NCREX Incorporation Continues Progress Toward Regionalized MLS Goal CAMPBELL, Calif., Jan. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The working group of the Northern California Real Estate Exchange (NCREX) announced today its incorporation as a non-profit California Mutual Benefit Corporation and the naming of its board of directors. Current participants of the NCREXinitiative include: Bay East MLS, Central Valley MLS, ContraCosta MLS, andRE InfoLink representing MLS users and REALTOR(R) associations in Alameda County, Contra Costa County, Monterey County, San Benito County, San Joaquin County, San Mateo County, Santa Clara County, Santa Cruz, Silicon Valley, Stanislaus County, Watsonville, and Western Merced County. The 15 Directors were selected from a cross-section of real estate firms throughout the greater Bay Area, and they include both brokers and agents. Bob Moles, Chairman of Intero Real Estate Services in Cupertino, stated, "The proposed governance structure will firmly involve the brokerage community in the decision making process for the MLS while providing the associations' ongoing ownership and involvement. This is a great partnership." The new directors are: Name Company Bill Aboumrad RE/MAX Executive David Barca Keller Williams Jeff Barnett Alain Pinel Mike Clancy Security Pacific Real Estate Bob Endsley Coldwell Banker Bob Moles Intero Real Estate Services Jeanne Garde RE/MAX Today Avram Goldman Coldwell Banker Larry Knapp Alain Pinel Ed Krafchow Prudential California Realty Dennis Moreno MGM Real Estate Dennis Pagones Harbor Bay Realty, Inc. J.R. Rouse J.R. Rouse Real Estate Mike Sibilia Keller Williams Larry Spiteri Intero Real Estate Services "The incorporation of NCREX is the culmination of tremendous effort,cooperation, and dedication from brokers, REALTOR(R) associations, and MLS organizations," remarked Jeanne Garde, owner of Re/Max Today and the 2006chairman of RE InfoLink. "Brokers, agents and their clients will benefittremendously from the efficiencies and service that we will be able todeliver with this new real estate exchange model," she concluded. The incorporation of NCREX closely follows numerous importantmilestones accomplished during 2006: -- The participating MLS's created a common data standard from the diverse data structures of the original MLS participants. -- A data repository based on the new data standard has already been built and has begun testing. -- A common set of MLS rules and regulations was developed last year and approved by the National Association of REALTORS(R). -- Finally, an interim data exchange program, called MLSXchange, was implemented to enable agents to access data from each of the MLSs. Larry Spiteri, 2006 President of the Contra Costa Association ofREALTORS, praised the working group's efforts: "The four MLS's have worked diligently and overcome significant challenges to make NCREX a reality. We're very excited about the days ahead," he said. Updates on NCREX can be found at http://www.ncrex.com. About NCREX In 2005, real estate brokers and MLS executives in Northern California began discussions of how to more effectively meet the current and future MLS needs of the region's real estate professionals. Specifically, the participants discussed the difficulties of conducting business across a large geographical area in which there were multiple MLS organizations withdisparate rules, fee structures, and procedures. As a response to thesediscussions, several MLS organizations in Northern California began toexplore how to consolidate the MLS operations across the region to better serve their subscribers' needs. Current NCREX participants included REInfolink, ContraCosta MLS, Bay East MLS, and Central Valley MLS. Theseorganizations represent nearly 40,000 MLS subscribers. Other MLS's in theBay Area and Northern California have participated in discussions and are welcome to formally join NCREX.