Constituents, Customers, Competition: The Root of All Issues of the MLS

  In the comments to my previous post about MLS making money, Carol Van Gorp wrote something that really made some things click for me. Here’s her comment: The larger issues is where the profits come from. If an MLS’s profit is out of the pockets of the constituents it serves, then that is wrong. … Read more

Does the MLS = Listhub Now?

I’m writing this brief post here, as the Facebook group I got this from isn’t exactly the widest-read one out there. But the issue posed is both interesting and important. Basically, the question is whether or not the most important function of the MLS in the minds of brokers is to simplify the sending of … Read more

Zillow, The Industry, and Reading the Tea Leaves

This is one of those posts I write from time to time to figure out what I think about an issue. For now, that issue is trying to discern the possible direction of the residential real estate industry in the U.S. If you’re an agent and only care about something that will have a direct, … Read more

Oh, California… Duty to Monitor Crazies?

I ran across this disturbing story on the Interwebz related to the horrible killings in Santa Barbara last year: A tearful mother of a college student slain in a rampage outside Santa Barbara last year said Tuesday that she and the parents of the first victims sued the county sheriff and other parties to prevent … Read more

Does an Agent’s Pricing Still Matter?

A while back, I wrote a post about some possible problems and concerns with a new Fannie Mae program, called Collateral Underwriter, which is aimed at helping lenders evaluate appraisals and appraisers. As is often the case, that issue went completely under the radar while everyone was too busy arguing about HomesForSale.com or some new Zillow … Read more

Does an Agent's Pricing Still Matter?

A while back, I wrote a post about some possible problems and concerns with a new Fannie Mae program, called Collateral Underwriter, which is aimed at helping lenders evaluate appraisals and appraisers. As is often the case, that issue went completely under the radar while everyone was too busy arguing about HomesForSale.com or some new Zillow … Read more

Don’t Brokerages Compete With Each Other?

Over on Facebook, an interesting and intelligent discussion broke out — which is news in and of itself, I realize. We weren’t discussing The Dress or llamas. Amazing. What we were discussing is MLS taking over syndication, something that Kipp Cooper at North Alabama pioneered. Here’s how it began: The responses were really interesting, and … Read more

Don't Brokerages Compete With Each Other?

Over on Facebook, an interesting and intelligent discussion broke out — which is news in and of itself, I realize. We weren’t discussing The Dress or llamas. Amazing. What we were discussing is MLS taking over syndication, something that Kipp Cooper at North Alabama pioneered. Here’s how it began: The responses were really interesting, and … Read more