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Created by:

Ruth Gabbard, Licensed Real Estate Broker, Honolulu, HI

Date: September 21, 2007, Number of Replies: 27

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9/21/2007 @ 12:37 PM HST

(crossposted RT, RNO)

I received an e-mail from our board (Honolulu Board of REALTORS) today advising that our listings were going to be uploaded to Google Base in 10 days. I am not happy with this as (a.) neither my sellers nor I authorized our board to submit my listings to Google Base and (b.) no notice was given, no discussion was allowed (at least by non-directors).

The current choice appears be All Internet or No Internet. I certainly want my listings online in places my sellers and I choose but I have issues with Google Base becoming the next r.com. As much as I am not a fan of r.com, at least (currently) there is some connection to NAR. I spoke to our board president who advised that in the future we would have a choice which I'm in 100% agreement with; however, I don't want my current listings on Google Base which is what our board wants to do.

Our board's e-mail in part:

>>> As a first step, effective October 1, 2007 HiCentral MLS, Ltd. will automatically upload brief information on each active listing from Tempo MLS to Google Base. The active listings will only be sent if they have been authorized to “show via internet” within Tempo MLS. If the listings are currently being displayed on HiCentral.com, they’ll be displayed on Google Base. <<<

Wondering what other RTers and RNOers thoughts are? Pros? Cons?

Have a Happy Hawaiian Day!

Ruth A. Gabbard (R), CRB, CRS, SRES, PB
Gabbard Hawaii Properties | Honolulu, Hawaii
808-534-1850 | 877-ALOHA HI (256-4244) Toll Free
E-mail: realtalk@hawaii-properties.info

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Dan@theUSARealty.com

Date: September 22, 2007


	I received an e-mail from our board (Honolulu Board of REALTORS) today advising that our listings were going to be uploaded to Google Base in 10 days. I am not happy with this as (a.) neither my sellers nor I authorized our board to submit my listings to Google Base and (b.) no notice was given, no discussion was allowed (at least by non-directors). The current choice appears be All Internet or No Internet. I certainly want my listings online in places my sellers and I choose but I have issues with Google Base becoming the next r.com. As much as I am not a fan of r.com, at least (currently) there is some connection to NAR. I spoke to our board president who advised that in the future we would have a choice which I'm in 100% agreement with; however, I don't want my current listings on Google Base which is what our board wants to do. Our board's e-mail in part: >>> As a first step, effective October 1, 2007 HiCentral MLS, Ltd. will automatically upload brief information on each active listing from Tempo MLS to Google Base. The active listings will only be sent if they have been authorized to “show via internet” within Tempo MLS. If the listings are currently being displayed on HiCentral.com, they’ll be displayed on Google Base. <<< I think google is a HUGE threat to ALL Realtors---and everyone is asleep at the wheel. They should be stopped at once. I completely agree with you. After years of not allowing 3rd parties to take control of ther industry---now your board is going to hand this over to a giant monopoly? Scary---and this should be fought actively. Since google controls search---they can control everything. Do YOU want to compete with google? Foolishly, Realtors are uploading their data. However---if they didn't---and especially if boards did not----then the one thing we could claim on our own sites is that we have COMPLETE data and COMPLETE listings------and then google would only be a FSBO site. Membership should be very concerned----and I advise you to fight this action by your board----and be public about it. Dan Daniel Nussbaum West Los Angeles Realty 888-491-1122 Dan@WestLosAngelesRealty.com referrals are always welcome. If anyone is interested in receiving referrals---please respond off list.

Daniel Nussbaum
Broker/Owner
Dan@WestLosAngelesRealty.com

323.656.5510 Office
818.554.0715 Cell
http://www.westlosangelesrealty.com

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totsie@c21drc.com Licensed Real Estate Broker

Date: September 22, 2007

I received an e-mail from our board (Honolulu Board of REALTORS) today
advising that our listings were going to be uploaded to Google Base in 10

Why would you or the Seller care? The information comes right of your MLS
so it should be current and correct. It is just more exposure for your
listing.

