MLS Threatens Legal Action, Forces Housing 123 to Close

Almost a year after unveiling Housing 123, founders Kevin Lai and Travis Fielding have succumbed to the legal arm of MLS and shuttered the site. It's an unfortunate turn of events for a site many thought offered a much more user-friendly way to navigate MLS's extensive Toronto real estate listings.

A rational person might have predicted that MLS would have taken some lessons from these guys and implemented a similar Google Maps feature of their own. Or maybe they could have hired the duo to create it for them? But sadly, the Canadian Real Estate Association decided to take the legal road and fire off a cease and desist letter.

In a post made today to the Housing 123 blog, Kevin and Travis announce the immediate closing of the site and explain that they simply didn't have the time or money to see the legal battle through. While the site definitely offered a user experience and accessibility to listings unmatched by the official MLS web site, it was probably also undeniable that Housing 123 was in violation of the terms of use (copyright) by scraping the listings data without authorization.

A copy of the legal letter (excerpt at top) has also been posted to the blog.