Industry Task Force unveils NYMLS.com for apartments.

In the race to create a Multiple Listing Service, 106 real estate firms in the Manhattan MLS Joint Industry Task Force took the lead with the unveiling of NYMLS.com.

For the first time, the public will have access to a comprehensive listing of Manhattan residential properties for rent or sale. Although it contains the letters "MLS" in its title, the web site is different from the MLS the task force is trying to create, which will be Internet-based but will not accessible to the public. An MLS establishes guidelines for the sharing of information between brokers, a practice used in most other parts of the country.

"It the first time the consumer will have access to the properties directly from the source," said Stuart Siegel, President and CEO of Southeby's International Realty. "Access to these properties are just one click away."

With the theme song from "Star Wars" blaring and the names of the 106 participating firms scrolled across the top of an enlarged computer screen, the task force demonstrated the site to members of the press and others at the Plaza Hotel Oct. 4.

Although no names were mentioned, some comments made during the presentation seemed to be aimed at the Corcoran Group and Douglas Elliman which, with the Halstead Property Company and Bellmarc Realty, are working on a competing MLS initiative. Throughout the presentation, speakers stressed the level of cooperation between the 106 firms participating in the effort and, in a release announcing the new web site, quotes are attributed to "the MLS Task Force" and not individual members.

"Cooperation is not only possible, it's beneficial. Every single member contributed to this web site," said Will Zeckendorf, co-chairman of Brown Harris Stevens. "It never would have happened if only two firms had been working on it."

The rift between the two groups started this summer, when Corcoran and Douglas Elliman announced an MLS initiative Aug. 1. Task force members said they had been working since the beginning of the year to create an MLS and were surprised by the announcement.

In recent weeks, the two groups have been meeting in an effort to combine their efforts and create a united MLS to be used by the entire industry. The meetings are ongoing, but the two groups have not reached an agreement about how to merge their initiatives.

Scott Durkin, chief operating officer of the Corcoran Group, said the announcement of NYMLS.com caught the Corcoran-Douglas Elliman group by surprise saying the groups had agreed to a moratorium on the subject until an agreement had been reached regarding the MLS initiative. The group has a web site similar to NYMLS.com, he said.

"We have a web site that is ready to launch but we won't launch it in response to this," Durkin said.

He said a day after NYMLS.com. was launched, a prospective buyer called the Corcoran Group inquiring about three listings he had seen on the site. When the firm contacted the agent handling the listings, it was discovered that the three homes had already been sold.

"We were surprised to see old listings on a new site," Durkin said.

On the day it was launched, the web site contained 1,300 listings. Properties listed for sale ranged in price from $72,900 to $27 million and represented a range of sizes and neighborhoods. Rentals listed on the site ranged from $1,300 to $60,000 per month. When it is fully operational, task force members expect the site to average 1,800 to 2,200 listings, task force officials said.

Task force technology committee chairwoman Donna Olshan, of Olshan Realty, Inc., said the web site represents the work of 106 firms and 2,354 agents.

"People doubted that over 100 firms could work together to form a web site," Olshan said.

Michael Gabriel, chief executive officer of Gabriels.com, is providing technology for the site. He said the site will provide "real time" information, meaning the moment a broker posts a listing the public will be able to see it. Other features of the site include "virtual tours," which are videotaped walks through property interiors.

The site also provides information on open houses, descriptions of Manhattan neighborhoods, and demographics.

"It feels like real estate history is being made today," Gabriel said.

Task force members said that NYMLS.com differs from other real estate sites in that it gets listings straight from the source, or from brokers. For this reason, it contains the most up-to-date and complete set of listings, task force members said.

With the launching of the web site completed, the next goal is to launch the MLS, according to the task force.

The web-based MLS will enhance "co-brokering" efforts that have been in practice for years in the industry. When it was first introduced, brokers shared information via fax, but under that method, brokers had to fax hundreds of documents. With the introduction of the Listing Exchange Service in 1997, or LEX, brokers share information via computer. Although use of the computer allows brokers to share information more efficiently than with the fax machine, LEX is also limited because it requires each brokerage firm to maintain its own database.

By creating an MLS on the Internet, brokers will exchange information using one shared database. Creating an MLS on the Internet won't change the rules by which information is shared, but it will make exchanging the information more efficient, task force members said.

"The difference is the operating platform," Siegel said.

New York City's top real estate players are once again preparing for a night of wheeling, dealing and scheming -- all for a good cause -- at the Eighth Annual Evening of Monopoly on Nov. 8.

This year, James D. Kuhn, president of Newmark & Company Real Estate, will serve as honorary chairman and will host what has become the real estate industry's most anticipated and best-attended charity event.

The evening's festivities, sponsored by the students and alumni of NYU's Real Estate Institute, will benefit the Institute and the Master of Science in Real Estate Program. In addition, 10 percent of the event's proceeds will go to Kuhn's charity of choice, Community Olympic Development Program, a program created by the United States Olympic Committee to aid in the development of outstanding individuals within local communities not financially capable to afford such opportunities. In an unprecedented note of generosity, Kuhn will match all proceeds raised for Community Olympic Development Program.

Kuhn feels a special fondness for the event after spending 15 years as associate adjunct professor of Real Estate Development and the last five of those teaching the original Capstone course in the Masters Program, which along with Larry Silverstein, he helped launch. He is also currently Vice Chairman of NYU's Real Estate Advisory Board.

"I am proud to be a part of such a great event that allows for a little friendly competition among my fellow real estate professionals, while benefiting two causes I support with great enthusiasm -- Community Olympic Development Program and NYU Real Estate Institute," noted Mr. Kuhn.

Kuhn will be joined by such industry titans as Peter Baccile, Chase Securities, Inc.; Michael Bebon, Lawyer's/Commonwealth Title Insurance Co.; Lawrence E. Fiedler, JRM Development Enterprises; Benjamin McGrath, Edward J. Minskoff Equities; Bruce E. Mosler, Cushman & Wakefield; Seth Schumer, Real Estate Capital Partners; Stephen B. Siegel, Insignia/ESG; Larry Silverstein, Silverstein Properties; Stephanie Sylvere-Rosen, New York Mortgage Company; and Donald Trump, The Trump Organization.

A total of 750 real estate industry professionals are expected to join in the game on November 8, 2000 at the Metropolitan Pavilion at 125 West 18th Street at 6 p.m. The Eighth Annual Evening of Monopoly will include cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, Monopoly, dinner and a raffle.

According to event organizer Bonnie Kirschenbaum, an alumnus of NYU's Master of Science in Real Estate Program at the Real Estate Institute, all attendees are welcome to compete at Monopoly and meet and mingle with many of the city's biggest industry moguls and regular power players.

Tickets to the Evening of Monopoly cost $125 in advance and $150 at the door and are available by calling Bonnie Kirschenbaum at [phone].