By Richard Haggerty
The New York metropolitan area, comprising the Hudson Valley, is one of the leading real estate markets in the world. Yet, for Realtors, doing business here has historically involved dealing with inaccurate data and a myriad of back-end systems. This also has been one of the only major metro areas lacking a regionalized Multiple Listing Service. In the early 2000s, the Hudson Valley was fractured into numerous real estate associations, each with its own MLS. It was neither an inefficient nor cost-effective way to do business.
Now, things have changed. We’ve merged our Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service with the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island to create OneKey™ MLS, the first regional MLS for New York. Launched earlier this year for Realtors and in June for consumers, OneKey™ is a comprehensive MLS. It is designed to empower our members to take advantage of New York City’s powerful geography and give consumers access to a broader geography of data, from Monticello to Manhattan to Montauk.
OneKey™ MLS features tens of thousands of listings from Manhattan, the Bronx, Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, Brooklyn, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange and Sullivan counties. It will revolutionize our industry. There are skeptics, of course. A lot of brokers are entrenched in doing business the way they’ve done business for a very long time. Some are resistant to change, but that reluctance is eroding their business. OneKey™ MLS will make it easier for Realtors to succeed and for their clients to find their dream homes. This is especially important now, as the pandemic has us all adjusting to a dramatically different way of living and doing business. We’re also seeing a mass exodus from New York City into the suburbs. Accuracy and concise data couldn’t be more vital as we navigate the changing landscape.
The following are just a few of the ways a regionalized MLS will impact those of us who do business in Orange County and throughout the Hudson Valley.
Time is Money
There is nothing a client despises more than reading about a feature of a home in a listing and discovering it’s not true when he or she goes to the open house. Easy access to clean and accurate listings data is critical, but previously it has been impossible for residential real estate professionals to ensure the information they were viewing was correct. With OneKey™ MLS, the listings are updated every five minutes straight from the MLS, so the information on every listing is accurate.
Transparency is Crucial
One of the biggest complaints we’ve heard from our members is that with other real estate platforms the listing agent is often not the agent featured next to the property. This is confusing for potential clients and can cost Realtors a hard-earned sale. The listing agent is the only agent featured on our listings.
Easy Navigation is Key
In addition to accurate and reliable listings, consumers also are seeking information they won’t find on other real estate searching platforms. Features such as multilingual search, Community Guides that include details of the geographic area (especially school district information), and the ability to search for properties to buy or rent by country, neighborhood, city/town, zip code or by drawing a custom search on a map will make the searching process easier.
We are committed to creating ways to better our industry, support our colleagues and protect the consumer. We have worked tirelessly to create an MLS that we hope will become the most trusted residential real estate data source for Realtors and their clients.
Richard Haggerty is CEO of the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors and President and Chief Strategic Growth Officer of OneKey™ MLS, New York Metro’s first regional multiple listing service. For information, visit www.OneKeyMLSNY.com.