Totsie Slover, CENTURY 21 Deming Realty Co.
220 S Gold Ave, Deming, NM 88030 505-546-8818
505-494-0899 Cell;505-546-8810 Fax
totsie@c21drc.com; www.c21drc.com
http://totsieslover.realtownblogs.com

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Ruth Gabbard Licensed Real Estate Broker, Honolulu, HI

Date: September 22, 2007

9/22/2007 @ 5:55 PM HST

Totsie Slover wrote:

>>> Why would you or the Seller care? The information comes right of your MLS so it should be current and correct. It is just more exposure for your listing. <<<

Aloha Totsie:

I don't care about the exposure and yes, it would most likely be current (sort of) and correct. It's the bigger picture that I care about. I think Dan Nussbaum explained it best when he said "I think google is a HUGE threat to ALL Realtors---and everyone is asleep at the wheel"

Have a Happy Hawaiian Day!

Ruth A. Gabbard (R), CRB, CRS, SRES, PB
Gabbard Hawaii Properties | Honolulu, Hawaii
808-534-1850 | 877-ALOHA HI (256-4244) Toll Free
E-mail: realtalk@hawaii-properties.info

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lfhopps@comcast.net Licensed Real Estate Broker

Date: September 23, 2007

to Google Base

in our MLS we have to select (opt in) for which sites we want our listings
to be seen on, but it does mean that all office listings will be seen on the
same sites. You either opt in for all or none. Maybe your MLS has the same
option?

Linda F. Hopps
Broker / Owner
Previews International Specialist
Coldwell Banker Hopps Realty Group
off. 508-992-6479 toll free.... 866-99HOPPS mobile: 508-965-9274 fax:
508-992-4332
email: Linda@Linda-Hopps.com or linda.hopps@coldwellbanker.com
website: www.hoppsrealtygroup.com
website: www.coldwellbanker.com and www.cuttyhunk.com
mailing address: 302 Elm Street ... Padanaram Village, South Dartmouth, MA
02748

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Robert King Licensed Real Estate Broker, Saint Petersburg, FL

Date: September 23, 2007

Ruth from the Aloha State quotes:

"I think Dan Nussbaum explained it best when he said "I think google is a HUGE threat to ALL Realtors---and everyone is asleep at the wheel"

You can add Realtor dot com and other affiliates not to leave out Zillow, JustListed, etc, etc, etc. We are exposing our MLS Data direct to the end user via IDX. Who needs us? What once was Broker to Broker Cooperation has turned into Broker to Consumer (End User) Non-Cooperation. What do we actually provide for the end user? Everything!!! Who needs a Realtor? We allow anybody to walk through our clients home without even knowing who is really checking out their stuff. There is no way to avoid the end user who is nothing more than a USER, looking for opportunity we provide through Virtual Tours. Matter of fact my sellers are asking me to NOT expose their home to the WWW. Actually I charge a higher commission on my side of the aisle when I list a property via the Internet! Most of the sellers I work with don't want their property exposed to just anybody that is not screened through me. That's why my website can't be found without my permission. I use the Internet with my sellers but I charge a higher fee because of liability. When you expose your listing to the WWW via IDX you have no idea who is looking at your clients property. Ask yourself, have we produced more sales since IDX? I know for a fact there are fewer sales since IDX. Hello! As far as I can see the Internet provides a great source of information for the end user. But I find no benefit other than Exposure to more users over the Internet. But the quality of the end user is a joke. If anything the market has become more antaganistic since IDX! Less sales, lower prices. Is that what the owners want? That's what they are getting. The buyer may like it, but if the market continues on its' present path, where is the bargain for a buyer today? Because, as long as the market is going down how does the EBA provide representation? Can anybody see how compounding losses will continue on this path until attitudes change! If the home that sold last year is worth less today because the market is dropping, then that must explain why we have such a low turn over of homes, higher inventory and falling prices and more foreclosures. Something is wrong and I think it may boil down to affiliations and business deals going on in the back ground that we are not aware of. But I know one thing, since IDX, the market is falling, there is more homes expiring and withdrawing, homes are on the market longer, the sellers that HAVE to sell, sell for less. Sounds like a buyers market that even the buyers and investors are affraid to buy into! Maybe we fixed it to good and don't know it! I think we are ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL! Going into this market with our eyes wide shut!

