very smart people behind the scenes at Estately who may very well break the information log jam created by the real estate insiders.
Galen Ward, the CEO and co-founder of Estately deserves the credit for putting together a wonderfully functional system at Estately. As a Realtor who focuses-in on Kenmore, WA I was impressed with the ability of Estately to provide excellent real estate data for Kenmore. Additionally, if one wishes to work with a neighborhood specialist, Estately provides referral services.
As I mentioned above, large structures like the Alaskan Way Viaduct don’t last forever. Sooner or later an earthquake or other huge event breaks them. In the coming years, I believe the real estate industry is going to be broken apart and re-tooled by new technology and new business models that allow consumers a much wider range of options. This isn’t news, but we are beginning to see evolutionary services such as Estately more and more. Change is inevitable and I’m looking forward to what’s coming
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