MRED moves to abandon NAR membership requirement

"Proposed updates include a code of conduct designed to ensure any non-Realtor participants will be held to professional standards. Assuming that passes, which I hope it does but you know, it's not up to me, it's up to the board it would be up to each individual Realtor association or MLS that we partner with to implement it."

"The move positions MRED to enter markets where non-Realtor access is already permitted, either by state law or voluntary policy. It would just allow MRED to be able to expand our marketplace. As MRED's market area expands, I don't want to have an artificial boundary where I can't expand into an area that already allows non-Realtor access, because of my operating agreement."

"Overall, she said the rule change would reduce legal exposure. It helps us de-risk in case a lawsuit was brought, where we would say we don't have that requirement. Additionally, she stressed that Monday's decision was not a rebuke of NAR. We're very supportive of NAR and the Realtor."

MRED, jointly owned by Realtor associations and brokerage firms, is implementing policy changes to permit non-Realtor participation in its multiple listing service. The revised rules include a professional code of conduct for non-Realtor participants and will be presented to the board of managers for approval. Individual Realtor associations and MLSs will decide whether to extend additional services like lockbox access or forms libraries to non-Realtor subscribers. This change allows MRED to expand into markets where non-Realtor access is already permitted by state law or voluntary policy, such as Thompson states and California. The private listing network will not require Realtor status for access. Leadership emphasizes this change reduces legal exposure and maintains strong support for NAR.

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