Editorial
Front Page - Friday, December 18, 2009
Rheta Beck, Bonnie Rogers: A look at Chattanooga’s MLS system
Samara Litvack
Technology has advanced in leaps and bounds over the last couple decades, changing most every profession in unforeseen ways. This holds true in the real estate profession, as the fairly recent transition from paper to electronics has revolutionized the industry.
Rheta Beck, information systems coordinator at the Chattanooga Association of Realtors, and Bonnie Rogers, CAR’s MLS coordinator, have seen this transformation take place firsthand.
When Rogers first entered the real estate industry as a secretary, it was 1979. Back then, when clients listed properties through her company, she typed up their specs on 3x5 index cards, called “hot cards,” and sent them snail mail to the largest companies in town to get the word out. Now in her 20th year at the CAR, Rogers has seen things come a long way.
“Back when I started, many years ago, our MLS was done through a book,” she said.
The book came out once a week and, by the time it got from the printer into the hands of Realtors, it was obsolete. Houses had been sold; new homes had been listed. The books were highly ineffective, as far as timeliness, but at that time, they were all the agents knew.
When Beck joined the association staff in 1996, the MLS had transitioned from a book to a computer system, still a far cry from the technology available today.
“They had a bank of modems in a room,” Beck said. “We had 23 modems and the modem (was) where the software was housed. So the Realtors dialed into that modem bank. Really only 23 at a time could get in because (the others) would get a busy signal. They could do it from a computer, but it was basically dumb terminals because it was over the telephone line. It wasn’t Internet based.”
Like most professionals, many Realtors today can’t imagine doing their jobs without Internet. But Beck and Rogers remember vividly the day MLS switched from the old modem system to vendor Solid Earth’s online version. It was the year 2000, and, Beck joked, “That’s the year my hair starting changing.”
“The old MLS book, we had to pry from their fingers,” Rogers added. “They did not want to give up that book.”
“At one time, we finally got to – prior to the cut over – if you are that determined, we’re just going to have to charge you what it’s costing us to get it published,” said Beck. “They were paying $100 per book, coughing up a hundred dollars per book a week to resist the change.”
Alas, Realtors finally succumbed to the changes of the new millennium and today have the ability to check the MLS systems from anywhere in the world. Thanks to the advent of technology like the BlackBerry and the iPhone, Realtors have instantaneous access to all local listings at their fingertips – a trend neither Beck nor Rogers could have ever predicted.
But hopefully, Realtors don’t take the convenience of the MLS for granted, because the system certainly does not run itself. Rather, Beck and Rogers are constantly working to keep it as convenient and efficient as possible, to better serve area Realtors.
The ladies are in near-constant contact through e-mail and blog with Solid Earth and the 20-something other MLS systems (from California to New York to Florida) that use the same program. They bounce ideas off each other, compare notes on what works and what doesn’t work and submit ideas and suggestions to their vendor regarding changes that could make the program more effective.
“They’re constantly on the technology edge (with) enhancements,” Beck said. “They’ve gotten bigger, too, since they started in 2000, but most of the time you can still get somebody on the phone. All the time, you can still get an e-mail response. But all we have to do is say, ‘OK, we want to know if we’re going to be able to do this’ and they’ll figure it out and say, ‘yes you can’ or, ‘no you can’t.’”
Beck and Rogers also meet for annual summits with representatives from each MLS system and from Solid Earth, where they participate in roundtable discussions about the progress of the program and what could be done to make it more efficient.
Currently, the local MLS is moving into syndication, which means a third party vendor list hub will soon be distributing local data to other outlets. Essentially, data from the MLS will be pushed to 30 additional sites – a service that will tremendously increase visibility for all MLS listings, and is free to CAR members.
“The broker can purchase a package that will give them more detailed reports on the hits and so forth on these particular sites,” Beck said. “So that gives them more information to do their planning with… It’s just another area we’ve grown into this year.”
A public MLS site is also available, which allows prospective buyers to view and learn more about MLS-listed property. Then, they can contact Realtors regarding homes they have already researched.
“It’s not everything the MLS has because they’re still going to have to come to a Realtor to get that,” said Beck. “But they get enough to know if they’re going to be interested in that property.”
“They can look, but they’ve got to come to a Realtor to kick the tires,” Rogers added.
Also on the public site, Realtors can post virtual tours of properties and information regarding upcoming open houses.
“We hear a lot of good testimonies about people that are out there that have held open houses, a client has come in, found it on the public Web site and purchased,” Rogers said.
And as the MLS site’s capabilities continue to expand, Beck and Rogers are working in several other ways for the betterment of the local real estate community. They’re beginning to tread the waters of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, crediting the “younger generation” with placing such demands. They also host continuing education classes at the association.
Beck and Rogers also acknowledged their governing MLS board with much of the MLS system’s success. Check out MLS listings through the eyes of
a buyer or seller at www.MLSAreaListings.com, and contact Beck or Rogers at CAR with any questions regarding MLS.
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