Occassionally we get phone calls from home owners asking why their home doesn’t have photos on MLS.ca, or why their listng doesn’t have the same information as another in their area – apparently some people think WE are the MLS! I can assure you we are not the MLS, we are just a small brokerage in West Edmonton.
That being said, we do have a very good understanding of how the MLS works and would like to clarify a few things. First off, MLS.ca has just been replaced by Realtor.ca! The old URL will still work but it will redirect you to the new site. There are some significant improvements on the new site, including interactive, searchable maps – yes, you can now search by map! You can also search by address and MLS number and more.
But just how does your listing in little old Edmonton get to Realtor.ca? It starts with a listing input form – your Realtor will fill out a very thorough 8 page listing input form and may ask you to check it for accuracy and sign the form. Some Realtors will then fax this form to the MLS department at the Realtors Association, who will then enter the listing into the Edmonton database within 1 business day. Other Realtors will "broker load" the listing directly to the MLS database in Edmonton, which allows the Realtor to control exactly when the listing goes into the database (more on that in a minute).
Listings are uploaded from the Edmonton database to the national database daily. In other words, there is a delay between your home appearing in the Edmonton database and the national database.
When it comes to photos…. if the listing has been faxed in, the Realtor needs to wait for notification that the listing is in the system, then they can go in and upload the photos for the listing. If the Realtor has "broker loaded" the listing they can add the photos to the Edmonton database immediately.
In my opinion, it’s very important that the photos are uploaded right away. Why? Because as soon as the listing is in the Edmonton database it is emailed out to all the buyers looking for a home like yours. If it goes out without photos you’ve missed your first (and very important) chance to make a good first impression.
Anyway…if all is working properly, once the photos are in the Edmonton database they should be uploaded to the national database as part of the daily upload but sometimes there are delays.
And just to be clear, the Multiple Listing Service® is a co-operative marketing program among members of the REALTORS® Association which ensures maximum exposure of properties to the greatest number of potential buyers. It is available only to REALTORS®.
This is just my opinion, but in 2008, I would expect a better website from an organization such as the MLS. Listings are slow to be added, picture quality is poor, description are sparce, and relevant details are often missing. In this day and age, it should be possible to get a really good feel for a property without having to view it in person. All rooms of the home should be shown with a 360 degree view. Realtors should not be allowed to just pick and choose to show only one or two rooms. Also, if a house doesn’t have a basement or there is something else material that a purchaser should know about the property, that information should be clear in the listing. I think the MLS.ca needs lots of improvements to bring it up to par. On more than a few occasions, I have found properties on MLS.ca that appear to be of good value only to be very dissapointed after taking the time to see them in person.
Finally sold my house on the weekend..I would say things are slowly picking up a bit.
I hope http://www.mls.ca keeps running for awhile because there are plenty of bugs on the realtor.ca interactive map. Hopefully someone is working on them.
I fully agree that pictures that aren’t there the day of the new listing, never get another look. I get the e-mails from my realtor daily (automated), and if it doesn’t have a picture I skip it and never look back.
One of the things that frustrates me most when searching, for condos, is that you can’t search by range of costs for condo fees and/or what utilties/features those fees might include.
I’m not sure I understand though, in 2008 how a realtor can send things via fax, to get retyped a day later and have photos scanned in. Don’t they all have at the very least, access to a $1000.00 laptop and $200 multifunction unit to scan and enter this stuff electronically? There’s just no excuse at all for it taking days for that information to be live.
“I’m not sure I understand though, in 2008 how a realtor can send things via fax, to get retyped a day later and have photos scanned in. Don’t they all have at the very least, access to a $1000.00 laptop and $200 multifunction unit to scan and enter this stuff electronically? There’s just no excuse at all for it taking days for that information to be live.”
Nevermind that, they should just have a web site they can log into, use a webform, and have a simple check box/text box where you type in YES I agree that this is legit, and my name is “type it out”, that simple. With the amount of money spent on the new Realtor.ca site, they really should have invested some time into making things easier for both the realtors and customers.
