No model will ever be perfect, but let’s start with the big issues:

• MLS data input accuracy
• Off-MLS sales
• Teams vs. solo agents
• Transparent interface/display
• Agents changing offices/teams
• MLS rules: Should we do it?

MLS Data Input Accuracy

Let’s be honest and say that many agents feel they’re too busy to spend time double-checking their data input.  Put in place a system of warnings, disciplinary measures, and monetary fines for repeat offenders.  Occasional mistakes are inescapable.  Rampant, repeat mistakes say that you don’t respect the organization and don’t deserve membership.  Random, intermittent data checks are enough to create the fear of a fine, and create the appropriate level of attention to detail.  We’ve adopted some of this in the NWMLS in Seattle.  We may not all have loved it at first, but I certainly have it in the back of my mind every time I input statistics in to the MLS these days.

Off-MLS Sales

To accomodate for agents who sell homes off-MLS and don’t get credit in the system, there would need to be an input method for these records.  This would require more scrutiny that an average system since it would be very tempting for some agents to input bogus sales to inflate numbers.  However, we can’t ignore the builder’s new construction agent who sells 60% of his homes off-MLS.  Just like the last topic, the presence of disciplinary measures should be enough to keep this at a minimum.  Each non-MLS transaction might even need a quick look-over from an MLS staffer.  This could be time-consuming, but also necessary.

Teams vs. Solo Agents:  Unique Identifiers

This is where it gets trickier.  The combination of agents’ statistics into large and small groups has always thrown a wrench in calculations of sales.

• A single agent sells 20 homes.
• Two agents partner and sell 20 homes, each claims to have sold 20 homes.
• 6 agents form a team and sell 20 homes, each claims to have sold 20 homes.
• 12 agents form a team and the team leader takes credit for all 20 homes sold

These agents would all look equal to a consumer viewing solely individual sales numbers, but there are clearly different production levels coming from these agents.

The answer doesn’t seem particularly complex, however.  MLS organizations will have to implement a team identifier.  Every brokerage, team, and agent have their own unique ID number and all three IDs are attached to every transaction the agent is involved with.  On a 12 member team, members will get individual and team recognition for each sale, but we will also have the ability to classify it as a team sale.  This gives a much clearer picture to the consumer if they’re working with John Doe or if they’ll be working with his dozen apprentices.

Transparent Interface/Display

There is no way to display this information in a snippet without bludgeoning the value out of it.  Individual agents’ stats need to be displayed within the context of their team, their brokerage, and their overall business model.  It’s the only way to ensure we’re allowing each different agent’s business to be seen in an equitable fashion.

A simple potential example of an agent’s statistics:

John Doe, Managing Broker
Big Brokerage ABC
(150 agents, Past 24 mo Total Sales: 800, Total Volume:  $300 million Office Agents’ Median Sales: 10)
XYZ Team Statistics (12 Team Members)
Buyer Side:  25 sales past 24 mo, $12 million gross, median price $300,000
Seller Side:  25 sales past 24 mo, $13 million gross, median price $300,000
Median Listing Days on Market: 90

If an agent is solo, their stats are reported in a more straightforward fashion.  The only downside to this model is when a team tries to “game the system” and lists 12 agents as individuals but still only gives 1 credit for the sales.  This would make the one individual agent look, inaccurately, like a solo real estate rockstar, which is why the office stats are needed (see the Agent median sales).  Any team or company employing this model would have a majority of agents with zero sales, and their stats would read “Office Agents’ Median Sales:  0″.  Some might think this is penalizing one business model, but we are trying to be transparent, and gaming the system in that fashion is anything but.

Number of price changes:  This stat has no value. 

• $500,000 home’s price is lowered 12x – $5k/wk for 3 months, sells for $440k
• $500,000 home’s price is lowered 3x – $20k/mo for 3 months, sells for $440k
• $500,000 home sticks to price for 3 mo, asks to bring all offers, sells for $440k

What does the number of price changes tell us?  Nothing more than that there are different marketing strategies.  All homes sold for the same price, in the same amount of time.  It doesn’t produce a valuable comparison tool for the consumer.

