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The purpose of this paper is to generate discussion on possible MLS system future features by providing a big picture view of the changing relationship of real estate professionals with each other and with consumers, the changing relationship of local and regional MLSs with each other, and to illustrate, at least at a high level, how these changes may be either enabled or reflected technically in the MLS system of the future.
This paper is not focused on detailed description of what features are popular already today, for example:
- Mapping bird's eye or street-level views
- Big pictures in slideshows and flyers
- Total MLS staff control over fields, reports and business rules
- Easy setup/management of RETS data feeds
- Single Sign-On (SSO)
- Public records data intermingled with MLS data in reports and improved statistics
This paper also does not focus on the usual incremental changes to current MLS features, but rather explores the future of MLS systems and their role further ahead.
Clareity always advises our clients during their MLS system selection process focus on the core features ('the steak') and not be overly sold on other features ('the sizzle'). Too often, a largely volunteer based Task Force can be swayed by a single 'sizzle' feature, and forget that most importantly the system must perform core functions such as listing input and search as efficiently and accurately as possible, and that the system must have high availability and fast performance. With some of the more popular MLS vendors currently having significant issues in these core areas, I want to make sure that this paper is not seen as a call to take your eyes off the system core. That said, the definition of core functionality has expanded somewhat in recent years and will continue to expand and change – and we can't ignore that either.
By consulting for manyMLS vendors over the last decade, Clareity has strongly contributed in the development of the product vision for today's modern MLS system. Clareity was a strong proponent of features such as integrated contact management and CRM, functionality for assistants and teams, and coordinating all of the leading real estate software vendors on Single Sign-On (SSO) technology and information security improvements. Not every feature we've thought up or recommended has been adopted though. Some ideas, such as good uses for automated valuation models (AVMs), Clareity has advocated for many years, but it took Zillow and Zestimates® to serve the MLS and brokers a wake-up call. AVM's are just now starting to be integrated properly, in just a few MLS systems, using high quality AVM tools from companies like First American and Cyberhomes.com.
What follows in this paper are some of the cool features from my MLS product development notebook. Hopefully some of these features will show up in your MLS system of the future. If you like one or more of these features, ask your vendor to for them (or build it yourself, home growers!).