If you’re searching “MRIS homes for sale,” you’re looking for a name that’s been retired. MRIS, the multiple listing service Maryland agents used for years, became part of Bright MLS in January 2017. The listings are the same kind agents always used. To search them, use a brokerage site with a Bright MLS feed, like our home search, and set up alerts so new listings come to you.
Old habits stick. “MRIS homes” was still the top search that brought people to our old website. Here’s what happened to it and how to search today. Our buyer page has the rest of the buying process.
What happened to MRIS
MRIS (Metropolitan Regional Information Systems) and TREND, the MLS for the Philadelphia area, combined with several smaller MLSs into Bright MLS, which took over at the start of 2017. A January 16, 2017 notice from the Dulles Area Association of REALTORS described it as nine MLSs and 43 associations serving parts of six states plus D.C., with about 85,000 real estate professionals at launch. MRIS’s own area had covered parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and D.C.
For buyers, nothing changed about what a listing is. It just lives in a different system with a different name.
Why portals lag the MLS
The MLS is where listing agents enter, update and close out their listings. Everything else, including the big national portals, gets the data second-hand through feeds, each on its own schedule and rules.
That’s why you sometimes see a “new” house on a portal that went under contract days ago, or a price that’s already been cut. The status field in the MLS is the one that counts. When you find something you like, ask us to confirm the status before you clear your Saturday for it.
Search Bright MLS listings here
Our site pulls Bright MLS listings through IDX, the system that lets brokerages display MLS listings on their websites. You don’t need an account to browse:
- All homes for sale across Central Maryland
- New listings, newest first
- County searches, such as Anne Arundel, Howard and the Baltimore region
- The map search, where you can draw your own area
Setting alerts
Searching once a day by hand is how buyers miss houses. Set an alert instead:
- Pick the area, price range, beds and baths you’d actually accept.
- Keep the filters a little loose. A house listed at $5,000 over your cap may still be in range.
- Ask for instant or daily emails.
- Tell us about the alert. When a match is a real fit, we can set a showing the same day.
If you want us to build the search for you, use get started and say what you’re looking for.
Searching by county and type of home
Most buyers know roughly where they want to be. Start narrow, then widen:
- By county: Montgomery, Prince George’s, Charles, Anne Arundel, Howard and the Baltimore region.
- By type of home: single-story homes, waterfront and luxury.
- By community: some neighborhoods have their own saved search, like Seven Oaks in Odenton.
If a search keeps showing you the same five houses, the filters are too tight. If it shows you 400, they’re too loose. A few new matches a week is a search you’ll actually read.
What the listing fields mean
A few fields buyers ask about:
- Status: Active means available. Coming soon means it’s been entered but isn’t active yet. Under contract or pending means it has a ratified contract. Some under contract homes still take backup offers.
- Days on market: How long it has been listed. A long count can mean room to negotiate, or a problem worth asking about.
- Ownership and fees: Fee simple, condo or co-op, plus any HOA or condo fees. Read buying a condo in Maryland before you offer on one.
- Ground rent: Some older Baltimore-area homes have one. It’s a separate payment to the ground rent holder, so ask about it before you offer.
- Water and sewer: Public, or well and septic. That changes what you inspect.
- Taxes: The current owner’s bill, which may include credits that don’t transfer to you. See our property tax guide.
Bottom line
MRIS is now Bright MLS, and you can search its active listings on our site without logging in. Set an alert, confirm status with an agent before you get attached, and go see the good ones fast. When you’re ready, start a search with The Wilson Home Team of Samson Properties or call Stacey at (240) 913-5221.
Sources
- Dulles Area Association of REALTORS, MRIS is now Bright MLS, January 16, 2017