Predicting the Future is Easy! 
I will be speaking on this topic Sunday morning, March 17 at the Association Executives Institute (AEI) in San Diego.
How the MLS of Tomorrow Affects Your Association Today
Sunday, March 17, 10:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Art Carter, CEO, California Regional MLS, San Dimas, CA; Kevin McQueen, President, Focus Forward, Denver, CO and David Charron, President & CEO, MRIS, Rockville, MD
The current threat to the future of MLS can affect the relevance of your association. Discover how MLS existence (or a lack thereof) will affect every level of the REALTOR® organization. Look ahead to the future viability of the MLS, and learn how your association can remain relevant should the MLS leave the REALTOR® family.
Predicting the Future is Easy! (but predicting the future accurately is really hard)
Futurist Daniel Burrus says it’s not so much about predicting the future as it is preparing for it. We know it’s coming, right?
What I have learned working in our business for the past 30 years is that it’s hard to get the timing right. But I am very clear about what’s ahead for you.
My company Focus Forward is all about preparing you for your future and for what’s ahead.
Let me ask you a question, do you think 900 MLSs are sustainable? If you are not sure, just ask your members or consumers what they think. They wonder WHY we try to keep the data cooped up in so many local MLSs and then syndicate it all of the Internet 😉 And we know that technology is not local – it never was. So why do we need so many different and separate MLS systems? What we know for certain is that 900 MLSs are not sustainable.
But that’s the easy part. The question that you need to be asking is HOW is the MLS consolidation going to occur. More importantly, how is it going to happen to you and to your association or MLS?
At Focus Forward, we believe there are 4 ways the consolidation will happen. Or another way to say it is, “you have 4 options to choose from this year as you prepare for YOUR future and the future of your association or MLS”.
- You can stay right where you are now and manage your decline. I hope you will agree with me — this is not your best choice, but it’s an option for you to consider. Many associations will by default pick this one.
- Join one of the 60 regional MLSs that offers access to more information and better technology and tools, typically at a lower cost. The challenge is finding the business model that works for both you and the regional. There are many great regionals so you could join a regional MLS to prepare for your future.
- Merge with another MLS. One very successful example of this is in New York. The new larger and stronger MLS is known as the Hudson Gateway MLS. Talk with Ann Garti or Richard Haggerty – they did it right.
- The last option is to partner up with other associations in your state or market area to create a bigger and better MLS. Over the past two years, Focus Forward has worked with more than 150 associations in groups. Most recently we played an important role in the creation of the new Indiana Regional MLS and will birth at least two more regionals this year – one in the state of Washington and another in Missouri. The leaders in these states chose this approach to prepare for their future by joining forces with other Realtor groups. They found that they have a lot more in common than they have differences. In fact, they all share the same values, concerns and challenges about the future of real estate and the decided to go forward working together.
So the last two options involve partnering-up with other associations in your area to create a bigger and better MLS for your members – making it easier for them to conduct business and make money. That’s is why you exist right?
We all see the consolidation of the brokerages, the vendors and in every other industry. It’s not a question of IF the number of MLSs will decline; it’s HOW it’s going to happen. Or more importantly, how it’s going to happen to you.
The choice is yours. It’s up to you and 2013 is the year to pick your best option. It’s time for you to take the next step to prepare for your future … and the future of MLS.
Come listen to David Charron, Art Carter and I talk about the future. It will be fun!
Kevin McQueen – Focus Forward
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