The Hunt for Red Hot Listings

Shopping for a house? At first glance, the Internet seems the perfect medium for conducting a search for property listings. However, hours of frustrating searches will reveal that the Internet has not quite eliminated the need for real estate agents. Listings on the Information Highway are disjointed and highly selective. After investing copious amounts of time searching for the right house, most surfers will come to realize that the Internet is not the answer — yet.

For those unfamiliar with the intricacies of the real estate industry, this news may come as a surprise. The crux of the issue lies with the Multiple Listing Service databases available in both Canada and in the United States. The MLS databases exist as important industry tools for REALTORS, providing proprietary databases of property listings across the country. Currently, only licensed sales agents have access to the MLS databases in their respective countries. Thus, the listings you see on the Internet tend to be the product of owners selling their own homes or rRealtors advertising selected properties. Only the MLS system can provide potential buyers with adequate and comprehensive listing information.

The MLS databases in the United States, however, are undergoing a momentous alteration. As a recent Inman article reports, the MLS databases of the United States is about to become publicly accessible. In this way, buyers can freely peruse MLS listings without going through an agent. This, in turn, will make Internet shopping a truly viable alternative for many property investors.

As in many other situations, Canada is certain to follow the lead of the United States. The process has already been set in motion as is evident by visiting the MLS web site. Currently, a visitor can perform a search for properties in any given area but significant information is absent. For example, addresses are not provided. Presumably, this is information that only your real estate agent can provide. Even so, the photograph and basic property data can facilitate buyers in their searches for property. Once the MLS is completely available to the Canadian market, Internet shopping will be much less confounding.

For the present, the Internet is a chaotic mix of listings that represent only selective markets. Many sites show only expensive or overpriced homes which may be hard to sell. Naturally, there are other web sites that are simply attempting to advertise using the constantly evolving electronic highway. Some of these sites include National Realty Directory, By-Owner Online, Century 21, and a variety of others. Many are U.S. based and most offer contact information for real estate services rather than useful listing information. This difficulty is directly influenced by the inaccessible MLS listings. Updated daily, the MLS listings are the heart and soul of the real estate industry as it is presently structured.