As the market emerges from the disarray of the COVID-19 pandemic, real estate experts are predicting that low inventory, high demand and shifting consumer values will cause significant market appreciation in the coming years. This means big opportunities for tech vendors to create innovative products that make real estate transactions easier. And there’s one crucial ingredient all these innovations need: MLS data.
Many tech vendors underestimate the complexity of working with MLS Data. The MLS ecosystem is a complex landscape that can challenge even the most motivated tech entrepreneurs that are trying to innovate and grow. Let’s discuss the most common hurdles tech vendors face and how they can overcome them with the right kind of partner.
Hurdle 1: Onboarding
There are over 500 separate MLSs in the United States. This means 500-plus points of contact, contracts and relationships to manage. It can take weeks or even months to establish a relationship directly with an MLS and turn on a data feed, which is precious time many companies can’t afford. This reality is a serious obstacle to agility.
Hurdle 2: Data Differences
Each MLS collects data differently, using various fields, ranges and values. The result is 500-plus unique data sets that must be standardized, cleansed and combined to transform them into the valuable resource vendors need. For developers, that could mean dozens, if not hundreds, of hours of back-end work per feed, making fast scaling impossible. RESO’s data dictionary and compliance program are steps in the right direction, but there’s still a long way to go.
Hurdle 3: Compliance Challenges
Compliance is a critical part of MLS relationship management that can cost precious time and strain your resources. Every MLS board sets rules for how its data can be used, and these rules change often. If they aren’t followed, the MLS will penalize the brokerage or vendor, usually with fines. If the rules are consistently broken, MLSs can even turn their data streams off entirely. This would be catastrophic for technology vendors, whose solutions are powered by MLS data.
Solution: A Data Shortcut
For vendors, data access equals growth. Partnering with a data aggregator is the data shortcut vendors need to attract new customers, enter new markets and grow their revenue. White-label real estate app developer HomeStack saw a five-fold increase in its user base and an explosion in revenue after partnering with Constellation1. Now, HomeStack can add new data feeds in days, not weeks. It has peace of mind knowing that Constellation1 is leveraging its data expertise to manage three-way MLS contracts and MLS compliance and provide the cleanest, most comprehensive data in the industry.
If you’re struggling with data hurdles, contact Constellation1 today.
Over the past 20 years, Constellation1 has built a center of excellence for real estate data, including property and public records data. With 95% MLS coverage in the United States, we are already working with the new MLS you need to grow. Find your next market at Constellation1.com and get in touch today.
Photo by Pau Casals on Unsplash
