Dec 19, 2017 | DS, Matrix, MLS®, Stats & Technology |
When you load photos of your listed property, please be sure to include only photos that are specific to that property. You should not be including, for instance, photos of neighbourhood amenities, the park down the road or the beach two blocks away.
A good rule of thumb is that you can’t include photos of anything you cannot see from the listed property.
This is a requirement from CREA relating to acceptable multimedia links. CREA allows only property-specific information to be uploaded to REALTOR.ca, and that information is taken from the following fields in broker load:
- Alternate feature sheet
- Virtual tour URL
- Sound bites
- Sales brochure
- Additional photos
- Board preferred map service to locate property
Remember – if you can’t see if from the listed property, it shouldn’t used as a photo for your listing.
Dec 12, 2017 | DS, Matrix, MLS®, Stats & Technology |
We are aware that some members have expressed concern over limitations on marketing condominium properties with one bedroom plus a den that could be used as a bedroom.
In Fusion, it was possible to manually enter the number of bedrooms, and so a one-bedroom plus den property could be marketed as a two-bedroom property.
However, in Matrix the total number of bedrooms is calculated automatically by the system, based on the number of bedrooms listed under Rooms and Sizes. This information cannot be entered manually and a den will not be presented as a bedroom.
RAHB staff are currently reviewing different options available for how to market a one-bedroom plus den condominium as a possible two-bedroom; stay tuned for updates.
Dec 12, 2017 | DS, Matrix, MLS®, Stats & Technology |
You asked, and we answered! RAHB received a high number of requests from membership to change the default RAHB Matrix report display setting from “[NEW] REALTOR® Full One Page Report” to “REALTOR® Full”. This change has been implemented and is effective immediately.
The one page report will still be available for printing under the heading “[NEW] REALTOR® Full Printable (One Page)”, but your default view will be the larger-font-sized “REALTOR® Full Report”.
Thanks again for your feedback as we continue to improve and develop the reports in RAHB Matrix!
Dec 12, 2017 | CREA/OREA/RECO News, DS, MLS®, Stats & Technology |
The 2018 OREA forms are now posted on the OREA website, as well as the document “OREA 2018 Standard Forms and Clauses Summary of Revisions” Your OREA login credentials will be required to access these links.
The three-part OREA Form 200 Listing Agreement: Seller Representation Agreement Authority to Offer for Sale will be available for sale in the Realty Shoppe early in the new year. Contact the Shoppe at realtyshoppe@rahb.ca or 905-529-5979 to place your order.
We will let you know when the 2018 OREA form updates are available on WEBForms™.
If you are interested in attending an in-class session about what forms have been updated and what’s new, check out the RAHB education calendar for the upcoming session: “2018 Forms & Clause Revisions Update”.
Dec 12, 2017 | DS, Matrix, MLS®, Stats & Technology |
Did you know that even though RAHB Matrix keeps a history of previous listing open houses, if you want to successfully book an open house, you must enter the date and time as a new open house record?
That’s right: if you want to correctly enter an open house in RAHB Matrix, make sure that you do not amend a previously entered open house, but create a new one. To do so, click on the “More” button at the bottom of your screen under the “Manage Open Houses” section.
You can also delete a past open house by clicking the “Delete” button under the “Manage Open Houses” section.
Once you have submitted your open house, click on the MLS® number that appears on the next screen to confirm that your open house has been booked correctly.
To verify you have taken the proper steps, check your display on the RAHB Matrix “REALTOR® Full” report – your open house details will appear below the photo. If your open house details do not appear on the “REALTOR® Full” report, the open house was entered incorrectly.
Dec 6, 2017 | DS, Matrix, MLS®, Stats & Technology |
Please be aware that all listing supplements (schedules, floor plans, etc.) should be uploaded in PDF format. DOC files (Microsoft Word) are not recommended for this purpose because:
Security: PDF files are far less susceptible to manipulation than DOC files. For this reason, it is in your best interest to upload all supplemental documentation as PDFs (remember: you are uploading a legal document).
Data Sharing Issues: Several users have reported that supplements saved in DOC format are not accessible to ORTIS members via the data share. The listing appears with the supplements icon, but when clicked, there is a message stating that no supplements are available.
Portability: PDFs will appear exactly the same on any platform (PC, Mac, etc.), where a DOC file may take on a different appearance depending upon how it is accessed.
As always, please feel free to contact the RAHB MLS® department with any further questions – call 905.667.4650 weekdays, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Dec 5, 2017 | MLS®, Stats & Technology |
The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB ) reported 1,096 sales were processed through the RAHB Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) System in November, 16.7 per cent fewer than the same month last year but 3.3 per cent higher than the 10-year average. Click here to read the full stats release.
