Southwest MLS is excited to announce big changes to the UTILITY fields in the FlexMLS input forms and MLS reports. These changes were approved by the SWMLS Board of Directors in late 2018 and are being implemented to make searching for Utility features on a property much easier and to ensure the SWMLS listing “Utility” data follows the latest industry standards.

This article contains a preview of the new changes to the Utility Fields in FlexMLS and answers some preliminary questions you might have about the update.

The field changes are scheduled to occur in FlexMLS on Wednesday, February 27th. The changes could affect your existing Saved Searches (and Auto Searches) that use a Utility Field and could also affect your Listed Properties. Once the changes are completed anyone with an Active, Withdrawn, or Pending listing will need to update their listings and Saved Searches to ensure the Utility information is being utilized. Communications about the changes will be posted in FLEX and directly to listing agents throughout the month to ensure that everyone can take advantage of the new fields like Water Conservation or Electric Provider.

Quick Summary of Utility Changes

• 7 EXISTING Detail Fields will be revised
• 5 NEW Detail Fields will be added
• Utility information on some existing listings could move to a different Detail section
• All Active, Pending, Withdrawn listings should be reviewed for accuracy during the change
• Saved Searches could be affected if they use a Utility Field as the criteria
• MLS Compliance warnings will not be issued for listings affected by the Utility changes

What is changing on February 27th?

Cooling:  Not a current field in FLEX, will be added for Property Types Residential, Residential Income, Commercial Lease, Commercial Sale, and Residential Rental. A list describing the cooling or air conditioning features of the property.

Heating:  Existing Detail Field in FLEX, will have revisions applicable to Property Types Residential, Residential Income, Commercial Sale, Commercial Lease, and Residential Rental. A list describing the heating features of a property.

Water Source:  Currently exists now as Water/Sewer will be renamed to ‘Water Source’.   Applicable to Property Types Residential, Residential Income, and Vacant Land.  A list of the source(s) of water for the property.

Water Information:  This is an existing Detail Field for just Farm/Ranch and Vacant Land Listings. Minor changes are being made to the Water Information choices. 

Sewer:  Currently exists now as Water/Sewer, will be given its own category called ‘Wastewater’.   Applicable to Property Types Residential, Residential Income and Vacant Land. A list describing the sewer or septic features of the property.

Septic:  Currently uses the Water/Sewer Field, will be given its own category of ‘Wastewater’.   Applicable to Property Types Residential, Residential Income, and Vacant Land

Laundry Power:  Currently an existing Detail Field. Minor changes are being made to the Laundry Power choices. Applicable to Property Types  Residential and Residential Rental.  A list of the source(s) of power used in Laundry Rooms on Residential/Commercial properties.

New Fields being added on February 27th

Electric:  New Field for Property Types Residential and Residential Income. A list of electric-service related features of the property.

Electric Provider:  New Field to identify the Electricity provider for that property. Applicable to Property Types Residential and Residential Income.

Water Conservation:  New Field added that contains a list of general water conserving attributes of the property such as landscaping or reclamation without naming specific elements with ratings that may wane over time. Applicable to Property Types Residential.

Irrigation Source:  New Detail Field that is used to identify the source of water irrigation being used on the property. Applicable to Residential, Vacant Land, Residential Income, Commercial Sale, and Farm/Ranch. The source which the property receives its water for irrigation.

Utilities:  The Utilities Field currently exists now for Vacant Land and Commercial Listings but will add to the property types Residential, Residential Income, and Farm/Ranch.   This Utility List will be used to identify the primary Utilities on that property and if connections are available or not available.

The example below shows some of the existing Utility Fields that will differ slightly beginning February 27th.

Questions and Answers

Why are the changes being made?  

• The changes are being made to improve searching for the Utility information (Heating, Cooling, Water Source, Electric, etc) on a listing AND also to improve the way the data appears on reports and listings. 
• Another reason is to ensure that all Property Types have consistent names with similar choices. This will improve the ability to search for the same type of Utility information on different property types.   
• To ensure the MLS data meets current Real Estate Industry Standards.     
• Update older detail choices that are no longer being used and only apply to one property type.   
• To better organize the listing information displaying on the new ABQ Detail Report.

Where can I learn more about the Utility Field choices?

A SWMLS Utility Resource Manual is available here.  The Manual will also be accessible from the MLS Intranet library.  

Why would I receive a notice to revise my listing details?   Due to the amount of changes being done in the Utility Fields many listings for Sale in the MLS will be affected by the change. It is important that you review your Listed Properties and Saved Searches as soon as possible to ensure that the Utility information is accurate. SWMLS will be posting a series of communications in Flex and contacting Listing Agents directly over the next few weeks to ensure features like Heating, Cooling, Utilities, and Electric Provider, etc. are being reported accurately.

Have more questions? Please call us at 505-843-8833 or email mls@gaar.com and we can help.

Jeffrey Bratton is the MLS Manager at Southwest Multiple Listing Service, Inc. This New Mexico native and UNM graduate (Go Lobos) began his real estate career at the Albuquerque Metropolitan Board of Realtors in 2006 and provides technical training and real estate support for the 3,600 REALTORS® and Appraisers in the Greater Albuquerque Area. In addition to managing the MLS system, he currently serves as a liaison for the MLS committees: SWMLS Policy Committee, SWMLS Compliance Committee, SWMLS Technology Task Force, and is also a member of the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) and Council of Multiple Listing Services (CMLS).