MRED Blog
REinventing MLS
MRED Wins: A Major Victory for Cooperation and the Consumer
The court’s preliminary injunction ruling in favor of MRED marks an important victory not only for MRED, but also for MLSs, brokers, and the cooperative marketplace nationwide.
MRED stood its ground to protect a fundamental MLS principle: brokerages receiving other brokerages’ listing data may use it for their consumer sites, provided they follow the relevant licensing requirements and display all listings approved for distribution.
MRED did this by defending Objective Criteria, a principle established through the Department of Justice and recently reaffirmed by the National Association of REALTORS®. Brokers and consumers may filter listings by price, property type, location, bedrooms, amenities, and other objective characteristics. They cannot exclude a competitor’s listings simply because they disagree with the lawful way those properties were marketed.
What a brokerage cannot do is selectively remove legitimate listings using subjective criteria. What if a brokerage excluded only the listings of a competitor it was battling for market share? What if it refused to display listings without floor plans? How about a brokerage that eliminated listings it considered competitive with its own? These are subjective business decisions, not neutral search criteria, and they are prohibited by most, if not all, MLS data licensing agreements. That is why MLSs serve as referees of the cooperative marketplace. Someone must ensure competitors follow the same rules and prevent powerful companies from deciding what the rules are for everyone else.
MRED was willing to take that stand even when challenged by a large, publicly traded company. The ruling reinforces the ability of MLSs to consistently enforce their rules and data licensing agreements.
This is a victory for fairness, transparency and broker cooperation – principles MRED will continue defending every day.
Agents use private listings to help their sellers, not themselves.
One of the most frequent questions and concerns around private listings MRED gets is that agents used them to ‘double-end’ the deal. Meaning, the agent wanted to represent both the seller and the buyer to get both sides of the commission. The stats tell a different story.
Since MRED started tracking in 2022, the amount of double ended listings in a private status is actually less than what happens in active statuses.
Here are the recent percentages of double-ended agent listings in MRED’s marketplace:
2022:
- Private: 3.3%
- Standard: 5.5%
2023:
- Private: 3.5%
- Standard: 5.8%
2024
- Private: 3.2%
- Standard: 5.2%
2025
- Private: 3.3%
- Standard: 4.7%
2026 year to date
- Private: 2.9%
- Standard: 3.4%
As an MLS, MRED wants to go to the data whenever we can to help tell the RIGHT story.
You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.
When a listing goes Active in the MLS, what happens? Thousands of emails, push notifications, and other alerts go live to consumers ready to buy.
In between the signing of the listing agreement and making it live for the public, did you have time to stage the property? Make any repairs? Get the professional photography and other marketing done?
Using a private listing status lets you take the listing, put it in the MLS for all of the other brokers, and do what’s right by your seller to make that best first impression.
Getting YOUR data is a right. Getting everyone else’s data is a privilege.
Your brokerage’s data is always available free and without restriction through MLS Grid. Access to everyone else’s listings is a privilege granted through data licensing agreements.
Every participant who signs those agreements commits to displaying ALL listings included in the feed in compliance with its terms, not discriminating against listings based on brokerage, marketing approach, or other subjective criteria. This shared commitment protects a fair, orderly, cooperative online marketplace and every participant must defend the listing transparency provided to consumers.
Get rid of passwords AND be more secure with the new MyMLSDashboard
A new version of MyMLSDashboard launches with a new feature: a passkey sign-in option! Passkeys let you log in on your computer or phone without a password, using your screen lock, fingerprint scan, or facial recognition.
Using passkeys better protects you and your accounts from unauthorized use and scammers. We strongly encourage you to use the new passkey option to help keep your account and information more secure. Bonus: you won’t have to update your password as much!
You’ll still have the option to use an email address and password to log-in; you will be asked to create a new password as part of the launch.
First time using MyMLSDashboard.com? Click here to see how easy it is to get started!
To help keep your account secure, please remember:
- Never share your login credentials with anyone.
- If you choose to use a password, make sure it’s strong, unique, and isn’t used for any other websites or applications.
- For security purposes, it’s best for each individual account to use its own unique email address.
- Coming soon: More login options, including SMS and magic links.
Thank you for helping us keep your account and your MLS data secure! Have questions? Our Help Desk is here for you! Reach out at 630-955-2755 or help.desk@MREDLLC.com.
*Please note that MRED is unable to retrieve, reset, or assist with a lost/forgotten passkey.
NWMLS Follows MRED’s Lead on Seller Choice
Northwest MLS (NWMLS), a broker-owned MLS in Seattle, is another MLS following MRED’s lead by giving brokers greater flexibility to market listings according to each seller’s goals.
Beginning in September, NWMLS will introduce “First Look,” an early marketing status much like MRED’s Private Listing Network. Sellers may pre-market a property before public distribution while allowing showings, open houses, and offers. This replicates many rules of MRED’s PLN, which has been available to our brokers since 2016.
For agents, the new flexibility means more ways to tailor marketing to sellers, demonstrate their value, protect their opportunities, and build lasting client trust with every transaction. These efforts to strengthen cooperation and transparency between brokers is what makes the MLS so effective for all consumers.
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