By Ben Caballero

The MLS is a home builders’ most powerful results-based sales and marketing tool.

Home builders are experts in land, materials, and labor – so why are so many still using outdated MLS listing strategies that reduce their profit potential?

It’s because, until now, builders never had a better way to manage their MLS listings. For over a decade, we’ve used technology to help builders streamline their MLS process by making MLS listing management more efficient and effective. But I’ve always had the uncomfortable feeling that something was missing.

That missing piece? Automation.

That is why I developed SpecDeck’s API. It is the only fully automated MLS listing management solution that builders have needed but never had.

SpecDeck’s API is the ultimate MLS solution for production builders. By eliminating manual data entry inefficiencies, builders can optimize income in an area that has, until now, eluded them.

To be clear, SpecDeck automates the builder’s data transmission to SpecDeck. While the data delivery from the builder is automated, the HomesUSA.com staff must still enter and manage the MLS data to ensure accuracy and MLS compliance.

The way most builders manage their MLS data delivery now slows their sales, increases expenses, and creates mistakes.

SpecDeck clients experience a 100% to 500% ROI on its fee

In addition to managing the MLS listing process, SpecDeck provides other benefits that increase non-commission sales and delivers marketing efficiencies that further contribute to a builder’s bottom line

Now that an MLS tech solution is finally available to builders, it’s providing an exceptional opportunity to reinvent how the MLS can be a revenue driver for a builder instead of just a listing tool.

The MLS isn’t just a tool – it’s a profit engine

The good news is that most home builders rely on the MLS to get homes in front of buyers. The better news is that it can now be a profit machine. When used effectively, the MLS does more than just list homes – it can drive revenue in three critical ways:

• Faster sales, lower costs. The faster a home sells, the lower your costs for interest, taxes, insurance, security, theft, and maintenance.
• Fewer price reductions. Homes that sit on the market too long are more likely to be discounted. An optimized MLS process reduces Days on Market (DOM), protecting margins.
• More direct, commission-free sales: A smarter MLS system captures more leads and sends them directly to you, the builder, cutting third-party commissions and putting more money back into your business.

The new reality is that builders have an incredible opportunity to unlock the full potential of the MLS.

The hidden cost of bad MLS management

The old way of managing MLS listings – updating spreadsheets, sending emails, and relying on a single person or a small in-house team – creates unnecessary inefficiencies that eat into profits.

• Lost sales from slow updates. When buyers – or real estate agents – see outdated or incorrect information, they move on.
• Pricing errors that cost thousands. The most common error builders make is not keeping their listing price updated in the MLS. These mistakes can translate into eroding buyer and agent trust, creating missed sales because you give them the wrong, often outdated information.
• Leads slipping through the cracks. If your MLS leads aren’t captured and routed properly, you will be paying out more in total commissions, reducing your profits.

The average listing in an MLS needs 50 or more updates. For a builder managing 100 active MLS listings, that’s thousands of updates that need to be accurate and timely. Doing it by hand is like trying to fill a bucket with a hole in the bottom: it will never work as well as it should, and every mistake will cost you money.

Automate to profit: How SpecDeck can help you increase your revenue

SpecDeck is the only automated MLS listing platform for builders. It eliminates inefficiencies, removes human error, and ensures your listings are always accurate, up-to-date, and positioned to sell.

Builders using SpecDeck report:

• A 7% increase in direct sales, saving thousands per home in commission costs.
• Faster sales, with homes selling 28 to 32 days sooner, reducing carrying costs.
• An average 240% ROI, making MLS automation one of the most profitable decisions a builder can make.

Why the right MLS strategy matters now more than ever

Home builders can’t afford inefficiencies with higher interest rates and rising labor and material costs. The MLS is too valuable to be left to outdated, manual processes. The builders who dominate will be the ones who automate to eliminate errors and maximize every sales channel – especially the MLS.

Schedule a SpecDeck demo today to see how automation can help you sell faster, reduce costs, and increase profits – here

# # #

No one in the world has sold more new homes than Ben Caballero, founder and CEO of HomesUSA.com. Between 2004 and 2023, Ben sold 61,126 homes, totaling $23.866 billion in sales volume. Ranked as the No. 1 individual real estate agent by RealTrends for both total number of sales and dollar volume each year since 2013, last year, Ben broke his most recent Guinness World Records title (he has held it three times) by selling more than 7,000 homes worth $3.64 billion in a single year.