WAV Group is thrilled the great news coming from Florida! The Pinellas REALTOR Organization (PRO) has has selected My Florida Regional MLS (MFRMLS) to be its exclusive provider of real estate listing and transaction data for its 5,200 members. The agreement, celebrated with a signing ceremony at the 2010 National
Association of Realtors conference in New Orleans on November 4, 2010, will culminate with a complete merge of data in the Spring of 2011, transferring all listing data from PRO’s selfadministered multiple listing service to the larger regional MLS.
Until recently REALTORS in Florida had to belong to two MLSs to post their listings in the contriguous cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg, Florida. We at WAV Group are thrilled to see how two neighboring organizations can join forces for the good of the REALTOR community. There are still many contiguous markets that have not been able to find a way to work together to the benefit of their subscribers. We hope this landmark partnership will inspire others around the country to do the same! In these tough economic times, we hope that every market can critically evaluate decisions like this that are best for the real estate professional trying to “ride out” a down market. Organized real estate owes it to his subscribers to find ways to reduce costs and make it easier to do business. This is a great step exhibited by two great organizations.
Now that the merger is complete, My Florida Regional MLS, based in Orlando, is a consortium of 13 shareholder Realtor associations throughout central and southwest Florida. The addition of PRO’s members will set a milestone and increase MFRMLS’s enrollment by 23% to a total of 34,000. PRO, based in Clearwater, will participate in policy, operational and fiscal oversight of MFRMLS as the 14th shareholder.
“The Pinellas Realtor Organization is a very well-respected and well-run association. We are honored to have them join us and assist us in our growth,” says MFRMLS president Aaron Chandler. “As our numbers grow, we are better able to provide our members the best available tools to help them excel in real estate.” The agreement will have a strategic advantage for PRO and MFRMLS, as both will enjoy a dramatic increase of listing inventory. Currently, PRO has a data share agreement with the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors-also an MFRMLS shareholder-which permits members from either association to see all Tampa Bay area listings without having to join both
organizations. The unification will provide all MFRMLS members with the opportunity toexpand their geographical expertise and improve their ability to compete in today’s real-time, Internet driven market. In addition, the added Pinellas County listings will expand MFRMLS’s
contiguous counties to 12, improving its position as a regional multiple listing service.
The Pinellas Realtor Organization believes this step will bring a tremendous benefit to its members as well as to all the current members of MFRMLS by providing wider exposure for listings and strengthening members’ ability to have cutting edge-tools and services in serving their clients and customers. “We have always had close ties to the associations in the Tampa Bay area market and this is a logical extension to be able to work more closely with the Manatee and
Sarasota Counties’ market as well,” notes Ann Guiberson, president and chief executive officer
of PRO. “This is a win-win for all.”
The addition of listings in Pinellas County will become visible to MFRMLS agents outside of theTampa Bay area. “We’re excited to provide more listing information to our current members,” says Merri Jo Cowen, MFRMLS chief executive officer. “By extending our boundaries and membership base, everyone will benefit.” PRO members will also enjoy the addition of new marketing and productivity tools as offered by MFRMLS. Statistical tools, virtual tours and a consumer-friendly website- MyFloridaHomesMLS.com-provide a breadth of ancillary products to their arsenal. MFRMLS’s strength-in-numbers concept allows the organization to offer many value-added tools. The MLS technology platforms used by both organizations are very similar. PRO uses TEMPOand MFRMLS uses MLXchange, both developed and serviced by CoreLogic MarketLinx.
Great job Pinellas! Great job MFRMLS! We’re thrilled to report on the great progress on the landmark partnership you forged on behalf of your customers!
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