NON-REALTOR® ACCESS TO THE MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE

Why did MRED make this change? 

Changes were made to MRED’s Operating Agreement to grant access to licensed real estate professionals who are not Realtors®, i.e. not members of a local Realtor® association (which includes membership in Illinois Realtors® and the National Association of Realtors®).  MRED did this to continue to grow in today’s new organized real estate environment.  They also are minimizing the risk of litigation regarding issues such as antitrust.   

So -- what is the result? 

MRED will now allow subscribers and participants to be either Realtor® members or non-Realtor® members. You will still access the MLS through your NSBAR membership, just as you do today.   Non-Realtors® will also be able to access the MLS through NSBAR. 

What does this mean to me? 

There is no change currently.  Whether you pay for MLS access annually or on a quarterly basis, you are all set for this year.

What does this mean to my brokerage?

Each Realtor® Association will make its own decisions as to which options it will offer and at what expense for each.  Once established, brokerages may then determine whether their office will be a Realtor® office or a non-Realtor® office, weighing the pros and cons of each.  There will be several considerations when a brokerage makes that decision, not just expense.  NOTE: decisions over Realtor® and Non-Realtor® membership will be made by the brokerage. 

When will these options be available to my brokerage? 

NSBAR is making its final decisions about the options to provide and will be communicating about same at the earliest opportunity.

How can non-Realtors® be allowed in the MLS when they are not governed by NAR’s Code of Ethics? 

As a part of this change, MRED has incorporated into its rules a Code of Conduct enabling the local associations to enforce conduct issues while continuing to leave to MRED its enforcement of data issues.

What if my brokerage has some associates who want to stay as Realtors®, but others who no longer want to be.  Can they be in the same office?

Technically, no.  Let’s say you have a Realtor® office and are the sponsoring broker.  Anybody sponsored by you must pay Realtor® dues.  So, if you now have associates who don’t want to be Realtors® anymore, they can no longer be sponsored by you.  You would have to have another sponsoring broker in your office for them, so only those who want to be Realtors® pay dues.  You would have two offices in the same space.

For further questions, please feel free to reach out to us at jeff@nsbar.org.