The California Association of Realtors reported recently that 61 multiple listing services or Reator assocaitons have sent in letters indicating that they intend to be part of the new statewide database of homes for sale.

Currently there are more than 70 MLS’s in the state and 117 associations of Realtors. Supporters of the new project are hoping that the database eventually will evolve into a single multiple listing service for all California.CAR’s board voted in October to form a statewide database that individual MLS’s could voluntarily join. Under the proposed system, the statewide system will combine all listings of homes for sale from participating groups into a single database.

While the general public wouldn’t have access to the statewide system, sellers could benefit by gaining exposure throughout California and buyers could use local agents they’re familiar with to search for homes in communities outside their local areas.

Some local Realtor associations and MLSs have opposed a statewide system, however, fearing that small, independent brokers may have trouble competing with bigger brokerages from outside their areas.

Meanwhile, local MLSs in the Los Angeles, Bay Area and Sacramento regions already are banding together to form wider home-sale databases. The Orange County-based Southern California MLS already has spearheaded a project that will create a regionwide MLS here. Southern California’s so-called CARETS system will go live later this year.Read more:

• Regionwide MLS coming together in ‘08
• Realtor board votes to form statewide MLS
• SoCal, Bay Area aligning MLS home databases

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 at 12:07 am and is filed under Brokers, builders, etc.. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.