MLS PIN News & Announcements

Rental Beast’s “Apply Now” tool is free for MLS PIN subscribers, and the company behind it would like to help you tap into the rental market, where every rental lead can become a future buyer. With that in mind, Rental Beast has created a webinar, “ Unlock Rental Revenue Before the Competition ,” to be held on June 12th and July 10th. You’ll learn how to find more rentals, receive monthly leads, grow long-term income, and more. Prefer quick tips instead? Check out their “ Apply Now Video Library ,” featuring helpful 1-minute videos. They’ve also released Q1 Market Report a on Boston’s rental market performance and the “ Ultimate Rental Toolkit ,” an all-in-one resource to help agents succeed during peak rental season. It includes lead scripts, listing tips, market insights, and more. The rental market is hot now—let Rental Beast help you take advantage of it!

The Farmer’s Almanac calls for a rainier than normal Spring. That’s where MyFloodStatus comes in! MyFloodStatus offers the industry’s most complete, accurate, and insured flood zone reports, backed up by expert support. Reports can help eliminate risk of liability, reduce flood insurance premiums for homeowners, remove properties from high-risk flood zones, and increase buyer activity for low-risk properties in high-risk flood zones. MyFloodStatus Gold Membership is worth a look, too, providing up to 10 Flood Zone Determination reports per month for just $25/month. MyFloodStatus reports are discounted for MLS PIN subscribers and can be accessed via Pinergy’s listing details and Quick Links.

An invitation to view the latest Quarterly Market Insights (QMI) reports should have just arrived (check your email’s in box or view the message HERE ). The reports graphically illustrate both Q4 single-family and condo sales data over time and can help spot trends and anticipate future market activity. We’ve also prepared year-end 2024 reports for SF and CC units and an overview of 2024 for both SF and CC . Enjoy these interactive, sharable reports and watch for next quarter’s email on QMI for more eye-opening data and our CEO Erm Grasso’s thoughts on what it might mean.

It’s time again to share with you our Annual Report on the MLS PIN Housing Market (check your email or view the invitation HERE ). This free research tool covers all 14 counties in Massachusetts, so you get information on how your county performed as well as an overview of the whole state. The report features statistics broken down by property type, price range, and bedroom count over time, plus expert analysis of the numbers, along with a forecast of where the market may be trending in 2025.

Apply Now users, select the new Applications tab in Rental Beast’s updated dashboard to view the status of your applications. (The tab appears at the top of the page when you select the Rental Beast link in a listing or sign in through the Rental Beast tool in Pinergy.) All applications and their statuses will be in view. The new tab also includes all your listings, making it easy to see which listings do (or do not) have Apply Now enabled. And you can enable Apply Now directly from the tab without needing to access the add/edit page. The Quick Apply Link (QAL) is readily available, and the QAL page has been given a sleek redesign too. Click here to see what Rental Beast has to say about these latest updates that streamline your workflow and make managing applications smoother than ever!

Were you aware that you can view statistics for your Pinergy search results BEFORE hitting “View Results”? This VIDEO shows where to find the Stats button and how to use it to give your clients quick answers on the state of the market in their area. Choosing “Stats” unlocks, well, statistics on everything—average or median list price, list price/square foot, days to offer, days on market, and more—plus it includes charts when grouping data by status. You can get stats for up to 100,000 listings at a time for a true bird’s-eye view of the market! Check out our video and put the Stats button to good use today.

In case you missed it, check out the latest Quarterly Market Insights (QMI), an interactive collection of charts and graphs presenting last quarter’s Massachusetts single-family and condo market statistics and how they stack up to previous years. As always, our CEO Erminio Grasso gave us his analysis of the data via email in late July (click HERE to access the web version now). Check out the reports and watch every quarter to help keep an eye on market data and trends.

Check out Apply Now by Rental Beast, the go-to rental application and screening tool that’s a FREE member benefit for MLS PIN subscribers. Rental Beast gives you a streamlined experience: screening reports are generated within minutes whenever you need them, and as the agent, you'll stay at the center of the transaction with real-time notifications. Watch the video today and discover how Apply Now can make finding quality tenants a breeze for your business!

Now that Q2 (and the spring market) is ramping up, it’s a good time to look back on the first three months of 2024 and see how they compare with previous years’ Q1s. That’s where our “Quarterly Market Insights” (QMI) reports come in, with interactive charts, data tables, and maps comparing Q1 2024 statistics with previous years’ statistics in a user-friendly format. View the single-family and condo reports now, or check your email’s inbox for MLS PIN CEO Erminio Grasso’s insights into the data.

