Access to real estate MLX (not MLS) database

Leveraging, renting vs owning, making an investment or buying a home?
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Greg
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Access to real estate MLX (not MLS) database

Post by Greg »

Bear with me. I have searched this site, and the web in general, for some time now and cannot find any information regarding this topic but I may have missed something.

I am looking to buy a home sometime in the new year and would like to do so without a buyer's agent to save money. I am comfortable with all the steps necessary to do so and have researched the topic in some depth. For those interested I found this thread a good starting point.

But what I could not find in that thread, or in searching elsewhere, is how to get access to MLX listings for a reasonable fee. Not MLS listings ... MLX listings (see this for what I am referring to). I know it is the relator's proprietary system and I am fairly certain I will not find free access anywhere but in the absence of that a couple of questions:

1) I am located in Ottawa and is it fair to say that the Ottawa Real Estate's Board (OREB) website is more real time than mls.ca?
2) How delayed (if any) is the OREB website compared to MLX?
3) If the OREB is delayed, and MLX is the fastest notification mechanism when properties are first listed, does anyone know of a brokerage that provides access to MLX in any way (e.g. email alerts based on custom search criteria) for a minimal, and preferably flat, fee?
4) Has anyone had experience calling up traditional brokerage companies (e.g. Remax, Coldwell Banker, etc) or non-traditional ones (e.g. Usher Group) and asking just for this service?

Any help in this regard is greatly appreciated!

Thank-you all,
Greg
nisser
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Re: Access to real estate MLX (not MLS) database

Post by nisser »

I suppose you could call up a realtor and request this service. But what price are you willing to pay?
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Re: Access to real estate MLX (not MLS) database

Post by Greg »

nisser wrote:I suppose you could call up a realtor and request this service.
Certainly. But it would be nice to get other people's experiences as background material before I entered into any such discussions which is why I asked.
nisser wrote:But what price are you willing to pay?
That's the sort of question I would expect from hit men or the Devil if I ever ask for a life of wealth and fame :lol:

But in all seriousness it is usually the practice of reputable sellers of anything to first ask a price and for me to counter. The reverse is giving the seller info unnecessarily. Regardless I first want to understand if anyone has ever asked for such a thing and what their success has been, if any.
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Re: Access to real estate MLX (not MLS) database

Post by nisser »

The only problem is that you are asking for something they don't normally sell ;)

I think you'll have a difficult time getting this for cheap, unless you have a realtor friend doing it. Think of how long this might take to do once (or numerous times as things change?) and what the opportunity cost of doing this for a stranger is for someone that's making 50/100/200k per year.
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Re: Access to real estate MLX (not MLS) database

Post by Greg »

nisser wrote:The only problem is that you are asking for something they don't normally sell ;)
That is certainly true of traditional brokerages. I was hoping some of the non-traditional brokerages may have gotten ahead of the curve on this. Perhaps not.
I think you'll have a difficult time getting this for cheap, unless you have a realtor friend doing it. Think of how long this might take to do once (or numerous times as things change?) and what the opportunity cost of doing this for a stranger is for someone that's making 50/100/200k per year.
When I bought my first house through a realtor it was literally 15 minutes of work for her. She did it while I was sitting at her desk. She input my must haves (# bedrooms, # baths, price range, neighborhoods, etc) and my email address and their "system" forwarded me alerts and property descriptions as soon as properties were entered into MLX. Once the initial 15 minute setup was done there was no ongoing maintenance cost to the realtor. As for lost opportunity cost well that is zero in this case since I will not sign up a buy-side realtor for just this service especially in today's market which is very much a buyer's market right now for where we are looking.
ig17
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Re: Access to real estate MLX (not MLS) database

Post by ig17 »

Greg wrote:When I bought my first house through a realtor it was literally 15 minutes of work for her. She did it while I was sitting at her desk. She input my must haves (# bedrooms, # baths, price range, neighborhoods, etc) and my email address and their "system" forwarded me alerts and property descriptions as soon as properties were entered into MLX. Once the initial 15 minute setup was done there was no ongoing maintenance cost to the realtor.
I got the same service from my agent the last time I was shopping for a house (2009/2010). I was getting email alerts each time there was a new listing or a change to an existing listing. The listings included considerably more details than MLS listings: property taxes, days on the market, final sale price, commission split between the agents, and a few more I don't remember.

The service was good while it lasted. My agent was forced to drop the service per request from the real estate board. She moved me to a different system. I was still getting alerts, but the listings lacked details. As far as I remember, they included the same level of details as the public MLS listings.

