Multiple listing services are central to the US residential real estate market, serving as cornerstones of the economy and impacting millions of families’ lives. They provide accurate and comprehensive data via listings, sales and other services that help brokers, agents and consumers transact efficiently. NorthstarMLS commissioned this 2026 report to provide its subscribers with the details and context of its role, structure and future in the real estate landscape in the Upper Midwest and across the US. To compile this report, T3 Sixty interviewed NorthstarMLS leadership and reviewed key documents, finances and projects. The result is a view of the MLS from an outside perspective.

Executive Foreword

After months of legal uncertainty, the dust is beginning to settle for the real estate industry, revealing the edge of a new frontier that, while shaped by change, is rich with possibility. We find ourselves still standing, still serving and still believing in the power of the MLS. The 2026 NorthstarMLS Subscriber Report arrives at a pivotal moment, offering clarity and direction as we move forward together.

This isn’t just a look back; it’s a lens into how NorthstarMLS is evolving to meet the moment, helping subscribers navigate new terrain and seize emerging opportunities. We’re committed to ensuring that the MLS remains not only relevant, but indispensable: grounded in reliable data, powered by fearless technology and guided by a broker-first mindset.

Prepared by T3 Sixty and commissioned by NorthstarMLS and our Board of Directors, the 2026
NorthstarMLS Subscriber Report reflects our shared resilience, our strategic direction and the value we continue to deliver in a shifting landscape. It combines internal performance metrics with external market analysis to help you understand how NorthstarMLS operates and where we’re headed.

We’ve made progress. Since 2024, NorthstarMLS has become a shareholder of REcore and has begun licensing its REcenterhub for quick, secure access to its MLS platforms. We’ve expanded listing media capabilities and introduced new tools like AdBuilder, CubiCasa and Tuesday that help you reach consumers faster and exceed their growing demand for more detailed property information. We enhanced account security with multifactor authentication to better protect business continuity for our subscribers.

Further, we expanded our partnership with T3 Sixty to benchmark our performance nationally with an annual performance survey, inviting your feedback to shape our future. We remain committed to our core values: Reliable Information, Fearless Technology and a Broker-Centric Approach.

This NorthstarMLS Subscriber Report is not just about numbers. It’s also about trust and transparency. It shows you how we’re adapting, learning and investing in tools and systems that support your business. We know the legal landscape remains uncertain and the market is evolving. We also know that the MLS remains essential. We’re here to ensure it stays that way.

As you read through this report, we hope you see your own impact reflected in our work. You are not just subscribers. You are contributors. You are leaders. You are the reason we continue to push forward with confidence and clarity. We will face challenges. We will make hard choices. We will learn new skills. We will do it together.

Tim Dain, President & CEO, NorthstarMLS

NorthstarMLS stands out as one of the nation’s most innovative MLSs. Forward-looking leadership has helped the organization become the dominant MLS in the state of Minnesota.

A pioneer in MLS collaborations, NorthstarMLS has rolled out two proprietary technologies — a listing input management system and an API with an associated user interface — to REcore’s wider audience. The MLS has also leveraged the relationship to access the benefits of scale of REcore (recore.net), an MLS technology and services initiative spearheaded by the US’s largest MLS, California Regional MLS, and its venture arm, Venture MLS.

With strong dedication to the success of the entire broker community, NorthstarMLS remains one of the nation’s 20 largest MLSs with more than 21,000 subscribers and is the largest MLS in the Upper Midwest.

This report reflects a core reason for NorthstarMLS’s success: a sustained commitment to delivering value and transparency to subscribers who depend on the MLS as a mission-critical resource.

Clint Skutchan, SVP Organized Real Estate Consulting, T3 Sixty