Newsletter Archive 2008
January
« WIREX Announces Contract for Statewide Data Sharing
The South Central Wisconsin MLS Corporation, Multiple Listing Service, Inc. and the REALTORS Association of Northeast Wisconsin MLS Inc. are proud to announce the creation of WIREX. The three organizations have been working together for a year to develop their vision - most recently with the assistance of the Wisconsin REALTORS Association and Kevin McQueen of Focus Forward Consulting.
WIREX stands for the Wisconsin Real Estate Exchange, and its purpose is to permit all Wisconsin MLSs to combine and share their listing content into a single database for the use and benefit of all MLSs who participate in WIREX, subject to a Data Sharing Agreement and Common IDX Rules applicable to the database. The development of common IDX Rules was a key factor in meeting broker expectations.
After reviewing numberous vendors, a contract with MRIS (Metropolitan Regional Information Services) to employ their CURE or "Cornerstone" product has been approved by the three MLSs. The merging data from each MLS will begin soon. Content is anticipated to include current active listings, and all sold, pending, expired and withdrawn properties from the last three years. Documents, photos and public records will also be integrated in a RETS-compliant data server.
Once the initial three databases have been merged, the remaining Wisconsin MLS's will have the opportunity to participate and add their listing content to the database. The initial design and setup should be completed in mid-2008, and the group anticipates widespread support throughout the state. The three entities comprising the founding group represent approximately 14,000 participants or about 75% of the state of Wisconsin.
« Searching for Listings Outside Our Main MLS Area
Our MLS covers mainly South Central and Southwest Wisconsin (click here for map). Occasionally an agent will list a property located outside of this region. The location codes used for these listings are Y01 for other parts of Wisconsin, Y02 for Illinois, Y03 for Minnesota, and Y04 for Iowa. If you are looking for a specific county or municipality outside the South Central/Southwest Wisconsin region, it works best to skip the location box and use the County or Municipality search boxes which are located on the bottom of the Primary Criteria search screen.
« December 2007 MLS Stats By Price Range (PDF Format)
« December 2007 and YTD/Annual MLS Stats (PDF Format)
February
« How Do I Search For Open Houses in Paragon?
You can search for upcoming open houses under the Search Program in Paragon. Click on Search, Property, and select the property class. Open up the Advanced Criteria section at the bottom to find the Open House Date search prompt.
If you have access to add and change listings, you can find fields to enter open house date and time to your listings under the VTour/Open House tab under Maintain Listings. When the open house date is past, Paragon automatically deletes the date and time.
Open house date and time as entered in Paragon is included on the Agent Full Report.
In addition, there is an Open House Brochure included as a Detail View under the Views/Reports button. Open house date and time also displays on
www.wisconsinhomes.com.
« Photos For Properties Under Construction
When entering a property that is under construction, you may include a sketch or a photo of a similar model. If you use a photo of a similar model, please make sure the photo has the words "similar model" included as part of the photo.
« January 2008 MLS Stats By Price Range (PDF Format)
« January 2008 and YTD/Annual MLS Stats (PDF Format)
March
« Statistical Reports
The MLS produces several pre-defined statistical reports on a monthly, year-to-date, and annual basis. These reports can be found by clicking on the Statistics button located on the menu bar to your left.
« Repeating Searches in Paragon
Paragon always remembers the last search you did. During your current Paragon session, the last search criteria automatically appears. If you logout and log back in, the search criteria does not automatically appear, but you can reload it by selecting Load Search and then Load Last Search from the buttons directly above the search prompts.
« Labeling Bathrooms Correctly
Please use the following guidelines when identifying bathrooms in the MLS:
-A Quarter Bath includes a stool.
-A Half Bath includes a stool and a sink.
-A Three-Quarter Bath includes a stool, a sink, and a shower stall.
-A Full Bath includes a stool, a sink, and a bathtub (a shower may also be included)
.
If you don’t have a stool, you don’t have a bathroom
« February 2008 MLS Stats By Price Range (PDF Format)
« February 2008 and YTD/Annual MLS Stats (PDF Format)
April
« Entering Net Taxes
Please remember to update tax amounts on current active listings. When entering Net Taxes, the figure that should be used is after other taxes, specials, and the lottery credit (if applicable) are applied.
« Paragon/Profile Sheet Changes - March 18
Farm Class to be Merged with Residential
Over time we have seen the number of true farms listed in the MLS decline. Currently we have 450 active farm/farmette listings (2% of our total active listings), and over half of them are also listed in Residential. In working with other MLSs in the state during the process of combining data for WIREX, it was discovered that the other MLSs do not have a separate class for farm; therefore Farm is not included as a class within the statewide WIREX database.
When comparing the current farm profile sheet to residential, more than 80% of the sheet is the same. Maintaining separate property databases, profile sheets, and reports is costly and time consuming. We have also heard complaints that having to do two separate searches to find farmettes is confusing and time consuming as there has been no uniformity in placement of property in farms/farmettes.
All of these factors were taken into consideration by the MLS Committee and the MLS Board of Directors when they made their decision to combine Farms with Residential.
On Tuesday, March 18, farm listings in the South Central Wisconsin MLS will automatically be converted to residential and the farm class will be deleted.
