MLS Listings Now Available to Web Brokerages
Techcrunch reports an Internet milestone as the US government has settled with The National Association of REALTORS to provide full access to home listings to online brokerages.
What does this mean? It means that home listings provided by and provided to real estate brokers and agents can now be taken (and presented) by sites such as Redfin and ZipRealty. It’s a win for the owners and buyers of these properties because they get more distribution.
It’s also a win for online brokerages because they, with more properties, can close more transactions with their innovative tools and lowers rates. Who’s at a disadvantage? The traditional broker and real estate agent: they have to compete with more players with better services.
The change is big change in the fragmented real estate industry. It will definitely result in more real estate transactions starting and completing online. Down the road, the market might consolidate with a few key players - probably the guys that do it well on the Web.
What do you think?