Information asymmetry is a pillar of real estate cartel. They guard it tightly. Take information asymmetry away, and their excessive commissions will crumble. I'd be surprised if you can buy this service a la carte.
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Re: Access to real estate MLX (not MLS) database

Post by AltaRed »

ig17 wrote:I got the same service from my agent the last time I was shopping for a house (2009/2010). I was getting email alerts each time there was a new listing or a change to an existing listing. The listings included considerably more details than MLS listings: property taxes, days on the market, final sale price, commission split between the agents, and a few more I don't remember.
As did I during 2011 and 2012 when waiting for the right place in the Central Okanagan. It was helpful to see trends and how people were pricing houses and then changing list price by how much and when.
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Re: Access to real estate MLX (not MLS) database

Post by Spudd »

When I looked at the link you provided, they actually have this service if you just click through further:

http://mlxtips.com/what-is-mlx/mls-emai ... ew/step-2/
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Re: Access to real estate MLX (not MLS) database

Post by deaddog »

Have you shopped realtors?
I would ask if this service was available thru the realtor. If not I would try another realtor.

I don’t see how this information will help you save the realtors fees.

My experience has been that the property is listed with a realtor. If the property is sold by the same realtor they get all the commission, if the property is sold by another realtor there is some kind of split. I can’t sell the property to someone off the street without paying the realtor full commission.

That being said I have negotiated the commissions lower after an offer has been made. I told the realtor what my bottom line was. If they wanted to drop the commission we would make the sale. As the property had been on the market for some time they dropped the commission about 50% and the deal was done. (Small town rural BC, not much activity at the time)
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Greg
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Re: Access to real estate MLX (not MLS) database

Post by Greg »

ig17 wrote: Information asymmetry is a pillar of real estate cartel. They guard it tightly. Take information asymmetry away, and their excessive commissions will crumble. I'd be surprised if you can buy this service a la carte.
Yes I thought it was unlikely but thought I would ask. Cracks are starting to appear in those pillars with the non-traditional low-cost brokerages in terms of commission rates, cheap postings to MLS for sell-side customers, etc. But low-cost, flat rate access to the MLX database for buy-side customers seems to be one pillar that is holding strong. :(
Spudd wrote:When I looked at the link you provided, they actually have this service if you just click through further:

http://mlxtips.com/what-is-mlx/mls-emai ... ew/step-2/
They provide the service if you sign into a traditional buyer's contract with them. And if you simply ask them "I would like to know about listings as soon as they are entered into the MLX database", they will answer "Yes absolutely we offer that service". But the fine print is that before they set you up to receive the alerts you need to sign a buyer's contract with them that effectively says if you want to purchase any properties their system forwarded to you, you have to buy it through them which means they are entitled to a commission from the seller == traditional buy-side brokerage. I have called them to verify this is the case.
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Re: Access to real estate MLX (not MLS) database

Post by Greg »

deaddog wrote: I don’t see how this information will help you save the realtors fees. My experience has been that the property is listed with a realtor. If the property is sold by the same realtor they get all the commission, if the property is sold by another realtor there is some kind of split. I can’t sell the property to someone off the street without paying the realtor full commission.
The MLX information will not save me any money in realtor fees. But not having a buying agent represent me can. Now it is absolutely true that a seller who is under contract to a selling agent cannot sell the property privately to someone off the street. But I can buy from a sell-side realtor, without a buy-side agent, and negotiate a commission rebate to the seller with the expectation that those savings are then passed onto me. Sell-side realtor's may balk at it at first since their brokerage will ask questions and it is not common. However I have seen it done since such an agreement is beneficial to all parties involved.

It usually goes like this (assume the selling agent receives a 5% commission from the seller): As a buyer without an agent I sign a buyer's side agreement with the selling agent for the single property I am interested in and with an immediate expiration after the negotiations conclude with either a positive or negative outcome. Then make an offer conditional on the selling agent negotiating a commission reduction to 3.75% with the sellers. This is beneficial to all three parties: the seller has a reduction in the commission he needs to pay to the selling agent. The selling agent makes 3.25% instead of 2.5%. The buyer sees a 1.25% reduction in the selling price.

So there are absolutely cost savings to be had by not having a buying agent, namely a buyer without an agent can negotiate a commission schedule that is more beneficial to all three parties that it would have been had he/she had an agent.
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Re: Access to real estate MLX (not MLS) database

Post by Greg »

Greg wrote:The selling agent makes 3.25% instead of 2.5%.
Yikes! That should read 3.75%.
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