A Message From Jim Speer, CEO, OneKey™ MLS Each year at this time there are many questions regarding the Association dues vs. the MLS Subscriber Fees. They typical question is “If I pay dues to the Association why do I also pay a Subscriber Fee to the MLS?”   The simple answer to the above question is that Association dues and MLS fees are NOT the same and the monies are used solely by each organization for the different services they each provide. The Associations and OneKey™ MLS are totally separate entities.   The money paid to OneKey™ MLS in the Participation and Subscriber fees are what allows us to provide the products and services used each day in your business. These include such things as the MLS systems, public records, online forms, and onekeymls.com to provide leads, the staff contacted on a daily basis for assistance and many more.   The typical subscriber fees around the country range from $20 - $45 per month. As you know, the OneKey™ MLS Subscriber Fee for 2020 was $110 for the year, which comes to less than $10 per month.   As the Board of Managers puts together the budget for 2021, they will work hard to stay below what the typical fees are paid by MLS Subscribers around the country.

Governor Cuomo Extends Moratorium on Commercial Evictions   Governor Cuomo issued Executive Order 202.64, extending the moratorium prohibiting the initiation of a proceeding or enforcement of an eviction of any commercial tenant for nonpayment of rent or a foreclosure of any commercial mortgage for nonpayment of such mortgage through October 20, 2020.   Governor Cuomo Extends State of Emergency, Cold Calling is Still Prohibited Governor Cuomo extended the State of Emergency to October 4, 2020. As a result, licensees are still required to abide by all such guidance, directives and industry phased reopening that are currently in place. The Governor will re-evaluate the State of Emergency as the expiration date approaches and determine if additional extensions are necessary.    Licensees are still prohibited from making any cold calls. Real estate licensees may not make any unsolicited phone calls to a member of the public during a State of Emergency.   All other types of marketing such as mailers, billboards, social media, internet etc., are permitted. You may call a FSBO if you have an identifiable purchaser interested in the property. You are prohibited from calling the FSBO to solicit the listing. You may still perform business to business calls so long as you are calling the number provided as the business number.   Landlord’s Agents May Continue to Collect Commissions From a Tenant  In response to the lawsuit filed by NYSAR and REBNY that challenged the guidance issued by DOS prohibiting a landlord’s agent from collecting commissions from a tenant, the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James filed their opposition papers on September 11, 2020. NYSAR will have until October 28, 2020 to file our papers and a hearing may be scheduled sometime after October 28, 2020. Until the court rules otherwise, the Temporary Restraining Order is still in place and landlord’s agents are permitted to continue collecting commissions from a tenant.

Report: Record-high home prices in Nassau and Suffolk in August – Newsday

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August 2020 Market Data - OneKey™ MLS

A Word From the Chairperson of the Board of Managers - Leah Caro Who knows where a good first impression could lead… Making a good online presence is important. For REALTORS® it includes what our online profile looks like and what our listings look like – both of which are accessible to thousands of consumers visiting onekeymls.com daily. This creates thousands of opportunities to make a good first impression. If you are serious about your real estate career, take the time now to see what consumers are seeing when they look at your profile and your listings.  OneKey™ MLS is working hard to drive visitors to the consumer site so you get more leads and you can do better business. Last month there were several hundred thousand visitor sessions to the consumer site and close to 10,000 visits to our agent directory, delivering you a ton of opportunity to make a good impression since these are consumers looking to work with a REALTOR® to either buy, sell, or get information. I took a peak at the REALTOR® directory before writing this column and I noticed there were many missing agent profile headshots. Turns out that only 65% of our subscribers have a picture uploaded under their profile. Ask yourself – if you were a consumer who would you rather contact – a REALTOR® with a photo, or one without? Which makes for a good first impression? A good headshot is essential as a marketing asset for all REALTORS®. Make sure one is included with your profile, and equally important, if you have one uploaded make sure it represents the first impression you want to make. Another important element of your online presence is being able to receive and answer emails, potential leads, coming from the consumer site. When a consumer contacts you via your profile contact information make sure you respond in a timely manner. This is another opportunity for a good first impression - be the REALTOR® that responds ASAP to a consumer touch!  Now let’s talk about listings – hundreds of thousands of listing searches are happening on the consumer site each month. What do your listings look like? After entering them on the MLS system, did you check on onekeymls.com what they look like? Do the pictures look good, is the description complete, are all the features listed and are they correct, did you spell check the description, is it appearing under the proper search criteria of Buy or Rent? By publishing accurate and complete listing, information with your name attached to it will help build a good online presence.  I know how crazy busy all of us are these days, but I wanted to use this this opportunity to remind you to slow down and double check what your online presence looks like. In the event you find some things that need changing, or you need help with uploading your photo, reach out to your customer service department and Member Success Team who will gladly assist you. OneKey™ MLS is committed to helping you do better business and having a strong online presence will help you achieve that.  Long Island REALTORS® - email [email protected] Hudson Gateway REALTORS® - email [email protected]

Stay Updated! Text ONEKEYMLS to 25827 to receive text alerts, updates, and important news. Visit the Help Center at onekeymlsny.com for everything REALTORS® need in one place. Join the OneKey™ Facebook Group for REALTOR® members only. This is where we will be posting updates and answering any questions that you have.