The Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) has introduced a Spanish language option to its Multiple Listing Service (MLS) platform in response to the state’s growing Spanish-speaking population.

With this move, HAR becomes only the second Realtor association in the country’s real estate industry to make a Spanish language interface available to MLS subscribers and their clients, according to a press release. The first was My Florida Regional MLS (MFRMLS) in 2018.

“Making MLS services available in Spanish was a top priority for HAR, given how many subscribers communicate in Spanish and work with clients for whom Spanish is the primary or only language,” said Mario Arriaga, chairman of the board for HAR. 

Spanish-speaking agents will have easy access to the platform’s full range of system features, including property search functions, reports, comparative market analyses and the client portal. In addition, English-speaking agents will be able to email for-sale listings to homebuyers in Spanish, which will improve client retention, workflow and the daily operations of their real estate business.

“HAR is renowned for providing its members and consumers with leading-edge tools to facilitate every aspect of a real estate search and transaction, and building a Spanish language component was critical to us,” said Richard Miranda, chairman of HAR. “I plan to take full advantage of the Spanish language option for my own day-to-day business.”

The release noted that more than 5,000 Realtors self-identified as Spanish speakers on HAR.com. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 30% of the Greater Houston metro population speaks Spanish.