Real estate industry leaders will be keeping a keen ear out today for news coming out of The Realty Alliance’s fall meeting, on the heels of warnings from the big brokerage network that it’s putting MLSs and Realtor associations on notice.

Although some laughed off a warning by The Realty Alliance CEO Craig Cheatham to MLS executives that “you’ve got 10 days” to address member grievances, real estate technology consultant Gregg Larson warns not to take Cheatham’s “warning of a perfect storm brewing lightly.”

Larson says The Realty Alliance and some other large brokers and franchises “have invested money in R&D on a project that could dramatically affect MLS” and that “technology is not a hurdle.”

Larson has posted a list that of 46 specific things MLSs do that can rankle members, which he says Cheatham distilled from 48 pages of gripes he’s collected from brokers. There’s also a list of some “general attitudes” brokers find troublesome, such as “thinking of the MLS as a service to consumers instead of a business-to-business enterprise.”

Bob Bemis, who used to run one of the biggest MLSs in the country before putting in a stint at Zillow as the company’s point man with MLSs, blogs that the “issues run far deeper than MLS public websites or white-labeled iPad apps. The main issues for (The Realty Alliance) are fundamental disagreements with the way MLSs and Realtor associations are structured, not how they’re managed.”

If The Realty Alliance is planning to pull out of Internet Data Exchange (IDX) — the system that lets brokers publicize each other’s listings on their websites — and build their own “quasi-MLS” — as MLS vendor Greg Robertson says he’s heard, Robertson thinks they’ll be in for a rough ride.

If it goes down that path, Robertson blogs, Realty Alliance’s member brokers will “lose a ton of talented agents,” its “quasi-MLS” will fail,  and it “will have to go back to … local MLS providers with your tail tucked between your legs.”

Brian Boero, another industry consultant who says he’s been an advocate of “MLS activism,” sees it as a good thing that  “tension that has built along the broker/MLS fault line for years” will soon “find its release.”

That’s because if “we wish to see a better, more profitable, more progressive real estate business, something needs to change,” Boero writes on the 1000watt blog. “We can’t have all the same people doing all the same things forever if we are to get to where we proclaim we want to go. So when some industry people get pissed, when other industry people get nervous, I get excited. Because it means we are moving.”

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×