MRED Blog

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.

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. 

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.

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.

Reaching Higher. Protecting What Matters.

Broker cooperation has always been the foundation of the MLS. But cooperation only works when everyone plays by the same rules.

When a powerful company challenges the rules of the cooperative marketplace, MRED does not simply make a deal or look the other way. It stands its ground. In May, MRED suspended Zillow’s access to IDX and VOW data feeds after Zillow violated Objective Criteria rules by banning listings from their site until the seller fired the listing brokerage and agent. This was after months of communications with Zillow, telling them why banning listings in this way violates our rules. Rules that have been in place for decades, as a part of the 2008 DOJ settlement.

That courage matters. Large companies can use their size and influence to make others reluctant to challenge them. MRED believes its responsibility as the referee of the marketplace is bigger than any individual company.  This protection ensures all your members can fully leverage the incredible collection of properties to generate business opportunities.

One of MRED’s core values is Data Caretaking, and we take our responsibility seriously to guard MLS data use and distribution. MRED’s principle is simple: work fairly with your fellow brokers, honor the agreements you sign, and MRED will do everything possible to help you succeed. Break those agreements, and MRED will act to protect the best interests of all Participants.

By defending consistent enforcement, MRED is protecting something much larger than a contract: the cooperative online marketing ecosystem that gives brokerages of every size the opportunity to compete, support consumers, and reach higher.

The real estate industry has been here before.

In 2008, the U.S. Department of Justice reached a landmark settlement with the National Association of REALTORS® after challenging rules it believed disadvantaged Internet-based brokerage models. A critical principle emerged: brokers should be treated consistently regardless of business model, and MLS cooperation should not favor one competitor over another.

MRED believes the position Zillow is taking in its lawsuit threatens that principle. At issue is whether Zillow should be able to decide which MLS listings it will display using criteria that conflict with MRED’s data licensing agreement. If Zillow can receive an MLS feed and arbitrarily exclude certain listings, what prevents every brokerage from doing the same?

One broker could exclude a competitor’s listings. Another could reject listings based on marketing strategy. Soon, the comprehensive, cooperative marketplace consumers rely on will fracture.

This case is about much more than Zillow. MRED believes its job as market “referee” is to  defend fair broker cooperation and the integrity of the IDX Data Licensing Agreement signed by cooperating brokers.

If that foundation unravels, the industry could invite the same type of DOJ scrutiny the 2008 settlement sought to resolve.

History may be trying to repeat itself.

We are hopeful the courts will recognize what’s at risk by arbitrarily allowing one brokerage to dictate listing display terms serving the needs of their own website to the detriment of homesellers who have chosen their own marketing path.