Boston MLS
By Anthony Longo 3 03 2008
(Not talking about the Revolution…but the Multiple Listing Service)
Is MLS catching up with LINK for downtown Boston Real Estate listings It looks like it may be.
2 years ago when we started exploring live data feeds we noticed a pretty sizeable difference between MLSPIN and LINK, two competing MLS systems in downtown Boston. MLSPIN truly controlles pretty much all the real estate data and listings throughout Massachusetts, however LINK has had a lock on the Boston condo marketplace.
Last year when we started building the new CondoDomain Boston we knew that we were going to need both feeds to have the most complete set of Boston condo data. Both MLS systems have their strengths and weaknesses….boy I wish they could just merge somehow!
Anyways, the point of my Boston MLS story is that today we did a search on both MLSPIN and LINK and the results came up the exact same! (which was a first for us ever!) So has MLSPIN finally caught up to the downtown listing brokers
We made a few quick calls to some of the top listing brokers downtown and they noted that they are now using both. They are using LINK because they are used to it and for the great market reports, and have been using MLSPIN also because it was so cheap they couldn’t afford not to and their reach was much greater with the VOW (Virtual Office Websites) presence and syndication platform in which they now even push (listings) to Trulia.com!
Both databases are accessible by the public via a connection through a local real estate agent. Many make you ask for a password. The only true differeence I see from the feeds from a consumer standpoint is that MLSPIN will give you Open House data where LINK will not (but you can get open house information on their joint website with Boston Homes).
So to round out this post on what is going on with the two Boston MLS systems…the answer is that they are looking more and more like exact duplicate databases. We will see what happens in the near future.
I have also noticed how much MLS has caught up to LINK for the downtown Boston condo market. I believe it has become its equal and have spoken with many other brokers who only use MLS now.
Love the cleanliness of LINK though. They should just sell their template to MLS and everyone would be happy!
No questions LINK’s new system is slick….we love it too. But I dont think many of the traditional brokers. We thinkg its a far better system…but at the end of the day…we need to get this consolidated asap!
I vote for the sale!
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