A fight between two providers of Colorado real estate data is catching the Boulder Valley market in the middle, angering agents and reducing the ability of buyers and sellers to get the best deal in an already ultra-competitive market.
The kerfuffle came to a head last week when Greenwood Village-based REColorado, which covers metro Denver and Broomfield, announced that beginning March 2 it would no longer share data with Loveland’s IRES, which serves Broomfield and Boulder counties and areas to the north.
IRES characterized the move as retaliatory after it declined an unsolicited buyout offer from REColorado. REColorado says the end of data sharing was already in the works and the failed acquisition was a last attempt at collaboration.
“It has become incredibly political,” said Carole Lees, a longtime Boulder County real estate agent. “Most Realtors are pretty mad about it.”
Closed MLS searches mean buyers’ agents have fewer homes to show prospective shoppers and sellers’ agents get homes in front of fewer eyes.
“In today’s market, a house that was listed at 1 p.m. the day before can already be gone,” said Greg Smith, broker/owner of Re/Max Alliance. “If you have separate entities, consumers may not have a full picture of what’s happening in the market.”
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