I was checking out Inman’s coverage on CALMLS and found this bit of honey…
“Silvas said he expects the new Concentric system will be “up and operational” in beta testing within the next 45 days, and he expects that the rollout of the statewide system will begin with the participation of some MLSs by June.”
That was from an article dated January 26th, 2009. Which means the CALMLS, eerrr sorry SEE-RED, errr sorry CalREDD MLS system will be “up and operational” MARCH 12th 2009, which is TODAY. And if they don’t have any MLS participating what exactly are they beta testing?
Has anyone seen an “up and operational” beta version of the new Concentric CalREDD MLS system?
Anyone?….Anyone?…Buller….Anyone?
To paraphrase the great words of Abraham Maslow, “Its a hammer looking for a nail.”.
His actual quote was – “If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.”
I am pretty sure they are running in parallel for a few Associations – but also pretty sure that they are not a single system anywhere.
Early reviews say it looks good. Many worry about scalability and service levels. Others are on the outside looking carefully and pondering how long it will take for CalREDD to be completely integrated to important third party apps?
The unfortunate aspect of this is that many of the local boards and MLSs that are visited by calREDD and/or become interested in becoming a customer, seem to throw caution to the wind and skip the due diligence process that one should go through when establishing a partnership with a key service provider.
The tough questions should always be asked about a company’s viability, financial strength, etc… The political aspirations of a few REALTORS who want a committee appointment or a directorship should not take precedent over a sound decision making process — if only that would be the case!
The comment above is very interesting. I agree that “throwing caution to the wind” is a serious concern. I would hope that Associations and MLSs would take it seriously and get consulting help 🙂 (WAV Group is a leader is helping with this).
The core concept here is “MLS of Choice.” Associations and MLSs should always be considering what is the best service offering for their members. CalREDD is a natural consideration in California – and there are a number of other great choices which include Rapattoni, Marketlinx, Fidelity, MLSListings.com, FlexMLS and many many other popular systems in use throughout the state. (sorry for not mentioning every MLS vendor here – no slight intended).
There are three key components of being an MLS vendor – service, features, price. Putting service first and price last was intentional.
CalREDD is in the early stages of producing a suite of comprehensive MLS features. People who have seen the product report favorably on the product thus far. Service, Price and ongoing development is the focus of CalREDD today. Like all product companies, they have a product and customer development path and they are on it.
There are some tiny MLSs with limited product functionality that may be better off with CalREDD than what they have now. As CalREDD grows their system to meet the needs of the large MLSs, they may add layers of product features for free that the small MLSs cannot afford from their vendor today.
Choosing a new MLS service provider is always a risk – but hey – sometimes risk takers get the greatest rewards – and sometimes they crash and burn. I cannot recall a complete MLS failure – anyone have any war stories to share?
Good discussion points. Here’s my two cents. It doesn’t seem like CalREDD wants to be another MLS vendor option for California associations. They want to be THE ONLY CHOICE. Which means competition is dead. When competition is dead, lack of innovation is sure to follow. CAR members deserve to have a choice, not a monopoly.
I don’t think anyone gives the existing MLS leadership in California, and the rest of the country, the credit it deserves for bringing the real estate industry in to the internet age.
Interesting point. WAV Group is beginning a full review of CalREDD including system, software, hardware, governance, managemnet, gap analysis, support, etc. In a few weeks we will have a lot more insight and perhaps will be able to clear the air of confusion.
I’ve been a California REALTOR for approx 20 years, and have kept up to speed with all new technology.
I am not “sold” on the newly promised Statewide MLS. I am much more in favor of a regional MLS or County MLS system. I work in a rural area so the closest competing MLS is more than 30 miles away, so I really do not see the benefit of a Statewide MLS. I would much rather favor reciprocal agreements to join another Board at a greatly reduced rate, when necessary.
I’m not sold on the benefits of CAL REDD, at all. And, I don’t think I’m the only one…
@ CAL MLS Curious –
So far it would seem that your view of not being in favor of the statewide MLS is in the majority.
As history would indicate, takes years to become a successful MLS provider. Furthermore, FBS, FNIS, Marketlinx, and Rappattoni are bounding in system developments. It is a difficult fight to win MLS clients.
What is most interesting of note is that MRIS – the provider of CARETS database has done an excellent job of building the largest and most successful MLS database in history. Hurray for them – I have not heard even the slightest peep of dissatisfaction with their service.
Fresno MLS went live with CalRedd what a huge mistake. After major brokers demanding change back to Rap FAR went back. Life is good now. DO NOT SWITCH TO CALREDD Fresno was shut down for Two-weeks.