OLS vs NWMLS... more to the story.

Thanks Bill for your insightful comments on my blog postings regarding OLS vs NWMLS. I appreciate you taking the time to post your comments. 

A couple of things I would like to address:

1) First off, you and I did have a discussion regarding this issue several months ago, as I had sent you a copy of my original letter, and then I saw you at one of your open houses, and we discussed it briefly. Sorry you don't remember our discussion, as it must not have been that memorable to you.

2) I do not know why you are afraid of having a NWMLS agent who is a friend or relative of someone here in Sequim taking a listing away from you. You are a very successful agent, and I don't understand why this really worries you. It's happening anyway, and I don't see it as a big enough reason to not have NWMLS as the only MLS data provider. That seems rather exclusionary in my opinion, sort of a 'glass half empty' approach, and scarcity mentality, rather than abundance mentality, as there seems to be plenty of work for the good agents that want to remain in real estate. I'm sorry you feel this way, however, the agents I have talked to have no problem with it.

Really, Bill, does it make sense to you to have 2 MLS systems running here in little old Sequim? The vast majority of western Washington seems to work just fine using only NWMLS. Are they wrong? How can it work everywhere else but not here? 

I simply do not understand why we need to have 2 separate MLS systems in Clallam County and how it benefits the community and agents working here.

And you did not address my issue that NWMLS is superior (I know, Paragon is coming our with version 5) for less money. Paragon already costs us $41/month, and NWMLS is $30/month, so do you not see the advantage of spending less money on a system with a much greater reach? Even though you have not had an 'out of the area' agent sell any of your listings yet, many agents have worked with Seattle or other agents and have had positive experiences. I'm sure there have been some negative ones as well, however, that also happens here with local agents, as we well know.   

Again, some agents here seem to think that we local Sequim agents should have a monopoly on local sales data and patterns, and protect our data, however, my opinion is that anyone licensed in the state to perform a certain job, that has access to all of the data, can do a good job and should not be barred from working in a certain area because a few people don't like it. As a listing agent, I don't care which agent sells my listing, and neither do my sellers. I feel that it's my job to provide as much information to a selling agent as I can to help them close the sale. Exclusionary tactics are old school and do not help sell houses.

As far as NWMLS members not being required to be Realtors, what does that have to do with anything? NWMLS is a data provider, and only live people can be Realtors. Appraisers are members of NWMLS, and are not typically members of NAR, so they are obviously not Realtors. Individual agents can choose to work for a broker or company that is a member of NAR (as most of them are), and then they can be Realtors, and abide by the code of ethics. This, however, has nothing to do with a data service provider.  

I'm truly sorry you took offense at some of my wording. It is not my intent to 'slam' anyone, but to point out what's really going on behind the scenes. I also think that I've said some things that some people don't want to hear, or don't want to acknowledge, especially in relation to the 'good old boy' system, but it's my opinion that this is how things are sometimes being done, and it needs to be said.

I agree I have not spoken to all of the Board members, and I certainly do not mean to imply that they all feel the same way about this topic, or are all part of a 'good old boy' system. I used the term 'the powers that be', and this does not necessarily mean the Board. It just seems to me that there are truly only a few that have the power to actually change things for the better, and I hope that they see this current MLS situation as an opportunity to do something positive.

I really am very tired of this discussion, and as I stated in my original letter to you, my concern is also from an appraisal perspective, and how not having all the listing and sales data in 1 database is negatively affecting property values in Clallam County. I have over 20 years experience in real estate, and over 17 years experience in appraisal, so this is not something I take lightly.

I really just want to make all of our jobs as agents and appraisers easier. As it is now, I have to search both OLS and NWMLS, as neither one has all of the data, as you are aware. Yes, I realize that OLS has most of the data for now, however, as more brokers realize the benefits of belonging to NWMLS, that will change.

Having only 1 MLS system working here in Clallam County, that has ALL of the data, and is easily accessible and utilized by the most agents and appraisers in western Washington, is to me the most reasonable solution.

Thank you again for your comments on my blog - at least someone is reading it! Please let me know if you would like to discuss this further.