We all know
that good technology can be an accelerator, that it can increase the speed at
which things happen and improve the productivity and profitability of
users.
But can bad
technology do the opposite?
Unfortunately,
we’re about to find out here in Denver.
On November
21, the Denver MLS went through a “hard” conversion from our previous system,
Prime Access, to a new system called Matrix.
The early returns make Healthcare.gov look like it was put together by
Google.
The main
criticism of Prime Access was that it was “too basic”. That it was easy to use, but perhaps not
evolving fast enough to match the other technological advances taking place in
our business.
Matrix, on
other hand, sits at the far end of the spectrum of advanced technologies. It includes dozens of new fields (some relevant, some not) like HERS Ratings,
WalkScores, Energy Star Qualifications, Ceiling Height, Carport Square Footage,
Distance to Light Rail, Amperage, Latitude and Longitude, and Solar Panel Kilowatts (to name a few) that
have made entering a new listing a weeklong ordeal.
Also, the
printouts we share with buyers have gone from easy to read one-page summaries of basic, relevant information to the Cliffs Note version of War and Peace, with tiny 6-point font covering
multiple pages of data (such as "NAHB/ICC-700 Year Certified") for each and every property, with most fields currently
left blank by agents who couldn't calculate a HERS Rating if their life depended on it.
But do you
want a simple map, to show you where the property is? Sorry, not included. Want sales history for the thousands of homes that sold prior to the launch of Matrix? It's gone.
There’s a
right way and a wrong way to do this type of data conversion. The absolute worst way is to implement a “hard”
cutoff, with one system shutting down in entirety the day a new system goes
live.
Congratulations, Denver MLS. You just
put half of your constituents out of business.
I’m not
understating the problems here. Agents
(even the smart ones) are having terrible problems searching for homes, loading
data and navigating the new fields. I
believe this is already resulting in agents simply throwing their hands up and
checking out for the rest of the year, while other agents who are still listing
homes are seeing those properties significantly under-marketed due to the
failures of the new system.
In short,
everyone is angry. And they should be.
This is a
serious problem, because all 19,000 agents in the metro area have one source
for real estate data, and it’s the new Matrix system.
Now, in
fairness, I don’t doubt that a few months from now, we’ll all have it figured
out and most agents will be skillfully navigating the new system. But you simply can’t do it the way it was
just done – with an overnight shut down of the primary marketing systems for
10,000 homes currently on the market.
I pay fat
memberships dues to NAR and the Denver Metro Association of Realtors plus
sizable monthly access fees for the MLS.
We’re talking over $1,000 per year.
For that money to result in this kind of bungled rollout is cause for
serious concern, and it undermines the credibility (and ability to make a
living) of the real estate community.
Significantly, it also effects our clients, and that's even more important.
Significantly, it also effects our clients, and that's even more important.
Meantime,
MLS “outsiders” like Zillow and Trulia are delivering quality (if not always
current) data to consumers that it is getting better by the day.
Unlike many
agents, I am not “checking out” for the rest of the year, but I am "working
angry". I hope other boards and
associations in other cities that are thinking about “upgrading” their MLS
technology look to Denver and learn what not to do when it comes to shifting
technology platforms.
