> I do feel like more technology is being adopted but I am curious as to why real estate tech seems so behind?
I think it's 2 things:
1) A lot of technologists find real estate abhorrent. They know it should be fixed but they don't want to be the ones to do it. That's fair. My thought is that the fundamental problem of exchanging money for land is pretty cool, even though all of the connotations of "real estate" kind of suck. So I try to think about it from first principles... what's the ideal way to exchange money for land?
2) It's complicated to get the data due to MLS regulations. Companies like yours help with this, but I believe app developers still have to apply to each MLS to legally get data from a vendor like yourself. It's not like building an app on the Twitter or Tumblr API, you have to call the MLS office and talk to real people (who are usually experts in real estate, not tech) and often pay them real money. Also, I'm guessing your IDX feeds don't always include sold properties or historical data.
> Companies like yours help with this, but I believe app developers still have to apply to each MLS to legally get data from a vendor like yourself.
Not necessarily, in some MLS areas we are able to distribute on behalf of the MLS vendor. It's on a case by case basis and still requires us to ensure we are working with a valid broker, though.
> It's not like building an app on the Twitter or Tumblr API, you have to call the MLS office and talk to real people (who are usually experts in real estate, not tech) and often pay them real money.
In general, this is true. However, we are simplifying the process :). Usually, we are able to handle all the dirty work with the MLS vendor on behalf of the broker. Especially in areas where we have a licensing agreement with that MLS already. Not all MLS's support this but we are growing our reach to handle this as smoothly as possible.
> Also, I'm guessing your IDX feeds don't always include sold properties or historical data.
We can only support what the MLS vendor supports but gaining access to sold and historical has only a problem in smaller MLS areas. It usually costs more at the MLS level, though.
I think it's 2 things:
1) A lot of technologists find real estate abhorrent. They know it should be fixed but they don't want to be the ones to do it. That's fair. My thought is that the fundamental problem of exchanging money for land is pretty cool, even though all of the connotations of "real estate" kind of suck. So I try to think about it from first principles... what's the ideal way to exchange money for land?
2) It's complicated to get the data due to MLS regulations. Companies like yours help with this, but I believe app developers still have to apply to each MLS to legally get data from a vendor like yourself. It's not like building an app on the Twitter or Tumblr API, you have to call the MLS office and talk to real people (who are usually experts in real estate, not tech) and often pay them real money. Also, I'm guessing your IDX feeds don't always include sold properties or historical data.