Chicago-Area Organizations Offering Non-Realtor MLS Access

Chicago-area Realtor organizations will begin offering new Multiple Listing Service access tiers following moves from Midwest Real Estate Data to expand its operations and reach.

Heartland Realtor Organization, based in Crystal Lake with service in the McHenry County area, launched new subscription plans for agents who aren’t part of Realtor associations and standalone Private Listing Network access. The North Shore-Barrington Association of Realtors has also begun offering new subscription options, CEO Jeff Lasky said.

Heartland CEO Jim Haisler told The Real Deal that the option for agents not affiliated with a Realtor association — called “MLS Plus” — had been in the works for months as MRED was deliberating dropping its requirement that subscribers be members of the National Association of Realtors and its affiliates. The change, announced in March, opened the subscription up to anyone with a real estate license. Shortly after, MRED announced it was opening access to its services, including the Private Listing Network, to any agent in the country.

On the MLS Plus plan, subscribers will have full access to MRED, as well as Heartland’s forms and contracts, but not state and national Realtor association forms. For an additional $144 annual fee, subscribers can also access lockboxes for home showings through the association.

Haisler said he doesn’t expect many current full members to defect to the cheaper status. Instead, he said he expects more subscribers from outside traditional brokerages.

“It’s more likely that maybe some firm, like a holding company, might expand what they allow their agents in a holding company to do,” he said. “They wouldn’t be members, meaning Realtors, but they would be subscribers to the MLS.”

The second new plan, targeted at agents outside MRED’s regular region, will grant agents access to MRED’s Private Listing Network only, rather than the full MLS data. The network, which is relatively unique among national MLSs, allows agents to share off-market listings with other MRED subscribers while keeping them off public internet sites.

The MLS Plus plan costs $250 per quarter, compared to the $351 per quarter Heartland charges for full Realtor membership, according to information Haisler provided. The Private Listing Network only plan costs $60 per quarter.

Lasky said the North Shore-Barrington Association of Realtors is offering plans for agents who do not have Realtor association membership and Private Listing Network only plans in a limited fashion, and is exploring other products based on customer demand. He declined to share other details of the plans. The offerings from the two organizations are among the first plans from local real estate associations to capture potential new customers as MRED seeks to expand its presence geographically. Mainstreet Realtors officials have said they are likely to offer access, while Chicago Association of Realtors CEO Michelle Mills Clement previously said the organization is evaluating its options.

Access to MRED has traditionally been channeled through 15 local real estate associations across northern Illinois. Illinois Realtors recently signed an agreement with MRED to begin offering access as well, rankling some local association leaders who said the state association’s move was a surprise. MRED did not respond to a request for comment on the implementation of its expanded access.

Haisler said the private network only plan was designed more quickly after MRED announced it would be expanding access to the MLS nationwide, with Compass International Holdings committing to sharing its entire inventory, including private and “coming soon” listings. The move will provide a national network of off-market listings, potentially attracting agents in other states who do not have a similar network in their area.

There was some confusion about how private network-only access would work, Haisler said, but Heartland scrambled to put together a plan for out-of-region agents who wanted that option after the announcement.

The rollout hasn’t been flawless, Haisler said. He said his organization had some technical issues sending new member feeds to MRED after they were redesigned to accommodate the new options.

“I think it was just rolled out so quickly, that not all the parts were in place and ready to go as it was rolled out,” Haisler said.