Commercial Property Find A Home
RSS Feed

February 28, 2015

What Does a New MLS Mean to You?

By Travis Close, ABR, GREEN, GRI, e-PRO, President

Greater Chattanooga Association of REALTORS®

In this fast paced world of real estate, REALTORS® and consumers expect more and more. Those expectations played a big part in the Association’s decision to move forward with a new Multiple Listing Service (MLS) platform, which went live in mid-February. Some have asked whether this new platform has any impact on consumers. Yes, and they all are positive ones.

Less than a year ago, our leadership determined that we needed an MLS platform that would enable our REALTORS® to remain relevant to consumers. U.S Army General Eric Shinseki once said, “If you don’t like change, you will like irrelevance even less.” We are pleased that our new MLS platform, Flexmls, gives us more tools that we previously had available to serve our clients and customers.

As with any such change, it takes time to get familiar with where to find the same information. Once you do, it’s quickly evident why we decided to upgrade to Flexmls, and why this new platform is good for REALTORS® and consumers. Prior to the launch of our new MLS, many consumers in Greater Chattanooga already were working with a REALTOR® and familiar with the public-facing side of our MLS. In upgrading to a new platform on the back-end, consumers also noticed the improvements on the front-end. In response to a few phone and email inquiries, I want to highlight some of the new features.

Flexmls provides our public friendly MLS data in real time. As a REALTOR® adds or changes listing data, that same information immediately is updated on gcar.net/homes. REALTORS® and consumers can search for residential properties – single-family, multi-family and/or land – using any up-to-date web browser. For consumers, the default is set to all three property types, but you may deselect a type(s) depending on your personal search needs. The platform is easy to navigate and provides and instant result count. For example, on the left as you enter in search criteria, you immediately see on the right the property count adjust according to your selections.

Once you are ready to view the search results, you may use various tabs to view the properties in different ways. In the List view, each column can be sorted by clicking on the column header. Or you may view property photos or mapped properties, including map overlays to show flood zones.

Some have asked how whether you still may view the newest listings or properties scheduled for an open house. By default, search results appear in order from highest to lowest price. In List view, the Sort button provides for re-sorting properties from lowest to highest price, by newest listings or by certain properties features, including the number of bedrooms and bathrooms. For learning what properties for which the REALTOR® has scheduled an open house, simply enter into the search criteria the number of days in the future you are interested in attending an open house.

Whether you’re perusing the high resolution photos, virtual tours or map location of available properties, I think you will be impressed. Some REALTORS® and their clients have asked about our decision to eliminate “areas” and instead search by zip code. When inputting a listing, a REALTOR® no longer has to guess exactly where a property is located or mistakenly list it in an incorrect area, leading to confusion and frustration. For those who want to limit their search more than by zip code, use the map search and draw a rectangle, circle or polygon around the location of interest.

Another new tool for consumers is the mobile application in home searching. One a tablet or smartphone, home searching is touch enabled. Consumers can map nearby listings and view full color photos and property details. Ask your REALTOR® about setting up a portal specific to you – it’s your own personalized search in which you can mark listings as favorite, save them or reject them and make notes on properties. When searching for homes on your mobile device, you are given the option of the full site or the mobile site.

In addition to client-specific portals, REALTORS® are enjoying the Flexmls applications for iOS (iPhone) and Android operating systems. On the mobile app, REALTORS® can find nearby listings and use the same search templates available on their desktop computers. On mobile, REALTORS® have gallery, list and map views, as well as detailed listing data and private showing instructions. From the action bar, REALTORS® can share listing with clients or save them to a cart specific to each client. Also, there is the mobile site for REALTORS® using a smart phone. The mobile app is touch enabled and has the same features as the app, as well as the ability for interactive emails that detect the browser of your clients and positions a mobile friendly email to the client’s device.

To quote Winston Churchill, “There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction.” So go ahead, click around and join us in leading real estate for Greater Chattanooga in the right direction.