MARIS waives MLS fees for new subscribers through November

Mid America Regional Information System (MARIS), based in St. Louis, Missouri, is waiving application and subscription fees for Realtors looking to join the MLS.

In an email sent to members on Tuesday, and verified by HousingWire, MARIS said it was waiving application fees through June 30, 2026, and subscription fees through Nov. 30, 2026, for new subscribers. A MARIS spokesperson told HousingWire via email that the offer is open to Realtors nationwide. 

“With the uncertainty surrounding data feeds in the Chicagoland market, we believe this is the perfect opportunity to provide a stable, reliable MLS option that delivers consistent data and reliable syndication choices,” MARIS’s email to members stated. “If you have ever thought of adding new agents or brokerages, there will never be a better time!”

While MARIS said it currently uses Matrix, it noted in the email that it would be adding Paragon during the third quarter of 2026. 

“With our suite of tools like ShowingTime, Realist tax data and more, everything is designed to support your business with timely, accurate, comprehensive, and transparent real estate data,” the email stated. 

The MARIS spokesperson told HousingWire that the offer was made in response to “requests from numerous brokers that have expressed interest in joining MARIS.”

“We wanted to offer a path for brokerages that are not currently part of MARIS and that have numerous agents to have a low-impact way to take advantage of our extensive marketplace spanning Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas,” the spokesperson added.

“The industry appears to be fragmenting into two different trains of thought.  MARIS believes that the role of the MLS is to provide the marketplace for timely, accurate, comprehensive, and transparent data. We want to provide a stable environment for brokers and agents who believe in the same thing.” 

While agents in the Chicagoland area, who subscribe to local MLS, Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), currently have their listings on Zillow, the temporary restraining order that required MRED to restore its listing feed to Zillow and for Zillow to not ban any MRED listings, is set to expire this Friday.

Although some brokerages have set up direct listing feeds with Zillow, agents at firms without direct listing feeds may be considering MARIS membership to ensure their listings are syndicated to real estate portals.