Assertion Supported AI assessment confidence: 95% certainty 3/5 debate potential 1/5

McGarry: Accessing MLS data feeds requires local licensing across 500-600 MLSs

Maureen McGarry · She built secret software to add $4m in deal volume to her brokerage last year · Jan 8, 2023 · at 7:01

Maureen McGarry, founder of BlueStream Analytics, explains the data integration hurdles in scaling real estate analysis software nationwide.

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“There's, I think, five or 600 MLSs in the country. And you can't just go in and sign up for that and get that data feed. You have to be licensed in that area.”

quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →

The claim, plainly

There are approximately 500 to 600 MLSs in the United States, and accessing their direct data feeds requires licensing in each respective local area.

a quote alone can be ambiguous, so this restates it with the references and context of the conversation around it resolved. AI-written; the tape below the player is the source.

Assessment

The claim consists of two legs, both of which are corroborated by industry records around 2023. First, data from the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) and T3 Sixty confirmed that the number of operating MLSs in the United States consolidated into the range of approximately 500 to 581 during the 2022–2024 timeframe (e.g., T3 Sixty reported 514 MLSs at year-end 2024, down from 645 in 2018). Second, National Association of Realtors (NAR) MLS policy mandates that direct data feed access (via RETS or RESO Web API) is granted only to an MLS participant—a licensed principal broker licensed within that MLS's territory/jurisdiction—or their authorized vendor via individual local licensing agreements, with no centralized national data feed available.

RESO and T3 Sixty industry tracking confirmed between 500 and 581 active MLSs in the U.S. across the 2022–2024 timeframe.
NAR Multiple Listing Policy Statements (7.58, 8.6, 8.7) require direct data feeds to be licensed through a local MLS Participant who holds a real estate broker license in that MLS's jurisdiction.
Data feed access requires executing separate local data agreements with each individual MLS board.

Checked against

[1] realtyna.com [2] reso.org [3] reso.org [4] realestatenews.com [5] nar.realtor [6] okcmar.org [7] mlsimport.com [8] medium.com

MLS direct data feed access requirements broker license jurisdiction IDX RETS MLS data feed licensing requirements broker participant local board number of MLSs in the United States 2022 2023 NAR RESO how many MLSs in US NAR 2023

assessed as of 2026-09-02

This assessment is an AI reading of a public statement, made against the cited references with the confidence shown. It can be wrong. The quote, the tape and the references are all on this page; if something is off, use report an error below. full disclaimer →

Mentioned

BlueStream Analytics Major League Soccer

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More from Maureen McGarry

Assertion Not checkable as stated

McGarry: BlueStream software drove nearly $4M in closed deal volume

“So just working part time on sales, I had almost four million from the software. Nathan Latka: In closed deals. Maureen McGarry: Yes.”

Maureen McGarry Jan 8, 2023 ▶ 12:19 She built secret software to add $4m in deal volume to her brokerage last year

Disclosure

McGarry: Spent roughly $100k in wasted dev costs on BlueStream

“We're on the third revolution of this software. I would say we probably have a 100,000 into it. That was a waste.”

Maureen McGarry Jan 8, 2023 ▶ 5:50 She built secret software to add $4m in deal volume to her brokerage last year

Assertion Not checkable as stated

McGarry: Brokerage commissions have fully recouped software development costs

“Nathan Latka: So maybe it's probably, maybe you've actually already recouped everything you've spent on this, on the software. Maureen McGarry: Oh, absolutely. I have. Yes. Yes.”

Maureen McGarry Jan 8, 2023 ▶ 12:45 She built secret software to add $4m in deal volume to her brokerage last year

Disclosure

McGarry: Operating BlueStream software locally costs roughly $1,000 per month

“To keep it going in our market, it's not much. It's maybe a thousand a month. But we use it within our brokerage.”

Maureen McGarry Jan 8, 2023 ▶ 11:50 She built secret software to add $4m in deal volume to her brokerage last year

McGarry: Accessing MLS data feeds requires local licensing across 500-600 MLSs

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