The MLS

In 1908 the National Real Estate Exchanges was first established. One of the early goals of the National Real Estate Exchanges was to facilitate an effective cooperation system which could be used by brokers to sell real estate. Early days of cooperation among REALTORS.

The National Real Estate Exchanges set out to find good ways to communicate the benefits of – and the salable features for – properties available to be purchased through National Real Estate Exchange members – cooperation among members.

Each month property information was delivered by member-brokers to offices of member-brokers – the earliest stages for REALTOR cooperation. The earliest forms of the sharing of property information.
Information drop-offs: 1) head over to the local real estate office, 2) drop off information about properties.

Preceding the dropping off of property information at real estate offices, brokers met at the office of their local trade associations to discuss properties. Participating brokers agreed to compensate one another. A collaborative effort to sell homes – Help me sell my property, I’ll help you sell yours…

MLS’s have come a long way. Today, Florida has over two-hundred twenty-thousand REALTORS – #1 in the country. California has in the range of two-hundred thousand REALTORS. In Texas, over one-hundred fifty-thousand REALTORS.

Using Texas as an example, those 150,000-plus Texas REALTORS access property information through multiple listing services managed by the Texas Real Estate Commission.

One of the oldest MLS’s in Texas is the Austin Board of REALTORS Multiple Listing Service.

The Austin Board of REALTORS began 1918. Forming ten years after the National Association of REALTORS was established. Today, the Austin Board of REALTORS Multiple Listing Service serves over 18,000 real estate professionals in eighteen Texas counties.

MLS’s are locally organized and managed. The importance for local management of MLS’s can by illustrated using Texas as our example.

In Texas, property descriptions include information about kitchens, bedrooms and property taxes. Add in oil leases and mineral rights. Considerations pertinent to oil and gas interests.

Florida property listings – or New Jersey property listings – prioritize such interests. Texas listings would. Hence, the benefit of locally managed MLS’s.

The largest MLS in Texas is the Houston Association of REALTORS Multiple Listing Service. Houston’s MLS was established in 1918 and today serves over 160,000 REALTORS. The Houston Association of REALTORS Multiple Listing Service is the 10th largest MLS in the country.

The California Regional Multiple Listing Service is the largest MLS, consisting of over 40 associations, boards and smaller MLS’s.
California REALTORS are also served by two additional MLS which are among the largest in the country – the LA/Westside MLS and the California Regional MLS. The LA/Westside MLS has over 16,000 members.
The largest MLS in New Jersey – the 39th largest MLS in the country – is the Monmouth-Ocean Regional REALTORS Multiple Listing Service. Established in 1936, Monmouth-Ocean Regional has over 11,000 members.

The second largest MLS in New Jersey is the Garden State MLS. Established in 2010, the Garden State MLS is the 89th largest MLS.
The National Association of Real Estate Exchanges became the National Association of Real Estate Boards in 1916. By 1972, the National Association of Real Estate Boards became the National Association of REALTORS. The NAR.

Of note, the National Association of REALTORS is independent of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers – NAREB.
Founded in 1947 in Tampa, Florida, members of the NAREB are REALTISTs, not REALTORS.

The NAREB is the oldest minority business association in the country. The NAREB is an equal opportunity and civil rights advocacy organization. Focusing their efforts the advancement of African-American real estate professionals.

Headquartered in Maryland, the NAREB was organized by Black real estate professionals who had a goal of forming their own real estate trade group. Incentivized to do so because at that time, Black real estate professionals were prohibited from joining the NAR.

The first NAREB convention was held in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1948.
Today, the National Association of REALTORS establishes policies for a majority of the MLS’s.

NAR members join local boards and associations. Of which there are about 1,600.
NAR members are REALTORS. With over 1.5 million members, the NAR is the largest trade association in the United States.