The very early days of the Multiple Listing Service…the MLS

In 1908, National Real Estate Exchanges were established.

During the first decade of the 20th Century, National Real Estate Exchanges set out to figure out good ways to facilitate effective “cooperation.” Cooperation which would benefit real estate brokerages by facilitating the buying and the selling of real estate. In summary, these were the earliest days of what we today refer to as cooperation among REALTORS.

Early National Real Estate Exchanges established communication channels for members to convey the benefits of – and the features for – properties which were available through members of the Exchanges. Available to the buying public, that is, only through centralized cooperation of Exchange members.