A Little Breathing Room: How MRED’s Private Listing Status Helped a Mother of Four Navigate a Difficult Divorce Selling a home is stressful enough. Add a difficult divorce, four messy, busy teenage children, and the challenge of preparing a house for sale, and the process can quickly become overwhelming. For one Illinois mother, MRED’s Private Listing Status provided something she desperately needed: time. Working with her real estate agent, the homeowner placed her home in Private Listing Status while preparing for a potential sale. The family needed a few weeks to get the house ready for photographs, evaluate its market value, and determine the best path forward. “With four kids, it was hard enough trying to get the house ready,” she explained. “It certainly gave me that extra buffer of time that I needed.” Without that flexibility, she would have been forced to choose between two bad options: put the house on the market before it was ready or delay the process entirely. The Private Listing Status also gave her more time to search for a replacement home while navigating the divorce. “Even with the time buffer the Private Listing status gave me, I still felt a ton of pressure to buy more quickly than I would have liked,” she said. “Without it, I am not sure I would have been able to find a home for my family in time.” Ultimately, her husband decided to buy out her interest in the property at a mutually agreed-upon value informed by appraisals, eliminating the need for a traditional sale. The Private Listing Status allowed him to understand the true value of the home by getting feedback from fellow MRED agents, which resulted in a more equitable divorce settlement. For this family, the Private Listing Status wasn't about avoiding the open market. It was about having the flexibility to make thoughtful decisions during an extraordinarily challenging time. Sometimes the most valuable thing an MLS can provide is a little breathing room for consumers.

Are you using TrustFunds? This digital earnest money is a core service provided by MRED - you can start using TrustFunds immediately to send secure earnest money payment requests. Sign up for this free webinar to see how easy TrustFunds is to use: • Learn how to send a payment request in minutes from the property listing. • View real time transaction history. • Access valuable reporting tools. • Update your personal profile with your photo. register.gotowebinar.com/reg…

Do you need MLS assistance? MRED is closed today, but we're still here for you! Our helpful Knowledge Base is available 24/7 and can help answer common MLS questions. Check it out here: mredllc.freshdesk.com/suppor…

The Data Is Clear: Double-Ended Deals Happen Less Often in MRED’s PLN Status MRED launched their PLN Status to address the requests of their brokerages who wanted a way to warm up interest in properties while they were preparing them for sale. The PLN status allows every MRED subscriber to gain early exposure to properties before they go fully active. Interestingly, the data shows that properties participating in this early, pre-listing status have fewer double ended transactions than active listings. Double-ended transactions by agents have consistently been less common in the Private Listing Network status than in Active status: 2022: PLN Status 3.3% | Active Status 5.5% 2023: PLN Status 3.5% | Active Status 5.8% 2024: PLN Status 3.2% | Active Status 5.2% 2025: PLN Status 3.3% | Active Status 4.7% 2026 YTD (as of 8/31): PLN Status 2.9% | Active Status 3.4% The data also shows that double ending represents an increasingly small percentage of transactions in either status. Since 2022, double-ended transactions in the PLN status have declined approximately 12%, while those in Active status have declined approximately 38%. The data does not support the assertion by some that PLN status encourages agents to capture both sides of a transaction. At MRED, we believe the best way to address questions about how the marketplace operates is to start with the facts. And in this case, the data is clear: the PLN is simply a way to give homeowners the time to prepare their listing or, in rare cases, sell their home without public display.

We’re grateful for all our incredible associations, especially the dedicated association executives who help make these partnerships work. Their leadership, collaboration, and commitment to serving real estate professionals make a difference every day. We’re proud to work alongside organizations that support the industry and create opportunities for the professionals we collectively serve. Thank you for your partnership, your trust, and everything you do!

