Nashville-based Realtracs, the largest multiple listing service in Tennessee, is encroaching on the territories of its rivals for the first time with goal of becoming a statewide MLS.
Realtracs is owned by seven Realtor associations and has more than 18,000 subscribers in Middle Tennessee and parts of Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky. The MLS is first expanding to the Greater Memphis and Chattanooga areas, where the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors, the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors and the Memphis Area Association of Realtors already have established MLSs.
Stuart White
“We see opportunity for a more unified real estate marketplace across the state of Tennessee,” said Realtracs President and CEO Stuart White in a statement.
“We’ve worked hard to ensure our MLS provides the best experience, and our topnotch customer service is what really sets us apart. We believe we will eventually be the MLS of choice for all agents and brokers in Tennessee.”
Realtracs’s initiative is part of what appears to be a growing trend among large MLSs to set their sights to becoming statewide — a goal that often comes with a fair amount of controversy, as MLSs such as California Regional MLS, Arizona Regional MLS, SmartMLS in Connecticut and competing statewide MLSs in Louisiana can attest to.
As part of its expansion, Realtracs is allowing users to manage and list properties across the state and offering agents and brokers outside of Middle Tennessee a free trial that lasts a minimum of six months. Those who sign up will not be required to provide any payment information and will not be charged once the trial ends unless their broker decides to move forward with using Realtracs, White told Inman.
“Currently, if you are a Realtor based in Nashville but have a client looking for a home in Memphis, you would have to pay for access to a new MLS in Memphis in order to get the data you need,” White said via email.
“We are early in this expansion process, but our end goal is to have a comprehensive statewide MLS in order to simplify the listing process for Realtors in Tennessee. At this time, the Realtor associations in Memphis and Chattanooga have not joined Realtracs, but the Realtracs team has reached out to these associations to engage in discussions about a statewide MLS.”
Reatracs decided to enter markets with competing MLSs for the first time due to a desire to see Tennessee’s real estate marketplace operate more efficiently, according to White.
“There is so much overlap in our state when it comes to real estate markets, and we believe we can support Realtors and brokers in growing their businesses if we offer a comprehensive statewide MLS that incorporates listings across all Tennessee markets,” he said.
Realtracs also believes the company offers the best MLS experience in the state.
“Lots of MLSs offer helpful tools and resources, but we add on a dedicated team of support experts who help our customers make the most of Realtracs,” White said.
“We don’t consider an MLS a purely digital experience — our customers see (live and in-person!) and hear from our customer support team regularly. We also develop our own system in-house, which allows us to react and respond to user feedback quickly, keeps us nimble and always iterating, and keeps us insulated from the turmoil of mergers and acquisitions seen so prevalently in the industry.”
Realtracs users have access to free accredited continuing education training courses, both online and in-person, and live chat is available six days a week, the MLS said. The MLS also automatically enrolls all of its broker participants in Realtracs Rewards, a “first-of-its-kind” program that compensates brokers for every closed listing on the platform.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to attribute comments from Realtracs to Stuart White rather than a spokesperson.
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