 |
|
|
|
|
June, 2013
Let the Market Know the
True Status of Your Property
.
NEW Contingent (CTG) Status Slated for Week of June 24th
Dear MLS PIN Customer:
Previously, we announced the release of the new CTG status. This new status will go into effect the week of June 24th.
Important facts about the new CTG status:
- The CTG status will be an "active" status. This means that days on the market will continue to accumulate. However, Contingent listings will be displayed as CTG and not ACT.
- This status will be fed out to all third-party websites as 'Contingent,' not as 'Active.' This should eliminate much of the confusion in the marketplace. Any third-party not able or willing to display the status as Contingent (or something of similar effect) will not be fed these listings.
- There will be a set of six choices for which you can mark a listing CTG. There will no longer be an option to leave a listing ACT for any reason. The CTG must meet one of the following conditions:
.
- Inspection
- Attorney Review
- Appraisal
- Financing
- Third-party Approval
- Pending P&S
.
- While Subscribers will be able to change a listing to CTG themselves, you are required to submit a Contingent Status Request Form to MLS PIN.
- We will be adding in an 'Offer Date' field. This date is required to be entered when a listing is changed to CTG and will reflect the date the offer to purchase was binding. The goal of this new field is improved tracking of market activity.
It is our hope that this new status meets the needs of those listings that have accepted offers but are continuing to show for additional offers, while eliminating some of the issues associated with the abuse of the Active with a Flag status. Click here for a quick overview of all MLS PIN listing statuses. Your MLS PIN Team
|
May, 2013
Date Set for ACT with a Flag Status Removal
.
Contingent (CTG) Status Coming Soon!
As you know, we've previously announced the decision of MLS PIN leadership to do away with the Active with a Flag status. The effective date of this change will be Tuesday, May 21, 2013. As a reminder, what this means is:
All listings that are ACT with a Flag will automatically be changed to the UAG status. Starting May 21st, you will be required to mark a listing as UAG when you have a fully executed offer to purchase. Please note, we will still have the ACT with a Kick-out status (ACT), available only for those listings with an offer that has a kick-out/right of first refusal contingency.
In the months following this change, we will be releasing a new status called 'Contingent' (CTG). This new status should meet the needs of those listings that have accepted offers but are continuing to show for additional offers, while eliminating some of the issues associated with the abuse of the Active with a Flag status.
The CTG status will be an "active" status. However, it will be displayed as CTG and not ACT. Additionally, this status will be fed out to all third party websites as 'Contingent,' not as 'Active.' This should eliminate much of the confusion in the marketplace. Finally, there will be a set of six choices for which you can mark a listing CTG. There will no longer be an option to leave a listing ACT for any reason. The CTG must meet one of the following conditions:
a. Inspection
b. Attorney Review
c. Appraisal
d. Financing
e. Third-Party Approval
f. Pending P&S With this change, we will also be adding in an Offer Accepted Date field. This field will allow you to better track market activity by seeing when offers were accepted in situations where properties have remained "on the market." Look for more information on the release of the new Contingent status in the weeks to follow. Sincerely, Your MLS PIN Team
|
March, 2013
A Message from our CEO
Kathy Condon
No doubt some of you are aware of recent industry news articles highlighting the potential risk to agents and brokers in displaying listing data on an IDX site. The Getty Images issue in Wichita, Kansas and the Fair Housing violation in Tampa, Florida are two examples of situations where brokers with IDX sites have been targeted for violations for listings of other brokers.
Getty Images, a stock photo agency, has been targeting various IDX sites where they have found their copyrighted photos displayed without permission. No doubt, the Internet makes it easy to pirate attractive photos and upload them for your listings. However, doing this not only puts you at risk, it puts every broker using MLS data on an IDX site at risk because it is the person who displays the photos or artwork on their site that is liable.
In a somewhat related incident, a Florida agent was recently subject of a Fair Housing lawsuit for remarks appearing in a listing on his IDX website. Like the Getty Images situation above, the listing did not belong to the agent. Fortunately, the lawsuit was dismissed when it was discovered that the plaintiff was going after the wrong real estate company.
So, what is the best way to avoid these problems? Well, the first and most obvious thing to do is avoiding using photos without permission. Doing so not only creates liability for you, but also for your fellow brokers. Companies like Getty Images aggressively protect their copyrights.