SaleTo List Price Ratio

I don’t think there’s a lot of consensus on this stat.  It’s interesting, but so difficult to really draw conclusions from.  REO agents sell homes under value and get multiple offers on the first day, many times above the list price.  Does that make them great marketers or do they just have less-concerned clients?

Having a good sale/list ratio may say more about an agent’s ability to talk a seller into a lower price than their marketing ability.  Could the sellers be pricing their homes too low and leaving money on the table based on the recommendation of an agent with a great ratio?  It’s a great ability to have as a salesperson, but is that really what consumers perceive when they read this statistic?  At the same time it can show an agent’s ability to price correctly vs. “buying listings”.  I’m on the fence about this stat’s relevance, but if consumers want it, so be it.

Agents changing offices/teams

We can certainly create an amalgamation of one agent’s stats from a number of teams and companies, but it will be a mess.  I’m going to take the easy way out here and say that it’s one of the sacrifices agents make when they change businesses.  Their stats will be off, and it will be up to them to educate their clients on their track record until they’ve built up a better one with their new company.  I’d be happy to hear suggestions.

MLS Rules:  Should we do it?

Herein lies the crux of the whole issue for agents.  It’s not as much about whether or not we can publish our own stats on our own websites, but whether our competitors are allowed to advertise our stats.  To take it further, can they attempt to gain market share online by advertising a web page with a title, content, and statistics all about a competitor’s business?  I think that this is the real fear of most agents.

(NOTE:  The Realtor Code of Ethics will be an issue in some ways.  Not all agents are Realtors, but many are.  Some will construe ”refrain from making unsolicited comments about other practitioners”  to include reporting competitors’ sales statistics unsolicited.)

Plenty of other businesses in the marketplace have competitors write about them and their statistics, but this is different.  We would be providing a database that’s officially approved by those competitors.  In effect, the stats on Company A’s site about Company B would have Company B’s seal of approval.  This isn’t done in other industries.  It’s why agents are so concerned that if it’s done, it’s done with exhaustive research and deliberation with all parties.

While I’m fine with the idea, I also won’t throw on the halo of transparency and flog my fellow agents who aren’t.  This isn’t some public government database that, by its nature, must to be available to anyone who wants it.  Tens of thousands of agents spend hundreds of dollars and countless work hours every year to update, maintain, and improve it.  I know that all of my tech friends are screaming “Why don’t they want anyone to see it, then?”, and I understand your frustration.

But, it’s not your choice.  It’s theirs.  You have to understand the mindset of a real estate agent if you want to convince them to change.  Some of these people have poured their hearts and souls into their communities for decades.  They don’t care about your tricked-out new website.  They’re not some fly-by-night salesperson looking for a quick IPO payout.  They care about selling their neighbors’ homes.  They truly are well-respected figures in their communities and have worked their whole lives to earn those reputations.

The “old guard” might have been coaxed along slowly with a gradual transition to an agreed-upon format.  Instead, they feel that they were slapped across the face with a sloppily-tested affront to their business.  It will be very difficult to undo the damage that was done to the reputation of the idea itself.  This is one tough industry to crack, and anyone trying would be well-served to offer agents the ability to opt-in to their ideas as opposed to throwing a wet blanket on them and yelling “Surprise!”  Right now, this industry is a hornets’ nest and it’s boiling.  The next contender had better be on their best behavior.

In this article, I list 5 of the Top Apps currently available for adding MLS Search into your Facebook page.

The MLS App – The MLS App has been around for a while now. Jimmy Mackin has produced a beautiful appliance that allows  Agents to add a sleek looking MLS Search to their Facebook Page.

