Association leaders ‘emphatically deny’ profiting from MLS sale

In a statement posted Monday, association leaders who approved the sale of REcolorado  “emphatically deny all accusations and rumors” that they will benefit financially from the deal.

“That is simply untrue and goes against the foundational principles of a member-based organization,” the July 8 statement says. 

Last month, REcolorado’s owners — Denver Metro Association of Realtors (DMAR) and the South Metro Denver Realtor Association (SMDRA) — reached an agreement in principle to sell the nation’s 16th-largest MLS to a private entity, a move that has generated industry-wide interest and for some, concern.

This week’s statement tackled a wide range of “misinformation” about the deal, providing details on the buyer, previously known only as J. Burks, and his perspective on data integrity.

Some top takeaways from the July 8 statement:

How will proceeds from the sale be used? To “enhance member benefits through education, market information, tools and services and advocacy efforts to benefit our members and the Colorado real estate industry as a whole.”

Who is J. Burks? J. Burks is Joseph E. Burks, the president of Equity Title of Colorado, an affiliate member of SMDRA, and “one of the largest shareholders in the early creation of CTM eContracts, a widely used contract software for real estate transactions.”

Burks is the “sole and only” purchaser of REcolorado, and created MAZL LLC to get the deal done, the statement said. “There are no other investors” and funding is coming from a commercial bank, not private equity.

His intention is to ensure that “REcolorado remains a cornerstone of our real estate community with an even broader offering of services and technological advancements.”

What Burks has to say: He will honor current REcolorado data and privacy policies, which are “essential to the functioning of the MLS and the third-party integrations needed for broker tools.” Burks also used his part of the July 8 statement to reaffirm his commitment to transparency and trust.

“Our primary focus for data licensing will be to meet the needs of the brokers and, ultimately, the consumers they serve. This means that any data collected, including listing, brokerage and subscriber data, will be available solely for allowed uses and will not be:

• Altered in its current form.

• Shared with any third party outside of the licensed data policy.

• Used for any purpose beyond what was disclosed in the data collection process.”

What’s next? The parties involved in the sale are working toward a final sale agreement, the statement said, but did not say when that would be completed.

“The sales price, transaction details and timelines are protected under the NDA attached to the pending sale and must remain private and confidential,” the statement said. “We commit to releasing information to our member base as soon as we are able.”