Want to know how your specific county performed in the first 3 months of 2024? How about your individual zip code? Then you’ll want to check out MLS PIN’s free Q1 2024 Marketwatch Report ! You’ll see your area’s statistics, graphs, and trends for single-family residential market activity, including median sales price, percent of original price received, days on market, closed sales, and more. Marketwatch reports for every quarter are accessible from mlspin.com’s News page, links to which appear in the MLS PIN Resources and Quick Links sections of Pinergy’s homepage.

Pinergy wasn’t the only MLS PIN website to get an update this year: the Training Library at mlspin.com has been reworked so that all the videos, pre-recorded webinars, flyers, and guides are organized in support of each topic (Pinergy, Boost, Cloud CMA, and many others). We think you’ll find it easier to navigate the many learning resources offered. If you’re looking for where to begin, try selecting “New Agents Start Here!” For even more information and time-saving tips, browse all the available Pinergy online courses at our Schedule & Registration page. Our outreach team can even meet with your office—at your convenience—to deliver virtual training on Pinergy and related tools. Schedule this at our Personalized Training page on mlspin.com. We have a lot of ways for you to increase productivity and customer satisfaction, and we hope you take advantage of them to get the most out of your subscription.

It’s time again for a new set of Quarterly Market Insights (QMI) reports for Massachusetts single-family (SF) and condominium (CC) listings. In addition to the Q4 2023 (SF) and Q4 2023 (CC) quarterly reports, we’ve also created four year-end reports: the 2023 Year-End (SF) and 2023 Year-End (CC) reports and the one-page 2023 Overview (SF) and 2023 Overview (CC) reports. Whew! Detailed and interactive, you’ll find these downloadable and sharable reports are great at spotting trends to help forecast how the coming year may play out. Did the numbers match your expectations? Find out in the latest QMI reports, and watch for new QMI reports every quarter. All Quarterly Market Insights reports are available on mlspin.com under News .

How did your county fare in Q4? How about your zip code? Review your local market's activity in the latest Marketwatch Report! This report shows data, graphs, and trends for single-family residential market activity, broken down by county and zip code so you can see how your specific area compares to other areas and previous years. Access the latest Marketwatch Report here , or select Marketwatch on mlspin.com’s News [ https://www.mlspin.com/news ] page or in the Quick Links or Resources sections of Pinergy's homepage.

The holidays are fast approaching, and you may be wondering if the real estate market gave us a gift in Q3. Our 3rd-quarter Quarterly Market Insights reports have the answers, with detailed year-over-year and five-year comparisons for both single-family and condominium markets in Massachusetts. The reports can be found in the News section of our corporate website as well as in the MLS PIN Resources and Quick Links sections of Pinergy’s Home page. Check them out, and watch for new reports every quarter.

Concerned about rising interest rates and low inventory? RatePlug can help by showing your buyers accurate monthly mortgage payment estimates—using ONLY your trusted lending sources—in Pinergy’s property reports. There’s no cost to MLS PIN agents or brokers; lenders pay a license fee to be displayed on listings and flyers. RatePlug notifies you of special financing options like FHA, VA, USDA, and more. Participation also includes their (new) digital and printable property flyer program. Turn “Can I afford that?” into “I CAN afford that!” by activating your free RatePlug account at rateplug.com and then checking the RatePlug box on your listing details in Pinergy.

The Training Library at mlspin.com has been reworked to make it easier to navigate the many learning resources it encompasses. Not sure where to begin? Try selecting “New Agents Start Here!” or “New Broker Owners/Managers Start Here!” and follow the list. Selecting the Pinergy tile will group by topic all relevant videos, pre-recorded webinars, flyers, and guides. Learn Cloud CMA, Boost, and other third-party products by selecting their tiles. The Training Library has a lot to offer, and now all that content is easier to find. Visit mlspin.com’s Training Library for tips, information, and answers designed to help increase productivity (and profits!).

For the listing process to go smoothly, it’s important to know the rules regarding filing them. Once you receive a signed, executed listing agreement to sell a single-family home, residential condo, 2- to 4-family residential building, or vacant land, you are required to file the listing with MLS PIN within 24 hours, excluding weekends and holidays. If the seller, at their initiative, asks you to withhold or delay the filing of a mandatory listing, then the requirement above may be excused—but only if, by the same 24-hour deadline for filing, you file with us a seller-signed Non-MLS Listing Form or Delayed Listing Form.

It’s Boston’s biggest moving and lease-renewal season! It’s a lot of work if you represent rentals or tenants, but Rental Beast has what you need to streamline your processes and sail through the next few high rental months. Rental Beast’s Apply Now , the mobile-friendly application and tenant-screening tool, is easy to use and allows you to send custom application links to interested parties with all the relevant listing details already filled in. Screening reports are generated within minutes, even on nights and weekends. Give it a try , and make your rental processes easier this rental season.

