Rob Chipman posted a controversial article, How Do you Get Good Real Estate Information on his blog yesterday. Since then there has been a torrent of comments that quickly turned into bitching about how the MLS is a monopolistic, walled garden tool used by real estate agents to keep them on the gravy train.
I’ve posted on the MLS and listings issues before but Rob’s post gives a much deeper insight into the MLS and the role of real estate agents. The comments thread is as good a read as the article. A lot of them complain about real estate agents and closed listing data. However, despite the amount of complaining there were very few suggestions of workable solutions that take privacy and cooperation into consideration. I particularly enjoyed Rob’s retorts to the flames on his post. A lot of great information from an actual licensed real estate agent there. Rob obviously knows what he’s talking about.
Personally, I would like to see listing data made more accessible rather than opened to the public. I don’t see much danger of violating Canadian privacy laws by providing the same information available on mls.ca as a web service. This would spur innovation that CREA and mls.ca haven’t traditionally or neutrally been able to provide. If the public wants more there are plenty of other sources.
Another common argument is that opening up listing information makes it easier for the consumer to judge if an agent is honest or not. That is a pretty lame argument. This is a issue of trust between two parties. It can not be solved by more data. If you’re curious or evaluating an agent ask them for references. That will have a lot more mileage than second guessing or double checking all of your agent’s suggestions.
There are 8,900 licensed real estate agents in the REBGV alone. The biggest issue here is that online they all more or less look the same. There are very few resources to check their identity, their reputation or what transactions they’ve done recently. This is a huge opportunity for innovation. That’s why I’ve been pushing for agents to invest more in their online identity and reputation.
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Just came across your blog, so I wanted to say hello. We’re from the Vancouver area as well. Haven’t come across too many RE bloggers from around here yet, so it’s nice to ‘meet’ you.
I read through Rob’s post previously and also found it very enjoyable/informative.