CondoDomain Gets Slapped
We got our hand slapped today an no…it wasn’t a high five!
It seems that I overlooked a few things when developing the newest version of CondoDomain Boston, now a licensed web-based real estate brokerage, (so I have to pay even more careful attention to the fine details with displaying MLS listing data to our public audience.)
This doesn’t come to surprise to us though as new legislature goes into action per last weeks NAR D.O.J. anti-trust settlement mainly circling these exact bullet points.
Anyway the technology team is already in the process of upgrading our present Boston condo website.
Below will be the updates you will see:
1. We allow all users (logged & not-logged in) to view SOLD LISTING DATA. We are now only allowed to show you this data if you are Logged In.
2. We need to update our “OPT OUT” list. This means all the insanely crazy listing brokers out there that actually have their clients properties “Opt-Out” of MLS feeds will actually get their way. Currently we show you everything transparently…now we need to parse the data so “Opt Out” listings are NOT shown unless you register and login to our system
3. We allow you to search by address while you are NOT logged in. I guess this is a no-no…however the good news is that this great ‘quick search’ feature we developed is legal if you are Logged In.
4. Mapping, UGH!!! Ok this one catches us by surprise. The MLS rules state that we can not showing you listings on a map if the user can zoom in far enough to get street address information or identify street name or number. So we have to decide to give you high level mapping as a NON logged in user or just do away with it…and ask you to Loggin In.
Thoughts?
5. Some line item details we are not allowed to show you unless you are….yup…”logged in“. These items include: Price Per Sq/Ft, Year Built, Builder Source, Complex Name, Number of Units, Heating, Cooling, Taxes & Tax Year.
Thats it…so not too bad. Just log in (or register) and you will get access to EVERYTHING as you always have.
NOTE: The guys over at MLSPIN are awesome and just doing their job. We have always had a great relationship with them and their Q/A team. These rules & regulations don’t reflect negatively on MLS. Even though some rules I do not agree with personally, we all have to live by them and we hope other competing website will do the same.
LAST NOTE: I forget what I was going to say here. I guess if you made it this far…just Log In.
[...] Read the tale here. [...]
Tony,
This is much appreciated information as we have not been oficially informed of the changes. I will be talking to my Florida Broker to see if this has an affect on our MLS as well.
Thanks and keep me in mind for your Tampa,Florida clients. Our market offers great opportunities for investment
Sincerely,
Rae Catanese
Prudential Tropical Realty
Tampa, Fl
Just trying to keep the little man down
Keep up the good fight!
Hey Rae – You know your my Tampa connection!!!
THx Bud. We need all the support we can get!
Here’s what’s ironic: You guys are in the industry, so you have to abide by MLS rules. That means your consumers have to log in to get, for instance, property addresses.
But if these same consumers head over to Trulia.com, they can find property addresses without logging in.
Ergo … MLS rules make their clients within the industry less competitive than folks outside the industry.
Tell me if this makes any sense!
Ahhhhh. Kevin. Hot Topic to be!!!
I have skimmed the DOJ / NAR doc’s but have not DOVE in yet…but from what I have read any persons/company pulling an IDX feed from an MLS has be in the business of transacting real estate brokerage ’services’. Now I know Trulia has a lot of direct feeds from brokers, but they also do have feeds from MLS directories.
We will see how this pans out. Trulia has some pretty smart peep’s and enough cash to take this one head on. Ill follow behind
This is B.S.! Kevin you make a good point. I am not even a real estate agent and I am pissed off. Who in their right mind would want to lobby for restrictions on MLS data? Open it up!
Dear B.S. (love the name by the way)
We all agree…but for now we have to play nice. This will work itself out very quickly. Keep up with the comments though…we love the disruptive opinion!
Anthony:
It will be interesting to see how this decision plays out. You argue your case well, have a great site, and just for fun, I’m going to go log in:-)
Hope you break all kinds of records!
It’s won’t fly. The genie was let out of the bottle a long time ago. HomeGain. Trulia. Zillow. Kayyah.com all have listings, maps, and more detail than most VOWs have. Newspapers have been publishing real estate data in the local papers with real estate guide ads and now repurposing that data on their own websites. Last time I checked, our local paper was not a recognized broker by the NM REALTORS association. Restricting MLS data will violate Sherman Anti Trust as it smacks of barring of some MLS data by out of the box innovators who do work with brokers to develop innovative IDX and IDL systems. Let’s not forget Clariety Consulting already helped the California Real Estate Exchange and they are right now, sharing data. Other states are following this example as it both helps brokers put MORE fishing lines out in the water and the listings WIN because they get seen by a broader advertising net.
Hey Roberta…thank you!!! I guess we will all see over night.
Now Bart – You scare me. I agree with your points…very much so.
Do you think we (as brokers) will have a disadvantage to online (non-real estate brokerages) like Trulia…meaning, do you think we will not be held to the same standards? We thrive our business off of giving consumers the best web experience possible, but lets say I have to restrict some use of transparency or technology in comparision to a Trulia type model…now that wont fly with me!
[...] to my readers unless they register first), with sfnewsletter, and Kevin Boer in the comments on this post says it right: Here’s what’s ironic: You guys are in the industry, so you have to abide by MLS [...]
FYI…
MLSPin is a private MLS that is not under under the governance of NAR. Thus, the DOJ settlement with NAR is not necessarily enforceable with repsect to MLSPin. Having said that, MLSPin ususally follows the lead of NAR although they don’t really have to–it’s more of a good business practice for them to follow…
[...] CondoDomain runs afoul of MLS PIN in Boston, CondoDomain Gets Slapped. [...]
Ill get it on the hand slapping action (ha)…..Check your spelling on first line ….’an’ should be ‘and’…yes??? It’s never a good thing to get your hand slapped….sorry dude!
Hey Scott. C’mon, you have to know my style by now (all the spellllling mistakes. Its part of my writing stile
[...] you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!CondoDomain Boston got itself in hot water. They added new content and features to their [...]
Think about the opportunity rather than the problem.
Turn the rules into lead generation.
Everywhere you cannot display data that the consumer wants, fill in the field with “MLS PIN rules require registration to display this field”
The consumer will understand that you are not forcing registration, just following the rules a good corporate citizen.
More people will register and are likely to stick with your website rather than go shopping for a better UI. Your site is very nice.
Good Luck.
Hey Victor. You have read our mind (or maybe we have read yours). Its exactly where we are going with this…so stay tuned for updates
We are glad you like the site.
Thx!
[...] what has been the outcome the last few days regarding the phone call we received from MLSPin earlier this [...]
Tony,
Are these new rules of the local MLS?
Don
Hey Don – giving you a buzz now.
Ditto to Victor…
That was the only thing that made total sense…
Cheerio and Good Luck with the snafoos
Tony-
This is unfortunate info to learn and will affect my site as well. I must say though that it plays right into the MLS business model of INFORMATION HOARDING…
When will they disappear already!? And why, in the wake of open-source everything, are we hiding addresses of all things?
Keep up the good work,
Jay
Yup Bogus.