Nov 29, 2017 | DS, Matrix, MLS®, Stats & Technology |
After your listing has been submitted live to saved as incomplete in Matrix, you may add photos and/or supplements. To do so, follow the steps below:
1. From the Button Bar, click “Add/Edit Photos” to add listing photos.
2. Click the “Browse” button to locate the listing photos on your hard drive, then drag your cursor over multiple images (or CRTL and click individual images) to select the ones you would like to upload. For best quality, upload photos that are at least 1024 x 768 pixels.
3. Once listing photos have uploaded, click any thumbnail to enlarge the image and add a photo description (optional). Click the “Done” link when finished, followed by “Save” on the button bar. Please note that thumbnails outlined in red indicate that the image dimensions are smaller than recommended.
4. Click and drag the thumbnail, “Slot: [#]*] to reorder the photos as you would like them to appear in the listing. Please note that this currently only works in Firefox or Internet Explorer browsers.
5. Click “Saved” when complete.
6. From the Button Bar, click “Add/Edit Supplements” to add listing supplements (also known as “Attachments”).
7. Enter a “Supplement Description”, choose a “Supplement Type”, then click the “Browse” button to locate the listing supplement on your hard drive.
8. Click the “Upload” button to upload this supplement to the listing.
9. Click “Save” when complete.
Nov 29, 2017 | DS, Matrix, MLS®, Stats & Technology |
When completing the new RAHB Property Information Form, be sure to pay special attention to the Photo Instructions field, as certain selections will incur a fee.
You must upload a photo to your listing within two business days of receiving an MLS ® number and/or your listing has become active on the MLS ® system. You can take these photographs yourself, or you can have a photographer take them for you.
If you would like REAL Services Photography to shoot your listing photos, select Front View Only or Front View & Back View under the Photo Instructions field. For one photograph, REAL Services will charge a $20+HST fee.
If you would like to provide your own photographs, select Photo to Follow, Photo Attached or Sketch Attached under the Photo Instructions field. By selecting either of these options, you are indicating that you will provide your own photographs within the next two business days.
Nov 28, 2017 | DS, Matrix, MLS®, Stats & Technology |
When you enter the commission to selling brokerage, be sure to include a dollar sign ($) or percentage sign (%) to indicate what the commission will be. When the commission is noted only as, for instance, “1”, there is no indication whether the selling commission is $1 or 1% of the total commission.
You are reminded that the selling commission can be a percentage of the total commission, a dollar amount or a combination of percentage and dollar amount. You MAY NOT offer “zero” or “0” as the selling commission – according to RAHB’s Rules, “An offer of compensation of zero is not acceptable.” [Section 1, sub-section 1.03(b)(iii)]
Nov 28, 2017 | DS, Matrix, MLS®, Stats & Technology |
Have you noticed the new field called Offer Instructions on RAHB’s new residential and commercial Property Information Forms?
The Offer Instructions field is a free form text field you can use to specify special instructions regarding the submission of offers. Instructions might include things like “Form 244 on file”, “Agreement to be prepared on builder forms”, “email offers to xxxx@xxxx.ca” or the schedules to be attached to an offer. The field will accommodate 170 characters.
When completed, this information will show up on the REALTOR® Full with Signature Report and both the original REALTOR® Full and the NEW REALTOR® Full reports. The information in this field will not be shown on Client displays.
Please note that you may NOT use this field for instructions for “no offers until…”. Continue to use OREA Form 244 Seller’s Direction re Property/Offers for that purpose and disclose all particulars of your seller’s direction in the REALTOR® Remarks field of the listing.
Please ensure your administrative staff is also aware of how to use the Offer Instructions field for your listings.
Nov 21, 2017 | DS, Matrix, MLS®, Stats & Technology |
Q: What value do I put in the “Assessment” field of the Residential Property Information Form?
A: When entering information in the “Assessment” section of the Residential Property Information Form, please ensure that you use the Assessed Value appearing on the Geowarehouse Overview – NOT the amount on the Property Inquiry report from the City of Hamilton, or any Phased-in value.
Assessed Value is determined every four years, and the increase is “phased in” over the following four-year period. Assessed Value is what the City determines the property to actually be worth (usually less than what it sells for), while the Phased-In Value is what is used to determine property taxes for that year (it is done this way so that homeowners don’t get a big spike in property tax every four years).
The “Assessment” field was a required field in the regional Matrix system and was implemented in RAHB Matrix so that we could facilitate data-sharing.