RECake – This company does not provide an installable App through Facebook, but does provide a custom IDX service for adding MLS Search to Facebook, as well as a mobile search app.

IDXPro – An IDX MLS Search Widget that’s meant to be embedded into any website. They offer an App that Agents can instantly install into their Facebook Page. Sophisticated lead capture and Google Map Search, over 400 MLS Boards.

IDX-Buzz – The only solution that I’ve seen that supports multiple languages. IDX Buzz is available in 13 different languages. Users can also share listings on Facebook.

AgentIgnite – Not really a widget, but more of a Real Estate website that embeds within the Facebook platform. I just heard about them the other day from Tech Savvy Agent. Offers sophisticated lead capture capabilities and can function as it’s own stand-alone website.

If I neglected to mention anyone else who has a Facebook App for MLS Search, please feel free to add your own contributions.

Realtors hold all the cards (MLS data), but are aggregators squeaking out the win?
- photo credit

Recently, a Hawaii MLS company (who asked to remain anonymous) audited Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers and informed me of a few RETS rules and regulations we were violating. The MLS technician assisting me (we’ll call him Kimo) was very helpful, clearly explaining the fixes needed.

Once in compliance, my competitive nature had me checking to see if other Hawaii real estate websites were also following RETS rules and regulations. Some of them were not. Kimo assured me he was working with these brokers and agents, and that they would be compliant soon. This made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. After all, if my competition was able to display data I could not—they would have a huge advantage.

What type of advantage you ask? There are several. As an SEO, I’ve picked out 2 examples that clearly help with search engine rankings:

1) More and better content = more backlinks
For the past couple years, one of my competitors was displaying sold and withdrawn listings without the required login or other RETS stipulations. During this time, he got natural editorial links because he had more data then everyone else. This led to his site becoming #1 in Google for the highly coveted term Oahu real estate. A great strategy that I love, but was it fair to other Realtors? No. The MLS company finally threatened to slap a $15,000 fine on him, so he stopped, but his ranking is already in place.

2) Displaying addresses (you’re not supposed to) = more traffic from long tail
This was one of Hawaii Life’s (unintentional) violations. We were displaying addresses that brokers had marked “not to show.” Of course, there are many reasons why a broker might not want to display an address, including this Craigslist rental scam. But how does this help with search engines? Well, if I’m displaying an address on a webpage that my competitors are not, then when somebody does a long tail search for that address, I’m going to come up in Google and they won’t. And, as you are probably aware, long tail searches are some of the most profitable keywords in real estate.

So, when it comes to Realtors competing against one another…the answer is, “yes.” MLS companies can level the playing field. But what about when it comes to national real estate aggregators? Let’s revisit the 2 examples above:

1) More and better content = more backlinks
Some MLS companies don’t allow us to mix outside content with MLS data (e.g. sold property info is public domain). So, as Realtors, we can’t always display public information—that’s useful to people researching real estate for sale—along side MLS data. But national aggregators are doing just this, gaining natural editorial backlinks (because of their great content) and beating out Realtor websites for local searches.

Fortunately for us here in Hawaii, the MLS that services my Maui real estate offices has allowed us to do just that. As Realtors, we can now pull in data from other sources and display them right along side MLS data. Yeah, baby!

2) Displaying addresses (you’re not supposed to) = more traffic from long tail
As I write this article, both Zillow and Trulia (who were previously in violation) are now conforming to the anonymous Hawaii MLS’ rules. My hat goes off to Kimo for getting this done. We should still consider that this is compliance for one MLS (who had lots of urging from yours truly) and that there may be violations occurring for other MLS companies who are not regulating aggregators as closely.

So, when it comes to Realtors competing against national aggregators…the answer is, “yes” once again. MLS companies can level the playing field—if they choose to. This is great if you’re working with one MLS who is willing to listen. But when you’re working with multiple MLS’ you can’t always get them aligned. And can we really expect 300+ MLS companies to regulate 81 aggregators?

