Queen Creek resident Chris Clark hopes his idea to combat blight grows roots faster than the weeds popping up in the yards of foreclosed homes.

The Multiple Listing Service - long a balkanized set of private databases exclusive to real estate brokerages and their agents - is moving toward a more unified and more open structure. In California, the initiative to merge most of the state's Multiple.

SPRINGDALE - The real estate boom in Northwest Arkansas spawned hundreds of property owners associations in Benton and Washington counties as residential developers tried to distinguish their product.

Everyone looked to real estate as the area's primary economic engine until it came to a sputtering halt. Now, local Manatee and Sarasota business leaders are exploring ways to diversify the economy so the area won't be reliant on a single industry.

The deal frees Internet brokers and other real-estate agents offering heavily discounted commissions to operate on a level playing field with traditional brokers.