MRED Blog
REinventing MLS
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]
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Infographic via KCM Blog
The Truth About US Homeownership Rates [Infographic]
Infographic via KCM Blog
MRED Chicagoland Report for January, 2015
It’s already evident that 2015 will be marked by talk of changing mortgage rates and regulations. Rates should stay low, but consumers and finance experts alike believe that we’re at or near rate bottoms. Early indications point to more sales, more listings, more new construction and more excitement. It’s not expected to be the overblown land grab of the early 2000s, but it should feel like a healthy market, which, in and of itself, may feel like an odd sensation to real estate practitioners accustomed to the boom and bust of the 21st century.
New Listings in Chicagoland were up 17.8 percent for detached homes and 11.9 percent for attached properties. Listings Under Contract increased 27.6 percent for detached homes and 17.1 percent for attached properties.
The Median Sales Price was up 4.8 percent to $174,700 for detached homes and 15.0 percent to $153,500 for attached properties. Months Supply of Inventory increased 0.9 percent for detached units but was down 6.2 percent for attached units.
The 3 percent down payment programs from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should help potential new homeowners, but in a recent member survey by the Independent Community Bankers of America, three-fourths of respondents stated that regulatory burdens are hurting their ability to loan money. The wider economy shows slight wage increases and gas prices near five-year lows but rising along with extended daylight and buyer demand. These various economic pushes and pulls can turn stagnant markets into exciting ones. It’s all in how you look at it.
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.
3 Promising Graphs on the Nation’s Mortgage Market
It’s been roller coaster ride following the nation’s mortgage markets, so Chicago Agent Magazine decided to take a more long-term view at some of the key stats at play – and how, with only one exception, things have improved quite a bit.Big Thinking by MRED’s New President/Chief Executive Officer
Rebecca Jensen Talks About the Dream MLS on Panel at Industry Conference
LISLE, ILLINOIS (February 4, 2015) – Rebecca Jensen, the incoming President/Chief Executive Officer of Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), Chicagoland’s multiple listing service (MLS), was one of the featured panel members at the Real Estate Connect conference in New York, which took place January 28-30, 2015.
Ms. Jensen was on a panel titled “How I Would Do It: Big Thinkers Lay Out the Plan For Their Dream MLS”. Facilitated by David Charron, President and CEO of Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS), other speakers included Cary Sylvester, Vice President of Technology Innovation, Keller Williams; Christine Todd, CEO of the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors; and Heather Elias Vice President of Industry Engagement, Century 21 Redwood Realty.
Initial discussion focused on what the MLS should be about, and if it can meet the needs of all of its stakeholders. The panelists also addressed concerns in the industry about MLSs providing services directly to consumers.
Ms. Jensen stated, “MLSs should offer technology needed for that specific marketplace. We can’t be everything to everybody, but it is incumbent on the MLS to reach out to the busy real estate professionals who don’t have the time to volunteer, and understand how they are impacted by possible changes being considered.”
Another subject for the panel was the Broker Public Portal project, which a number of large brokerages and MLSs are investigating, to provide a national consumer facing website. “There is significant interest in the Broker Public Portal at MRED,’ said Jensen. “There may be a need for a national portal even in a market that doesn’t have a consumer facing website, like Chicagoland.”
Ms. Jensen’s parting comment was a call for the differing interests in real estate to work together. “Fragmentation makes us weak; we can accomplish so much more when we work together to solve tough problems.”
This was Ms. Jensen’s first public appearance as MRED’s new President/Chief Executive Officer.
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.
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