Real Estate Almanac
Multiple Listing Services
The MLS section of the ORE 200 includes a ranking of all the nation’s MLS organizations, by membership count as of December 31, 2020. Note that the list only features MLS organizations, which have a governance structure with clear listing processes, procedures and compliance rules, and not MLS systems, which essentially are just a database and number just a handful in the country covering just a few dozen subscribers.
MLS Overview
Multiple listing services (MLSs) create connections that serve as a listing database for all a market’s homes for sale while enabling collaboration between competing brokers and agents to make transactions happen as quickly as possible and for the highest price. MLSs essentially serve as cooperatives, the result of brokerages coming together to collaborate on marketing and selling each other’s listings. MLSs are anchored by a technology platform, often provided by a third-party software provider.
Source: Real Estate Almanac
Of the 556 MLSs in the country at the end of 2020, 108 are regional MLSs, either owned by two or more Realtor associations or serve regional markets (19 are broker-owned); 448 are local MLSs, which have a single Realtor association owner. Just 3 percent of MLSs are not owned by a Realtor association or group of associations, based on T3 Sixty’s research.
Source: Real Estate Almanac
The nation’s large regional MLSs have huge footprints, sophisticated technology, innovative business practices and well-run management structures. The largest MLSs serve members across a broad geographic area, sometimes statewide or even across multiple states. These include California Regional MLS (104,414 subscribers), Bright MLS (94,429 subscribers) and Florida-based Stellar MLS (64,552 subscribers).
Year | No. of Local Associations | Median Local Association Member Count | Average Local Association Member Count |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | 1,088 | 360 | 1,279 |
2021 | 1,069 | 1,351 | 383 |
% Change | -1.7% | 6.4% | 5.6% |
Source: Real Estate Almanac
Over half of the nation’s MLS subscribers belong to one of the largest 20 MLSs and 14 percent of the nation’s MLSs account for approximately 80 percent of the nation’s 1.7 million MLS subscribers. On the other side of the spectrum are small local MLSs. These organizations, which do not have as many resources, have memberships measuring in just the hundreds. Approximately 45 percent of the nation’s 556 MLSs have under 400 subscribers.
In some cases, two or more local MLSs serve the same city, such as First Multiple Listing Service and Georgia MLS in Atlanta. In other cases, such as UtahRealEstate.com, MLSs basically cover the state.
Since the early 1990s, the MLS industry has seen a wave of consolidation. Just six years ago there were over 800 MLSs as compared to the 556 MLSs at the end of 2020. With that, MLSs are getting bigger while their overall count drops. From 2020 to 2021 the median subscriber count per MLS grew 18.8 percent while the average subscriber count per MLS grew 9.8 percent.
MLS Memberships
The rankings show that the nation’s 20 largest MLSs (approximately 3.6 percent of all MLSs) serve over 50 percent of the nation’s total MLS subscribers; this number will likely go up as consolidation increases across the country and MLSs become larger.
Residential real estate brokerage industry’s MLSs listed as of December 31, 2020. Sorted by end of year membership. Note that the list only features MLS organizations, which have a governance structure with clear listing processes, procedures and compliance rules, and not MLS systems, which essentially are just a database and number just a handful in the country covering just a few dozen subscribers.
2021 Rank
Multiple Listing Service
2020 EOY Membership
501
Eagle Pass Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
502
Del Norte Association of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
502
Four County Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
504
Warren County Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
504
Batesville Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
506
Montcalm County Association of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
506
Cherokee County Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
508
Hopkinsville-Christian & Todd County Asn of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
508
Madisonville Hopkins County Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
510
Dublin Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
510
Southern Piedmont Land & Lake Association of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
512
Matagorda County Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
513
Lincoln County Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
513
Natchez Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
515
Central Kentucky Association of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
516
Tillamook County Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
517
Covington Association of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
517
Central South Dakota Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
517
Randolph County Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
520
Yancey Mitchell Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
520
San Patricio County Association of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
522
Lewis and Clark Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
523
Jamestown Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
523
Lassen Association of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
525
Pittsburg Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
525
Plainview Association of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
527
Jefferson County Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
527
Huntingdon County Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
527
Logan County Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
530
Mitchell Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
530
Crisp Area Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
532
Douglas Coffee County Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
532
Pike County Real Estate Association
,
Rank:
Membership:
534
Trinity County Association of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
535
Moultrie Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
536
Eufaula Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
536
Henderson Audubon Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
538
Johnson County Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
539
Greenwood Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
540
Idyllwild Association of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
541
Greenville Area Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
542
Coastal Bend Association of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
543
Elk Cameron Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
544
Fayette-Nicholas Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
545
Dumas Board of Realtors (Run by Texas Realtors)
,
Rank:
Membership:
546
Dodge City Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
546
Pampa Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
546
Dalhart Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
549
Huron Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
550
Monroe County Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
551
Mckean County Association of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
552
Americus Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
553
Grenada Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
554
Nolan County Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
555
Mid Valley Association of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership:
556
Clarksdale Board of Realtors
,
Rank:
Membership: