Bright MLS is set to add the Virginia-based Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors (CAAR) to its roster, the two groups announced Wednesday.
CAAR will join Bright MLS by the fall of 2018, the association said in a press release.
“We are excited to join Bright MLS, so that real estate professionals from our area will need only one system, one fee, one set of rules and one data feed to run their businesses successfully,” CAAR CEO Anne Gardner said in a statement. “Bright MLS offers access to broader data and innovative products and works to understand our local market and align with our everyday needs. We look forward to transitioning our members to the Bright system, so they can use new tools that will significantly help them improve their daily activities and better serve their clients.”
Bright MLS is one of the leaders in industry consolidation across multiple listing services. Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc. and the Delaware Valley Real Estate Information Network Inc. merged to form Bright MLS in 2016. Per its stated plan, it has expanded and now covers 40,000 square miles across the mid-Atlantic, including Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and areas of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
CAAR includes about 1,300 real estate professionals in Charlottesville and Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa and Nelson counties in Virginia. The association said in its release that it chose to join Bright MLS to give agents access to a broader service area with fewer MLS subscriptions.
Graphic showing the spread of Bright MLS. The dark orange is existing coverage area, while light is CAAR addition | Credit: Bright MLS
“Today’s real estate market is moving faster than ever, driven by consumer demand for data,” Bright MLS CEO Tom Phillips added. “Bright MLS was created to align with this new reality and break down outdated geographic barriers. When we formed Bright MLS, we always believed others would share our vision.
“We’re excited that Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors has joined us in this journey, and we look forward to working with them as a partner to provide these benefits to more realtors in Virginia.”