2012 was a fantastic, but busy, year for the Springfield MLS Service!  And now that we’re already into month two of the New Year for 2013, I realized that I never got the chance to officially say thank you for the opportunity to serve.

Thank you for trusting me to handle the leadership of the MLS board of directors.  My fellow directors were amazing in their support, their ideas and in their stimulating discussions.  We really do have some talented leaders that are coming up behind me and I am excited to see what the future holds for the Greater Springfield Board of REALTORS®.

The biggest thing on our plate this past year, and continuing forward, is the MLS Regionalization project. A strong reason for us to consider joining the new regional MLS is for consistency.  Right now, there are over five different MLS services in our southwest Missouri corner and all of the systems we use are different from the next, therefore causing blurred boundary lines and inconsistent data.  We, as REALTORS®, want what is best for our clients and when there are areas with differences in data, it is hard for us to do our job effectively.

Our goal in selling real estate is to offer our clients the best possible price in the least amount of time.  It needs to be seamless and accurate.   If the areas where two different MLS services are together, there could be a delay in time and inconsistency in market comparable data.  This is especially true if one agent or appraiser only belongs to one of the MLS services and not both.  Fortunately, we haven’t had much of an issue with those types of dilemmas in Springfield, but as the market begins to swing upward and grow, it’s always possible that this could become an issue.

Hence the reason that strategic planning is so important.  Our board sees this as an opportunity to plan for our future.  We feel positive that we are on the upswing of the real estate market and we want to be prepared to offer our clients and the citizens of the Springfield area the best service possible.  Choosing to work with a REALTOR® can make your real estate transaction a smooth success.  Especially when we have the tools, the experience and the knowledge to make sure that our clients get that best possible price in the least amount of time for their transaction.  Regionalizing our MLS can be the vehicle to make that happen.

I am happy to pass the torch onto Cass Williams, the 2013 MLS President, and I believe that she will do an excellent job of carrying our positive visions forward.

Again, thank you for the appointment to be your 2012 Springfield MLS President, it was a very rewarding experience for me, and one that I will treasure.

Sincerely,

Ava Snyder
Murney Associates REALTORS®
2012 Springfield MLS President