One solution is a national MLS, which would make regulation much easier. Now it would be one company regulating 81 aggregators. Sounds like much better odds to me. But with a National MLS, Realtors lose their voice on a local level. And, as I’ve shown above, good MLS companies do listen.

For now, if you see another agent or aggregator site doing something you’re not allowed to…speak to your local MLS. Realtors, it’s up to you to get involved because your local MLS companies can level the playing field. Mine did.

I know it is inevitable that I will be asked (perhaps 100′s of times) “What did you learn from Inman Connect SF this week”? or “What was the most interesting thing you learned at Inman Connect SF”? or some variation of that general question. In years past I may have made something up to illicit a response like “That’s Nice” or “Wow, that’s great!”, but NOT this year!

This year something very accidental, yet incredibly enlightening happened and it all began with me accidentally walking into the wrong “MeetUp”…

It was like a Bad episode of “Reality TV”

Wednesday at ICSF was jam packed! Stuff happening from the morning bell to the 5pm cocktail call. I was constantly looking at my playbook, trying to decide where I was going…What topic? What room? What subject? It was crazy! So right after lunch I knew I wanted to go to a “MeetUp” of Real Estate Tech Vendors in Continental Parlor #2, that started at 1:00pm. Now the MeetUps were not necessarily open to the public, though they were not marked “Private” or anything, but they were designed for the Vendors to congregate and talk amongst themselves regarding what they were experiencing in the market. This MeetUp was Facilitated by a friend of mine, Greg Robertson from W&R Studios (Cloud CMA), so I knew he would let me “Sit in” on it. After all, I am a Techy!

So off I went on my merry way at about 1:10pm, feverishly typing away at Twitter on my phone, into Continental Parlor #1 ( for those of you who have had your morning Starbucks you probably got it, but for those who have not…I said Parlor #1!). Now in Parlor #1, I was not sitting in on my intended MeetUp, Real Estate Tech Vendors, but instead I was “Transported” to some unknown geographical location somewhere in the 1950′s … It was titled “MLS Operators, Vendors, and Staff” DA DA DUMB! (Cue the music from the 1950′s classic TV show, Dragnet!)

“Son-of-a-bitch!” I thought, I gotta get outta here! but I couldn’t. Something was mysteriously keeping me from moving, it was as if I were paralyzed. The conversation was about the “Consumers” (Keep this meaningless term in mind, it will come up again) perception of our Industry. Specifically, at that moment, about how when they see Listing data in multiple sources (MLS, Trulia, Broker Sites, Agent Sites ect…) that is not the same (different price, Sold vs Active ect…) they say “How stupid is this?”

That’s when it got interesting ….

Think Hatfield’s & McCoy’s, Shark’s & Jet’s, Snoop Dawg & Puffy!

Ok, so I will be the 1st to admit, I have a limited knowledge of the inter-workings of the MLS’s. I am however a keen observer of human behavior, and the overall atmosphere in this room was … hmmmm … What’s the right word? Depressing? no Frustrating? no oh wait… I’ve got it! EMBARRASSING!

Though the Facilitator, Marilyn Wilson a Partner at WAV Group (@marilynwilson), did her best to mediate, like a Beverly Hills divorce case, this was no small task. Don’t get me wrong, there were no punches thrown, no “F” bombs were dropped, nothing uncivilized, Though two MLS operators (one who resembled that Scottish Guy from Austin Powers movies & one who looked a bit like Santa Claus in the off season, ya know, beard was trimmed dropped a few pounds, but the whole grey thing was working for him) felt it was an appropriate venue to make off-color remarks regarding their sex lives. Then there was the MLS guy (who looked a bit like a character from The Sopranos) who felt very comfortable stating that “Brokers are the REAL problem, they refuse to fire the 53% of their REALTORS (c) who are a bunch of Morons and haven’t done a single transaction in over a year” that was kinda weird, being it had seemingly nothing to do with the conversation…other than that…oh wait…

