Realtor Associations Sign Settlement Agreement, Create ‘One MLS’ for Chicago

RISMEDIA, Jan. 8, 2008-The 10 Realtor® association owners of MLSNI, Inc., the Lisle-based operator of a multiple listing service used by most Chicago Realtors, announced last month on December 27, that they have signed a settlement agreement they hope will resolve a long-running dispute over the future of MLS services in the Chicago area.

The settlement clears the way for MLSNI to consolidate with MAP MLS, a smaller multiple listing service operating primarily in the Northwest and North Shore suburbs. However, the settlement and the consolidation are still subject to approval by MLSNI’s Board of Directors, and by MAP (both its board of directors and shareholders); neither MAP nor MLSNI were directly involved in the shareholder discussions that resulted in the proposed settlement.

It is anticipated that both organizations will address the consolidation at their respective January Board meetings. If approved, the new MLS would be the largest broker-controlled multiple listing service in the Midwest; the transaction would close sometime during the first quarter of 2008. MLSNI and MAP signed a data sharing agreement earlier this year but a formal consolidation originally approved by MLSNI’s Board of Directors in 2006 has been stalled by litigation between the Realtor associations.

Late last year MLSNI’s Board approved a series of reorganization transactions that included a consolidation with MAP. Five of MLSNI’s 10 Realtor association owners approved the transaction, but the other five filed suit to block it. The Circuit Court of Cook County ordered a new meeting of the MLSNI’s shareholders to consider and vote on the consolidation transactions but an appeal of that order is still pending.

Rob Schaid, president of the McHenry County Association of Realtors, and David Hanna, president-elect of the Chicago Association of Realtors, lauded the settlement agreement. “This settlement is the result of months of intense, good-faith negotiations. We are especially pleased that it recognizes the important role Realtor associations play for their members and for the real estate business in the communities they serve.”

Under the proposed settlement terms, individual Realtor associations would remain the primary portal for the purchase of MLS services by their broker and Realtor members for at least the next seven years.

A consolidated MLS will enhance the ability of brokers and their agents to compete in a rapidly changing real estate industry. If approved, the reorganization will usher in a new era of efficiency for the delivery of MLS services and Chicagoland will have a single multiple listing service as most other metropolitan areas do.

Under the proposed consolidation, every licensed real estate broker firm in Chicagoland would be able to purchase a single preferred unit in the new MLS, at a nominal price of $1000. Those brokers would then elect 13 of the 15 seats on the new company’s board of managers. MLSNI would elect the other two seats and it would retain a vote on certain fundamental corporate actions.

MLSNI would also own the economic interest in the new company but the enterprise would be operated at a break-even basis for the benefit of the broker firms purchasing MLS services.

For more information about the Realtor Association of NorthWest Chicagoland or to learn more about starting an exciting new career in real estate, contact Peggy Kayser at peggy@ranwc.com. (544 words)