MRIS stands for Metropolitan Regional Information System, but it could just as easily stand for Making REALTORS® Information Savvy.

MRIS first went on-line in 1996, and in two short years has become the largest regional system in the country. It is also the leader in innovations. With a roll-up-the-sleeves attitude that somebody's got to help REALTORS® into the 21st Century, MRIS has taken technology, MLS and other information services, training, support and even Internet access out of the struggling hands of the brokers and agents and streamlined it into a single gigantic service provider. And it works. Here's how.

It began with the frustrations of one broker. In order to do business in several adjoining regions across Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, Dale Ross found that he had to belong to eight different REALTOR® associations and five different MLS systems. Ross, already one of the most successful brokers in the Northeast with 23 years experience in residential and commercial real estate and acting president of a large commercial brokerage firm, decided he was the man for the job.

"I had the vision to put together a large system that would help the REALTOR®," says Ross. "We could get rid of archaic systems, and advance the real estate profession." In 1993, he sat down with three of the largest REALTOR® Associations and formed MRIS. In July 1994 he was selected as Chief Executive Officer of MRIS.

Today, MRIS comprises twenty-five local REALTOR® Associations in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. By the end of 1998, MRIS will serve approximately 30,000 real estate brokers and agents with their multiple listing, Intranet, Internet and other future real estate information technology needs. It is already the largest regional system of its kind. MRIS currently serves more than 22,000 REALTOR-subscribers in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington D.C., and West Virginia. These professionals sold more than 67,000 homes in 1997, representing more than $11 billion in sales. Active listings number over 55,000 properties.

Among the innovative features MRIS offers in addition to its listing services are school profiles; Internet exposure on Realtor.com, Homeseekers.com and HomeAdvisor.com; and a comparative marketing analysis program (CMA). The CMA gives the average price as well as average days on the market with fields that include a wide range of data from the number of bedrooms and baths to the style of the home. Entering a listing is a quick process of pointing and clicking. A report to give to consumers even features the agent's name who generated the inquiry.

What makes these programs unique is their ultimate consumer friendliness. Every report lists information that is translated into consumer-friendly descriptions, eliminating the need for the agent to transcribe the information into a report via a second-party agent software. Says Chief Information Officer of MRIS, Gregg Petch, "The reason the agent goes to the MLS and other data systems is to get information to give to the client. Why not have it consumer/print capable? This is the way the industry is going, and it is a great time-saver."

Interestingly, the MLS will constitute only 35% of the services offered by MRIS to its members for the long term. Other services will be based in technology to assist REALTORS® in advancing their business.

Find out tomorrow what MRIS has planned for the future, and what other innovations it will introduce to make MRIS the most unique REALTOR® information service provider in the world.

Published: August 20, 1998

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.