RealTown's Saul Klein  Kudo’s and thank you for thinking outside the box.  MLS 5.0 must be an MLS system, not another Realtor.com.  MLS Today and MLS Tomorrow - The MLS of the Future

The current structure of the MLS is built by boomers for boomers.  Now we need to accommodate 4 generations with a 5^th coming up fast.  We aren’t ready the X’ers, I can’t imagine the being ready for the Y’s and beyond.

Can you really have a national plan that focuses on the relationship between the consumer and the agent?  Can you really have a national business plan that is ready for technology changes and current implementation that puts the Realtors® in the center of the real estate transaction?

I would love one MLS for all.  In real town America, if the people making the MLS decisions are not keeping up with today’s real estate education, our MLS’s do not contain the fields needed.  The information is slim.  Example, NAR’s Green Designation information, some agents have the information, most do not.  The one’s that do not have the education that are making the decisions are holding back the educated agents back.  NAR keeps up on today’s information and needs.

            Resort and secondary homes is another great example.  Real Estate is local, it can remain local by using the “Agent Typed Remarks” field in a national MLS system.

Many MLS’s concentrate on keeping the information limited to a one page print out.  Information about a home should be pages long.

Let me use “Views” as an example of what could be in an MLS, “City View”, “Country View” “Lake View” “Mountain View, “ “City Skyline”  ect…  This list maybe in Colorado’s MLS, but it’s not in my MLS.

Another example:  Interior:  Drywall, Plaster, Paneling ect…  pictures don’t say it all.

                            Construction:  2x4, 2x6, cement block ect…

All that I have listed are not in my MLS.  I know they are important and should be included.  So if they are yours, the reader, please be understanding.

If these fields were listed, maybe agents would be forced to learn what these fields are therefore creating better education for their clients.  It almost seems like many Realtors® believe the less we know, the better off we are because, oh- we didn’t know.

I say skip the regional MLS and state MLS’s, go for one national…

Then I would stop all syndication.  The IDX for the MLS could be put on all agent and broker website but not syndicated to Zilliow, Truilia or any others.  Make the buyer or seller contact the Realtors® websites for housing information.  Yes tax records and deed information are available on various sites, if we pulled all our information back, then we would hold a majority of the information.  These places would then stop selling referrals to the agents based on the information the agents supplied to the syndicated sites.

I love the fact that you are including Transaction Management.  Interaction between agent, lender, and all parties involves gives the seller / buyer confidence that all servicers are on the same page.  Include mapping, GPS, ect…e-signatures, Contact management with a drip campaign for listings or news letters would be an great feature.  One stop shop!  As new tools become available and researched, add to the tools.  I know of one regional MLS that hasn’t had a dues increase in 10 years.  They just keep growing therefore adding tools for the agents and systems updates.  How many associations can afford a “Research and Development Department” to research tools for their members, I believe its call attend the NAR tradeshow to see what is new…

I don’t think most MLS’s have caught up to the idea of MLS 2.0 yet.  Not catching on to 2.0 is only causing agents to fail.  Move on to 5.0 and we can all progress with education and give education.  My MLS is not interactive, however the 2ndary MLS system that I am using is.  Why do I need 2 MLS’s?  I have to pay for each.  Again, if NAR was in control, we would have the correct tools for our careers.  Then it becomes a choice of rather an agents chooses to use the tools available. 

I know this probably will not happen in my life time, however, I can dream big in my life time.

Thank you!