Realtor Associations Weigh Options After MRED Access Change

A change in membership standards for the Chicago-area Multiple Listing Service is leading area associations to reevaluate their access standards.

Midwest Real Estate Data voted last week to no longer require its subscribers to be members of Realtor associations, leaving the local associations affiliated with the MLS to grapple with how their access policies will change.

Although that mandate was dropped, Midwest Real Estate Data will still rely on 15 local real estate boards as the gatekeepers of its data, association leaders said. Each of those local associations will now need to decide if they will offer MLS access to non-Realtors, and what those plans will look like.

Some regional associations are already making plans to sell basic access to the MLS without the higher fees that come with being a full member, while others are still weighing the options.

Currently, local agents must pay annual dues approaching $1,000 combined to their local, state and national real estate associations in order to access the MLS, according to the Chicago Association of Realtors’ 2025–2026 membership fee schedule. Base MLS access could cost as little as $414 yearly, but pricing will be determined by local associations.

Jeff Lasky, North Shore-Barrington Association of Realtors CEO, said the association is planning to offer a standalone MLS access service separate from membership. He declined to share any early details of the plans.

“I could speak authoritatively for NSBAR and say, I know we’re going to do that,” Lasky said. “I suspect others will do that.”

Similarly, Mainstreet Organization of Realtors CEO John Gormley said his organization is likely to offer non-Realtor access to the MLS through a subscription plan, but the association has not finalized its plans yet either.

Gormley said the organization will likely offer tiered pricing for different plans. The plans would include full Realtor membership, a middle option with access to some support from the local association, and a basic MLS access package.

The organization serving the city’s agents, the Chicago Association of Realtors, has yet to decide if it will offer MRED access to non-members, a spokesperson said. The spokesperson said the association is evaluating if any changes are appropriate for its membership options.

Despite the change, Lasky said he doesn’t expect a big influx of unaffiliated agents to join the MLS. Instead, the move creates an exit ramp for current Realtors who want to drop their affiliation, but keep their access. Still, both Lasky and Gormley said it’s hard to predict how many people will defect from the traditional institutions and how they’ll need to price their plans.

“What makes it a little tricky is we have absolutely no idea right now what substantively we’re going to be dealing with,” Lasky said.

MRED’s move comes in a moment of transformation for the real estate industry, as brokerages, listing websites and MLSs battle for control over listings, leads and data. In November, the National Association of Realtors dropped its policy requiring affiliated MLSs to only grant access to Realtors, motivated by the risk of antitrust complaints.

Those same litigation concerns likely motivated MRED, Lasky said, in an era where class action lawsuits and antitrust action against NAR, MLSs and listing websites like Zillow have become common.

“There could be possibilities of legal issues that could come up, and they’re being a good steward of their company,” Lasky said.

MRED CEO Rebecca Jensen did not respond to a request for comment.

Another likely motivation for the change, Lasky said, was for MRED to grow beyond its current northeast Illinois borders. Dropping the requirements for local association membership will allow the MLS to integrate members nationally and internationally, he said.

The move also reinforces a long-running push for local real estate associations to prove their value to their members, local association leaders said. Lasky said the North Shore Barrington Association of Realtors has been upping its offerings beyond standard continuing education in recent years to include business development support for agents.

Gormley said the industry changes are creating competition among area associations, requiring them to increase their offerings to members to be successful.

“We all have to up our game. Value proposition is an overused phrase now, but it’s true,” he said. “What are we good at? What does the brokerage community need, and where is the Venn diagram where we meet?”

Sam Lounsberry contributed to this report.