At their meeting on June 30, the RAHB Board of Directors decided to enter into a new phase of regional MLS® data sharing. Following is a brief summary of the letter from RAHB President Kim Alvarez and CEO George O’Neill, forwarded to all members on Monday, July 18, explaining the Board’s decision and how Phase 2 will proceed. You can read the entire letter here .
Matrix – Phase 2 of Regional MLS® data sharing
For almost two years, RAHB has been working with seven other real estate boards and associations to develop and launch a regional MLS® system, and Phase I of that goal has been achieved – access to regional MLS® listing data on Matrix.
RAHB has been receiving positive feedback from members who are using Matrix. The most frequently asked question is, “when are we going fully live on Matrix so we can stop using Fusion?”
The answer to that question is in early 2017, just prior to the spring market.
In keeping with their desire to provide RAHB members with the best, broadest and most cost-effective MLS® information, the RAHB Board of Directors has chosen to build on what has been accomplished through the regional MLS® System. This will be achieved by upgrading RAHB’s Fusion system to Matrix, and negotiating directly with ORTIS (the organization managing the Regional MLS® System) and the other real estate boards and associations to share information between the two Matrix systems.
RAHB’s Matrix will be compatible with the Regional Matrix system so that information can flow seamlessly between systems.
The Directors made this decision because of concerns that business and financial policies being developed by ORTIS may jeopardize RAHB’s ability to make business decisions that are in the best interests of RAHB members.
By launching a RAHB Matrix system and sharing active and sold listing information with neighbouring boards and associations, RAHB can still achieve the original goal of providing RAHB members with access to regional MLS® listing information.
It is important to note that RAHB is still part of the Regional MLS® System until at least the launch of our own Matrix system. Until then, RAHB members can expect to:
- Have access to Matrix and all the regional MLS® listings from eight real estate boards and associations
- Load your listings in Fusion, and they will be uploaded automatically to Matrix every 15 minutes
- Use RAHB MLS® Rules and Regulations and policies
- Use the same Property Information Forms as you have been using
RAHB’s Board of Directors is committed to having RAHB members enjoy the benefits of access to listing information from neighbouring real estate boards and associations. The goal of sharing listing data was achieved in Phase 1; we are now kicking off Phase 2 to complete the initiative.
See the updated Q & A about Phase 2 here!