Online listings for buyers to browse is the biggest change to hit the real estate industry this decade. Yet, when buyers seek homes online from the major listings sites, they encounter far too many inconsistencies - listings without photos, outdated listings and new listings not yet available. What's the story? Why doesn't the real estate industry have its act together yet?

There are a lot of delays that keep listings from being timely. Theoretically, real estate licensees are supposed to post their listings to their MLS organizations within 24 hours of getting the listing agreement signed. After that, the MLS is supposed to post the listing data to national listing partners the same day. Therefore, new listings should be online for buyers within 24-48 hours. The trouble is, they aren't. Between the agent, the MLS and the national listing partners, there is a lot of room for error, and new or updated listings can be delayed by weeks.

Let's look at some of the bog-downs:

The licensee/broker

Many agents do not have the time or patience to input listings. Others don't have the capability or the right to input listings - that is the domain of the broker. Depending on the office, either the agent, office or broker is not posting the information to the MLS on a timely basis.

The MLS

Many MLSs are still working off books, and hold their new listings to give to the book vendor and the national sites at the same time. While it saves steps for the MLS employees, these "batches" can delay online postings by a week or longer depending on when the agent got the listing to the MLS. Some MLSs are simply overwhelmed by technology, and do not have the staff available or the resources to efficiently post listings to national listing partners. Others simply don't consider it a priority, and post listings only when they "get around to it."

Photos are another cause of delays. Some MLSs simply don't have the technology to accept digital photos provided by agents. Other MLSs prefer the uniformity and professionalism of having MLS-designated photographers to capture images of the homes. The problem is, the photographers have to be dispatched when they are available, then they must process the photos, and then the MLS must match the proper photos to the right homes.

The national listing sites

Naturally, the national listings sites would like to have the most timely, updated data possible. That is only a priority for HomeSeekers.com, HomeAdvisor and CyberHomes, each of whom offer daily postings. Realtor.com still updates listings weekly, or less often.

According to Russ Bergeron with Southern California MLS, HomeSeekers, CyberHomes and Realtor.com provide the quickest updates in descending order. "HomeSeekers updates our system everyday, including Saturdays and Sundays. They are the only ones who update daily. CyberHomes is daily, but they don't do it on weekends. Realtor.com lags behind in photos. We "FTP" (file transfer protocol) our files daily, yet Realtor.com is often four and five weeks behind in posting photos."

It doesn't really matter what the reasons are - the combined delays simply make the real estate industry look inconsistant, and that's bad. Buyers and sellers have little comprehension or caring where the bottlenecks occur. They won't understand why some homes have photos and others don't. They won't understand why the home where they saw a sign in the yard isn't listed in their favorite home search site, or if listed, is missing a photo.

According to the NAR, three out of four buyers are turning to the Internet to look for homes and other home buying services. Isn't it time we give them what they want - the latest information on homes in their search area? And if not, what's holding us back?

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Published: September 2, 1999

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.