We recently re-designed our whole website and did a new home search page. As with many websites the simplicity on the front involves complexity on the back end. One of the aspects that we had to deal with was getting a feed from the MLS. That feed is the line of data coming from the Multiple Listing Service regarding all the houses for sale in that MLS. The feed is framed through our website allowing people to search the data.

Where the issue gets a bit sticky is regarding how many feeds are allowed. Currently, the NWMLS allows two feeds per broker. This limits the ability of multiple agents to set up their own search pages because all of their feeds must go through their broker. They can have their own framing around it, but in the end it must be the broker’s feed and search page in the middle.

Recently, Rain City Guide, a Seattle real estate blog, did a post regarding their inability to get a feed to for a search page. Rain City Guide is very interesting because it is more of an intra-industry blog focusing on new technology in the Real Estate industry and how that affects it, as well as the joys and trials that those working in the industry experience.

Read the full post here.

Here is the response that our own Lylene Johnson had:

I am in the Bellingham area, which has 2 MLS’s at the moment. Several of the large franchise companies “invited” the NWMLS into this area about 2 years ago, and it has now effectively taken over the market. It appears to be more strict than the local MLS, but I really don’t see that the enforcement of rules is any stronger, except as regards the IDX feed. We have adapted our website and it is working well, but the process of changing cost us a lot of time, money, energy and lost business. It is possible, however, for an individual agent to offer a great data search on his/her site under the current rules.
I prefer smaller MLS’s because one is less likely to get agents trying to represent their clients in a market and area about which they know nothing. They can look up the data in the MLS, but all you have to do is look at Zillow to know that great data collection cannot tell you what you need to know about an area to effectively guide your client in a purchase or sale.
I don’t like some of the MLS rules, but I can see the reason for most of them. By providing consistency in the reporting of data, they help to give both agents and the public some assurance that the information they are pulling is accurate and consistent in format. That’s huge.

Feel free to add your thoughts and comments to the discussion - whatever they may be. A question particularly for the buyers who use our website:

Do you like being able to search for listings on our site and other agents sites, or would you prefer if there was only one central website, ex./ www.Realtor.com that you could search from?