Real estate alphabet soup: I went to CBR last week for a meeting about IDX, all the CBR MLS brokers were invited and at the last minute board staff said the CBR TUF could attend.

Translation of real estate alphabet soup: I went to the Columbus Board of REALTORS® last week for a meeting about Internet Data eXchange, all the Columbus Board of REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service brokers were invited and at the last minute board staff said the Columbus Board of REALTORS® Tech Users Forum could attend.

Do you visit real estate companie's, real estate agent's websites and search the MLS?  You are not actually looking at the MLS. 

Yes website say "Search MLS" "MLS search" etc. but what you are viewing on a public site is IDX.  IDX is the technology that allows consumers to view advertising for property listings on the internet.

CBR - Columbus Board of REALTORS®

MLS - Multiple Listing System

IDX - Internet Data Exchange

TUF - Tech Users Forum.

IMHO (in my humble opinion) every REALTOR ought to be a tech user today!

MLS according to the Real Living Glossary :

"Multiple Listing Service (MLS) – A system that provides to its members detailed information about properties for sale."

Some boards have rules against saying "search MLS" because it confuses the public. Our MLS does not.  YET (YET is at this point in time... YET is a word not alphabet soup.)  

Wolfnet Technologies was selected by CBR as the sole IDX vendor for the board. The board magazine, 'In Contract'  says: "From this point forward, Wolfnet will be the only approved vendor for CBR members wishing to display the Central Ohio MLS database."  

Columbus brokers can do their own internal IDX too.  The biggest and best brokers in Central Ohio do.

Copyright 2006 Columbus Best Blog and Maureen McCabe