The Northern California Multiple Listing Service Alliance recently announced four new counties joining their membership, along with expanded system features becoming active for the real estate collaborative.

Launched in January as a one-stop, single-login access point for real estate brokers, agents and appraisers in the Bay Area and beyond, the NORCAL MLS Alliance has now added Butte, Colusa, Sutter and Yuba counties to its partnership, bringing the total to 26 counties.

Calling the alliance "groundbreaking," MLSListings Inc. CEO Dave Wetzel said, "Our Northern California group of MLSs has spent years doing a deep dive into the features which are most valuable to real estate professionals."

"We didn't look at merely moving data back and forth between our MLS systems, we identified what agents really need from the exchanged data in order to serve their clients at the highest level and then we ensured these features are live on our platform," Wetzel added.

Among key new features for the alliance's shared system are a "Coming Soon" tool for properties that are not yet ready for the "Fully On Market" status, disclosure package links, property showing schedules, a "Broker Tour Data Sharing" function, combined MLS data via several statistical platforms common in industry and the inclusion of accessory dwelling unit (ADU) information.

"With housing the way it is in California, ADU information is of growing importance and now fully exchanged in the NORCAL MLS Alliance," said Tricia Thomas, CEO of the Bay East Association of Realtors. "We are proud to be empowering agents from across Northern California to help their clients wherever they are looking to buy and for whatever type of real estate they seek."

Sheiren Diaz, CEO of the Contra Costa Association of Realtors, added, "Ensuring that our robust data from 26 Northern California counties amplifies the effectiveness of our third-party application partnerships has been another priority. We look forward to expanding these integrations and adding new third-party partnerships across the NORCAL MLS Alliance in the months ahead."

The other regional real estate organizations participating in the partnership are bridgeMLS, MetroList Services Inc., BAREIS MLS and San Francisco Association of Realtors.

With the four new counties on board, the alliance covers Alameda, Amador, Butte, Colusa, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Marin, Mendocino, Merced, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties.