Broker Public Portal Exceeds Funding Milestone

ARROYO GRANDE, CA, MARCH 19, 2015 — A nationwide group of leading real estate brokerage firms and Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) today announced that they 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 have each contributed $5,000. A web page 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 January 2015 and the goal was met in 10 weeks, on March 10, 2015.

According to Victor Lund, Founder of WAV Group and 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 explained 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, CEO of HomeServices of America.

“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,” added Cameron Paine, CEO of Connecticut MLS.

The group gathered support for the project by engaging broker networks, franchise organizations, MLS networks, attending conferences, and providing information to the media.

Below is a list of corporations contributing to the effort to date.

Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS)
HomeServices of America
Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS)
Austin Central Texas RIS
Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors (HGAR)
NNREN
Baird and Warner Real Estate
Howard Hanna Real Estate Services
Northern Nevada Regional MLS (NNRMLS)
Carolina Preferred
HUNT Real Estate Corporation
NORIS Toledo
IRES
NORMLS
Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors (CABR)
John Green & Company Realtors
John Aaroe Group and Pacific Union International
Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston
Keller Williams Realty – Austin
Realcomp
Colorado Real Estate Network
Leading Real Estate Companies of the World (LeadingRE)
Realty USA
Columbus Realtors
Long Realty Company
RealtySouth
Connecticut MLS
Greater Louisville Association of REALTORS®
RealtyWeb
CRIS MLS
Lyon Real Estate
Regional MLS of Minnesota
Crye-Leike
Maine Real Estate Information System (MREIS)
Shorewest
Cutler Real Estate
Mid America Regional Information Systems (MARIS)
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 Association of Realtors (GTAOR)
MLSPIN
WNYREIS
Greenridge
Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED)
FMLS
Latter & Blum Realtors
Ebby Halliday Realtors

About Broker Public Portal

The Broker Public Portal is a nationwide group of leading Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) and real estate brokerage firms supporting the creation of a national property search portal. The portal aims to deliver the most comprehensive, timely, and complete property information to consumers while adhering to the fair display guidelines that brokers expect when their content is displayed online. More information can be found at www.brokerpublicportal.com.