Under the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) new Multiple Listing Options policy, the trade group is allowing listing agents, with the signed consent and direct permission of their seller client, to delay publicly marketing a listing through Internet Data Exchange (IDX) feeds and syndication.
While this means delayed marketing listings will not appear on listing portals that use IDX feeds, such as Zillow, Homes.com or Realtor.com, it was initially unclear as to how sellers who choose this listing strategy and their agents could market their properties. However, in its Frequently Asked Questions about the policy, NAR has clarified some of the finer points of this new policy.
Unlike listings marketed under the office exclusive carve out that is part of the existing Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP), delayed marketing listings are submitted to the MLS and available to be viewed by all MLS participants. Additionally, if an office exclusive listing is shared across multiple brokerages CCP is triggered and the listing must be submitted to the MLS within 24 hours when the listing will immediately be syndicated through IDX feeds. But a delayed marketing listing can be shared across multiple brokerages without immediately having to be shared through IDX feeds. However, delayed marketing cannot appear on an MLS’ public-facing website, as that would be considered syndication.
Also differing from office exclusives, agents are able to place for sale signs, hand out fliers, include a delayed marketing listing in client email newsletters or market the listing “in a manner consistent with the seller’s needs and interests.”
NAR also noted that delayed marketing listings can be part of a Virtual Office Website (VOW) display, as NAR’s FAQs noted that a “VOW display is not for advertisement but rather to help with the provision of brokerage services to consumers with whom there is an established broker-consumer relationship.”
However, NAR noted that the VOW display must meet all the requirements outlined in NAR’s MLS policy. VOW displays are not publicly facing and consumers must register on a site to access a VOW site.
NAR’s FAQs also noted that, like its decision to allow local MLSs to decide how long brokers can delay a listing from syndication, the local MLSs will also be able to decide how they handle days on market and whether or not they show the price change history of a delayed marketing listing.
“Each MLS has discretion to determine whether to track days/time on market information for a delayed marketing exempt listing and how to report it,” the FAQs state.
Days on market and price change history were two highly contested parts of the debate surrounding CCP as CCP critics feel that these two metrics harm sellers, while CCP proponents feel these metrics are necessary for buyers to make informed decisions about a property and for sellers to accurately price their listings.
So, while NAR may have finally made its statement on CCP, it is now up to local MLSs to decide how it will implement and enforce this new policy.
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