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MLS meltdown: ‘The ripple effects are going to be insane’

Second week of ransomware attack continues to stymie Bay Area brokers

Second week of MLS ransomware attack continues to stymie Bay Area brokers
Vantage Realty's Mary Macpherson (Getty, Vantage Realty)

The second week of a multiple listing service meltdown after a ransomware cyberattack has forced brokers across the Bay Area to manually input listings — with no end in sight, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

“I simply can’t believe this isn’t getting national coverage … the ripple effects are going to be insane,” Mary Macpherson, founder of San Francisco-based Vantage Realty, told the newspaper. “Sellers who needed to go on the market can’t, and those who had very specific strategies to go on the market at certain times will now likely face a flood of other listings that will dilute their impact.

“That the insurance companies are still negotiating with hackers over ransom while the folks at (the San Francisco Association of Realtors) are working round the clock to try to find solutions for us is just unbelievable.”

Investigations continue into the attack on Westlake Village-based Rapattoni, which has rendered Northern California agents unable to access listings since the night of Aug. 8.

Agents aren’t able to add new property listings, make price adjustments, or access the latest property information for showings. This has resulted in confusion among agents left unsure about which properties are still available for sale. 

Buyers’ agents use the MLS to find homes to show clients. It’s the essential wrench in nearly every real estate agent’s toolbox. The cyberattack has hit the real estate industry with no clue as to when it will end.

“We still do not have an ETA at this time,” Rapattoni said early this week.

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MLS services impacted by the ongoing cyberattack have defaulted to manual updates, texts and emails to communicate the latest listings. As a result, open house tours have been turned upside down.  

The financial impact on real estate brokers is unclear.

Federal investigators are working with the firm, Inman reported, and its insurance carriers are in talks with the hackers.

The San Francisco Association of Realtors said it is still working to bring back its SFARMLS dashboard and Rapattoni systems, but there’s still no timeline for a pending fix.

The attack has affected 8,200 users of the Santa Rosa-based Bay Area Real Estate Information Service, serving brokerages across multiple counties. Similar outages have been reported by other multiple listing services such as the San Francisco MLS.    

Compass, the largest real estate broker in the Bay Area, has outlined several options for its local agents to gain public exposure of new listings. It is advising brokers to post a “Coming Soon” listing using the Compass Listing Editor, and urging them to update listings directly on Compass.com, according to the Business Times.

— Dana Bartholomew

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Companies and People
RapattoniSan Francisco Association of Realtors
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CyberattackMultiple Listing Service