The elected leadership of Information and Real Estate Services (IRES), the regional Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for Northern Colorado, have offered an alternative to an unsolicited offer for purchase made by REColorado, an MLS located in Greenwood Village.

An MLS is a service used by a group of real estate brokers which creates a system allowing each broker to see all other property listings for sale in a given geographic area. Colorado currently has 15 separate MLS operations.

The offer to purchase IRES was received Dec. 7, 2016, and was carefully considered by the organization’s leadership. A lengthy meeting was held to discuss all aspects of the offer, but directors ultimately decided to offer an alternative that opens channels for additional dialog with both REColorado and other MLS organizations throughout the state to explore the best possible solutions for all brokers and consumers.

REColorado was notified of the decision yesterday.

“The majority of our consideration of this offer focused on the ultimate impact on our customers,” said Lauren Hansen, IRES CEO. “We welcome input from all IRES subscribers and implement change whenever possible. Based on feedback from our customers, we do not feel this sale is the right move at this time but look forward to a broader, more inclusive dialog.”

Hansen also noted there are many models for consolidation and merger throughout the MLS industry and she believes a solution that serves both the consolidating parties and the needs of all constituents should be the ultimate goal for all concerned.

“Such an offer will most certainly be considered by our leadership, and we also believe this conversation should include multiple MLS organizations throughout Colorado,” Hansen said.

Based on this decision, IRES will continue to operate as an independent organization serving REALTORS® throughout northern Colorado.

About IRES

Founded in 1996 by five Boards and Associations of REALTORS® in Boulder, Fort Collins, Greeley, Longmont and Loveland/Berthoud, IRES is the MLS provider for those boards and associations as well as Estes Park and Logan County. Today’s IRES subscribers enjoy a menu of services and modules, including Contracts, Showings module, Prospect websites and CloudCMA, that are typically third-party options offered at an additional charge. IRES serves more than 5,500 real estate professionals throughout northern Colorado, and a recent satisfaction survey of IRES users revealed 92 percent are either Extremely Satisfied or Satisfied with the IRES MLS system.