The MLS.ca has been rebuilt and moved to Realtor.ca. Actually, if you look at both domains you can still see the old site at MLS.ca.
I did not get to far into it, but I did click on British Columbia on the map… the first thing I see – “more than 500 results, please refine your search”. Not the most user friendly message. It gives you an error message right off the bat. Makes you feel like you clicked the wrong button. It actually took me quite a few tries to actually see some properties. Once I did get to see the properties, the site did not really like my browser (Firefox) and everything pops a new window, which of course Firefox blocks. Even the “more pictures” function pops a new window. On a positive note, they are using a more functional mapping system then before. I would have preferred Google Maps, but Microsoft Virtual Earth does the job. They did make the site wider which I like… most people’s monitors can handle wider websites these days. But, like anyone that builds websites and software, things change and can improve over time. It will be interesting to see where they take this.
So, what do you think of the new website? Let me know in the comments.
I found a couple comments from some consumers on the internet; not too positive:
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“How is it that they have made realtor.ca HARDER to navigate than the mls.ca trainwreck. One of my most common searches is for homes in Kitsilano within a certain price range. As far as I can tell, the Realtor.ca site shows me the Microsoft Live Earth Map but offers no obvious way to navigate to individual neighbourhoods. The Live Earth interface doesn’t even have a zoom option — double-clicking on the map seems to be the only way to zoom in.
And please, why on earth are they using Microsoft Live Earth? Because it’s slower and worse than Google Maps?
Realtors only exist to navigate through bureaucracy and red tape that they have (a) created or (b) worked hard to encourage. I’m not sure I can think of a profession that has lower barriers to entry and adds so little value.” – found here
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“Wow. While the new site is slightly prettier than mls.ca, it provides no real improvement in functionality. Searching for something simple like detached house in Vancouver results in the “more than 500 results, please refine your search†error. Fine, I add the criteria that the house have 3 or more bedrooms and 2 or more bathrooms – and get no results.
Seriously. Something’s broken here.
Plus, it’s kind of ridiculous that you can only refine your location search parameters by city or street. One is too broad, the other too narrow.
To the developers at Realtor.ca, here’s what I want: I want to be able to stick a pin in the map, a draw a search radius in order to filter results.” – found here
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What do the Realtor’s out there think? Let me know in the comments.
7/11/2008 at 2:53 pm
Personally I don’t like the navigation of the site, but I could be bias here, if you are looking for a property, use the services of a Realtor, we have a far better system to navigate and find properties than the public MLS system and we can send all that info to your email.
7/11/2008 at 5:37 pm
I agree with Colleen, very frustrating to say the least. I quit after a few minutes trying to find my listings! Use a Realtor.
7/11/2008 at 6:17 pm
My company has just launched a Beta version of a site that I hope to assist buyers and the developers that want to connect with them. Would love your feedback: http://www.condovue.com
The technology could be repurposed in multiple ways, but right now we are focusing on preconstruction condos.
7/11/2008 at 10:59 pm
As an avid consumer of products and services available through the internet (travel like Expedia, retail like Amazon, etc.) I resent sites that are simply a ploy to get you to the hook and then force you to take alternate actions to gain closure. Or worse those that don’t actually function.
If I am a buyer looking for a property I don’t care if a Realtor can do it better…when they control the access to the tools through their organization and its leadership. Worse they subsequently ensure they don’t even come close to letting the effective tools out of the Realtor only tool box.
I recently dabbled on MLS.ca and have to commend my clients for discovering properties that meet their criteria on that obtuse charade of a web resource. No wonder they are mesmerized by the speed and accuracy at which I can retrieve data from my end of the online resource.
I hope it is not as transparent to the public as it is to some Realtors that MLS.ca, and now Realtor.ca, are simply there to funnel people to Realtors because they can do it better as opposed to being a valid resource that does what its owners claim it does.
All of my tirade aside, I really think it is a generational issue and perhaps the leadership does not embrace or perhaps even grasp Web 2.0. I assume they have heard of this thing called the interweeb…
So be it, this creates opportunities for web developers, marketing companies, Realtors etc. that may not exist if MLS/Realtor.ca was what it could be. I find excitement in being able to leave the cookie cutter factory that guides the Real Estate industry and am confident that being cut different than the rest of the cookies will bring success. Make no mistake, I feel the ingredients need to be the same, the shape and packaging will be different.