In order to allow you to still search for farms, we have added a feature labeled Farm under the Type Feature. In addition we have added Pasture, Tillable and In Federal/State Land Program under the Lot Description feature. We have also added a new searchable feature group called Farm Features. The selections under this new feature are Dairy Farm, Livestock Farm, Horse Farm, Crop Farm, Tree Farm, Organic Farm, Barn(s), Outbuilding(s), Machine Shed, Feed Storage Unit(s), and Currently non-working. Lastly, we have developed an associated document that must be attached to all listings that are marked as Farm under Type. This associated document includes all the information that was on the farm profile sheet that is not on the residential profile sheet, such as information on outbuildings and acreage breakdown. This form and the new Residential Profile sheet can be found under Forms on www.scwmls.com as well as under MLS Documents on Paragon.
New Features Added
Besides the new features being added to Single Family for farm properties, we have also added a new feature group for Environmentally Friendly Features. This new feature will be added to Single Family, Condominium, and Multi Family. The choices for this new feature will be: Green Built Certified, WI Energy Star Certified, Energy Assessment Available, and Energy Star Appliances. The actual certificate is required to be attached as an associated document. If you have a listing that has one or more of these features, please modify your listing to include this important information.
A few other feature selections have been added under existing feature groups as follows:
| Condominium............. | Terms/Misc............. | Condo Docs to be Recorded |
| Muti Family................ | Miscellaneous.......... | Elevator |
| Lots & Acreage......... | Lot Description........ | On Golf Course |
| Lots & Acreage......... | Miscellaneous.......... | Shared Drive Required |
Residential to Single Family & Residential Income to Multi Family
In an effort to reduce confusion caused by duplicate listings between the classes of Residential and Residential Income, the MLS Committee and the Board of Directors voted to rename the Residential class to Single Family and the Residential Income class to Multi Family. This change will also bring our MLS in line with the work being done for WIREX.
Along with this change comes a rule that will prohibit single family properties from being listed within multi family and multi family properties from being listed within single family. The only exception is for multi family dwellings that were originally single family dwellings and can be converted back, these can continue to be listed as both single family and multi family.
Most of the current single family rentals are located downtown Madison. As our MLS territory grows, agents in outlying areas have been confused as to why they would find single family homes mixed with multi family properties. For those listing single family rentals or searching for single family rentals, location plays a huge factor, and the feature tenant occupied is also a helpful trigger.
School District Added
Currently our MLS includes fields for Elementary, Middle, and High School, but does not include School District. Often times Call School District is used for the actual schools as it is questionable as to the exact school a buyer’s children would attend. School District will be a helpful search field in these cases. School District will be auto populated for all listings based on High School. If you currently have Call School District entered for High School on any of your listings, please go in and select the correct School District.
« What Can I Count as Finished Square Footage
To qualify as finished square footage, the space must be heated, have finished walls (painted concrete does not count), have a finished ceiling (no exposed floor joists), and have a finished floor (painted concrete does not count). If one of these four components is missing, the space can still be counted as finished, but disclosure of the missing component must be included in the MLS remarks.
« Agent Full Report - Confidential Fields
Please remember that certain data fields in the MLS, as listed below, are considered confidential, and therefore available only in broker-to-broker reports. Reports containing these fields may not be distributed to the public. As the agent full report in Paragon contains these fields, this report should be used internally by Members of the MLS only, and not given to the public. We have had recent reports of the Agent Full report being left in brochure boxes. This is against MLS rules. Please remove Agent Full reports and replace them with Customer Full reports if you have been including them in brochure boxes.
| -Listing Date | -Named Exceptions Y/N |
| -Expiration Date | -Variable Commission Y/N |
| -Subagent Commission | -Licensee Interest Y/N |
| -Buyer Agent Commission | -Limited Service Y/N |
| -Owner Name | -Subject to Policy Letter Y/N |
| -Broker-to-Broker Comments | -Exclusive Agency Y/N |
| -Occupancy Features | -Internet Y/N |
« WIREX Update
The South Central Wisconsin MLS Corporation, Multiple Listing Service, Inc. and the REALTORS® Association of Northeast Wisconsin MLS Inc. announced in 2007 the creation of a joint data project known as WIREX. The three organizations have been working together for more than a year to develop a vision of sharing data across MLSs, most recently with the assistance of the Wisconsin Realtors® Association and Kevin King, and with Kevin McQueen of Focus Forward Consulting.
"WIREX" stands for the Wisconsin Real Estate Exchange, and its purpose is to permit all Wisconsin MLS's to combine and share their listing content into a single database for the use and benefit of all MLSs who choose to participate in WIREX, subject to a Data Sharing Agreement and Common IDX Rules applicable to the database. The development of common IDX Rules was a key factor in meeting broker expectations.
After reviewing numerous vendors, a contract with MRIS (Metropolitan Regional Information Services) to employ their CURE or "Cornerstone" product was approved by the three MLSs. Together with MRIS, the MLSs have over the past few months accomplished the task of merging or "data mapping" their MLS data. That phase is complete and we will begin testing the quality of the combined data in February and March. The shared WIREX content will include all active listings and sold, pending, expired and withdrawn listings from the last three years. Documents, photos and public records will also be integrated in a RETS-compliant data server. The common IDX data is currently proposed to be the first product to become available to MLS brokers in second quarter 2008. Common IDX rules will apply and brokers who want to provide consumers with expanded market information through their web sites will be able to do so through a single access RETS feed from WIREX.
Once the initial three databases have been merged and Participants can successfully access and use the data, the remaining Wisconsin MLS's will have the opportunity to participate and add their listing content to the database. The initial design and setup should be completed in 2008, and the group anticipates widespread support throughout the State. The three entities comprising the founding group represent approximately 14,000 participants or about 75% of the state of Wisconsin.