Your New Shared Regional MLS® System Is Almost Here!

What is it?

The MLS® System of the Ontario Collective (OC) is merging with that of the Ontario Regional Technology & Information Systems Inc. (ORTIS).

The new system is keeping the same general platform - Matrix - so many aspects will be familiar to you. There will also be some new functions and services that you will need to get used to before the old system is discontinued.

What does it do?

You will be provided with data access across 22 Boards.

The data fields in the new system are based on the fields in the current system, but you'll notice some improvements.

When is the transition happening?

The transition process will begin with a parallel period where both the old and new Matrix Systems will be available. During parallel, input will occur only in the old system. Once this is turned off, listing input will only occur in the new MLS® System. During parallel, all listings will be updated from the old to the new system every 2 hours.

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What You Need to Do During the Parallel Period and After

Parallel has two primary goals - the first is to orient users to the new system, but the second - and perhaps most important - is to allow Members to review their information (personal as well as listing information) to ensure that the information is correct. While considerable effort has been invested in mapping the old data fields into the new fields, there will be places where it goes awry, and we need your help to identify and correct any glitches.

In many ways, this transition will be easier than your last one, since we are keeping the same general platform - Matrix. So, while many aspects will be quite familiar, there will also be many tweaks and some new services you should familiarize yourself with prior to the old system being discontinued.

The data fields in the new system are based on what you have in the current one, as well as some changes that have been made based on trainers' feedback to make it even better. When all users will have the ability to access the new system, we strongly recommend you spend some time reviewing your listings and reporting any issues you find. Please also review your user settings, such as phone numbers, registration type, assistants, etc. That will be the ideal time to fix and further configure the new MLS® system to minimize the impact and issues during final cut-over. If you find any issues, please report them to matrixhelp@lstar.ca.

What will convert and what will not?

Below is a list of items that will and will not convert to the new system.

The data in the 'will convert' column will be updated every two hours in the New Matrix MLS® System.

Even though we have endeavoured to make this transition as seamless as possible for you by converting as much information as possible, there will be some things we are unable to do and that will require your individual attention. Please be sure to take the time during the parallel period to review and make any necessary changes to your listings, user settings, etc. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to LSTAR MLS® staff.

To do checklist: after the end of parallel period

• ***IMPORTANT*** Verify your Auto-Emails. If you turn on auto emails in the New Matrix you may want to consider turning them off in the legacy/current system or at least inform your contact that they could receive duplicate emails from you.
• ***IMPORTANT*** Check to see if your Contacts have been exported accurately. Only Contacts containing an email address will be transferred as Matrix requires the email address as a unique identifier.
• ***IMPORTANT*** Review all active listings to ensure existing data has been mapped correctly (each field and value), as well as amend any existing listing with content for new fields that was previously not available.
• Ensure your browser is the latest browser version available on your desktops. (Matrix is supported by the most recent versions of Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Android Browser, Chrome Mobile, Safari Mobile)
• Set-up your personal/marketing information in Matrix such as: email signatures, headers, footers, portal profile and CMA Cover Sheets
• Verify your Portal Activity Notification Settings
• Set-up your Market Watch and Hot Sheet preferences
• Save any CMAs from your current/legacy system that you would like to keep, they will not export to the new system. These files can be saved via hard copy or through a PDF to your desktop.

New data input forms

The new Listing Entry Forms are being finalized and should be released for viewing shortly. ***IMPORTANT*** Please continue to use the current forms until the final system cut-over on February 19, 2020. There have been some significant changes to the forms in comparison to the current listing entry forms. Here are some of the changes you should be aware of:

• Listing Entry Forms will only be offered through electronic means in the beginning (WEBForms®/PDFs) until schema changes to the system are stabilized.
• The form content has been significantly expanded to bring a compliance with RESO (Real Estate Standards Organization), and integration of the best-in-breed of both the ORTIS & Ontario Collective MLS® Systems, providing more opportunities to provide listing details.

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Top Three Changes Coming with Your New MLS® System

As a result of the MLS® data merger between the Ontario Collective (OC) and the Ontario Regional Technology and Information Systems (ORTIS), there will be a lot of changes to LSTAR's MLS® Policies, as well as to the Association's Rules and Regulations.

Out of these, the following three changes will have the greatest impact on your day-to-day work.

1. Square Footage

Adding square footage information to each listing will be MANDATORY for all the members of the Boards within the newly created organization.

The leaders of newly created company are currently working on providing resources for the 22 Boards.

2. Reporting Time

You will no longer have 48 hours to report:

• Sales
• New listings
• Changes
• Missing or incorrect mandatory fields, information and supplements
• A Member's or Administrator's termination

Reporting time has changed from 48 hours to 24 hours.

3. Co-operating Brokerage Compensation

In a deficiency situation, the Co-operating Brokerage will be paid first. Here is an excerpt from the MLS® Rules and Regulations of the newly created company.

"Where the full compensation is not received by the Listing Brokerage, and where the Co-operating Brokerage is entitled to a share of the compensation to be paid by the Seller and not from the buyer pursuant to a Buyer Representation or Buyer Customer Service Agreement, the following provisions shall apply:

• a) The Listing Brokerage shall first pay to the Co-operating Brokerage the lesser of:
  • i) the Co-operating Brokerage's share of the full compensation, and
  • ii) the amount of compensation received at any time and from time to time by the Listing Brokerage in respect of the Trade, without deduction for collection or other costs incurred by the Listing Brokerage."

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