This post is part of MLS Insight, a series about governance issues at RMLS™.

Every so often, RMLS™ gets a request for data or service from Central Oregon or Klamath Falls, for example. We’re not the primary multiple listing service (MLS) in all parts of Oregon—we are happy to list properties in those areas, but our data is not comprehensive enough to provide as an accurate resource for the area.

What areas then, does RMLS™ cover?

In our primary service areas, RMLS™ represents 17 Associations/Boards of REALTORS® and approximately 10,700 real estate professionals in over 2,300 offices.

We are the primary provider of multiple listing services in 20 of Oregon’s 36 counties (Baker, Clackamas, Columbia, Coos, Curry, Douglas, Gilliam, Grant, Hood River, Lane, Morrow, Multnomah, Sherman, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Wasco, Wheeler, Washington, and Yamhill) and Clark, Klickitat, Pacific, and Skamania Counties in Washington.

In addition we provide supplementary MLS services in five more Oregon counties (Clatsop, Tillamook, Lincoln, Polk, and Marion). We are not the only MLS in those counties, but we have many subscribers and listings in those areas. In the remaining eleven Oregon counties, we provide tax data and have a small listing inventory.

RMLS^™ was created when representatives from four Boards of REALTORS® in the Portland metro area decided to form a service that was an alternative to a broker-owned multiple listing service in business since the 1970s. The first RMLS^™ listings went live in the spring of 1991.

From the original service area covering Clackamas, Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill, and Columbia Counties in Oregon, RMLS^™ had successful expansion opportunities after adopting an internet-based system that could be responsive to a broad based subscriber group. The timeline below shows the inclusion of various REALTOR® associations in our service area.

We continue to discuss opportunities to serve more Oregon and Washington REALTORS®, wherever they may be located!

Next month we will talk about the RMLS™ Service Advisory Committee. If you have any questions you would like to have answered about RMLS™ governance or operation, I encourage you to post a comment to this blog.