VCRDS to end data share with CRMLS

Andrea Brambila reporting for Inman News:

Ending MLS data share could cost agents millions

“VCRDS has about 2,300 active listings in Ventura County and part of Los Angeles County, while CRMLS has about 47,000 active listings throughout California.

VCRDS is jointly owned by the Ventura County Coastal Association of Realtors and the Conejo Simi Moorpark Association of Realtors. It has nearly 4,500 agent and broker members.

The data share termination is a setback for CRMLS’s initiative to build a statewide MLS, according to CRMLS CEO Art Carter.

“Anytime for any reason an association pulls back from sharing data with another association, it’s not a good thing,” Carter told Inman.

“Whether VCRDS believes it or not, the exposure for their data has been significant and [ending the data share] is not a good thing for the agents or the consumer.”

Data sharing between CRMLS and VCRDS will end 90 days from June 6.”

This is going to be tough for members of CRMLS, VCRDS and the vendors that serve them. Speaking of vendors…

“According to VCRDS, it decided to end the data share because of an “unexpected $25,000 cost to reformat its data” from its MLS vendor, Rapattoni Corp.

Brian Tepfer, Rapattoni’s chief technology officer, told Inman that CRMLS requested more than 10,000 data field mapping changes all at once from its data share partners, including Rapattoni clients VCRDS, i-Tech MLS and California Desert Association of Realtors MLS.

Rapattoni does not charge to make MLSs RESO compliant or for run-of-the-mill maintenance fixes, he said, but these data-share changes would be “months of work.””

I’m not sure this is really “months of work” project, but the real cost is focus.

I dunno. Seems like there’s an opportunity for someone to step up here. There’s a lot at stake.