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The Real Estate Web Blog
Filed under: IDX News
— admin @ 10:13 am
The National Association of Realtors(r) announced today it has adopted a new policy that ensures that all members of Realtor(r) multiple listing services will receive exactly the same MLS property listings for display on their Web sites as their competitors.
The policy will bring consumers more points of access to real estate information from multiple listing services than they have ever had before, NAR said.
“For consumers, whether they are home buyers or sellers, this new policy is a win-win. Buyers will be able to find all the listings available for public display on the Web site of the broker of their choice and sellers will be able to work with the listing broker of their choice. The policy treats all MLS members equally yet respects the rights of property owners and their listing brokers to market a property as they see fit. This response to the Department of Justice’s concerns has resulted in a better policy for all concerned,” said NAR President Al Mansell of Salt Lake City.
Under the new policy, listing brokers will not be allowed to restrict the display of their listings on selected competitors’ Web sites, as they were under the controversial provision known as “selective opt-out” contained in NAR’s now-defunct Virtual Office Website (VOW) policy.
“The policy does not discriminate against any brokerage model, including discount brokers,” said Mansell.
Known as Internet Listing Display (ILD), the new policy consolidates and replaces both the VOW policy and NAR’s Internet Data Exchange (IDX) policy to create a single, unified policy governing the Internet display of all property information originating from the more than 800 multiple listing services owned and operated by Realtor(r) organizations. All Realtors(r) MLSs will be required to comply with the new policy by July 1, 2006.
All MLS property listing data available for display will automatically be available to all MLS members unless a member notifies the MLS in advance that he or she does not want to participate in Internet Listing Display. In that case, none of the listings he or she enters into the MLS will be available for display on other brokers’ Web sites nor will he or she be allowed to display other brokers’ listings on his or her own Web site. A broker who has elected to “opt out” may not reverse that decision for 90 days. This provision, known as “blanket opt-out,” is included in the IDX policy and has been in force by hundreds of MLSs for three and a half years. It has been widely accepted by the industry and very few brokers have chosen to opt out.
The new ILD policy contains an entirely new feature that allows brokers who have opted out of displaying their listings on competitors’ Web sites the opportunity to make an exception at the direction of a particular seller who wants to have his or her property displayed on the Web sites of all other members of the MLS.
The VOW policy was enacted in 2003 but became the subject of an ongoing antitrust investigation by the Department of Justice, which caused NAR to postpone repeatedly its mandatory adoption date. Mansell said the new policy results in part from the discussions NAR has held with the Justice Department over the past four months. NAR shared the new policy with government attorneys before making it public. “We trust that they will agree with us that the ILD policy is fair and pro-competitive. NAR believes the new policy serves the interests of consumers, Realtors(r) and MLSs, and addresses the concerns expressed by the Department of Justice,” he said.
The establishment of a single policy governing brokers’ display of all MLS data on the Internet will also make it easier for MLSs and the real estate industry to comply, Mansell said. The IDX policy, which has been in force since January 1, 2002, authorized participating real estate brokers to advertise on their public Web sites the same MLS information on local properties accessible by consumers on the sites of national aggregators like Realtor.com. The VOW policy was developed later and enacted in May 2003, but mandatory implementation by MLSs was delayed due to the Justice Department investigation. It addressed issues specific to VOW sites, which may deliver more detailed information about listings and which require visitors to register by entering an e-mail address and receive a password prior to accessing MLS listing data.
The National Association of Realtors(r), “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing more than 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
Information about NAR is available at http://www.realtor.org. This and other news releases are posted in the Web site’s “News Media” section in the NAR Media Center.
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REALTOR(r) is a registered collective membership mark which may be used only by real estate professionals who are members of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS and subscribe to its strict Code of Ethics.
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