While many real estate professionals in the U.S. are looking to move away from the MLS in favor of private listing platforms, international real estate professionals are advocating for listing data transparency and working to gain access to the U.S. system.
Last Friday, three international MLS organizations turned that dream into reality by signing an agreement to launch the Global Data Exchange (GDX). In total, five MLSs including Advanced Real Estate Services (United Arab Emirates), Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (Canada), Syndicat National Des Professionels Immobiliers (France), San Diego MLS (U.S.) and Stellar MLS (U.S.) signed the initial agreement.
The GDX was announced and signed off on during the International MLS Forum hosted by the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) and the European Association of Real Estate Professions (CEPI) in Toronto last week.
A global vision for real estate
According to Merri Jo Cowen, the agreement came about through the realization that “real estate has become more global.
“Our professionals and consumers are looking across borders more than ever before. We asked ourselves, ‘Why can’t we be the pioneers that bring forward a simple, secure and consistent way to share data?’” Cowen wrote in an email.
Cowen is stepping down as CEO of Stellar next year, but will remain as the CEO of Universal Consulting Opportunities (UCO) a subsidiary of Stellar. “Through our subsidiary we can show that the value MLS brings is universal. Being part of this agreement means our subscribers will be among the first to benefit once the technical work is complete, and that’s a responsibility we take very seriously,” she says.
The world wants what the U.S. has
With many real estate professionals and leaders in the U.S. pushing for private listing platforms and the degradation of the MLS system, Cowen said she finds the level of international interest in the MLS system very meaningful.
“The fact that international organizations want to align with MLS tells us something important: the principles at the heart of MLS — trust, transparency, and cooperation — are universally valued. Around the world, markets are looking to us as a model for how to deliver accurate and reliable data,” Cowen wrote.
According to Saul Klein, the CEO of SDMLS, the agreement shows how important standardized listing data is to real estate professionals in other global markets.
“Much of the rest of the world doesn’t have the MLS. Real estate is almost a liquid asset because we have MLS and exclusive representation,” Klein said. “In other countries, we’ve seen portals come before [the] MLS, which has gotten really messy and now the rest of the world is hot for the benefits of MLS. So, the rest of the world is on to it and ironically, in this country we are doing everything we can to break it apart.”
Optimistic about the future
Despite these feelings, Klein is optimistic about the future of standardized listing data and the newly formed Global Data Exchange.
“There are a lot of hurdles and political obstacles to figure out in order to do something like this, but I think we are off to a good start,” Klein said. “We need to put together a governance structure that people can accept and understand so we have rules of engagement, so there is a lot of work to do, but the overall vision is really good.”
Klein said that they have already received interest from other MLSs in the U.S. and abroad who are interested in joining the organization.
“I’m optimistic about what all of this means for data standards because I see this as a real positive domestically and internationally,” Klein said. “To me that is the greatest thing, and then on top of that, just opening things up and giving people more transparency into property availability — I think that is really valuable.”
