Free MLS Now Available from Realty Firm
Real estate market downturn creates strange bedfellows as brokerage sleeps with the enemy. The U.S.[tag] real estate market[/tag] may be running out of steam, but the downturn may be helping to clear the air of mistrust between traditional [tag]realtors[/tag] and the Internet community as two realty firms announced groundbreaking deals with [tag]Google[/tag] and [tag]Microsoft[/tag].
Late Thursday, Prudential California/Nevada/Texas Realty, one of the largest real estate brokerages in the United States, said it will make its property listings available for search on Google, a watershed move for a major player in an industry that jealously guards its listing data.
In another air-clearing announcement, John L. Scott Real Estate, a Pacific Northwest-based realty company, said it will expand its use of [tag]Virtual Earth[/tag], Microsoft’s satellite and aerial imagery service, to home shoppers in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington.