This is a big week for merger announcements!  MRED, one of the nation’s largest MLSs located in the Chicagoland area just added their 14th Association and 21st county to their MLS marketing network.  Bloomington-Normal Association of REALTORS(R) has joined their ranks.  I have had the pleasure of working with the MRED team and I can see why Bloomington-Normal chose MRED. 

They offer a terrific suite of services supported by strong customer service and training. Its a great of MLS leaders and staff that really cares about the success of their customers.  
Congratulations Bloomington-Normal and MRED!

One of nation’s largest MLSs adds fourteenth Association partner

Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), Chicagoland’s multiple listing service (MLS), announced that the Bloomington-Normal Association of Realtors® (BNAR) has become the fourteenth Realtor® association to agree to obtain its MLS and related services from MRED.

BNAR provides resources to more than 500 real estate professionals in central Illinois’ McLean County, the largest county in the state by land area. Founded in 1921, BNAR covers the county’s 170,000 residents in 65,000 households across 70,000 housing units. The association’s mission is to “provide services that ensure the professionalism and success of its members, while promoting real property ownership and protecting property rights in our communities.”

BNAR President John Armstrong said joining forces with MRED aligns completely with those goals.

“Our most recent BNAR strategic plan highlighted technology as an area to address by providing more products that assist our members in creating the best opportunities for their businesses and prepare them for the future,” Armstrong said. “We are very excited to align ourselves with such a professional and visionary organization like MRED”

“The BNAR leadership has researched different MLS merger options over several years. They, along with our membership, concluded that MRED was the best option based on their services, products, expertise, and excellent reputation,” added BNAR CEO Diane Cote. “MRED is the one of the leading MLSs in the country and the partnership we have created is an incredible asset for our membership. MRED has been transparent, communicative, and easy to work with through this entire process. We are thrilled to be a part of such a well-respected and forward-thinking group.”

The BNAR-MRED partnership will allow for increased innovation and more complete service offerings both locally and regionally. MRED will provide its MLS, related products and services, training courses, and award-winning customer service to BNAR members. The organizations have already begun work to bring MRED’s extensive offerings to its newest real estate professionals.

“We’re so thankful to the wonderful people at BNAR that made this happen and we’re thrilled to welcome their outstanding organization as a valued Association partner,” said MRED President/CEO Rebecca Jensen. “BNAR’s Board is forward-thinking and dedicated to doing what’s best for their members. This is absolutely a great move for everyone involved.”

McLean marks the twenty-first county in MRED’s service area. This most recent partnership agreement with BNAR comes less than 2 years after the Champaign County Association of Realtors® (CCAR) joined the MRED family.

“We’re working toward an extremely positive snowball effect here; the more associations that come together, the better data and resources everyone gets,” Jensen said. “MRED’s game-changing products and services allow real estate professionals to always be at their best and we’re excited to offer them to as many real estate professionals as possible.”

About MRED

Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) is the real estate data aggregator and distributor providing the Chicagoland multiple listing service (MLS) to more than 44,000 brokers and appraisers and over 7,300 offices. MRED serves Chicago and the surrounding “collar” counties and provides property information encompassing northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin, and northwest Indiana. MRED delivers more than 20 products and services to its customers. MRED is the 2013 Inman News Most Innovative MLS/Real Estate Trade Association, and for nine consecutive years the MRED Help Desk has been identified as one of the best small business centers in North America by BenchmarkPortal. For more information please visit MREDLLC.com.