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Toronto, Vancouver boards cancel TV-MLS project

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BY KATHY BEVAN

 

Canada
’s two largest real estate boards have pulled the plug on their joint MLS technology project. The cancellation of the so‑called TV‑MLS project was announced by the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) and the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) in January.

The TV‑MLS project was originally launched in the spring of 1999, with the Montreal board also an active participant.  While the project's proposed technology received positive reviews, the 'for profit' marketing plans were strongly criticized by Realtors and industry executives across the country. A number of board members also openly complained about inadequate consultation about the project's direction and its costs.

 

Montreal
pulled out of the project shortly after it began, and in the fall of 1999, CREA stepped back from closer involvement.  On Dec. 14, 2000, TREB's outgoing board of directors unanimously decided to pull the plug. REBGV's board followed suit, and the TV‑MLS project was cancelled.

 

“It became a real challenge to say, is this the ultimate vehicle, is this what we're looking for?” says Bill Phillips, president of REBGV.  “We went through an assessment period, while Toronto re‑evaluated their needs and we re‑evaluated ours.”

 

One of the major reasons the project was dropped, according to both TREB and REBGV, was because of  problems TREB was experiencing in its ongoing negotiations with software developer Realwave Technologies (now Cognicase). 

 

In his first message to members since being elected TREB president in December, David Pearce said that, due to a lack of initial documentation, “there were a number of fundamental misunderstandings regarding costs and deliverables”.  These in turn resulted in an escalation of potential completion costs and what Pearce termed “unacceptable delays”.

 

By the time the project was cancelled, TREB had already spent more than $2 million in software development payments to Realwave; for its part, REBGV spent some $700,000 on technology research and corporate governance work. 

 

Both boards have stated that a portion of these expenditures will still benefit their members, as they are now farther along the road to selecting a new MLS system.  That comes as small consolation to critics of the project.  Even the critics are pleased, however, that it appears that Toronto and Vancouver will now be opting for “off the shelf” MLS systems.

 

“Both these boards have a history of wanting a made‑in‑the‑backyard, cook‑in‑our‑own‑kitchens solution, instead of using ready-made, up and running products that are available off the shelf and are Internet-based,” says Don Lawby, president of Century 21 Canada.  “They continue to believe that this business needs to be complex. They are an MLS system — that's it.  And all the other ventures have continued to waste time and money and energy.”

Accusations about wasted time, money and energy have not fallen on deaf ears at either TREB or REBGV. Both boards are now placing more emphasis on member consultation.  The Vancouver board has added a special meeting about such issues as accountability and MLS to its AGM this month, in response to a petition that garnered more than 700 votes. And consultation is a cornerstone of TREB's new board of directors' goals for 2001.  “I believe that the final choice of our new MLS system should be up to the members who use it,” says Pearce.  “Our efforts towards greater member input are part of an overall plan for this year, one in which members' needs will be weighed above all else.”

 

While it has come at some expense, the experience gained during the development of the TV‑MLS project appears to have made both TREB and REBGV more aware of the strengths of alliances beyond their own borders.

 

“We have always believed in the convergence of consumer, member and MLS portals,” says Bob  Wallace, REBGV’s executive officer.  “CREA now has the consumer portal and the member portal, with Vancouver's transfer of RealtorLink.  We're not sure that CREA shouldn't also have the national MLS, and that's a big shift in thinking for people here.”

Another big shift in thinking:  Toronto and Vancouver have learned they have more in common with each other, and with other members of organized real estate, than they thought. 

 

“If there's one accomplishment for the year 2000, one big one, it's that this proved to us that the various entities in organized real estate could work together,” says Vancouver's Phillips.  “We learned that we can put aside our individual interests and say, okay, I hear you and understand what your needs are, so I'll bend a little bit. And the reality is, that is the future of this industry — all of us are going to have to work together.”

 


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