VT Census Case Studies : MRIS (Metropolitan Regional Information System)

Created and last modified by molfe on 02 Jan 2016

Brief Overall Description of the Dataset:

“One of the nation’s largest MLS systems, we’re known and respected as a customer service, leading edge technology, and data powerhouse. Think of us as a one-stop marketplace for everything real estate. Matchmaker. Interactive ad agency. Virtual IT team and marketing department rolled into one. Not to mention our world class Research & Development, Training and Customer Support.”  Unfortunately, you have to be a realtor to access the individual property data.  There is some data you could obtain via their SmartCharts products at this website: http://www.mris.com/mris-products/premium-products/smartcharts-pro, but you would have to list yourself as a non-MLS member.  From looking at the SmartCharts ‘product’ via my free account, it seems you can get housing data for counties and zip codes (if you pay for this access).  

Even though we have had a couple of people at MRIS state that we have to be a realtor or be associated with realtors in order to obtain MLS data, we have been put in contact with someone from MRIS by the Center for Regional Analysis at GMU.  We will be able to obtain Arlington County individual property data (physical and financial characteristics) from this source.  

Link:  http://www.mris.com/ 

Date Inventory Completed: 5/22/2015

Screening

  • Is the data collected opinion-based?
  • Is the data collection recurring (must be collected at least annually)?
  • Is there data available for 2013?
  • For Housing: Is the data collected at the property or housing unit level?
  • Can we access the data by August 15th?

Purpose

  • What is the purpose of the organization collecting the data?

“MRIS is the engine that drives nearly $100 billion in real estate transactions (listings and sales) each year. One of the nation’s largest MLS systems, we’re known and respected as a customer service, leading edge technology, and data powerhouse. Think of us as a one-stop marketplace for everything real estate.”

  • Why is it collected and how does the organization use it?

It is collected to help realtors who subscribe/sign up for the service be more “productive”

  • Who else uses the data?

Realtors mainly.  There is some data you can pay for as a non-realtor, but the specific listing data is limited to realtors.

  • Who do they sell the data to?

 Realtors mostly


Method

  • What is the data collection method? 

Entering listing information into the database

  • What is the type of data collected?

 Administrative data

  • If designed, who created the questions?

  • What is the raw source of the collected data (prior to any aggregation)? 

A combination of the realtor's administrative data to county records that are piped through their system. (For some fields, realtor has ability to update data where county data is incorrect.


Description

  • What is the general topic of the data (1-2 words)?

“Housing Market analytics” and “housing listings”

  • What are the earliest and latest dates for which data is available?

Unknown

  • Is data collected and available periodically?

Yes

  • How soon after a reference period ends can a data source be prepared and provided? 

Unknown


Selectivity

  • What is the universe (e.g., population) that the data represents?

They “serve Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and parts of Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia”.


Accessibility

  • How is the data accessed? 

Emailed csv file

  • Is it open data?

No

  • Any legal, regulatory, or administrative restrictions on accessing the data source?

Must be approved by one of their boards

  • Cost? - One time or annual or project based payment?

$250 an hour (estimated two hours of work to pull data)

Does this dataset appear to meet our needs for the Census study? YES

Full Inventory

Description

  • What is the general contents of the data source?

Housing amenities, bed/baths, demographics, building quality

  • Features
    • What is the temporal nature of the data: longitudinal, time-series, or one time point?

Time-series

    • Geospatial? If Yes, at what level?

Yes, Addresses

 

Metadata

  • Is there information available to assess the transparency and soundness of the methods to gather the data for our purposes?

No

  • Is there a description of each variable in the source along with their valid values?

No (went through all variables over the phone to see which ones we wanted)

  • Are there unique IDs for unique elements that can be used for linking data?

Addresses

  • Is there a data dictionary or codebook?

No

 

Selectivity

  • What unit is represented at the record level of the data source? 

Household

  • Does this universe match the stated intentions for the data collection? If not, what has been included or excluded and why?

Unknown

  • What is the sampling technique used (if applicable)? 

  •  What was the coverage? 

Not stated


Stability/Coherence

  • Were there any changes to the universe of data being captured (including geographical areas covered) and if so what were they?

None listed

  • Were there any changes in the data capture method and if so what were they?

None listed

  • Were there any changes in the sources of data and if so what were they? 

None listed

 

Accuracy

  • Any known sources of error?

None listed

  • Describe any quality control checks performed by the data’s owner.

None Listed

 

Accessibility

  • Any records or fields collected, but not included in data source, such as for confidentiality reasons? 

None listed

  • Is there a subset of variables and/or data that is must be obtained through a separate process? If yes, is there a separate legal, regulatory, or administrative restrictions on accessing the data source? Cost? - One time or annual or project based payment?

None listed

 

Privacy and security

  • Was consent given by participant? If so, how was consent given?

None stated, but potential to be in listing agent's paperwork

  • Are there legal limitations or restrictions on the use of the data? 

None listed

  • What confidentiality policies does the source have? 


Research

  • What research has been done with this dataset? 

None specifically listed

  • Include any links to research if provided:

None were provided

  • List any other data use notes provided by the supplier.

 

Gaps/Concerns

  • Feasibility - can all jurisdiction levels provide the data (if applicable)?
  • Data ownership - a lack of clarity in legal guidance stemming from a lack of clarity with who owns digital data?
  • Data collection authority - what data is reasonably private and what constitutes unwarranted intrusion?
  • Describe any other notes you have or any gaps/concerns you see with this dataset: