MLS is the backbone of the real estate industry and the best conduit for Realtors to service the buying and selling public. In the last few years, the real estate industry has been moving towards standardized data fields and technology has been the driving force behind this initiative. It is in the best interests of this industry to continue this momentum and strive towards one server that would benefit all parties involved.
 
Currently, the Sudbury Real Estate Board is investigating options regarding an MLS provider. This is a time-consuming task (as any board would attest to), and during the investigative process, the Sudbury Real Estate Board has had discussions with other boards in our area to pursue the idea of one server for financial and networking opportunities. As an industry, we are slowly moving towards opening up this type of dialogue as seen at the provincial and national levels, and a one server system would be a “win win” situation for all of us.
 
Personally, I have spoken with my father and sister who are members of the Toronto Real Estate Board. Their system is unbelievable. The Sudbury Real Estate Board has approached the Toronto Real Estate Board to investigate the concept of accessing their server to provide a superior product to our membership. Obviously, this is in its incubation stage, and numerous conversations will have to ensue. Having said that, it is in this industry's best interests to strive towards one system, and that means starting with, in our case, the north joining the south in Ontario, all under one server. Eventually, if each province followed suit, we, as an industry, could achieve a “one server system.”
 
Let’s open up this dialogue, eliminate the barriers and have a superior product for all!
 
Dan Gray
Past President
Sudbury Real Estate Board
Sudbury , Ont.