Transaction systems peel paper from real estate

Adoption of technology picks up among MLS's



Stewart Title offices that implemented the company's SureClose transaction management system as a way to better manage the settlement process have discovered at least one other benefit: They no longer need piles of paper files.



Employees can search documents online, move documents internally and place them online for lenders and consumers to view, said Mark Cira, VP for product development with Stewart Realty Solution, during the Real Estate Settlement Providers Council's fall seminar last week.



After a decade of flops and technology disasters, transaction management systems today are finally starting to reach a broader segment of the real estate industrybeyond settlement service providers. Real estate agents, brokers, lenders and even multiple listing services are examining the potential gains the technology could bring to their businesses.



First introduced in the late 1990s, transaction management systems are technology platforms that manage every piece of a real estate transaction from listing to closing. Web-based transaction systems enable all parties in a transaction to communicate 24/7 and receive real-time updates and track changes to the transaction. Transaction systems aim to shave time and costs from realty transactions.



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