Bank Gains Access to Philly MLS

Licensed real estate agents Brad and Eric Blumberg are about to commit Realtor heresy by allowing one of Philadelphia's largest banks to use their proprietary software program so customers can search for houses online without the help of a realty professional.Although the National Association of Realtors has mounted efforts in Congress to thwart banks' attempts to move into real estate, the Blumbergs are doing just the opposite. Beginning in August, the founders of SmarterAgent.com, a Philadelphia-centric website that includes all MLS-listed houses in the region, are launching a new program that gives banks a direct link to the latest information on properties for sale. First up is the 130-year-old National Penn Bankshares, an independent $3.5 billion financial services company based in Boyertown, Pa., with 66 community banking offices in southeastern Pennsylvania. But the brothers say they are ready to expand beyond their home turf to the mid-Atlantic States, Florida, and California. "In today's de-regulated financial environment, banks cannot afford to passively sit by as their customers are wooed by other financial institutions and large Realty firms who push their in-house mortgage companies and financial products," Brad Blumberg, chief executive officer of Smarter Agent, said at the Real Estate Connect technology conference in San Francisco.