Curious about single-family residential market activity in your county and zip code? Then head over to MLS PIN’s Marketwatch page to view the latest report! In contrast to our Quarterly Market Insights reports (which are overviews of market conditions in MA), the Marketwatch Report breaks down key metrics data by MA county and even by zip code. All of these useful reports are available from mlspin.com’s News page, and we have links to them on Pinergy's Home page and in Pinergy’s Quick Links. These reports offer valuable insights into how the market is doing in general and, in the case of the quarterly Marketwatch Report, for your specific county and zip code.

The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® is going all out for their 2023 REALTOR® Conference, and MLS PIN will be a Platinum Sponsor of this exciting event you won’t want to miss! Being held September 27–28 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT, the conference features two days of world-class speakers, inspirational break-out sessions, and jam-packed networking opportunities—plus our booth will feature giveaways, prizes, new feature updates, and all things MLS PIN. Register today at https://www.marealtor.com/conference , and check out their video for a sneak peek at what you can expect if you go “all in” at the MAR conference this fall. #hereforitALL

The real estate market is like New England weather: hard to predict! So how was MA real estate’s 2nd quarter? We’ve got the answers for the single-family and condo markets in our Quarterly Market Insights reports (available in Pinergy’s Quick Links and on our corporate site ). As always, 12 interactive (and eye-opening) charts and graphs present year-over-year and five-year comparisons for this most recent quarter. We hope these reports help you to assist your clients and forecast the real estate market’s future.

If you find yourself touring or representing multiple homes in flood zones each month, you can get 10 MyFloodStatus Flood Zone Determination reports each month for the cost of a SINGLE report if you sign up for MyFloodStatus Gold Membership. Whether you’re working for buyers or sellers, you can get the last word on whether or not a dwelling is in or out of a flood hazard area, plus get access to comprehensive flood zone data and support and $3 million E&O insurance with each report. Signing up is easy, and there’s no contract.

MLS PIN has been made aware of recent scams nationally and, most recently, here in MA that involve individuals contacting a real estate professional to list a vacant lot for sale. These individuals are not the owner or authority to sell said property. Most often, these situations are for vacant land or a vacant home, and the communication is via email, text, or phone call. The legal team at the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® has shared with us essential steps that can be taken by real estate professionals for their safety and to prevent this scam from happening. Please review MAR's RECENT SCAMS WARNING blog post and view their How to Perform a Tax & Title Search video for further information on how to be diligent about legitimate leads. REALTORS® may call The MAR Legal Hotline at 800-370-5342 or email legalhotline@marealtor.com with questions or concerns.

Looking for a simple, secure, and efficient way to send and collect payments electronically? This spring, MLS PIN and DepositLink will have you covered. DepositLink utilizes the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network and bank-level security to eliminate check and wire fraud—with NO COST to agents or brokers and only a $12 processing fee to buyers and renters when making a payment. (Brokers must sign up before agents can use DepositLink.) Request or send earnest money deposits, rental payments, agent commissions, refunds, and closing funds using a single platform accessed right from Quick Links on Pinergy’s Home page. Track payments in real time and download reports on demand. (View DepositLink’s FAQ .) DepositLink will speed up the way you move money around so you can focus on selling. For questions on DepositLink, contact them 7 days a week at support@depositlink.com .

It’s time for our annual report on the previous year’s MA home sales, broken down by county, with the 2022 Annual Report on the MLS PIN Housing Market (view it free HERE ). It’s packed with statistics, graphs, and analysis of last year’s sales data, including property type review, price range review, bedroom count review, county-by-county area overviews and area historical prices, and more. It even includes a look ahead at 2023. While there’s no crystal ball for the future, a sharp eye for the past can help predict future trends–get the report today!

Nearly 40% of the US population is renting – in primary markets like Boston, it’s upwards of 60%! And with interest rates now at a 14-year peak, many more would-be homebuyers are turning to rentals. It’s the perfect time to reacquaint yourself with a tool you have free access to: Apply Now by Rental Beast, the lightning-fast online rental application and tenant-screening engine available directly from Pinergy. Watch this pre-recorded webinar to learn more about Apply Now , including where to access Apply Now, how it keeps you in control of transactions, how it safeguards legal compliance, and best practices for processing rental applications quickly. Rentals are often the first step toward homeownership. Whether you're a new or seasoned REALTOR®, a property manager, or a managing broker, we think you’ll find that Rental Beast makes it easier to close rental deals quickly while growing a pipeline of future homebuyers.

In today’s market, it’s more important than ever to educate yourself on the many programs that offer down payment and other financial assistance to your buyers. Fortunately, Down Payment Resource has you covered, with live and pre-recorded webinars aimed to make you an expert on the topic (register or view them HERE ). Match your clients to homeownership programs and deliver leads right to your inbox with “Grow Your First-Time Homebuyer Business.” Learn the basics about what’s available for your buyers with “Down Payment Programs 101: What Every Agent Needs to Know.” Finally, understand some common down payment assistance obstacles—real or perceived—and how to overcome them with “Those Darn DPAs!” Remember, Down Payment Resource appears on qualified listings in Pinergy. Don’t let the lack of down payment sideline your homebuyers. See what’s available to help them, and grow your business in the process.