MRED has understood for more than a decade what others are just beginning to recognize: the broker is solely responsible for facilitating a successful, lawful transaction. The MLS is responsible for curating an organized, cooperative, equitable marketplace that gives brokers the flexibility to lawfully serve their clients as they see fit. That philosophy has guided MRED’s Private Listing Network (PLN) status since it was launched more than 10 years ago in direct response to broker requests. It is also why MRED does not mandate how long a listing can remain in PLN status before being marketed publicly. Every property, seller and circumstance is different. MRED believes the practitioner advising the seller is best positioned to determine the appropriate marketing path. The results support that approach. Even without a mandated timeframe, listings typically remain in the PLN for just 9 to 20 days, similar to markets that impose specific time limits. The key difference in MRED’s approach? The broker drives the marketing approach and timing, not arbitrary MLS rules. MRED doesn’t impose arbitrary behaviors on broker marketing practices. MRED creates the marketplace and empowers professionals to serve their clients the best way they know how. After a decade of listening, learning, and refining the PLN, MRED continues to demonstrate the advantage of broker-centric leadership: lead the marketplace without trying to dictate the flow of transactions.

It is with heavy hearts that we mourn the passing of Lynn Madison. Lynn served on MRED's Board of Managers for many years, including as Vice Chair, and was recently re-elected to the Board. She was kind, passionate, and brilliant, and gave so much of herself to this industry. Lynn was a constant source of knowledge and advice, whether in teaching classes or on a phone call with a colleague who needed guidance. Lynn had two great passions in life: her family and the real estate community. Both were lucky to have her. Our thoughts are with Lynn's family, her friends, and everyone who she touched along the way. If you have a special memory of Lynn, please feel free to share it in the replies.

MRED Wins: A Major Victory for Cooperation and the Consumer The court’s preliminary injunction ruling in favor of MRED marks an important victory not only for MRED, but also for MLSs, brokers, and the cooperative marketplace nationwide. MRED stood its ground to protect a fundamental MLS principle: brokerages receiving other brokerages’ listing data may use it for their consumer sites, provided they follow the relevant licensing requirements and display all listings approved for distribution. MRED did this by defending Objective Criteria, a principle established through the Department of Justice and recently reaffirmed by the National Association of REALTORS®. Brokers and consumers may filter listings by price, property type, location, bedrooms, amenities, and other objective characteristics. They cannot exclude a competitor’s listings simply because they disagree with the lawful way those properties were marketed. What a brokerage cannot do is selectively remove legitimate listings using subjective criteria. What if a brokerage excluded only the listings of a competitor it was battling for market share? What if it refused to display listings without floor plans? How about a brokerage that eliminated listings it considered competitive with its own? These are subjective business decisions, not neutral search criteria, and they are prohibited by most, if not all, MLS data licensing agreements. That is why MLSs serve as referees of the cooperative marketplace. Someone must ensure competitors follow the same rules and prevent powerful companies from deciding what the rules are for everyone else. MRED was willing to take that stand even when challenged by a large, publicly traded company. The ruling reinforces the ability of MLSs to consistently enforce their rules and data licensing agreements. This is a victory for fairness, transparency and broker cooperation - principles MRED will continue defending every day.

One of the most frequent questions and concerns around private listings MRED gets is that agents used them to ‘double-end’ the deal. Meaning, the agent wanted to represent both the seller and the buyer to get both sides of the commission. The stats tell a different story. Since MRED started tracking in 2022, the amount of double ended listings in a private status is actually less than what happens in active statuses. Here are the recent percentages of double-ended agent listings in MRED’s marketplace: 2022: - Private: 3.3% - Standard: 5.5% 2023: - Private: 3.5% - Standard: 5.8% 2024 - Private: 3.2% - Standard: 5.2% 2025 - Private: 3.3% - Standard: 4.7% 2026 year to date - Private: 2.9% - Standard: 3.4% As an MLS, MRED wants to go to the data whenever we can to help tell the RIGHT story.

You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. When a listing goes Active in the MLS, what happens? Thousands of emails, push notifications, and other alerts go live to consumers ready to buy. In between the signing of the listing agreement and making it live for the public, did you have time to stage the property? Make any repairs? Get the professional photography and other marketing done? Using a private listing status lets you take the listing, put it in the MLS for all of the other brokers, and do what’s right by your seller to make that best first impression.

Have an MLS question? We have answers even when our Help Desk is closed! Our extensive Knowledge Base is always available here: mredllc.freshdesk.com/suppor…

Getting YOUR data is a right. Getting everyone else’s data is a privilege. Your brokerage’s data is always available free and without restriction through MLS Grid. Access to everyone else’s listings is a privilege granted through data licensing agreements. Every participant who signs those agreements commits to displaying ALL listings included in the feed in compliance with its terms, not discriminating against listings based on brokerage, marketing approach, or other subjective criteria. This shared commitment protects a fair, orderly, cooperative online marketplace and every participant must defend the listing transparency provided to consumers.

