FMLS in Georgia to share data with Alabama neighbors
The agreement allows the 67,000 combined members of FMLS — the 5th-largest MLS in the U.S. — and three smaller organizations to share listings and referrals.
The Southeast has become a hot spot for MLS collaboration, with several data-sharing partnerships forming and expanding across the region in recent years.
The latest organizations to team up are FMLS in Georgia — the country's fifth-largest MLS, with 57,000 members — and three smaller MLSs in Alabama: Greater Alabama MLS, Gulf Coast MLS and East Alabama Board of Realtors.
They describe the partnership, announced this week, as a "collaborative listing network" that will allow roughly 67,000 agents to share listing information and referrals across the combined coverage area.
An alternative to consolidation: While consolidation can be a hard sell for MLS owners reluctant to give up control, data sharing is "an expansion-based opportunity," Clint Skutchan, SVP of organized real estate at T3 Sixty, told Real Estate News in August.
It also allows real estate professionals to access more data — and get more visibility for their listings — without having to change platforms, in most cases. And that broader reach makes sense in a real estate landscape that is "evolving rapidly," said Jeremy Crawford, president and CEO of FMLS, in a news release.
"With remote transactions and smarter technology, agents and brokers now need solutions that address the demands of a fast-changing market. Through this partnership, we're excited to expand our referral network by allowing real estate professionals to access each other's listings within their local markets," Crawford said.
More inventory in the mix: Although inventory has improved, it remains well below pre-pandemic levels — and a large share of active listings have grown stale.
Given the continuing inventory crunch, the partnership "comes at a perfect time," said Kristina Knowles, president of Greater Alabama MLS. "Buyers now have access to a broader inventory of homes for sale throughout the Southeast region, and sellers' listings are visible to a much larger number of real estate professionals representing buyers. This is truly a win-win for everyone involved in buying and selling homes."
Other recent data partnerships in the region:
The Coast 2 Coast MLS Data Share, which comprises five MLSs in Florida, was announced in late 2023 and launched in July 2024.
North Carolina Regional MLS, a wholesale cooperative, added three Georgia MLSs in July 2024.
The Southeast MLS Alliance launched in October 2023, bringing together four MLSs to share data across six states.
BeachesMLS in Florida joined the six-state MLS Aligned network in 2021 and has an agreement with Bright MLS, which serves the Mid-Atlantic region. In June 2024, Beaches entered into a data-sharing agreement with California Regional MLS.