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Aligned Showings, a showing scheduling tool owned by six of the largest multiple listing services (MLSs) in the U.S., has inked a deal with its first non-owner MLS, New Mexico MLS.
Santa Fe-based New Mexico MLS — a statewide MLS with 1,150 agent, broker and appraiser subscribers — will likely launch Aligned Showings in either the fourth quarter or in first-quarter 2024, according to MLS Aligned, the company that offers the software. New Mexico MLS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the New Mexico Association of Realtors.
According to an announcement, Aligned Showings offers a mobile app, optimized route mapping, real-time messaging and an advanced showing approval system, among other features.
“The product is exciting,” said Megan McFarlane, executive director of NMMLS, in a statement. “What MLSs can build when they work together is not just strong because of the relationships, but strong because Aligned Showings is cutting-edge technology.”
MLS Aligned is owned by six MLSs with about 150,000 subscribers combined. Arizona Regional MLS, Metro MLS in Wisconsin, MLSListings in Silicon Valley, RMLS in Oregon and UtahRealEstate.com founded MLS Aligned in 2018. BeachesMLS became the company’s sixth owner in 2021.
This is not the only deal New Mexico MLS has with one of MLS Aligned’s owners. NMMLS and UtahRealEstate.com announced in May that they would share listing data and services.
MLS Aligned expects the Aligned Showings platform to have more than 90,000 users by the end of the year. MLSListings launched Aligned Showings in beta to its 16,000 subscribers in 2022 and UtahRealEstate.com launched the product to its 20,000 or so subscribers earlier this year.
Brad Bjelke
ARMLS will roll out Aligned Showings in the third quarter and Metro MLS will follow soon after, according to an MLS Aligned spokesperson.
“We immediately had fast adoption of the product in our market,” said Brad Bjelke, CEO of UtahRealEstate.com, in a statement. “The product is easy to use, looks great, and works efficiently.”
Inman has asked MLS Aligned how many UtahRealEstate.com and MLSListings subscribers have adopted the product so far and will update the story if a response is received.
In May 2021, in a bid to create its own showing service, MLS Aligned acquired the technology assets of RE Agent Solutions LLC, which include the software and technology behind Agent Inbox, a real estate messaging and showing platform. Agent Inbox earned a 4 out of 5 rating from Inman tech reviewer Craig Rowe in December 2016.
That deal came amid a tumultuous time for the showing management industry after the announcement of Zillow’s acquisition of ShowingTime in February 2021. Up until that point, ShowingTime had been a popular platform among agents; but after the acquisition news, many expressed concerns about how Zillow might handle their data among other things. (Zillow has vowed to keep ShowingTime’s privacy policies in place.)
Since then, numerous showing management companies told Inman they were experiencing a tsunami of interest from brokerages, MLSs and agents. MLS Aligned’s new service is among those that have emerged in response to that growing demand.
