30 May 2008

NAR MLS Settlement Met with Big Yawn in Orange County

Posted by ericchristensen under: Buying a Home; Selling a Home .

A settlement was reached with the Department of Justice and the National Association of Realtors this week over a 2005 restraint of trade lawsuit regarding access to the multiple listing service (MLS) information.  While MLS data is restrictive in many areas of the country, limited to locally licensed board members or exclusively within brokerages, Orange County has had a more open access to active listings for years.  Pretty much any realtor website in our area advertises password/membership free access to the mls for the consumer, and websites such as Cyberhomes.com, Zillow.com, Realtor.com and Trulia.com make the initial home research project a snap for the consumer. 

 This easy access to information has provided a more educated and focused consumer that has benefited the industry.  The nationwide settlement has also produced a big yawn locally as a result.  Discount firms are the biggest group applauding the decision, believing it will help their ailing services as noted in a May 28, 2008 LA Times quote from Redfin executive: “Hallelujah,” said Glenn Kelman, president of online broker Redfin.com. “If they hadn’t done that, we’d have died a slow, grisly death” because the website probably wouldn’t have had enough listings to survive.

So why the big yawn in Orange County?  Because we’ve learned that service and experience based knowledge is still number one in the complex home sale process.  Simply looking at homes on the internet, shopping on your own, and having limited dealings with your real estate representative is not enough in the major transaction.  The swing in a home price that is either received (seller) or spent (buyer) in any particular neighborhood can amount to tens of thousands of dollars depending on location, condition and terms.  A technologically derived price conclusion falls short of its use combined with the Realtor on the ground, experienced in the local market.

 As if waiting for the settlement announcement to happen, the California Association of Realtors MLS (CALMLS) announced the formation of a task force to form a statewide MLS.  61 of the 70 local Realtor boards and MLS associations in California sent letters of intent to cooperate with this venture.  Different vendors providing the MLS service will be evaluated in addition to other options for the consolidation of home selling information. 

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