The Athens Board of REALTORS® has merged its MLS into the neighboring Huntsville MLS in Alabama to take advantage of the LIST-IT Internet Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system, a system designed by Huntsville technology services provider, Solid Earth. The company focuses on real estate information systems and analytical geographic information system (GIS) applications.

With the addition of almost one hundred new agents from the merger, the Huntsville MLS now serves just under one thousand agents in nine counties in North Alabama and Southern Tennessee, an area of over 5,600 square miles. Athens is a City of just over 18,000 people located in Limestone County which has an estimated 1998 population of just over 62,000. Athens is part of the Huntsville Metropolitan area and is approximately 20 miles west of Huntsville.

"When we saw what was possible with the List-it system we realized that the capabilities of MLS Systems had changed dramatically since we bought our last system." said Mark Williams, president of the Athens Board of REALTORS. "The consolidation of the Athens MLS into the Huntsville MLS allows our members to get the benefit of this kind of technology by spreading the cost of the system out between a much larger group of REALTORS."

Ginny Brandau, President of the Huntsville Board of REALTORS®, said "The List-it system, because it is based on the Internet, removed the technological and telecommunication barriers between the two Boards and will allow the Athens agents to easily access our Systems over the net."

Brandau went on to say that the merger is a win-win situation for the Athens Board and the Huntsville Board and to the consumers in the area.

The MLS mergers enables the Huntsville and boards to become more competitive in the region by providing a more comprehensive system to users who ultimately serve consumers, says Brandau.

The new List-it system, she explains, "provides agents a one-stop-shop for listing information in the area which now covers a significant part of the Tennessee Valley. This represents a big step forward for the Huntsville and Athens Boards."

Published: May 17, 1999

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