Connection 2008 By Scott R. Forcino P.C., Attorney at Law, Real Estate Editor Scott's Bio     Email article    RSS feed      Share on  facebook

This month I had the pleasure of learning more about Connection 2008, a two-day event held in Philadelphia in April. It was described as a “collaborative format to discuss the challenges and define the path of how the MLS industry can serve the changing needs of its members.”

The Conference kicked off with a reception in the Historic Landmark Building of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

The subject areas to be discussed amongst national MLS (multiple listing industry) association executives were:

1. the full range of activities for real estate firms the challenges they face, specifically, the products and services offered for the entire homeownership experience; buying, selling, financing, moving and relocating
2. the national debate whether MLS organizations should compete with broker web-sites and have direct access to the customer
3. how brokerages have altered their business models to meet consumer expectations concerning non traditional broker services
4. opportunities for brokerages and MLS’s to collaborate to serve the public and consumers and to avoid conflict in doing so
5. legal issues which influence critical business decisions

The foregoing topics were introduced as panel discussions and rose to a spirited debate.

As usual, there were networking cocktail parties where introductions were made and new relations formed. Plenty of food and drink and time to make new friends and exchange business cards and meet people who know the people they already knew.

These type of informational and educational conferences accomplish much to further the collaborative initiative of MLS’s and brokers across the nation.