I mean even letting these guys use a smartphone to snap some photos and upload directly from the unit they are standing in with it fresh in their heads would be the best solution possible. Pretty much everyone in business has a blackberry or smartphone/pda (2MP + cameras) combo now adays.
I think my biggest gripe about the new site is the inability to hide the map and just have a flat list of houses so I can do quick searches instead of having to wait for the map to load and figure out where all the addresses are. Also as stated, there are quite a few graphical glitches with the map functions, but I don’t think that has anything to do with the realtor.ca guys, it seems to be more of a microsoft issue.
Check out these neat RE news for June in Winnipeg:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/story/4196154p-4787552c.html
Winnipeg is the next big market as it is still very undervalued especially when compared to ghettos such as Regina or Saskatoon.
Proof is last month I sold my North Edmonton – Castlebrook 1400sqft bi-level for $440K and bought a similar one (but with a triple car garage and granite countertops in kitchen AND all baths)in North Winnipeg for $310K with a bigger yard while going to work via the Perimeter is better than the joke that the Henday is!
Now I hear that in-migration is down again for Alberta while Edmonton is scheduled to stiff home owners with double digits tax hikes for the next 10 years…
Winnipeg has never LOOKED BETTER!
How are the wages in Winnipeg? Are you bringing in more or less? I thought taxes in Winnipeg were higher than Edmonton? Last I looked for myself Winnipeg paid about 30% less…. Although I’m in a field of high demand here, not so much there….
Ned,
Just curious – what economic factors make Winnipeg a longer term place for people to move and “plant roots”. Not that it is the be all and end all but Sask. (along with Alberta) can boast some large anticipated natural resource developments and all the other “trickle down” effects…
I am still confused becaused the article only refers to $$$ in sales – there is no reference to YOY pricing? Or even last month compared to this month new home prices….
Or is it more a correction market that will last a couple of months?
Rhettro and Cripes,
First off, the oil situation in Alberta/sask is awesome.
However, those laid-off Ontario auto workers have not been running to Alberta to buy a $600K bungalow to work in Fort Mac…It’s more like overseas imported temp labour that live in camps and contribute 0…
The EI rate is at 4.3% here in Winnipeg. It is 3.7% in Edmonton. Labour here is even tight in certain areas such as for construction.
Yes, property taxes are higher here. Almost double BUT I hear that streets are actually plowed on time and all snow removed, while the city cleans sidewalks! So I guess that you pay more but also get some service, like St-Albert.
For the past few months, 67% of RE listings sold at or over listing prices. YOY avg. prices are at 15% now:
http://www.winnipegrealtors.ca/PressReleases.aspx
BTW, in the local RE papers there are no price reductions seen while the local COMFREE magazines has only 40 pages with 12 listings per page!
There has been normal growth in home prices and no crazy speculation have driven prices.
The Alberta economy, oil, etc may be greater but here kids don’t work adult jobs, there are no immigrant workers at Timmies, the life here is slower paced, a normal house commands a normal, sustainable mortgage and people actually move here from Ontario to work.
You would never be able to convince me to move back to Edmonton. Never.
I am not tryting to demonize Edmonton but I simply observed that Winnipeg has tons to offer when you live in a house that is not hyper-overvalued. I went from a 40 year mortgage to a 10 year mortgage while my payments went down by 75%… for a better home and deeper lot.
Fair comment Ned,
I however don’t see the benefit of getting into bidding wars, paying higher taxes, and living in a city that doesn’t have an NHL team, an IRL race, festivals every week, and other “perks”. Nor a city that is not positioned to be an economic powerhouse now and for years to come…
Sure the service is lacking, sure our streets are dirtier than they use to be and the pace is “big city-like”, but I think that is the difference, Winnipeg hit 1M people a long time ago and stalled out. It couldn’t grasp that “big city mentality” IMHO. Based on future projections Edmonton and Calgary will surpass 1M and truly become a “big city” life. And the atmosphere here seems to welcome that.
If that is not your cup of tea – I don’t find fault in that at all. Perhaps later in my life, when I want a slower pace, I will move to Winterpeg as well.
Nice work on the mortgage – I too am looking at 15 years or less on both of my properties.
Enough guys….this discussion has nothing to do with the article so it’s over.