Homesnap has just launched new 15-minute live Homesnap spotlight sessions for agents that will take place every Friday at 1:00 p.m. Each week, they will review a different function Homesnap has to offer, with Q&A after the session. Sign up for any of the live spotlight sessions HERE . As always, Homesnap hosts live training sessions on Zoom throughout the week. A schedule with registration links as well as a library of on-demand trainings and printable resources can be found HERE .

Cloud CMA Live (also known as LiveCMA) is a live and interactive version of your Cloud CMA report. With it, you can seamlessly navigate between pages and even make changes to your report dynamically while viewing or presenting your CMA. Cloud CMA Live makes it easy to start a virtual meeting with Zoom, Skype, Teams, etc., and it includes a “markup” tool so you can draw on the screen to highlight important information. The LiveCMA version is created automatically when you publish your CMA, and it comprises the most important pages of your report plus six dynamic pages (which can be edited and updated in real-time). Click “View Live” on any CMA report to open Cloud CMA Live in a new tab, and elevate your CMA presentations to the next level! View a brief Cloud CMA Live video here .

We’ve just posted two new fun videos aimed at enhancing your Pinergy skills, and you can view them anytime: “ Searching by Address in Pinergy ” and “ Customizing Pinergy’s Tools Page ” (you can find them, and other training materials, in mlspin.com’s Training Library ). “Searching by Address” covers Pinergy search techniques you might not know, like choosing multiple zip codes, street number ranges, and using the “radius” feature. “Customizing Pinergy’s Tools Page” introduces you to our redesigned Pinergy Tools, where you can hide tools you don’t need and rearrange them for easier access to the tools you use the most. We hope these short videos improve your workflow and save time in these not-so-dog days of summer!

The past few years have been historic for our industry, and our newest report, “Quarterly Market Insights,” provides insight into that history by presenting key market data over time. You can access it from Quick Links and Resources on the Pinergy homepage or click HERE. You’ll find 11 interactive pages of eye-opening data, charts, graphs, and maps, most of them going back five years. We’ll update these reports every quarter, so keep an eye on your email for future notifications on these informative, valuable reports and our CEO’s analysis of what the data means for our industry.

MLS PIN’s Marketwatch Report is a free quarterly report for Massachusetts single-family residential market activity focusing on individual counties and zip codes, and Q2 is ready now (find it on the Pinergy homepage in Quick Links and in MLS PIN Resources, or view current and archived reports HERE ). For each county, you’ll find year-over-year key metrics, plus a 3-year market activity graph and a historical median sales price chart for each county going all the way back to 2006. An “all counties” overview is included as well. Get it all with the Q2 Marketwatch Report.

We’d like to thank the many MLS PIN customers who completed our recent survey. Your responses are already helping to shape the future direction of MLS PIN’s services, system features, and offerings. Now let’s congratulate survey prize winners Elena Avtaykina, Eddie Zhang, and Gwen Zilioli, who each won Amazon gift cards. Again, thank you to everyone who participated and provided us with valuable feedback!

Congratulations to Kevin Sears for being elected 2023 first vice president of the National Association of REALTORS®! A REALTOR® from Springfield, Kevin served as president of both the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® and the REALTOR® Association of Pioneer Valley, and among his other volunteer leadership positions and awards, he was an NAR president’s liaison in 2019 and NAR vice president of government affairs in 2017. We’re proud when local leaders (and MLS PIN customers) gain national prominence, and we wish Kevin the best of luck and continued success in 2023 and beyond. For more information, click HERE .

Pinergy’s Search. The videos are in the “Search” section of mlspin.com’s Training Library . The first video, “ Using Draw Tools in a Search ,” covers how to draw shapes to use in conjunction with standard search criteria to match listings to clients with pinpoint accuracy. The second, “ Plotting Locations and Points of Interest in a Search ,” shows how to plot custom map locations and points of interest (parks, schools, etc.) that may be located nearby. The third, “ Using the Map Layers in a Search ,” demonstrates how to display borders (states, counties, zip codes) and how to use the Flood Zones and Parcels layers to view flood zone information, property history, boundary and area measurements, and tax information. Pick up some tips from the videos, and try them out today!

Do you know what percent of original list price sellers received in 2021? That eye-opening statistic (hint: it’s over 100%!) plus many more are in the 2021 Annual Report on the MLS PIN Housing Market ( download it HERE ). The guide contains data and charts comparing 5 years of sales prices, DOM, inventory, and more, plus a property type review, price range review, bedroom count review, and county-by-county area overviews. Find out how your county, and Massachusetts as a whole, fared last year.