Spat between Colorado multiple-listing services draws ire of real estate agents

LOVELAND — Subscribers to the multiple-listing service Information Real Estate Services Inc. in Loveland no longer have as much deep data on past sales in the Denver metro and Colorado Springs areas at their fingertips, which real estate agents say hinders their ability to provide accurate information to their clients.

Up until a month ago, subscribers to IRES’ data were provided access to past sales going back 10 years in those regions, but that has been whittled to six months.

IRES, which basically covers Boulder and Broomfield counties and cities in Northern Colorado, thought it was providing the information through a data-sharing agreement with Denver-based REcolorado, an MLS service formerly called Metrolist that covers the Denver metro area, and the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors in Colorado Springs.

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But Kirby Slunaker, president and chief executive of REcolorado, said IRES was violating an agreement the three organizations signed in 2003 by placing REcolorado and Pikes Peak Association of Realtors listings into their public records system, and by keeping and providing members with 10 years’ worth of REcolorado and PPAR sold data, while the agreement allows for access to six months’ worth of sold data.

“We believe their intention was to provide a competitive advantage for their members and make it easier for their brokers to expand into the Denver market,” Slunaker wrote in a blog posted in September.

REcolorado sent two cease-and-desist letters to IRES, demanding IRES share only six months of sales data generated by REcolorado and Pikes Peak to its subscribers. Slunaker sent a message Oct. 12 to his group’s subscribers that IRES had come into compliance with the 2003 agreement and that data-sharing will continue.

Lauren Hansen, CEO of IRES, sees it differently, saying the agreement was revised in 2007 to include more data-sharing. However, a formal contract was never signed.

“Unfortunately, there is a serious misunderstanding regarding how much data is appropriate for the exchange,” Hansen said. “Our goal is and always has been to provide as much property information to brokers in order to better serve clients — whether listing, selling or establishing a value.”

She said the original data-sharing agreement in 2003 allowed for a limited amount of information to be exchanged, along with six months of data on home sales.

She said that in 2007, several brokers from both Metrolist and IRES were part of an MLS Oversight Committee that demanded more information be made available. Hansen wrote recently in a message to IRES subscribers, “In 2008, we did just that and even coordinated the simultaneous release between IRES and Metrolist. That exchange was based on specs drafted by our tech teams, at the direction of Metrolist, IRES and the MLS Oversight Committee. In hindsight, it is clear that we should have had a formal document signed at that time since that is the issue today.”

Slunaker said REcolorado and Pikes Peak subscribers have been receiving 10 years worth of data from home sales in their respective regions, but the groups were only providing six month of sales information from IRES data.

“It’s unfortunate that because IRES subscribers had been receiving information incorrectly that we have to be the bad guys, but the 2003 agreement says to share only six months of data,” said Slunaker, who joined REcolorado four years ago.

Kelly Moye, a Realtor with Re/Max Alliance in Broomfield, a director for the Boulder Area Board of Realtors and an official media spokeswoman for the Colorado Association of Realtors,” said it’s probably time to share all data available. With the Internet, geographical lines really don’t make sense anymore.

“Realtors need this data. Six months of data is not a long enough period to run trends,” she said, adding that the time might be right for one MLS service. “If this continues, a third-party will come along and offer all the data, so Realtors won’t have to subscribe to multiple MLS services.”

Osman Parvaz, a Realtor with Realty Unique in Boulder, in a blog posted Oct. 9 titled “When MLS Systems Compete, You Lose,” said the risk of incomplete data is that buyers and sellers are making decisions without getting the full picture.

“You might be leaving tens of thousands of dollars on the table in exchange of bragging rights over how quickly ‘your’ agent sold it. If you’re buying and find yourself in a situation of intense pressure, you might be grossly overpaying because you didn’t have access to the full comp set.”

Ron Lampo, a Realtor in Broomfield, sent an email to REcolorado that reflects frustration and anger felt by many IRES subscribers.

“Many of your members do not appreciate the elementary school playground bully you are emulating,” Lampo wrote. “We’ll all be in a better spot when you stop focusing on self-promotion and start focusing on the business of serving your members. If you don’t, and looking at your track record over the past 10 years doesn’t give me hope, we’ll all either be out of a job or working for your friends at Zillow. It’s time to step up your game for all of the agents you serve.”

There have been talks about a possible merger between the groups that go back as far as 2003, but Slunaker said, “It wouldn’t be a merger of equals. We are three to four times bigger than IRES.”

Moye said there are striking differences in the MLSs’ business models. “IRES is owned by IRES and puts all its proceeds back into the service.  REcolorado is owned by several real estate associations that are paid dividends.”

IRES this year has been expanding its coverage area, having formed partnerships with MLS services in southwest Colorado and Grand Junction to post listings on IRES’ website ColoProperty.com.