We have an interesting situation where members of the public have good access to all or most MLS listings in Ontario (and Canada) through the CREA web site, www.mls.ca.
Some people in the real estate industry feel that the site is merely an advertising medium rather than a true MLS, but that would seem to be a very fine line to draw. In any event, mls.ca is a great place for the public to start looking for homes – especially if they have not decided where they want to live. There are some limitations of course – many agents choose not to give addresses on the site, and there is no information on sales history and current market values.
At some stage the member of the public will likely call a Realtor for assistance – sometimes the listing agent, and sometimes an agent who they have used successfully before, or someone who has been recommended. The public reasonably expects that the agent will have access to more detailed information than is on mls.ca.
Unfortunately, this is not always true. Even though Realtors are licensed to sell real estate throughout Ontario, their access to a full set of MLS data is restricted because there is no One Big MLS in Ontario.
There are numerous MLS systems run by most of the 43 individual real estate boards in Ontario, which in turn are run essentially by those real estate companies that are members of that board. Within those companies, each individual sales rep or associate broker is required to pay dues to that board.
Each board has a specific geographic focus, designs its own MLS listing forms, designs and/or purchases its own MLS computer system and spends a lot of money on behalf of all who are obliged to be members of that board. The only people who would seem to benefit from the present situation are the computer/consulting companies and suppliers!
There are geographic overlaps between boards that a prudent Realtor needs to be very aware of, in order to avoid missing relevant information on listings and sales. This overlap situation is extremely important in the GTA.
A number of initiatives have been taken to try to address this situation. Some boards have negotiated full information exchange agreements with neighbouring boards. Sometimes there is an additional cost to the individual Realtors. In some other cases it is possible to inter-board a listing as long as you work through your home board. In some areas it is necessary to pay fees to two or three boards to ensure full access to relevant information. Even after paying all the fees, there are problems. Each board uses a different listing data sheet requesting slightly different information, and there can be glitches and delays in passing information between boards. Each board also has their own rules on various matters.
Recently there has been an effort to promote what has been called IXN. It is an extension of mls.ca for Realtors and gives a bit more info, such as the address. Some agents are using this source to find properties outside the area covered by their home board. The significant problem with IXN is that there is no information on sales, and hence on current market value. A Realtor using this system is not able to provide all the relevant information to a buyer and may be leaving himself or herself open to legal action for not acting in the best interest of the buyer.
What is the answer? Other provinces are taking concrete steps for a province-wide MLS.
OREA should now take the lead role in setting up One Big MLS for agents throughout
Ontario. The technology exists, as shown by the success of mls.ca
Each board would input data to the provincial system using the same forms. Each sales rep or associate broker would pay MLS fees to one board only (to be passed on to OREA). In fact, OREA could collect the MLS fee directly. Local board fees would be reduced accordingly. There would be massive savings compared to the amount of money being spent on computer systems by all the boards at the moment.
What are the roadblocks?
Change can be scary and many people prefer to stay with what they have been doing. It takes courage and leadership to move in the right direction. Attempts by several boards to jointly develop computer systems have run into resistance and politics. The reality that the Toronto Real Estate Board dominates in terms of membership numbers in Ontario has to be taken into account.
In closing I would like to paraphrase Pierre Trudeau (and Eldridge Cleaver): “If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem!”
If you agree with working toward One Big MLS for Ontario, I suggest you e-mail OREA at [email protected], and send a copy to me and a copy to your local board president.
Ian Darroch
Associate Broker
Re/Max Aboutowne Realty Corp.
Oakville, Ont.
[email protected]
