MLS and other acronyms

The MLS data-scape -- and "namescape" -- is changing fast. Remember RE InfoLink, the Silicon Valley-area multiple listing service? That MLS was part of an effort -- dubbed the Northern California Real Estate Exchange or NCREX -- to consolidate with a group of other Northern California MLSs.

Two of the MLSs did consolidate, and then changed the name to MLSListings.

A separate effort to share real estate data among Northern California MLSs, dubbed Quattro, brought together a group that includes some of the original NCREX participants.

This week, MLSListings (formerly NCREX) and Quattro announced they are collaborating on an initiative that will allow participants of all four Northern California MLSs to access the full features of all participating MLSs without paying additional subscription fees.

Then there is CARETS, a Southern California effort to create a single database of property listings for a group of Southern California MLSs.

MLSAlliance is another data-sharing effort among California MLSs that includes Northern California and Southern California participants.

Meanwhile, the California Association of Realtors is pursuing the creation of a statewide property database. And the National Association of Realtors is looking into the development of a national real estate information database that was formerly called the Gateway and has more recently been referred to as The Real Estate Channel or TREC.

The race is on for data collaboration. But what's driving the race? Is this all about MLSs trying to better serve agents and brokers? Agents and brokers trying to better serve consumers? Consumers demanding more information from agents and brokers? MLSs and the associations that operate them trying to stay relevant and avoid larger consolidations?

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