Congratulations to NWMLS on its new First Look program, which gives sellers the option to test pricing, gather feedback, and choose whether to allow showings, offers, and broader online exposure. MRED pioneered this flexible approach in 2016 with our Private Listing Network, recognizing nearly a decade ago that sellers deserve choices and brokers need tools to build marketing strategies around each client’s unique goals. We are proud to see yet another MLS embrace this important model. blog.mredllc.com/2026/08/31/…

How many brokerages does MRED have partnerships with? Over 6,600! From the one-person niche brokerage to the large national firms, MRED works equally with brokerages of all shapes, sizes, and business models. We’re proud of our focus on the brokerage as our customer and aren’t shy about trying to get more firms to join us and see what MRED is all about. If one of our current brokerages wants more of their agents to join MRED from other markets…we can’t think of a better review for what MRED provides as the MLS.

FINALLY 🙌 If you've ever been frustrated by constantly updating your MRED password, check out the new MyMLSdashboard.com login options.

MRED Protecting IDX Reaching Higher. Protecting What Matters. Broker cooperation has always been the foundation of the MLS. But cooperation only works when everyone plays by the same rules. When a powerful company challenges the rules of the cooperative marketplace, MRED does not simply make a deal or look the other way. It stands its ground. In May, MRED suspended Zillow's access to IDX and VOW data feeds after Zillow violated Objective Criteria rules by banning listings from their site until the seller fired the listing brokerage and agent. This was after months of communications with Zillow, telling them why banning listings in this way violates our rules. Rules that have been in place for decades, as a part of the 2008 DOJ settlement. That courage matters. Large companies can use their size and influence to make others reluctant to challenge them. MRED believes its responsibility as the referee of the marketplace is bigger than any individual company. This protection ensures all your members can fully leverage the incredible collection of properties to generate business opportunities. One of MRED’s core values is Data Caretaking, and we take our responsibility seriously to guard MLS data use and distribution. MRED’s principle is simple: work fairly with your fellow brokers, honor the agreements you sign, and MRED will do everything possible to help you succeed. Break those agreements, and MRED will act to protect the best interests of all Participants. By defending consistent enforcement, MRED is protecting something much larger than a contract: the cooperative online marketing ecosystem that gives brokerages of every size the opportunity to compete, support consumers, and reach higher.

Is History Trying to Repeat Itself? The real estate industry has been here before. In 2008, the U.S. Department of Justice reached a landmark settlement with the National Association of REALTORS® after challenging rules it believed disadvantaged Internet-based brokerage models. A critical principle emerged: brokers should be treated consistently regardless of business model, and MLS cooperation should not favor one competitor over another. MRED believes the position Zillow is taking in its lawsuit threatens that principle. At issue is whether Zillow should be able to decide which MLS listings it will display using criteria that conflict with MRED’s data licensing agreement. If Zillow can receive an MLS feed and arbitrarily exclude certain listings, what prevents every brokerage from doing the same? One broker could exclude a competitor’s listings. Another could reject listings based on marketing strategy. Soon, the comprehensive, cooperative marketplace consumers rely on will fracture. This case is about much more than Zillow. MRED believes its job as market “referee” is to defend fair broker cooperation and the integrity of the IDX Data Licensing Agreement signed by cooperating brokers. If that foundation unravels, the industry could invite the same type of DOJ scrutiny the 2008 settlement sought to resolve. History may be trying to repeat itself. We are hopeful the courts will recognize what’s at risk by arbitrarily allowing one brokerage to dictate listing display terms serving the needs of their own website to the detriment of homesellers who have chosen their own marketing path.

From @realtordotcom: Buying a home can be an intimidating process, with the biggest hurdle for many being coming up with enough funds for a down payment. Many people believe they need to put down at least 20% if they want a home. But that's not necessarily true. realtor.com/advice/finance/h…

From RPR: Every deal has a handful of moments where things tip. Where the client leans in or pulls back. Where you either have the answer…or you don’t. RPR exists for those moments. Not as a platform you need to learn. As the answer you already have when it counts. Here are 17 of those moments. One of these is already on your calendar... blog.narrpr.com/tips/the-17-…