The reason we are headed for Government regulation of our Data

… The room also had a number of bright young minds, from Tech start-ups, some Exec’s from 3rd Party Aggregators, and a few representatives of the Broker/Agent community. These folks were asking for some cooporation in areas like:

• Sharing of Data in more Open fashion
• Involvement by the MLS’s in a Rating system for Agents/Brokers/Affiliates/Aggregators
• More “Open-Mindedness” to new Technologies & Ideas
• An Intranet for the MLS’s to communicate with each other about questionable Vendors
• A more “Open” forum for New Vendors to present ideas

Ya know, Stupid stuff like that!

Each and every time a bright young mind in the Vendor community, or a Consumer Advocate, or a Forward thinking Broker offered a suggestion (some of which, to me of course, were awesome) they were met with the same response from The MLS Boys…”Good Luck with That!” and then came the round of “Belly Laughs” (led by Scottish Guy, Santa, & Soprano Guy)…at first I was amused by them myself. then when I realized that they came from a deeply rooted “Arrogance”, rather than a playful sense of “Humor”, I was faced with the realization that our Industry was “doomed” to be regulated. No one, and I am convinced, No one will be able to get these two opposing sides (Old School & New School) to join together and bring our industry into the 21st century.

The “Straw” that broke the “Consumers” back

It was all made so incredibly clear by a comment from “Soprano Guy”, in response to the statement from Marilyn Wilson “it’s abundantly clear, from all the polls, that the Consumer overwhelmingly wants the Rating System”!

Soprano Guy then blurted out “Who”? “The Consumer”? “That’s not my Customer, The Brokers are my Customers. They pay my bills, not the Consumers”.

In Closing…

You never know what life has in store for you. One minute everything’s all “peaches & cream”. You’re minding your own business, happily “Tweeting” about that nights cocktail parties, or the crazy new Technologies you just heard some Geek talk about on stage and then …. BAM! … Your visions of your industry’s future are shattered by a room full of “Closed Minds”…though it was “riveting” and certainly more interesting than the “Meet The Leaders” segment downstairs, it was then and will forever be my most disappointing “Wrong Turn”

I don’t know how this gets fixed. I just know somebody with the “Schwag” to do it needs to get involved and fix it!

If not, Obama (or the next elected leader of our country) will!

Stay Blogging My Friends!

@TheRECoach

I thought this was a smart observation, but Eric’s post had to do with RSS feeds as they pertain to blogs and the reading of real estate articles. Today, I’m here to talk about RSS feeds as they relate to MLS data.

RSS Feeds + MLS Data = Leads & $$$

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a web feed format used to publish frequently updated content. Back when the original IDX policy was written, RSS technology existed, but how it applied to MLS data had not been discovered. If you’re not up to speed on RSS technology and how it works with MLS data, let me give you an example of how a brokerage or agent might use RSS to drive traffic and leads.

Let’s say I’m a real estate agent with an IDX feed and a Facebook account (this will work for Twitter too). I can Really Simply Syndicate all price reductions for any zip code covered by my local MLS, for instance Honolulu, and for any criteria that I desire, let’s say condos. I can then create a Facebook page called “Honolulu Condo Price Reductions” and attach my RSS feed to it. This new Facebook page will now display all price reductions for condos in Honolulu. Potential buyers interested in this niche can become a fan of this page and get price reduction updates displayed directly on their Facebook “Wall”.

Simple to setup (you can have a Facebook page like this up and running in minutes), and a very good way to build your fan base and social sphere. Which, in turn, generates more traffic, leads and money in your pocket.

So what’s the problem? When a real estate agent signs up for a MLS feed, the agreement is that they will display MLS listing on the URL specified in their contract for which other brokers have agreed to share their listings with (this does not include Facebook or Twitter). Let’s remember that advertising another broker’s listing (outside of the website specified in your MLS agreement) requires written consent from the listing broker.

