Some major real estate brokers
such as ZipRealty and
Catalist Homes are allowing for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) homeowners
to post their home sale on the brokers’ highly trafficked Web sites. Many more brokers would like to do the same –
so what’s stopping them? MLS rules of course!
Most of the country’s MLSs prohibit brokers from “commingling” MLS data with non-MLS data on their own Web sites. This includes FSBO’s. But
doesn’t posting FSBO’s on broker Web sites benefit everyone?
My analysis…
- FSBO sellers get access to a much larger segment of possible buyers.
- Brokers develop relationships with the FSBO sellers, who will likely (eventually) list their home with the broker (some 80% of FSBO’s end up hiring a broker).
- Buyers get access to a true representation of all the homes for sale on the market.
- And what about the MLS? They bring greater value to their brokers by allowing FSBO listings. And, 80% of the time, they get their $500 per listing fee!!
So why won’t MLSs give brokers free rein over their own Web sites? Does the MLS continue to believe that fascist dictatorships work? Or perhaps they just want their full $500, regardless of what is good for the broker (their own client) or the consumer (their client’s client)? What are brokers to do?
“We don’t care if the MLS doesn’t want us to commingle data,” says Michael Davin, Co-founder of Catalist Homes “our mission is to fight for the consumer.” ZipRealty has taken a more conservative approach. Unlike Catalist, ZipRealty doesn’t display FSBO’s in their search results, but instead only includes them in buyer email alerts, presumably to prevent controversy with its many MLSs across the country.
How long do brokers have to run and hide from their own MLSs? When will the MLS get a clue? Hell, most brokers would be happy if they would just buy a vowel!
Popularity: 15% [?]
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September 14th, 2006 at 1:43 pm
Ranting about a quasi monopoly or restrictive terms-of-service is fine. MLS
seems to lock up information for the disadvantage of home owners (and
for profit).
Comparing it to a fascism on the other hand is simply tasteless. MLS is
not oppressing, falsely accusing, lying, imprisoning or killing it’s users. It’s
just a company acting within the market. No less than you try to convince
estate agents to use robots.txt and sign exclusive deals.
September 14th, 2006 at 6:16 pm
you say tasteless i say tomato.
and the fact is the mls has new avenues to explore and if we could just get to the kitchen and rearrange some things, we could totally party with the MLS.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:55 am
http://www.wisconsinlistingnetwork.com
Bring Realtors, real estate agents, and FSBO’s together on one site.
Is this good or bad? I don’t know. But as the Rev. Jesse Jackson told me once, “Inclusion leads to growth.”
October 12th, 2007 at 9:09 am
Darin, Well SAID!
Bring Realtors, real estate agents, and FSBO’s together on one site.
Is this good or bad? I don’t know. But as the Rev. Jesse Jackson told me once, “Inclusion leads to growth.”
How about we do a little more for you, how about we (www.BeatYouThere.com) include “Everything Real Estate”(TM). Into one easy to use site that is free to the world. Free for both users and listing providers. So that would mean that we would have to assemble data from Brokerages (Done!! And still adding more everyday), we would have to get contracts with all of the major foreclosure sources (Done!), we would have to get contracts with FSBO sites as well as online classified sites, bank owned sites, HUD, auctions, land and commercial listing sites. Add social networking where real estate professionals can network and where users can view and rate agents and brokers. You have yourself a real estate supersite that will take over the world. Well Darin, at least thats what we are trying to do, its a daunting task but someone has to do it.
We were set to launch on Oct 15, but the huge response we have had from listing providers pre-launch has been unreal!!!!!!