A friend of mine and his family are moving back into the West Chicago suburbs after living elsewhere for a few years. He had a comment about a field that he feels the Multiple Listing Service needs:
They need a new field/attribute for broadband availability, so I don’t have to call 3 or 4 companies every time I consider a property. Also they should include area code and exchange in MLS listings to check DSL.
Yes, he is a geek, but he’s a full time work-at-home geek. As internet connectively is becoming more and more important in our lives for everything from telecommuting to entertainment delivery, this will start to be something that more and more people consider when they are looking. 4 years ago when my wife and I were looking for a house, one of the things on our checklist was this connectivity issue, but I had forgotten about it until the comment today.
This leaves me with a question or two: Are any MLS’s starting to include information like this? I haven’t heard of it, but its something I might not hear often. If they aren’t, what are they waiting for?
[Update 2/9: Robbie over at Rain City Guide has expanded on this with some additional data ideas.]
