Property ManagementDallas MLS: "A Classic Example"
Real estate is an industry that continues to look forward while taking two
steps back.
The recent debacle in Dallas is a case in point. This is the classic example of how decisions are made. Let"s be kind and call it, "Lowest common denominator committeeocracy". And like some insidious genetic disease, most
Association owned MLS"s have it. The way it works is that a committee is
created to study different information systems and make a recommendation to the
membership at large. Volunteers tend to be either semi retired or
unofficially retired Realtors. Who else has the time to do this stuff?
When new systems are presented to the committeeocracy, neither the provider
nor the platform are "recognized" by the volunteers. And heaven help the new
system if it tries to introduce a new business model. That"s a sure ticket to
the door.
The committeeocracy view is dominated by the way things have been done. A
view which creates an industry that turns on the "limitations of the past",
rather than the "possibilities of the future".
The committeeocracy attempts to find a system that first and foremost meets
the need of how "they used to" do business. Most problematic is the
overriding indignation that real estate has been and will be sold with or
without new fangled gizmo technology. So issue numero uno becomes that of
servicing that "lowest common denominator" of possible membership users - the
retired committee members themselves!!
In this age of Internet based universal access and exchange, the Dallas
Realtors actually decided on a system because it offered DOS based access! I
too have great affection for my first 8088 machine (after all, it did cost me
$8,000). But that doesn"t mean I"m still trying to eke out the last penny of
my investment at the expense of my business future.
Perhaps the entire Board Owned MLS model has outlived it"s usefulness.
Lowest common denominator decision making might be holding the industry back,
which was okay as long as "everyone" was being held back equally. The MLS
does, after all, serve a useful purpose in keeping the information playing
field level.
But if there is one dominant trend in real estate it is that of a
continuous surge in the growth of multi office brokerages. Now understand
that these guys have corporate needs that must be met and that means highly
advanced information networks. It becomes consensual suicide for local MLS"s
to continue to offer dumbed down inventory systems while these important
players absolutely must be installing advanced network systems, if only to make
sense of their corporate needs.
Balance in the real estate industry is the art of triangulating the needs
of Brokers, Agents and Associations. In the middle of this triangle of
interests is the MLS information system. While tension between the interests
is nothing new, the ability of committeeocracy driven MLS"s to balance the
needs has ended. Multi Office Brokers in particular are stressing the old
model in every area of the country. That Dallas would be one of the first
areas to snap is actually a tribute to the increased technology demands high
end Texas practitioners are now making.
Careful now. The Dallas situation isn"t about technology! It"s about a
cranky decision making mechanism that has outlived it"s usefulness. The
technology platform multi office brokers need is going to happen with or
without the consent or participation of local MLS"s.