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An Open Letter to Real Estate Industry Leaders
Is It Time to Think Beyond MLS®?
Could a global Information Listing Service help real estate professionals identify opportunities earlier, increase business and better serve the public?
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For more than 32 years, we have been developing what we believe is an important companion to MLS®—an Information Listing Service, or ILS, designed to help licensed real estate brokers and salespeople network opportunities before traditional listings are signed.
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Valuable Real Estate Information Exists Before a Listing
Every day, real estate brokers and salespeople hear valuable information that may never appear on MLS®.
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- “I may sell if the right buyer comes along.”
- “I am looking for an apartment building.”
- “I have a buyer seeking industrial land.”
- “I know someone considering selling a business.”
- “I need investment property, a farm, hotel, plaza, restaurant or development site.”
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This information may remain scattered across conversations, emails, meetings, telephone calls, social media groups, spreadsheets, notebooks and private databases.
As a result, opportunities may be missed—not because real estate professionals are not working hard, but because the right people never hear about the information at the right time.
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The Central Question
What if this information could be shared professionally, confidentially where appropriate, and made searchable through one global network?
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That Has Been the ICIWorld® Vision Since 1994
ICIWorld® was created as an Information Listing Service where licensed real estate professionals can place and search both Haves and Wants.
A “Have” may be a property, business or opportunity that is available or could become available. A “Want” identifies what a buyer, investor, tenant or other party is seeking.
This information can be networked before a traditional listing exists, while respecting confidentiality, licensing responsibilities, codes of conduct, company policies and applicable laws.
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Evidence of the Concept
More Than $1 Billion in Reported Transactions
ICIWorld members have reported more than $1 billion in completed real estate transactions resulting from information networking, including opportunities identified before traditional listings were signed.
Why Is the Industry Not Talking More About It?
If an Information Listing Service has demonstrated that it can help brokers discover opportunities, complete transactions and increase revenue, it raises a fair and important question:
Why has the concept not yet received greater attention from real estate leaders, organizations, companies and industry media?
This question is not intended as criticism. It is an invitation to consider the possibilities.
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There may be many understandable reasons:
- Some leaders may not yet be aware that an ILS exists.
- They may be focused on the immediate demands of managing their organizations.
- They may assume that MLS® already addresses every form of real estate information.
- They may not have been shown enough evidence to consider the concept seriously.
- They may simply not yet have had the time or opportunity to evaluate it.
- Many successful commercial brokers quietly keep their information sources to themselves. Members often regard the Information Listing Service as a competitive advantage. They may not tell colleagues—even within their own office—where they are finding buyers, sellers, referrals and opportunities. Consequently, industry leaders may see successful transactions without realizing that an Information Listing Service helped create the connection.
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Whatever the reason, we believe the idea deserves thoughtful examination by leaders who care about the future of the profession.
An ILS Does Not Replace MLS®
MLS® remains one of the real estate industry’s most important systems for marketing signed listings and cooperating on transactions.
An Information Listing Service serves a different purpose.
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An ILS can help professionals:
- Identify opportunities before formal listings exist.
- Network confidential information where appropriate.
- Post buyer and tenant requirements as searchable Wants.
- Connect professionals across companies, markets and countries.
- Reduce dependence on scattered social media posts and private messages.
- Help brokers and salespeople generate additional business and revenue.
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MLS® and an Information Listing Service can work alongside one another.
Imagine the Possibilities
Imagine licensed real estate professionals around the world having one recognized place to network both Haves and Wants.
Imagine reducing the fragmentation of information currently spread across hundreds of websites, social media communities, email lists, meetings, databases and private networks.
Imagine real estate professionals discovering opportunities sooner, making better connections and providing more complete service to buyers, sellers, investors, landlords, tenants and business owners.
Imagine brokerages, associations, franchises, technology companies and industry media helping build awareness of a worldwide information network that creates opportunities for everyone.
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“If the Internet has connected nearly every type of information in the world, why is real estate opportunity information still scattered across thousands of disconnected places?”
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An Invitation to Real Estate Leaders
We respectfully invite leaders of brokerages, associations, boards, franchise organizations, technology companies, educational institutions, media organizations and professional networks to examine the Information Listing Service concept.
We welcome thoughtful questions, constructive criticism, demonstrations, research, partnerships and collaboration.
This is not simply about promoting another real estate website.
It is about asking whether the entire profession could benefit from a recognized global Information Listing Service working alongside MLS®.
If the concept can help real estate professionals create more business, increase revenue and better serve the public, then it deserves serious consideration.
Help Build It for the World
The goal is not merely to build a larger company.
The goal is to help build a more connected real estate profession—one in which valuable information can be found, shared and acted upon before opportunities disappear.
The future of real estate has always been shaped by leaders willing to examine new ideas, challenge established assumptions and ask better questions.
Perhaps the Information Listing Service is one of those ideas.
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We Invite You to Look at the Big Picture
Learn about the ICIWorld® Information Listing Service, review the evidence and consider how industry leaders could help develop this opportunity for the real estate profession worldwide.
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ICIWorld® is an information networking service. Real estate brokers and salespeople remain responsible for the information they place, use and distribute, including compliance with their licensing obligations, brokerage policies, professional codes of conduct, advertising rules and all applicable laws.
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