Minnesota real estate listing software errs, confusing participants in hot market

Realtors, buyers and sellers say the real estate listing software in the Minnesota area was not working this week. 

Northstar MLS, which lists residential real estate properties for most of Minnesota, Iowa and Western Wisconsin, updated its software last weekend, the company said on its website. After the update went through, however, real estate agents, buyers and sellers reported on social media that some home listings posted after the update did not appear to buyers and agents. Also, some homes that already sold remained listed as available. 

According to Northstar’s website, the initial update was supposed to upgrade the system’s "add/edit" tool, but the update left realtors without the ability to change the status of current listings or edit existing ones.

Wednesday night, Northstar MLS updated its software again in an effort to return the system to the way it was before the update, a Minneapolis realtor told FOX 9. 

Northstar MLS did not immediately respond to FOX 9's request for comment. 

While agents were still able to call each other to verify the status of listings during the outage, the system’s woes left some participants in the fast-paced Twin Cities area housing market confused, the realtor added. 

Over the past year, the Twin Cities housing market has been described as "ultra hot" due to low interest rates and low housing inventory. Some buyers were reportedly waiving inspections to purchase sought-after homes.