Arroyo Grande, CA – March 19, 2015 – A nationwide group of leading real estate brokerage firms and Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) have exceeded their initial benchmark of raising $250,000 towards a National Broker/MLS consumer-facing website in just 10 weeks.
The initiative, known as the Broker Public Portal, was first made public in January and includes participants from 32 MLSs and 24 real estate brokerages who each contributed $5000. A webpage for the project is available at www.brokerpublicportal.com.
To launch the initiative, this group established a milestone of raising $250,000 to fund the project’s start-up expenses and gauge interest in the project. The effort to raise the funds was launched in January2015 and the goal was met in 10 weeks, on March 10,, 2015.
According to Victor Lund of the WAV Group, a consultant for the project, 21 additional brokers and 18 MLSs are processing their agreements, which will add appreciably to the talent pool supporting the organization and to the resources available to it. “The group met their milestone quickly,” Lund said. “And we won’t turn additional contributors away. The wider the industry support is for this initiative, the more likely its success and durability,” he added.
Lund explains that MLSs have long provided regional consumer facing property search websites. In December 2014, a group of real estate brokers and MLS leaders met to discuss the possibility of building a National consumer-facing website. “This is an effort that is good for the real estate industry today and will benefit brokers and sales associates for many years to come,” said Robert Moline of HomeServices of America.
Cameron Paine of Connecticut MLS added, “We have just over one-third of the real estate industry and many of the largest MLSs and brokerages in the country currently involved in this project. By the time we have completed our build out of the Broker Public Portal initiative, the benefits to the brokerage community, the MLSs, and the public will be so clear that I believe we will see even broader support from the industry. ”
The group gathered support for the project by engaging broker networks, franchise organizations, MLS networks, attending conferences, and providing information to the media.
The first meeting of the contributing organizations was held on March 18, 2015 by telephone conference where an interim executive committee was announced.
The first in-person meeting of the organizers is scheduled for April 22, 2015.
Below is a list of corporations contributing to the effort to date. More are expected to join the project before the April meeting.
ARMLS
HomeServices of America
MRIS
Austin Central Texas RIS
HGAR
NNREN
Baird and Warner
Howard Hanna
NNRMLS
Carolina Preferred
Hunt Realty
NOREIS Toledo
IRIS
NORMLS
Cincinnati Board of REALTORS
John Green Realtor
Pacific Union
Coldwell Banker Perry & Walston
Keller Williams Austin
RealComp
Colorado Real Estate Network
Leading RE
Realty USA
Columbus Realtors
Long Realty
RealtySouth
Connecticut MLS
Greater Louisville Association of REALTORS®
RealtyWeb
CRIS MLS
Lyon Real Estate
Regional MLS of Minnesota
Crye-Leike
Maine Real Estate Info System
Shorewest
Cutler Real Estate
MARIS – Mid America Regional Info
SIRMLS
Edina Realty
MetroMLS
Trend MLS
F. C. Tucker Real Estate
MIBOR
Watson Realty
Gardner REALTORS
Michael Saunders
William Pitt Sothebys
GFLR
MLS Listings
Windermere
Greater Tulsa AOR
MLSPIN
WNYREIS
Greenridge
FMLS
Latter and Blum
MRED
Ebby Halliday
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Media Contact:
Kevin Hawkins | WAV Group Communications
(206) 866-1220 | kevin@wavgroup.com
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