MetroTex to match NTREIS broker payments ‘dollar for dollar’ 

A day after Texas' largest multiple listing service announced it will be sending checks to eligible brokers for syndicating their listings to portals, one of the state's largest Realtor associations said it will double the money its members receive.

The MetroTex Association of Realtors, a shareholder of North Texas Real Estate Information Services (NTREIS), announced July 8 that its MLS subsidiary, MetroTex MLS, will match payments distributed this month by the new NTREIS Rewards program.

The Northwest Louisiana Association of Realtors (NWLAR), NTREIS's only Louisiana shareholder, is considering a similar move.

Recognizing listing content value: "We are matching, dollar for dollar, the NTREIS rewards earned on listing content from participants and subscribers who received MLS services through MetroTex MLS in 2025," Justin Landon, president and CEO of MetroTex, told Real Estate News via email.

"We don't exist without thriving brokerages, and our brokerages need a thriving MLS ecosystem that recognizes the value of the listing content they create every day," Landon said. "And we staunchly believe a thriving MLS ecosystem is the most pro-consumer outcome imaginable."

Encouraging MLS participation: NTREIS operates under a wholesale model, meaning MetroTex resells the NTREIS MLS service to its members. MetroTex represents about 70% of NTREIS's subscriber base of 53,000 or so members.

"The fees our marketplace generates come to us first, and we remit NTREIS their wholesale portion. So when we match these funds, it isn't symbolic," Landon said. "It's MetroTex putting our own retail dollars behind the same commitment NTREIS is making."

NTREIS Rewards payments will be sent out to 1,184 eligible brokers, with checks ranging from $175 to five-figure amounts. Landon said he isn't yet sure how many of those brokers are also MetroTex members, but expects the number to fall in line with that 70% share.

NTREIS evaluated brokers based on their MLS activity, including the quality and breadth of submitted content and whether listings closed successfully in the MLS.

"The combined NTREIS Rewards and MetroTex matching program represents a significant investment in the future of organized real estate by encouraging continued participation in the MLS and reinforcing the value of cooperation at a time when the industry is rapidly changing," MetroTex said in its announcement.

MetroTex's rewards program will not differentiate between Realtor and non-Realtor participants, Landon clarified: "Any qualifying broker will be able to participate in the program."

Reinforcing the value of being a Realtor: By contrast, NWLAR's board of directors will meet on July 16 to consider whether the association will also match NTREIS Rewards payments for its MLS subscribers, but only for those who are also Realtors, according to CEO Scott Hughes. 

NWLAR wants to "encourage a person to be a Realtor member of the MLS, as opposed to a non-Realtor member of the MLS, which is an option in NTREIS," Hughes said in a phone interview. "We do allow non-Realtor members — always have."

NWLAR also has a wholly-owned subsidiary, M.L.S., Inc., through which it resells NTREIS MLS services. The matching funds would come from that corporation.

"We believe ultimately it's going to help fund itself, because the way MLS runs is we need to have the data, we need to have the cooperation, the participation. And so if we can have a system that encourages listing participation, that encourages cooperation," Hughes said.

"We believe it's something that not only will we be able to fund, it's actually something our brokers will be happy that we fund as part of our business going forward."

The NTREIS program is "fabulous" because it rewards MLS participants "for making the MLS the point of entry," Hughes added. "We think that that's a very valuable thing. We want to encourage that."

Happy for NTREIS to own compliance: NTREIS will be taking over MLS rule enforcement from its shareholder associations at the end of 2026 — a change Hughes said NWLAR is "very excited" for in part because it will free up his staff so they can focus on education, governance and political advocacy.

NWLAR is making the change in part to "derisk" itself in the same vein as the National Association of Realtors, he acknowledged, adding that the organization believes it is important for every member to be "assured they're all being treated equally."

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information from MetroTex President and CEO Justin Landon.