Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) just announced a nationwide expansion of its MLS services to any licensed real estate agent, including its Private Listing Network (PLN).
Compass International Holdings (CIH) is the first brokerage to partner with the MLS, providing full access to its nationwide inventory of listings, including Private Exclusives and Coming Soon listings, to MRED’s PLN participants. Earlier this year, Compass partnered with Rocket to distribute listings to Redfin.
Read on for the highlights on what the MLS offers real estate agents and how this partnership could impact agents and the industry.
What the PLN Offers Agents
MRED currently services more than 48,000 subscribers in the Chicagoland area, and its private listing network has been around for a decade. Zillow has been a vocal critic of networks like this, arguing they limit consumer access and can reinforce inequity in housing.
Now, any licensed agent at any brokerage can join MRED and participate in the PLN, regardless of where they’re located. MRED has also recently dropped its requirement that members belong to the National Association of Realtors, lowering the barrier to entry even further.
In its announcement, MRED stated it will protect PLN participants from being penalized or banned by third-party portals or IDX feed recipients for using the network, though it does not share how. This is a direct response to concerns that agents have about listings being banned from Zillow.
Beyond private listings, MRED says it gives agents more control over how active listings are displayed publicly, including the ability to manage price history, days on market, and automated valuation models.
MRED CEO Rebecca Jensen explained the move as a win for both agents and homeowners:
“MRED has been providing sellers with options and buyers with transparency through our Private Listing Network for a decade. The MLS is meant to facilitate cooperation between agents in support of their clients’ needs, not dictate marketing or business model practices. Our recent improvements in listing display options continue our goal of listening to evolving needs from our subscribers. We are thrilled to expand our service offering nationwide with Compass International Holdings and hope that other brokerages also want to participate.”
Compass is the First Major Brokerage to Partner with MRED
Compass International Holdings is the first brokerage to formally commit to the partnership. Here’s what that means:
- Compass will provide a data feed of its nationwide listings, including Private Exclusives and Coming Soon listings, to MRED’s PLN participants, with homeowner and agent permission.
- Compass will also subsidize part of the MRED membership cost for the first 100,000 of its agents who sign up as full MRED members.
CIH Chairman and CEO Robert Reffkin gave the following statement:
“Giving homeowners choice in marketing their listings is the right thing to do. We also want to support MLSs, like MRED, that value, support, and protect their customers, who are real estate agents, from retaliation by other MLSs and portals, and ensure that agents can fulfill their fiduciary duties to their home seller and home buyer clients.”
Stay tuned for more BAM coverage of the move and what it could mean for the industry.