Also, IDX policy does not speak to RSS feeds. And NAR rules and regulations say that if something isn’t specifically allowed within policy, then it is not allowed…period. So, for the time being, distributing MLS data through RSS is not OK.

The NAR does understand RSS is an issue, however, and during their last meeting (roughly 1.5 weeks ago) the board spoke on this topic and eventually voted to form a task group around RSS to provide a recommendation for NAR’s next November meeting.

Will RSS feeds be gone for good? It really does look that way, unless Realtors speak up.

It would be interesting to hear how Geek Estate Blog readers feel about this subject. Should RSS feeds be allowed? If so, how far should property syndication be taken before we’ve gone too far…or is there such a thing?

The call to the MLS was made shortly after hearing the news, hoping to have RETS up and running within the week. My sales rep picked up the phone and I asked if I could cancel my FTP and XML feeds, and replace it with RETS.

“But we don’t offer a RETS feed,” replied the sales person.

“What do you mean you don’t offer a RETS feed,” I laughed, “I just got an email that said you were RETS compliant.”

“Yes, we’re RETS compliant,” the sales rep explained, “but that doesn’t mean we have to offer you the feed.”

As you might imagine, this led to an email to compliance@rets.org. The first response I received was positive.

“I am pretty sure that they (MLS’s) need to provide the feed to brokers as well as just having a database that supports RETS,” was what the email said, and I was pleased, thinking I would get that RETS feed after all. Until…I received a second response,

“I asked and it appears that all the policy does is require that they have a RETS compliant interface, it does (not) say who they have to provide it to.”

So the rep at my local MLS was right. MLS’s are required to have a RETS compliant interface, but are not required to provide that feed to brokers.

OK, let’s take a look at some RETS policy created by the NAR Internet Strategy/Technology Work Group back in 2007:

“Adopting an industry-wide standard for data exchanges between participants and the MLS will enable REALTORS® to utilize information with either in-house or commercially available tools and will further establish REALTOR® data as the trusted source..”

But my Realtors don’t get access to RETS, so what information will they be utilizing?

“The Real Estate Transaction Standards (RETS) provide a vendor neutral, secure approach to exchanging listing information between the broker and the MLS.“

How can brokers exchange this secure, vendor neutral data if they don’t have access to it?

Oh well, I guess for now I don’t get RETS, but I’m confident that this little oversight will be fixed in the near future. I’m sure for many of you, it doesn’t pose a problem, but for anyone interested in requiring MLS’s to provide RETS to Realtors and Brokers please comment here.

When explaining RETS there is no better source than someone that has been there from the beginning in 1999. Matt Cohen is the Chief Technologist at Clareity Consulting. Clareity has been providing high level consulting services to the industry since 1996 and is on the front lines of the development of the RETS standard. In our interview he explains what RETS is, where it’s been, where it’s going and how it impacts vendors, brokers and agents. Enjoy!

Click Here To Subscribe To The GeekEstate Podcast in iTunes

Earlier this week, the plugin came out of beta testing and has been released for general availability.

Here is part of the Diverse Solutions press release (full release):

Diverse Solutions announced today that they have released a new IDX product called dsIDXpress. The product allows agents and brokers using WordPress to get property listings on their own website and own domain to be indexed by the major search engines. dsIDXpress is different than traditional IDX solutions in that it has both the standard consumer search capabilities as well as the ability to insert specific listings or groups of listings into any page or blog post with their Live Listings(sm) shortcodes. The plugin also automatically builds in search-engine-friendly city, community, and zip code pages that show available properties in the respective areas. Furthermore, listing detail pages are available for every property in the MLS. Overall, dsIDXpress is being touted as a low cost alternative to functionality that was previously only available in high- end custom websites.

Diverse also has a web site dedicated to the plugin — dsidxpress.com

Pricing is currently set at $99.95 for set up and $29.95/month per domain (some MLS’s may have additional fees).

