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REinventing MLS
Category Archives: MRED Communications
MRED Bringing The Real Estate World Back to MREDpalooza
Top MLS Industry Service Providers Coming Back to the
Chicagoland MLS’s Biennial Tech/Training Expo
LISLE, ILLINOIS (March 30, 2015) – Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), Chicagoland’s multiple listing service (MLS), has announced that it is time again for MREDpalooza!
MREDpalooza 2015, one of the largest MLS tech expos in the country, will be taking place on Tuesday, June 23, 2015, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Providing services to nearly 40,000 brokers and appraisers and 8,000 offices, MRED delivers over twenty products and services to its customers, complementing connectMLS™, the top-rated MLS system in the country for two years running according to the WAV Group MLS Technology Survey. MREDpalooza 2015 will be a great opportunity for MRED customers to get up close and personal with a myriad of real estate service providers. The environment will be conducive to learning about MRED products and services and other ways to enhance their businesses.
MRED is planning to repeat the success of the last MREDpalooza, which had several thousand attendees and the top real estate vendors in the country attending. Training sessions will be offered throughout the day, providing more in-depth understanding of many of MRED’s products and services. Those wishing to attend or exhibit at MREDpalooza have been asked to visit www.MREDpalooza.com for registration and sponsorship information.
“It is exciting to stage an event of this magnitude that will benefit all attendees – our customers as well as our important business partners,” said MRED President and CEO Rebecca Jensen. “The opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of all these great products and services, at an excellent and easily accessible venue, will be invaluable to the real estate professional. Our product partners and other participants will enjoy maximum exposure to thousands of brokers and appraisers. This will be the real estate technology event of the year.”
About MRED
Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) is the real estate data aggregator and distributor providing the Chicagoland multiple listing service (MLS) to nearly 40,000 brokers and appraisers and 8,000 offices. MRED serves Chicago and the surrounding “collar” counties and provides property information encompassing northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin and northwest Indiana. MRED delivers over twenty products and services to its customers, complementing connectMLS™, the top-rated MLS system in the country for two years running according to the WAV Group MLS Technology Survey. MRED is the 2013 Inman News Most Innovative MLS/Real Estate Trade Association, and for four consecutive years the MRED Help Desk has been identified as one of the best small business centers in the United States and Canada by BenchmarkPortal. For more information please visit MREDLLC.com.
MRED Chicagoland Report for February, 2015
There has been talk of abundant cold and snow this winter (unless you happen to live in California!). When weather patterns turn bad, like wicked bad, real estate industry pundits tend to go gloom, assuming that Americans hungry for homeownership are bothered by a little frozen precipitation. The nation will unfreeze, inventory is expected to rise and home sales are widely expected to increase. These are good times, indeed, and many of us now have an enchanting shared experience that we can walk uphill to school both ways.
New Listings in Chicagoland were up 12.6 percent for detached homes and 7.0 percent for attached properties. Listings Under Contract increased 34.3 percent for detached homes and 15.8 percent for attached properties.
The Median Sales Price was up 9.4 percent to $175,000 for detached homes and 20.6 percent to $155,000 for attached properties. Months Supply of Inventory decreased 2.8 percent for detached units and 6.2 percent for attached units.
In national financial news, rumors that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could one day be a thing of the past have people wondering about the future of the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. But let’s not sound the alarm just yet. A drastic change to lending’s gold standard is certainly not on the immediate horizon. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen seems to have no immediate interest in raising interest rates for the first time since 2006. The economy remains stable, which should keep housing rolling through the short-named months.
MRED real estate professionals can log into MREDLLC.com and click on the Statistics tab to get the latest Lender Mediated and Monthly Market Indicators Reports. You can also click on the Local Market Updates choice under the Statistics tab and use our Interactive Market Analytics map for the latest local market metrics.
Any questions? Please contact MRED’s Help Desk at 630-955-2755 or help.desk@MREDLLC.com.
MRED’s New President/Chief Executive Officer Takes the Helm
Rebecca Jensen Assumes Leadership of the Chicagoland MLS Giant
LISLE, ILLINOIS (March 10, 2015) – Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), Chicagoland’s multiple listing service (MLS), announced that Rebecca Jensen has officially started as MRED’s President/Chief Executive Officer. She arrived on Monday, March 2nd, moving to MRED from another of the large MLSs in the country, UtahRealEstate.com.
Ms. Jensen hit the ground running. Many significant issues are affecting the MLS industry currently, most significant being the distribution of listing content to third party websites like Zillow and Trulia and the role MLSs will continue to play in listing syndication going forward. However, initially much of Ms. Jensen’s time will be spent getting to know MRED, its staff and existing culture.
“MRED has been and will continue to be a finely-tuned operation,” said Ms. Jensen. “We are all grateful to Jeff Gregory for the great work he did stepping in the last eight months as MRED’s Interim President/CEO. Now, it is my turn at the helm, and I cannot express the level of excitement I have at starting one of the dream jobs in our industry.”
