New York Metro Area’s First Regional MLS Coming Soon

TARRYTOWN—The Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors, Inc. and the Long Island Board of Realtors, Inc. announced on Oct. 10 the regional MLS created by the two organizations, the first in the New York Metro area, will operate as OneKey MLS.

Officials with the two organizations stated that the new OneKey MLS will begin operations before the end of this year and at the launch will boast more than 42,000 subscribers and offer Realtors more coverage, precise and accurate data and what they said will be “the best tools in the business.”

The platform currently features more than 47,000 listings in the New York metro region that will cover a region that services the lower Hudson Valley, Long Island, Queens the Bronx and Manhattan. OneKey MLS officials expect the number of listings and subscribers to the new regional MLS to be higher once it goes operational in late 2019.

New York City is the only major U.S. city without a centralized multiple listing service. That dubious distinction will no longer apply when OneKey MLS goes live.

“When we partnered with LIBOR, we set out to expand the size and scale of an MLS to create greater opportunities for our members,” said Richard Haggerty, president of OneKey MLS and CEO of HGAR. “Until now, real estate professionals in New York City had to use different platforms and websites to market or find listings. With OneKey MLS, everything they need is in one place. We believe that the listing service will grow to become the most trusted data source in the New York City residential market, for both professionals and consumers.”

Recognizing that real estate is about more than a transaction, for both consumers and brokers/agents, OneKey MLS goes beyond reliable, up-to-date property listings. In addition to giving real estate professionals and their clients unprecedented access to properties from Long Island to the Catskills, data from numerous sources backs up the accuracy of the listings, protected by powerful business rules and brokers to enforce accuracy. Subscribers will be able to create a profile for clients and invite them to share and view properties recommended, OneKey MLS officials noted.

“The new name is a product of the tremendous effort and collaboration that has been fostered between our Realtor leadership and the staff of HGAR and LIBOR,” said Jim Speer, CEO of OneKey MLS. “We are the one regional MLS that covers more territory with more listings, providing subscribers more ways to achieve success.”

HGAR held a Broker, Owner, Manager event on Oct. 12 at the Doubletree Hotel in Tarrytown to provide the latest update on the OneKey MLS service. Broker-Owner Manager Committee Co-chair Ray Hollingsworth Falu  introduced OneKey MLS officials at the event that drew several hundred attendees.

Among the speakers at the program were Haggerty, HGAR Chief Executive Officer and President and Chief Strategic Growth Officer of OneKey MLS and Speer, OneKey MLS Chief Executive Officer.

Haggerty recalled that the initiative to create the regional MLS began more than two years ago as both HGAR and LIBOR officials realized the need for a centralized MLS that offers precise and accurate data and the latest technology tools Realtors demand in today’s competitive real estate environment. He added that OneKey MLS will also offer its subscribers a greatly expanded referral network.

“It really started with a recognition that we live and work in my estimation in the most powerful geography in the world,” Haggerty said. “And it is not just Westchester, it’s not just the lower Hudson Valley, it’s all of our greater New York City and suburban area. And we know that there are market forces out there that are really taking advantage of that geography for their benefit and not for our benefit.”

He continued, “So from my perspective, it was very important for us to look at that and figure out how we can get control of our geography and to use it for the benefit of all of our members.”

Other speakers at the OneKey MLS event included Leah Caro, chairman of the Board of Managers for the new MLS; LIBOR’s Frank Dell’Accio and Dana Nowick, marketing and client relations manager at LIBOR that went over some of the new services and applications that will be available on OneKey MLS including: MLS website services; Listrak (data analytics program); Instanet, Homesnap Pro, RPR (market reports); ShowingTime; Cloud CMA and a host of global tools, including a global referral network and multilingual IDX component, along with weekly tech tips.

The OneKey MLS Board of Managers includes: Leah Caro, chairperson, Park Sterling Realty of Bronxville; Linda Lugo, vice chairperson, Realty Masters North Shore, Huntington; Eddie McGowan, Dynamic Edge Realty, Fresh Meadows; Frank Dell’Accio, Century 21 AA, Lindenhurst; Mark Boyland, Keller Williams Realty Partners, Bedford; Mike Mendicino, Millennium Homes, Bay Shore; Renee Zurlo, Better Homes & Gardens Rand Realty, Central Valley; Ralph Bove, Real Estate Management & Consulting, Inc., Northport and Tom McCarthy, Thomas J. McCarthy Real Estate, Inc., Southold.

OneKey MLS officials announced at the Broker, Owner, Manager event that it will be naming three outside individuals to serve on the Board of Managers.

John Jordan
Editor, Real Estate In-Depth