At a recent Town Hall meeting of real estate board Presidents and Presidents Elect, there was a suggestion offered by the participants about the merits of a Provincial MLS® system. I need to declare that the discussion was not initiated by OREA and that the town hall was facilitated by a third-party consultant, not an OREA director or staff. At the end of the discussion the participants were asked if this conversation should continue, and 90% said “yes”.
This led me down memory lane to a couple of similar experiences:
I once read a speech from the president of a local Ontario real estate board about how market areas overlapped several real estate boards and it was hard to get MLS® data without accessing several boards’ databases; or even worse, having to join multiple boards. The president suggested consolidation of those databases so REALTORS® could be more professional in serving their clients/customers.
That speech was written in 1973!
In 1987, at the OREA Annual Assembly, voting delegates voted unanimously for OREA to set up an MLS® task force with the mandate to improve enhanced access to all MLS® information. In 1996, under President Richard Wood, the OREA board of directors adopted the philosophy “All REALTORS® should have access to all MLS® information”
Think about the changes in the world since 1973, 1987 and 1996. You can look up just about anything on the internet, book a trip around the world online – including air, hotel and tours. The smart phone in your hand has more computing power than any Apollo space craft; yet, today, we continue to discuss and debate how our members/REALTORS®, need to have access to all MLS® information.
I am encouraged by this recent conversation. I just hope it is the last.
Leave a Reply