4 Realtor groups join statewide system

Fresno, Lake County, Madera County, and Merced County Realtor associations are the first participants in a statewide multiple listing service initiative in California by CALMLS, a nonprofit subsidiary of the California Association of Realtors.

Combined, the four associations that are charter members of the statewide system represent only about 3,500 members -- the Fresno Association of Realtors is the largest with about 2,400 Realtor members.

The data system, dubbed calREDD for California Real Estate Dynamic Data, is offered by CALMLS vendor Concentric Software of Rocklin, Calif. According to a California Association of Realtors announcement, calREDD "embodies the long-term vision of creating one database for all California real property."

Sixty-eight local Realtor associations and several regional MLSs, which together represent about 120,000 Realtors in California (there are about 180,000 total Realtors in the state), have signed non-binding letters of intent to participate in the CALMLS effort.

Participants can choose to use the statewide system as their primary MLS software or they can can operate under their current systems and provide data feeds to the statewide database. There are several examples of regional data-sharing efforts already under way in the state, and several statewide MLS systems already in operation across the country. Collaborative efforts by MLSs are typically intended to create greater efficiencies by eliminating the need for brokers to join several MLSs and comply with varying sets of rules and data standards.

CALMLS announced in January (see Inman News) that it had received a $3 million line of credit from the California Association of Realtors to pursue the acquisition of one or more MLSs in order to help jumpstart the statewide effort.

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