Real Estate Sales and Leasing Go High-Tech Via Computer
Residential and commercial listings of properties for sale and for lease are undergoing an information revolution. New computer programs allow buyers--and, in some cases, renters--to get a look at many properties without ever moving away from their broker’s computer screen.
Buyers looking for a home or condo in the San Fernando Valley can enter just about any local real estate office and tap into the San Fernando Valley Assn. of Realtors’ high-tech version of its Multiple Listing Service.
The Customized Real Estate Information System Network (CRIS NET) allows real estate agents and their clients to use a computer “mouse” to draw the boundaries of the neighborhoods they are most interested in. Because every property in L. A. County is coded through an on-line version of the Thomas Guide, buyers can get a listing of the homes in areas they are most interested in.
(Readers note: If you’re unfamiliar with terms such as geocoded, baud, modem, mouse and interconnectivity--you’re not alone.)
Besides the mapping program, buyers can further narrow their choices by entering into the computer such variables as price, features, number of stories, architectural style, number of garage spaces and even whether a home has a view or not. Once the field of available homes is narrowed, local agents can “download” the information into their personal computers at lightning speed.
Then the tour begins. The new on-line MLS val system has up to 10 color photos of each home for sale. This allows buyers to take a tour of most homes without ever getting out of a chair. Agents can also print out these photos and create a portfolio of prospective homes to hand over to a would-be buyer.
“It makes it much easier to look for a home,” said James A. Link, executive vice president of the San Fernando Valley Assn. of Realtors. In the not too distant future, he predicted, it won’t even be necessary for buyers to leave their homes when looking to move. Link expects that eventually the association will make much of the MLS information available to the public through an 800- or 900-prefix computer modem number.
Making the MLS available to the public would be a revolution in its own right. While Link doesn’t envision letting the public in on all the same on-line information that agents get, public access would be sure to change the way people look for homes. It would also mark something of an about-face by the association on this contentious issue.
The MLS could probably be described as the glue that holds together real estate brokers and groups such as the San Fernando Valley Assn. of Realtors. Buyers and sellers turn to the realtors because of the MLS and its comprehensive listing of homes and other property for sale.
When local movers tried to appropriate information from the Valley’s MLS, the Valley brokers filed suit, and last year won a court victory to restrict access to the MLS. Despite the fact that thousands of MLS books are published in the Valley each week--and then discarded--a U. S. District Court judge ruled that it was illegal for non-brokers and agents to access the MLS via computer or by ferreting through trash bins for the purpose of getting business leads.
The monopoly over the MLS that realtors have enjoyed is facing an increasing number of challenges. Many observers are now predicting that realtors will lose their control over the MLS within the next few years as computers make it possible for anyone to access information about homes for sale. This helps explain why both the National Assn. of Realtors and California Assn. of Realtors are trying to stay competitive by updating the MLS and making it more high-tech.
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Computer giant IBM has invested in a company called HomeView Realty Centers Inc., which is creating its own database of homes for sale. Other companies--big and small--are creating computer networks, complete with video tours of each listing. Prospective buyers in somS. markets can now view hundreds of homes by just sitting in front of a computer screen without their real estate agent nearby.
The computer revolution is also changing the commercial real estate market. Cushman Realty Corp. of Los Angeles, in cooperation with computer consultant Armstrong Yawney Inc. of Walnut Creek, has developed a database and computer program to track primarily office space in Los Angeles and other cities where Cushman does business.
I was invited to view what John C. Cushman III described as “the show” several weeks ago. It was pretty impressive--a virtual-reality, multimedia presentation, complete with holographic imaging, digitized forms and agreements, and 32,000 password levels.
We began our virtual-reality tour with a satellite photo file view of the United States, then a satellite view of California, Los Angeles and then a map of downtown L. A. Soon, we were at the foot of the Sanwa Bank Building looking up. A moment later, we were in the lobby of the building, checking out the amenities. There were even “movie previews” of the interiors, exteriors, views and floor plans.
For you techies out there, the configuration is 4D SQL Server, Sybase, 4D Draw, Graph 3D, Ethernet, IBM RS 6000 Server.
All this tech talk points to a revolution in the way that real estate is sold, leased and managed. Cushman intends its system to eventually include full text of all the leases it has negotiated and all sorts of other data to help tenants and landlords keep an eye on each other.