Since installing the various beta versions of the plugin (and still not using it anywhere close to its fullest capability), I am continuing to see heavy indexing of plugin generated pages.

As you can see in the Google Analytics chart below for Phoenix Real Estate Guy (TPREG), there has been a distinct increase in traffic since installing the plugin:

The plugin was installed on Dec 18 and on Dec 26 I added several sidebar links that generate IDX pages as well as a zip code “directory”. Shortly after that, a noticeable increase in traffic occurred. The traffic bump the week prior to Jan 1 is partly due to a post about local New Year’s Eve events, but there is no question that people are Googling addresses, MLS numbers and “longtail” search terms and landing on the site. Here is a real-time shot of some Sitemeter stats showing where currently on-line visitors landed:

Red arrows indicate visitors landing on dsIDXPress generated pages

This particular mix of visitors landing on normal blog pages and dsIDXPress generated pages holds true pretty much every time I take a peek at the real-time visits.

Of note, these results may not fold true for every user. I’m not an SEO expert, but I do know that TPREG enjoys a fair amount of “Google juice” and authority. I was also the first user of the plugin in Phoenix, so there may be a “first adopter” advantage. There is a legitimate question the release of this plugin poses — what will happen when multiple people in the same market are using it? (See a good discussion of this on Jeff Corbet’s xBroker blog, and the Diverse Solutions blog).

Personally, I feel the real power of this plugin is NOT in getting every listing in your MLS indexed (that won’t happen anyway. I doubt there is a single real estate web site out there with the “juice” or authority for that to happen). The real power comes with building content around indexed IDX pages. I’m in love with the idea of writing a blog post about a particular neighborhood, or type of property, and “embedding” indexable listings into the post. This way, when a user comes by 6 months (or 6 years) after the post is published, they will be presented with live listings at the time of their visit, not from the time the post was written.

That is freaking cool. . .

Marketing tends to be cursory

Welcome to a world without an MLS.  In Nicaragua ‘open listings’ are the norm.   Sellers list their property with several real estate agencies and informal sellers at the same time, but only the person who brings the buyer receives the commission.

The upshot is that agents are not highly motivated to market the property because the time and money they spend can easily go un-rewarded if a competitor ultimately sells the property.  There are exceptions of course, but marketing tends to be cursory for most properties. Perhaps a website listing, but little else.

A daunting experience for buyers and sellers

Buyers are left having to trudge around on property viewing after property viewing with multiple agents from different agencies in order to see all properties that may be suitable.  This is time consuming and still leaves buyers with the real concern that they have not seen all there is to see.

Sellers also have to be determined.  The only way to give their property good exposure is to take the information round to each agency individually and then follow-up on a regular basis to keep the property front of mind.  If the seller lives abroad, this can be difficult.

How about exclusives?

North American sellers are sometimes surprised that brokers in Central America don’t jump at signing up exclusive listing agreements.  Some may simply wish to avoid the hassle and follow up required, preferring the uncommitted nature of the seller/agency relationship.  But more significantly, in the absence of an MLS exclusives don’t work very well.

This is because everyone, bar the listing agency, sees the exclusive listing as one that does not pay a full commission, as the listing agency will expect a commission share.  And if the listing agent decides not to share the exclusive listing with other agencies, sellers will only be getting the benefit of the marketing muscle of the single agency.

Baby steps

Despite the obstacles of not having an MLS type system, broker collaboration is starting to increase Nicaragua and split commission agreements are becoming more common.

The internet is also helping.  Blogs, opinion websites and news sites are improving efficiencies and shedding light on the more opaque aspects of the market.  Buyers can now do a great deal of research, choose which brokers to work with and learn about the market without even getting on an airplane.

And sellers now have more options to take control of marketing their international property, listing them not only with ‘bricks and mortar’ agencies in-country but also with online advertisers, international property portals and their own dedicated property page on the web.