Oct. 12, 2007: New weblog documents and supports the transition to new a MLS system for the Phoenix real estate market
This could get complicated, so put on your thinking cap.
Here's the scoop: Beginning last Friday and culminating on July 1, 2008, the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS) is going to be switching from Marketlinx/Tempo, our current on-line MLS vendor, to the flexmls system developed and marketed by FBS Systems.
Bored yet? You shouldn't be, because, although the primary beneficiaries of this switch will be Realtors, there will be quite a few interesting answers to your own "What's in it for me?" questions.
Tech-savvy agents like us are dancing in the streets. At Bloodhound, we have a profound hatred for the kinds of buggy vertical market solutions foisted off on Realtors, so we have built our business on commodity and horizontal software tools. What that means is that systems like Tempo are so hard to work with that we have built our tools around their bugs.
So that's the first benefit of the switch for Realtors and consumers alike: FBS is committed to working with the user base to achieve the greatest possible satisfaction. How do I know they'll follow through? Because FBS President Michael Wurzer is an active participant in the real estate weblogging community. He can afford to lead with his chin because he's prepared to effect this transition in the most public possible way.
But what's in it for you? Here are a couple of teasers, with plenty more to come. If you're out with your agent next summer and you see a house that sparks your curiosity, your Realtor will be able to look up the listing on the fly by smart-phone. Even better, by next November, your agent will be able to set you up with direct access into the MLS system. You'll be able to run true MLS searches from your den.
Some of the geekiest Realtors in the Valley have set up a new weblog to celebrate and document this transition, The Phoenix Real Estate Technology Exchange (PRETexchange.com). Feel free to join and advise us as we make the leap to this brand new MLS system.
Greg Swann is the designated broker for BloodhoundRealty.com, a full-service Metropolitan Phoenix real estate brokerage. This article originally appeared in the West Valley regional sections of the Arizona Republic.
Spread the word: Click here for a printer-ready version of this column.
Or: Steal this book: I've written over 200 of these real estate columns. They are consistently one of the most popular features on our blogs. Many of them are dated and/or entirely Phoenixocentric. But many others are timeless and generic. If you want to use any of my columns on your weblog or web site, feel free. Three rules: Don't change my text, credit me as the author and give me a link back to http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/ with appropriate anchor text. Something like this, perhaps:
Am I link-baiting? You bet. The quid pro quo is free content for your site that pulls eyeballs and excites interest.<a href="http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/" target="_blank"> Phoenix Realtor Greg Swann</a> suggested I share this with you:
