With all of the consolidation that is happening in real estate today, one might think that we are well on our way to having a handful of MLSs remaining by the end of 2020. Clearly this is an exaggeration. When WAV Group works with groups who are considering their options related to MLS mergers, we always start with a deep understanding of the motivation. There is really very little economic savings once an MLS eclipses 20,000 subscribers. The savings to larger MLSs are really not that significant after that. A dollar here or there is not really going to move the needle to deliver more for less.
One of the main drivers to consolidation is to overcome overlapping market disorder. That is a condition whereby large numbers of agents and brokers are members of multiple MLSs and the data overlaps. Aside from the duplicate fees, CMAs become a nightmare when agents need to pull comps in multiple markets. Of course, different documents, different lockboxes, different showing solutions, etc. all add to the painstaking complexity of agents operating across more than one MLS.
One of the key benefits of Realtors Property Resource is that it alleviates this pain for REALTORS®. Through its innovative RPR View™ program, agents are able to research properties almost nationwide. The advantages to the program include solving overlapping market disorder, allowing agents in contiguous markets to create comprehensive reporting, and it does not come at an additional cost. There are 382 MLSs representing over 850,000 REALTORS® using RPR View™ permissions to share on-market data with other MLSs.
RPR View is already paid for in your NAR dues!
That is the big kicker. To be clear, data sharing and MLS mergers are expensive. They not only cost a lot, but also have a high toll on disruption and emotional connection to the MLS.
Before you start merger discussions – make sure that you have expressed RPR View™ to the members. There is a lot of technology there that many agents have not learned to take advantage of. It solves a lot of challenges. https://blog.narrpr.com/mls/rpr-partner-integrations/rpr-view/
By the way – it is also worth noting that CoreLogic has Partner InfoNet and MOVE offers FIND. I am not suggesting that any of these applications are going to solve the world’s MLS problems, but they do a lot of features which afford agents the ability to reach over multiple MLS markets to better serve their clients.
