This Week In Real Estate: Week of July 4th
The Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB, for short) has commissioned big changes to the way regions are labelled in its enormous MLS (multiple listing system) database. As of Tuesday morning, every single TorontoMLS search conducted by every single Realtor in the GTA must now be done in a whole new way. After years of the same routine that became increasingly familiar - and therefore more quickly used - for all, why would the entire system be revamped, just like that? For all of you future home buyers or sellers of course!
TorontoMLS: a system of the future!
Within the GTA, there are incredible numbers of homes to account for. With the advent of the Internet came a wonderful idea: imagine having each home in all of the GTA along with its address, listing price, availability and inquiry information, all in the same place! What emerged as multiple listing systems across the globe revolutionized Real Estate itself, making the access of listing information easier than ever. Through many ideas and updates over the years, a professional could use this amazing database to work wonders for home-buyers -- the key here being the special districts into which the GTA was categorized. These districts were an instrumental part of running a smooth, organized MLS and they provided Real Estate Agents with the clear, concise, readily accessed information that they needed to satisfy their busy working-class clients.
TorontoMLS: a living entity!
Since the inception of the Toronto MLS, we've come a long way, encountering many changes. For one, the MLS is no longer accessed via dial-up in MS-DOS, but more importantly - for which anyone who remembers the dial-up days can vouch - the GTA is just not the same. Recognizing the significant growth in urban sprawl, population and therefore number of homes, it would be ridiculous to expect the districts that were determined last decade to last forever. Besides, the district codes were seemingly random and meaningless. Though familiar to Real Estate professionals, the seller of the home was likely clueless when it came to the cryptic combinations of letters and numbers that supposedly told the world where his/her home was located. This was not the way it was meant to be. With business integrity becoming ever more valuable, why should it seem like Real Estate Agents are hiding or encoding information for our private usage? We work to make the home buying and selling process as smooth and safe as possible for our clients. City boundaries changing all the time, clients left in the dark - something had to change. It was time for something new. It seemed that the domino had toppled, pushing some of the top minds in Real Estate and in the Government to provide us with an updated, buyer/seller friendly system to once again push to the bounds of efficiency in the GTA. The TorontoMLS Re-districting had begun.
TorontoMLS: revised and better than ever!
Enough talk about the events leading up to our brand new system, what does it do? Particularly, what does the new TorontoMLS do for you? The best part about the new districts is that they all have meaningful names. No longer does a code looking like binary represent your neighbourhood. Instead, your community now has its own name! Previously, districts could be anywhere from a few city blocks square to the size of half of Toronto in some rural areas! Now, every scrap of land fits into three tiers of order for improved organization. The Area, or region, is the largest of these tiers and could be Durham for example. Pickering is a middle tier district on the municipal level. Finally, and it is in this tier that the revised MLS shows its worth, we have the community level as the smallest tier. With the addition of a community level, searches for homes can be more efficient than ever before! For example, an agent could look for homes in the Liverpool or Bay Ridges area of Pickering, Durham and be certain that the search will only return the homes in the select few neighbourhoods of these communities. Searching by community will give the best chance of providing buyers with various options within a target enclosure, ensuring results with similar appeal. Even better, the seller that lists on the MLS can understand why his/her house is listed where it is, and will likely even be familiar with his/her designated neighbourhood name!
The new TorontoMLS system is better than ever and completely for your benefit! Soon, when it is fully integrated and recognized across the GTA, you future home buyers and sellers will have an even better Real Estate experience With the best, ever-improving technology of today, we Real Estate Agents can provide each and every one of our clients with a home that fits. After all, it is our duty to make every house a happy home.
That is what's happening This Week in Real Estate. Make sure to leave your e-mail address if you would like the weekly link to this blog, or if I may help you with any of your or your family/friends' needs. Thanks for reading!
Guest-written, with thanks, by Summer Intern and son, Christian