In addition, agents should always be careful when writing listing remarks as to avoid any potential Fair Housing violations. MLS PIN does not use screening software for the remarks. When a possible Fair Housing violation is brought to our attention, we will reach out to the listing broker and advise them. Any agent or broker who is concerned about listings with potential Fair Housing violations appearing on their IDX sites might want to consider removing the Remarks field from display if your vendor supports it.
As always, we will continue to keep our eye on what is happening in the industry and look to do what we can to assist our customers in avoiding needless problems.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me directly at kcondon@mlspin.com.
|
November, 2012
A Message from our CEO
Kathy Condon
Recently, I received the MLS PIN statistics report from REALTOR.com®. MLS PIN Subscriber's listings on REALTOR.com® were viewed more than 204 million times during the third quarter of this year alone! Comparing the third quarter of 2011 to the third quarter of 2012, we saw an increase of over 20% in the number of individual searches run on your listings, and an increase of close to 45% in the number of visits to your listings. Don't forget, REALTOR.com® also allows you to translate your listings into a number of different languages, so that your existing and potential clients can view your listings in the language of their preference!
It is my hope that you are all benefiting from the ease of electronic signatures using DotLoop™ and getting your forms signed quicker than ever. For more information, select DotLoop™ from the customizable Quick Links located on the Pinergy homepage. We are continually working to bring more value-added services to you; keep an eye out for notices posted on the Pinergy homepage detailing updates to existing tools, as well as more options coming down the pike.
The MLS PIN Annual Shareholders meeting was held on Wednesday, October 24th in Westborough. We had a nice turnout and I am pleased to say we have a knowledgeable and dedicated team in place for our 2013 MLS PIN Board of Directors. Watch our website in early January for a directory of MLS PIN board of directors for the new year.
And last, but not least, remember that the offer of compensation through MLS is from Participant to Participant. This means that the Broker/Owner of one firm (the Listing Broker) pays the Broker/Owner of another firm (Cooperating Broker) for their participation in the sales transaction. The Listing Broker has no control over the compensation once it is paid to the Cooperating Broker. How that compensation is distributed within the Cooperating Broker's office is up to the Cooperating Broker. This includes the payments of any bonuses offered through the MLS. Please refer to the Rules and Regulations, Section 5, if you have any questions about compensation.
|
May, 2012
A Message from our CEO
In addition to the new MHFA link that rolled out last week, our aim now and in the months to come is to provide you with new, value-added services that will keep you "in the loop" as the housing market flutters with signs of spring and much awaited growth. We've entered into a new partnership with DotLoop™ which will provide all of our customers with the opportunity to simplify and expedite the signing of electronic forms for your transactions. Their mission is to enhance the lives of users while delivering life changing value allowing users to edit, negotiate, and sign documents and contracts in one seamless, online environment. With DotLoop Version-NOW™ technology, all parties always work with the latest version of the document and agents can provide all parties with immediate access to every revision saving much time and effort. Representatives from DotLoop™ will be in Massachusetts the week of June 25th to train on their product, and they will be presenting webinars during the same timeframe for those of you who prefer a demonstration from your home or office.
In the works, we have a new offering called RatePlug - this free program provides a tool for agents to offer homebuyers with live, interactive mortgage payment information based on accurate interest rates, property taxes, and insurance and assessments for each property listing they view increasing customer exposure to their in-house lender and increase mortgage leads. Brokers can display their affiliated lender(s) and/or allow agents to choose their own lending partners. There will be more details forthcoming in the weeks to follow.
We will be moving forward with the development of tablet and smart phone applications for use with Pinergy. Expected delivery has not yet been established, but we will keep you posted. We are also exploring some exciting new syndication options for you. Stay tuned for continuous information and exciting new opportunities to help you to market your properties and increase your business! Continued thanks for your participation - enjoy the warm weather and all that it brings!
|
February, 2012
In 2011, we saw more than 60,000 closings and approximately $20,439,241,591 in dollar volume pass through the system indicating an increase of nearly 3% in sales from the previous year. In addition, Pinergy brought a rebrand and new functionality to your MLS application including added flexibility for entering listings, improved search fields, enhanced client management, and new driving directions. Kudos to everyone for persevering and providing Massachusetts and beyond with such a productive year. Let's all look forward (and so far the weather is a great indicator) to a successful and prosperous 2012 all around.