Robert King

Broker/Consultant

Charles Rutenberg, Realtors

Clearwater, Florida

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Paul Silver, Portsmouth, RI

Date: September 24, 2007

Ruth A. Gabbard asked about Google-Base, and MLS uploading data
automatically to that site...

---

Ruth: Many MLS are now doing this... While I cant see how it hurts anyone to
have their listings on Google-Base, I can see the issue of the various MLS
organizations "sharing" the data from MLS as advertising, both as an issue
that is not necessarily in the best long term interest of the Realtor
community, and not necessarily consistent with the definition of MLS that
NAR and others have propounded... if MLS is an offer of compensation and NOT
advertising, then this is an inconsistency that will bode ill for future
arguments with the DOJ and FTC... If it is advertising, then that changes
the nature of the arguments that should be made in this respect.

In any event, we upload all our listings to Google-Base ourselves, so
another question might be: will Google-Base sort out duplicate listings?
Should we need to upload our own as well?

Proprietary information is rapidly becoming less proprietary, and more
public, and more advertising than offers of compensation (what you do with
the data helps define it, no? "Actions speak louder than words" is a clich�
that comes to mind...)

Paul Silver, Esq.
Focus Professionals, Inc.

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Josh Lavik

Date: September 24, 2007

I don't understand how google is a threat to everyone in the real estate industry? Google is an information gatherer and it indexes information. I use google on a daily basis to lookup information for my clients. I see google base as just a really big classified ad. In fact one goal of google's is to make the "search experience" such a positive one that everyone will want to use it and eventually pay money to advertise.

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Melina Tomson Licensed Real Estate Broker, OR

Date: September 24, 2007

Paul Silver said: Proprietary information is rapidly becoming less proprietary, and more public, and more advertising than offers of compensation

I do think there is a general shift away from offers of compensation to mere advertising. There are those agents that offer 1% or $1 as compensation in order to be on the MLS and get the advertising benefits. I think having some sort of local/national database for homes for sale (including those FSBO's) is inevitable. The question becomes do the MLS's/Realtor.com want to be that database or allow Google or Yahoo to take that over?

The internet has shifted the marketing of homes dramatically. The dissemination of information is occuring, whether agents like it or not. Like I said on another post, if the only thing that agents have to offer is the MLS database, then we will go the way of the travel agent. Putting someone on the MLS is the least skillful thing we do. Getting from list to close or from offer to close is a whole other ballgame.

Melina Tomson, MS
ABR, e-PRO
melina@tomsonburnham.com
www.TomsonBurnham.com
ph: 503-371-6515
fax: 503-588-1628

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Gary Frimann Licensed Real Estate Broker, Gilroy, CA, CA

Date: September 24, 2007

In fact one goal of google's is to make the "search experience" such a positive one that everyone will want to use it and eventually pay money to advertise.

That's exactly the problem. The can go to Realtor.com and get "our" information. Why should we pay for an ad? Better yet, what if Google starts something like "more info on this home" click here, and then they email us and charge us. We have let the toothpaste out of the tube. Listings are personal property. What if Google starts rebating like Home Depot or Costco. Then, instead of a client calling us, they are enticed by the rebate, and we are screwed.

Gary Frimann
Signature Homes & Estates/
Eagle Ridge Realty
"Our Performance Will Move You!" (tm)
Serving all of Silicon Valley
(408) 846-8284

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