LanCo RE Weblog

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Within the last two weeks, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) unveiled its vision of a national property database called the REALTORS® Property Resource (RPR) that would be available to its membership starting in the second quarter of next year.  After I watched NAR’s online presentation of the RPR the first thing I concluded (read my post here) was that they were going to build a national Multiple Listing Service (MLS) even though they stated numerous times during the presentation, “This is not a national MLS.”  I didn’t buy their statement two weeks ago and I’m not buying it today.  I wish they would just call a spade a spade and get on with it.

While the NAR and the oodles of MLS’s serving their membership haggle over how they’re going to tweak or preserve the status quo, Google is busy blowing up the old model and rewriting the rules of the game.

In the past, if you wanted to view real estate listings on Google Maps, your best bet was to select “Real Estate…” from the “More” menu at the top of the map.  Now, simply by searching for “real estate, lancaster, pa” will return, well, real estate in Lancaster, PA!  Google doesn’t have to deal with MLS boundary lines or whether they’re stepping on someone’s toes.  Their users tell them what they want and they give it to them!

Google’s latest enhancement is the unveiling of individual “place pages” for every property that’s listed in Google Maps.  These place pages include property information, photos, map placement, Street View imagery and functionality, nearby public transit details and even AdWords ads.  Google has added links for “Directions” and “Search nearby,” as well as a “Send” link that opens an outgoing email with the place page link embedded inside.  It’s all presented just as you’d see on any standard MLS web site, though it lacks some of the deep information (such as measurements of individual rooms) available in a typical MLS listing.  Google says that these real estate place pages may also include things like videos and inspection times.  Left unsaid is that the place page format gives Google the space and flexibility to add new types of information in the future.

Click for a larger view.

Google Maps has, of course, shown individual property information for some time.  But it was relegated to the old, small, somewhat user-unfriendly info pop-up windows.  The new place pages offer more information, are more user-friendly, and have short, clean links that home buyers can easily pass around.

Add these enhancements all together, along with other updates that are sure to come, and it’s obvious Google is on its way to building what amounts to a national MLS-like database of property listings for consumers.  Do you think that Zillow, Trulia, Move, NAR and others are watching?

So0000 . . . the runners are in their blocks . . . the race is on!

Related articles of interest:

• C’mon Trulia, Zillow, NAR and Now Google – Make My Day! (realestate.about.com)
• Place Pages for Google Maps: There are places we remember! (googleblog.blogspot.com)
• Google Street View trikes are coming… (stustake.com)