“Even in the short time we have interacted with Rebecca, our Board could not be more pleased that she is our new Leader,” said MRED Chairman of the Board, Jeff Gregory. “After conducting an exhaustive national search, we are filled with anticipation regarding where MRED is going and thrilled that Rebecca is our President/CEO.”
“There are many challenges ahead,” added Ms. Jensen, “but I am extremely confident we can work closely with our brokerages, appraisal offices and Realtor® Association partners to make great progress and tackle the tough issues together.”
About MRED
Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) is the real estate data aggregator and distributor providing the Chicagoland multiple listing service (MLS) to nearly 40,000 brokers and appraisers and 8,000 offices. MRED serves Chicago and the surrounding “collar” counties and provides property information encompassing northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin and northwest Indiana. MRED delivers over twenty products and services to its customers, complementing connectMLS™, the top-rated MLS system in the country for two years running according to the WAV Group MLS Technology Survey. MRED is the 2013 Inman News Most Innovative MLS/Real Estate Trade Association, and for four consecutive years the MRED Help Desk has been identified as one of the best small business centers in the United States and Canada by BenchmarkPortal. For more information please visit MREDLLC.com.
Chicago Real Estate Offices Compete in Energy Cost Disclosure Brokerage Challenge
LISLE, ILLINOIS (March 9, 2015) – The City of Chicago and Elevate Energy are partnering with Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), Chicagoland’s multiple listing service (MLS), to offer the first-ever Chicago Energy eCompliance Brokerage Challenge. The Challenge will recognize brokerages in Chicago that adopt MRED’s Energy Cost Disclosure (ECD) tool and automate their listing process by preparing an energy cost disclosure report online, with up-to-the-moment data. As part of the Challenge, brokerages that complete a checklist will be publically recognized in an Earth Day press release.
In 2013, the City of Chicago became the first municipality in the United States to disclose residential energy costs (gas and electric) directly to an MLS when a single family or 2-4 unit home was listed for sale. Listing agents in Chicago can now provide buyer agents and home purchasers online access to an energy cost disclosure (ECD) report for a property which fulfills the requirement of a City of Chicago ordinance – without printing a single sheet of paper.
The Chicago Energy eCompliance Brokerage Challenge is an engaging and easy way for brokerages to institutionalize usage of the ECD tool, complying with the ordinance and securing their place as leaders in using this latest technology. A preliminary analysis also shows that Chicago single family real estate listings that disclosed energy costs spent less time on the market and had a higher closing rate.
The Chicago Energy eCompliance Brokerage Challenge asks brokerages to complete a checklist of three tasks:
- Management commitment to require ECD usage by their brokers on Chicago property listings.
- Office staff member oversees training activities on the ECD tool.
- Using ECD fields provided by MRED becomes part of the brokerage’s listing process.
To participate, brokerages should complete the three above tasks and return a completed form to pamela.brookstein@elevateenergy.org by March 23, 2015 to ensure recognition. All brokerages that do so will be included in an Earth Day announcement on April 22, 2015. Join early adopters of the challenge, like Baird & Warner, as well as the Century 21 Affiliated office in Hyde Park.
The Energy Cost Disclosure tool is a private, secure system in partnership with ComEd and People’s Gas, delivering instant, paperless energy usage data through connectMLS, on any device. The tool removes the need to fax or wait for data for home listings, utilizing an easy and convenient capability in the “Utilities & Energy Efficient Features” section of the MLS.
At the time this press release was issued, the Chicago Energy eCompliance Brokerage Challenge was sent to nearly 5,000 individuals, including owners and managers of the Chicago Association of Realtors offices, the Mainstreet Organization of Realtors, North Shore – Barrington Association of Realtors, and Oak Park Area Association of Realtors. All brokerages that have listings in Chicago are encouraged to participate.
About Elevate Energy
Elevate Energy’s mission is to deliver smarter energy use for all. Elevate designs and implements efficiency programs that lower costs, protect the environment, and ensure the benefits of energy efficiency reach those who need them most. For more information, please visit http://www.elevateenergy.org.
About MRED
Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) is the real estate data aggregator and distributor providing the Chicagoland multiple listing service (MLS) to nearly 40,000 brokers and appraisers and 8,000 offices. MRED serves Chicago and the surrounding “collar” counties and provides property information encompassing northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin and northwest Indiana. MRED delivers over twenty products and services to its customers, complementing connectMLS™, the top-rated MLS system in the country for two years running according to the WAV Group MLS Technology Survey. MRED is the 2013 Inman News Most Innovative MLS/Real Estate Trade Association, and for four consecutive years the MRED Help Desk has been identified as one of the best small business centers in the United States and Canada by BenchmarkPortal. For more information please visit MREDLLC.com.
5 Reasons to Love Using a Real Estate Professional [Infographic]
![5 Reasons to Love Using a Real Estate Professional [INFOGRAPHIC] | Keeping Current Matters](https://i0.wp.com/www.keepingcurrentmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/5-Reasons-to-Love.jpg)
Infographic via KCM Blog
The Truth About US Homeownership Rates [Infographic]
Infographic via KCM Blog
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