I don't see it happening, if for some strange reason it does of course there will be abuse. There will always be some bad apples in the bunch to abuse anything.

Zillow, realtor.com??

I do not see this becoming an official reality.  If all boards syndicate their listings to Realtor.com (or zillow or site du jour), then they can become a national MLS in effect.  Will people abuse it?  If the sun rises and gravity exists, you can safely bet on abuse.

Right now in my area we have a regional MLS.  People from way out of the area can list homes in my area and boy can they screw things up!  Missing or incorrect tract codes, lack of photos, saying things our board won't allow us to do... yep that all occurs and more.  Gues what, because they aren't a member of our board... zero enforcement!  But if I put my name or number in the listing description or have a photo with my contact info or watermark on it, I get written up and fined.

I'd imagine it would be a "wild wild west" if we went to a national MLS.  Can you imagine how many people would say "I can list your home anywhere in the country for $50" and how accurate those listings and prices would be?  The stuff of nightmares!

Michael Thornton it's difficult to manage the MLS at local level. So if this national MLS becomes Reality - it will be a big challenge.

Plus don't even think who it will be!

I can't see it ever happening. It would be unfair to the consumer.

It looks like Lowes and SoloPro have already started to abuse this set up.

Michael, as someone who has been on MLS boards as well as NAR committees dealing with this I would say that is a zero chance. There is consolidation going on because having 200 members on an MLS system is a financial absurdity. 

Michael, we are seeing abuses already. Agents from Miami representing people on the west coast as far north as Sarasota. They need GPS just to get here, much less know anything about the area!

It won't happen since state laws control content on the MLS too often. What I can post in the MLS here, and terms that I am allowed to use, are much different from other parts of the country.

Plus another reason is that local boards make money off of access to their MLS, and they won't give that up. 

I feel like we already have it with Realtor.com and Zillow/Trulia - I am sure if someone builds it they will monetize it and others will abuse it too.  Isn't that the way things turn out - a few bad apples even with good ideas? Wow - I am really negative this morning!