I have just returned from my first REALTOR.com® Executive Advisory Board meeting and am pleased to share some valuable information with all of you. More than 90% of consumers are now searching online for real estate and REALTOR.com® currently provides MLS PIN's customers with the largest audience of consumers actively engaged in buying or selling a home on the Internet. During the third quarter of 2011, properties submitted via MLS PIN to REALTOR.com® were searched over 200 million times - more than 10% over the previous year. In addition, the Greater Boston market is actually the third most popular search area for international buyers. If you work with international and multilingual buyers, you can now use the REALTOR.com® international tab to translate listings into a variety of different languages for your buyers and sellers. I discovered some interesting information with regard to the iPhone in comparison with the iPad, as well. iPhone users are 18% more likely to contact an agent or a broker than tablet users. Go ahead and download that REALTOR.com® mobile app, so you have the data right at your fingertips. REALTOR.com® alone had a 178% increase in customer connections via their mobile app and it is FREE, so take advantage of this tool available to you as a result of MLS PIN being a data content provider to them.
During the upcoming new year, we look forward to additional system updates, visiting more offices, increasing our training offerings, providing superior customer support, delivering more services, and being your trusted business partner. Thank you again for your participation and for coming along on the ride!
|
October, 2011
Annual Shareholder's Meeting, Syndication, and Addresses on REALTOR.com®
We recently held our annual shareholder's meeting and election of directors for MLS PIN and were fortunate to have a couple of wonderful guest speakers join us. Fannie Mae sent a representative to discuss the Short Sales Assistance Desk, which I hope all of you are taking advantage of. For more information on the SSAD, please read the information contained in this update. We also had Leo Robinson, of Morgan Stanley address the shareholders on the current investment environment and his thoughts for what lies ahead. We had many questions from the group and hope that everyone in attendance found the information valuable. I'd like to personally thank all who attended, as well as all who put their names forward for nominations. The list of the newly elected board members and officers for 2012 will be announced and posted on our website early in the new year.
I would like to remind all of you about the complimentary third-party data transfer options available to MLS PIN Participants. We will syndicate your listings upon opt-in to any of the more than thirty-five different advertising sites and publications listed in our system. You will find them by selecting Tools and then 3rd Party Data Transfers. We are continuously working to update our list, so be sure to visit this section periodically to review and update your choices. Remember that you must be a Broker to opt-in your office for any of these sites or publications.
We have been receiving many calls with regard to the display of addresses on REALTOR.com®. REALTOR.com® is the one site to which MLS PIN sends all listings and you have the option of whether or not you would like to have your property addresses displayed with them. Addresses do not automatically get forwarded to REALTOR.com® and it's come to our attention that perhaps, many Broker/Owners are not aware of this. If you are the Broker/Owner and would like to have addresses for your properties displayed on REALTOR.com®, please take the time to select Office Management in the system and then scroll to the bottom of the page. You will see REALTOR.com® Display Options with a yes or no check box for display of full property addresses for your office. Don't forget to save your selection! With the release of Pinergy next month, you will also be able to get more granular with this address opt-in process by narrowing down the opt-in to individual listings. That's right, you will be able to choose all of your office listings or individual listings. Watch for more details!
|
|
May, 2011
Real Estate Franchisor IDX Display Rule
Last week, I was fortunate to attend the mid-year NAR meetings in Washington D.C. and like all of the other attendees was exposed to a great deal of information on current industry issues. One of the main discussions throughout the conference was the possibility that NAR may suspend the real estate franchisor IDX listing display rule. In fact during the conference, it was first voted to suspend this new rule which allows for franchises to display IDX listing information, then it was amended by the NAR Executive Committee and finally, amended again at the Board of Directors meeting. While MLS PIN did not adopt the IDX rule as originally proposed by NAR, we did adopt our own version of this rule which we do not plan to suspend. If you aren't aware already, the IDX rule as adopted by MLS PIN, allows franchises such as Century 21, RE/MAX, etc. to display IDX information on their corporate sites. Since MLS PIN is not chartered by NAR as we are not association owned, we are not subject to NAR's model MLS Rules and Regulations. We observe all that they vote, and then decide how to best implement things at a local level. We will be watching NAR closely as they work through this issue and will revisit after the release of their report in early fall. We will keep you informed as things progress.
Now that the spring market is in full swing, there is no better time than the present to share with you some of the value-added services our team has incorporated into your MLS PIN subscription. The articles below highlight our latest services such as RE Technology and the Fannie Mae Short Sale Assistance Desk - both brought to you free of charge. We are also happy to announce listing data integration into the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® Free Forms. As part of our company philosophy, we continue to work hard to produce the best products and services and look forward to communicating the plans for Pinergy in the near future. After such a long and snowy winter, I hope you all enjoy a wonderful summer!
|
|
|
