MRED Blog

Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) CEO Russ Bergeron delivered a presentation on the Future of Multiple Listing Services (MLS) at the recent Illinois Association of Realtors® (IAR) Business Meetings, which took place in Springfield, Illinois.

Mr. Bergeron was invited to update the attendees of the MLS/Member Forum regarding current events and issues affecting MRED and multiple listing services throughout the state. MRED, the largest MLS in the country by listing volume, currently has in its systems approximately ninety percent (90%) of the active inventory of residential real estate for sale in Illinois.

With a blend of humor and knowledge based on his years’ of experience in the technology arena, Mr. Bergeron’s talk took two paths – technology and synergy. He reviewed several different initiatives being implemented around the country where MLSs are coming together to provide seamless delivery of information across traditional MLS boundaries on a large regional scale. Because MRED maintains such a large portion of the statewide listing databases, and serves nearly eighty-five percent (85%) of IAR’s membership, Mr. Bergeron was able to lay out several possible scenarios in which a statewide database of property information could easily and affordably be made available to both the real estate professional as well as the consumer.

No talk could be complete these days without mentioning social media. Mr. Bergeron described several ways with which real estate practitioners can take advantage of this booming medium with which they could not only network and prospect for future customers, but could share information and expertise via the shared networks of their networks and those of their clients. Mr. Bergeron used the MRED Social Media Widget as an example of how the power of social media could be harnessed and used easily by MRED customers to promote themselves to a larger and larger audience.

“It was very rewarding to have the opportunity to address the leaders in Illinois real estate who attend IAR’s Business Meetings,” said Bergeron. “It is my goal to take every opportunity to meet and discuss real estate and real estate technology with professionals throughout Illinois. So many Illinois real estate agents are customers of MRED, and I am interested in meeting with as many of them as possible to spread the word about MRED and how we are reinventing MLS.”

About MRED

Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) is a real estate data aggregator and distributor that provides the largest multiple listing service (by listing volume) to nearly 40,000 customers, with property information encompassing northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin and northwest Indiana.