Comments on: MLS.ca vs. the Rise of Other Listing Sites (or Let Them Eat Cake)

by: Greg B.

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:26:03 +0000

The new realtor.ca site is a total mess. Unlike the PR preceding the launch, not all the old MLS features were retained — the area/neighborhood maps to allow selection of a search area are gone, which is a huge loss — and the user interface is unusable. The Microsoft mapping is slow and clunky to use and the search results are worthless unless you zoom in to the max. It is not easy to use, it is not streamlined, it is everything other than what was promised. I suspect the design might work well for rural areas where there are not a lot of listings, but in an urban setting it is useless.

by: Klaus

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:25:49 +0000

The unfortunate part of upgrading the mls.ca website to the new realtor.ca site is that it is not usable for anyone using a Macintosh computer. I’ve been in the market for a new home for about two months and search frequently, and guess what, I use a Mac exclusively. Now I can’t even search to see what’s available. Who builds a website these days that completely eliminates an operating system?

Nice try, too bad it’s useless.

by: Brian Hanley

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 03:07:58 +0000

I never realized just how many people were talking about this issue, and just as unsatisfied with the status quo as I am.

Keep up the good work!

My recent blog attempts to take an objective look at both the private sale market and the traditional world of organized real estate. It’s informative, honest, and sometimes downright hillarious!

http://propertyforsalebyownerguy.wordpress.com

And for my own shameless plug…
If you’re looking for a great country hide-away that’s not too far from Collingwood, Wasaga Beach, and Owen Sound (Ontario, Canada), be sure to check out my own FSBO listing at:

http://www.propertyguys.com/properties/22481-priceville-ontario-single-family

-Brian

by: myrealty.ca

Fri, 30 May 2008 16:37:23 +0000

FYI:

The public mls.ca web site will officially change its name to REALTOR.ca on Monday June 30th, 2008.

mls.ca will continue to operate after June 30, allowing consumers to use its existing mapping.

REALTOR.ca will have interactive mapping, using Microsoft Virtual Earth technology, and will show active listings right on the map, refining the display as the user zooms into an area. The interactive mapping feature will make it more convenient to search neighbourhoods or a specific region. By rolling over a red ‘pin-point’ on the map, a thumbnail of listing details will automatically pop up on screen.

REALTOR.ca will also introduce a streamlined text search. Although the site will still offer the ‘Detailed’ or ‘Advanced’ search option, users will be able to input initial search criteria without the details of an ‘Advanced’ search.

All of the existing mls.ca features will be a part of REALTOR.ca. The REALTOR® map will remain a key part of the web site, but the new layout will make it easier to look for properties and information.

Yours truly,

________________________________________
Mark Annable, Broker, myrealty.ca (Alberta)
Managing Broker, myrealty.ca (British Columbia)
Broker of Record, myrealty Services Inc., Brokerage (Ontario)
www.myrealty.ca

Sell your own home using REALTOR.ca for 0.5% commission.

by: vOpenhouse

Fri, 11 May 2007 09:46:20 +0000

I agree that limiting the number of search results is the most likely reason someone would make a site that way. If I MLS.ca spit back 5000 listings to a search of mine I would be happy. I may not make it through to listing 5000 before I refined my search terms. I do the same with Google, there is no need to check out each one of the 5,000,000,000 search results a Google query gives you.

by: thomas

Tue, 17 Apr 2007 22:59:14 +0000

the only reason that you have to click on so many thing is so you can limit the listing. if was just to blindly click on vancouver and 5000 houses come. jsut think how much you would complain

by: myrealty.ca

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:47:02 +0000

FYI:

In June 2007, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) will launch Version 4.0 of mls.ca, Version 2.0 of ICX.ca and Version 2.0 of the CREA Member Management System (MMS). All three product launches are tied to the implementation of Data Standards, which is scheduled for the end of June 2007.

Highlights of the new versions include:

>an improved Search and a re-designed property listing page for mls.ca;
>a new splash page with search features, a new improved Search page and a re-designed property listing page based on the property type for ICX.ca;
>enhanced REALTOR® search features for both web sites for CREA’s MMS.

Yours truly,

Sell your own home using the MLS® for 0.5% commission.

by: vOpenhouse

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 03:19:38 +0000

Thanks Ben,

You raise some good points, while mls.ca may not prohibit the spidering of its pages, the policy as it has been explained to me is that people are not supposed to link to pages on the site. Without the incoming links how would a serch engine find the page?

Further, calling MLS.ca dead and not caring is like the proverbial Baby and the Bathwater Scenario. You have what should be a really good tool for real estate marketing, something that adds value to real estate agents across the country. My argument would be that you would want to improve the service, thus adding even more value, or at least not allowing the service to devalue further.

Best of all, since most of the tough work is already done, I think the fixes could be done on a limited budget, quickly and so that they work well.

By the way, you will notice that I did not really address search engine spidering in this article, this was only about website usability.