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Agent Networking Outside the MLS

April 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Edina Realty Network One Logo

The local MLS is by far the most comprehensive networking tool for real estate agents to match buyers with sellers.  Last year more than 40,000 sales were recorded in the MLS for just the thirteen county Twin Cities Metro area.  While the MLS is a fantastic resource, it can't serve the needs of all buyers and sellers. For example, with today's rapidly declining supply of homes for sale and surging buyer demand, many buyers are being left on the sidelines because they cannot find a home to purchase.  This … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Blog Posts, Info for Buyers, Info for Sellers, Market Stats, MLS Compliment & Criticism, Opinion, Personal Experiences

Garbage In, Garbage Out

November 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment

In the last couple weeks I have been searching our local MLS for a couple different clients and find myself frustrated by the lack of information provided.  Too many agents today still seem to get away with putting up a photo or two and the barest minimum of information.  This makes it terribly difficult to locate properties for my clients in the first place and discard those that are not viable in the second.Unfortunately there is no way to force agents to provide more than the bare minimum other than the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: MLS Compliment & Criticism, Opinion, Personal Experiences

MLS Misinformation

August 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment

One of the sayings that I retain from my years in the technology is one that is applicable in so many things every day: "garbage in, garbage out."  In this circumstance, I speaking about some of the data that is input by real estate agents into our local MLS. It seems almost any time I'm searching for properties for a client, I come across one or more listings that either have inaccurate or incomplete information that affects the marketability of the property.  Oftentimes my clients will read something and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community Issues, MLS Compliment & Criticism, Opinion, Personal Experiences

Dangers of Non-MLS Listing Sites

June 14, 2010 by 6 Comments

Today a great example of one of the biggest issues with real estate web sites that allow the public at large to list properties for sale: the controls to prevent misinformation, misuse or abuse are very limited, making disinformation quite likely. Today's example: NBC Washington reports that 1600 Pennsylvania Ave is for sale. Apparently Redfin imported this listing from Owners.com, a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) company, to their site.  While Redfin no longer lists The White House for sale, Owners.com still does. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Ethics, MLS Compliment & Criticism, Opinion

How Much Commission is Too Much?

February 23, 2010 by 2 Comments
DR Horton 5% Commission

Today I received an email from DR Horton offering 5% commission on select homes closing in the next 40 days: What I'm wondering is at what point do commissions get so lucrative that it can severely influence an agent's actions in representing their buyer?  Since discussing "usual" or "typical" commissions in a public forum can lead to antitrust issues, I won't discuss numbers but I will say that 5% is above any buyer cooperative commission (buy-side only) that I've ever received. For as long as I've been in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Info for Buyers, Info for Sellers, Market Stats, MLS Compliment & Criticism, New Construction, Opinion, Personal Experiences Tagged With:

House Has "Spectacular Room to Grow Marijuana"

February 10, 2010 by 5 Comments

4 Bdrm 4 bath 4,400 sq./ft. hillside home on 4 plus acres, 7 min. from Middleton. Master suite with whirlpool and deck. Fieldstone fireplace, wraparound porch, storm/wine cellar, spectacular room to grow marijuana, open floor plan, elevator and handicap accessible with in-law suite. 2 1/2 car garage with lower level shop. Separate 40' x 60' commercial grade shop with loft, office and 3/4 bath. Perfect for toys or animals. Middleton-Cross Plains schools. $675,000 So say the MLS remarks of this listing.  Don't … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Info for Buyers, Info for Sellers, MLS Compliment & Criticism, Opinion

Think REALTORS Are Rich?

January 13, 2010 by 1 Comment

The 3 local REALTOR associations released 2009 housing statistics and I started going through them and my eyes were drawn to the number of closed sales in 2009 -  45,200. Since most sales have a Buyer's Agent and a Seller's Agent, we're looking at a total of approximately 90,000 trasaction "sides." The Twin Cities associations have approximately 15,000 members between them.  When you divide 90,000 transaction sides by 15,000 agents you end up with an average 6 transaction sides per agent.  Taking into account … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community Issues, Foreclosures and Short Sales, Market Stats, MLS Compliment & Criticism, Opinion, Personal Experiences Tagged With: ,

Bad MLS Photos

December 3, 2009 by 3 Comments

I wanted to show you just a sampling of the bad photos I see online each day but since they are the property of the agent that took them, I would need to call and ask them for permission.  Could you imagine that call? Uh hi, my name is Aaron Dickinson and I am blogging about the aweful photos I see on the MLS every day and I'd like to feature one of your photos.  Do you mind? I'm guessing that I'd be told to go do something to myself and promptly hung up on. My biggest pet peeve is when there are no interior … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Foreclosures and Short Sales, MLS Compliment & Criticism, Personal Experiences, Useless Ramblings Tagged With:

1000's of Pending Home Sales may be Missing from MLS Reporting

October 6, 2009 by 3 Comments
MLS Shadow Pending Inventory

The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors has a fantastic assortment of stats that are published on weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly cycles.  These reports are based off the listing data provided by our local MLS, the Regional MLS of Minnesota. As anyone who works with data knows, the statistics you create are only as good as the data underlying it - also known as: "garbage in, garbage out." The RMLS has several different statuses for MLS listings like: Active, Pending, and Sold.  As anyone in the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Foreclosures and Short Sales, Info for Buyers, Info for Sellers, Market Stats, MLS Compliment & Criticism, Opinion, Personal Experiences Tagged With: , ,

What Does "Not Disclosed" Mean Anyway?

June 8, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Over 40% of the sales in the Twin Cities currently occurring are foreclosures or short sales, what we at MAAR call "lender mediated sales." The RMLS of Minnesota recently revised their fields regarding foreclosures and short sales (after a year of much confusion over the old fields) and we now have separate fields for in foreclosure, short sale and "lender owned."  This is great, but one place it really falls down is the 3rd option allowed for these fields... "not disclosed." In Foreclosure To be honest, I don't … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Foreclosures and Short Sales, MLS Compliment & Criticism, Opinion, Personal Experiences Tagged With: , , , ,

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TwinCitiesRealEstateBlog.com is not a Multiple Listing Service MLS, nor does it offer MLS access.
This website is a service of Aaron Dickinson of Edina Realty, a broker Participant of the Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota, Inc.