Most MLS features are focused on the agent, but there's still more that can be added to the MLS for them, including:

• Listing presentation or other marketing pieces as robust as the CMA w/ MLS sales statistics and showing data integrated
• Buyer's agent presentation
• Easy mail merge marketing pieces w/ tax data
• A chart/report showing housing value increase or decrease within specific search criteria - to detect price trends within a specific neighborhood - and the ability to set alerts if sale price conditions start to occur for a specific search.

As MLSs continue to regionalize and engage in data shares, creating a better system for agents to find each other and provide referrals will be increasingly important. I believe that more advanced roster search functionality will be important if an agent in one area needs to be able to find the agent in another area to best serve their client.  Being able to see who is the expert in the types of properties desired by the client and who is most experienced and 'best' at facilitating buying or selling those properties via statistical analysis is key. Potentially there would even be qualitative agent ratings, open to other real estate professionals or even the consumer. Like eBay ratings, there would be a way to address disputes. There are already a number of web sites providing mechanisms for agent ratings – why wouldn't "organized real estate" want this mechanism to be someplace where we could manage the rules around it and have it integrated with other agent information and statistics?  Consumers will have access to several agent rating services – this is inevitable – because everything is being ranked on the Internet.

Integration of Appraiser Data

Will appraisers ever be brought into the fold? Every few years this comes up and new appraiser platforms such as Zaio are developed – though usually they have not succeeded in the long term. Why separate appraisal systems from the MLS system - is there not synergy? Shouldn't data standards such as RETS be worked on together with appraisers? How will they be incented to participate in a common data platform, so that everyone benefits?