Four Reasons to Love Clean and Accurate Data

It’s February and love is in the air!

I realize that “love” and “Rules & Regulations” are not common parings, but in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, it turns out clean and accurate data are loved by a lot of people for a variety of reasons.

So, to borrow from Browning: “How much do (we) love thee, (clean and accurate data)?

Let (us) count the ways!

1. Agents Love It

…especially for CMAs, property reports and their own professional knowledge.

Clean data helps agents create the most informational and accurate comparative market analyses (CMAs) for clients and prospective clients. CMAs support agents in their role as local real estate experts. CMAs include reliable local market data such as recently sold and comparison properties to help customers and prospects make informed decisions about listing prices and offers.

Besides CMAs, there are several property reports agents can create to present to their sellers and buyers. Your NorthstarMLS subscription provides a number of options including RPR, Realist, ShowingTime and InfoSparks as well as tools included in your Matrix, Flexmls and Paragon MLS systems. Log in to the NorthstarMLS Dashboard to check them out.

Also talk to your broker about CMAs. Some offices provide additional CMA tools for use within their brokerage.

What agent doesn’t LOVE to know the most they can about the properties they are selling or presenting to buyers? In addition to playing a vital role in your client’s transactions, all MLS users can trust that their decisions are made using clean and accurate data.

2. Appraisers Adore It

Clean and accurate data guides the appraisal process to create accurate evaluations of properties. This includes error-free finished square footage calculations and foundation measurements and Rules-compliant photos.

3. Subscribers Rely on It

Your job is busy enough without having to visit multiple sites to find accurate data. Part of the value NorthstarMLS provides subscribers is that one-stop shop for clean, accurate and centralized data.

The new Northstarmls.com website Resources tab includes more than 90 Rules & Regulations articles on a variety of topics, including Data Accuracy to help you present accurate and helpful information in your listings.

4. Clients and Prospects Desire It

…whether they are just daydreaming online or trying to get to that first (showing) date.

There’s a reason “being on the market” applies to both finding love and transacting real estate. Having clean and accurate data added to the MLS is then syndicated (based on your broker’s preferences) to websites for members of the public to view. This increases the exposure to sellers to help sell the property quicker.

Attractive, accurate photos. Many modern love affairs start online with good pictures. The same holds true in real estate, with real estate photos playing important roles in attracting prospective buyers.

Just like a dating profile, photos are where potential buyers look first on listings, so it’s important to have great photography and videos. Not only should they showcase a property in an attractive manner, but they should also be accurate representations of the property as mentioned above.

Accurate directions. Another important part of the listing used to attract prospective buyers is accurate directions.

Buyers want to get to showings on time and have arranged to do so, possibly leaving work early, making childcare arrangements or juggling other calendar constraints that don’t accommodate the extra time being lost takes.

Don’t forget the sellers’ time and what could be a busy ShowingTime schedule for newly listed properties that attract a lot of attention in this limited market.

Also, remember the other agents, appraisers and everyone else involved in making this love match work. They too appreciate accurate directions so they can do their part to make the transaction happen.

Correct property valuations. Buyers, sellers and snoopers love to see property valuations. That can only happen with clean and accurate data.

How to Find, Create and Maintain Clean Data

There are so many reasons we love clean and accurate data and several great places to find it. When creating a listing, it is best to work with your sellers and discuss the importance of accurate data.

Please be sure to measure the home yourself or pay for the home to be professionally measured. Do NOT use the previous listing data.

Check with your City/County for tax information if you are unsure the data is correct. Depending on the locale, either the city or county manages compliance. A call to the city can help determine which of these local governments has jurisdiction.

Help us help you spread the love of data!

Have questions?

More information about clean and accurate data can be found in the Rules & Regulations section of the NorthstarMLS website. Have additional questions? Contact the NorthstarMLS Rules + Regs team at rules@northstarmls.com.