Extra Runway for Two MLS Policies

Although no new action items came out of the Multiple Listing Issues & Policy Committee on Wednesday during the REALTORS® Legislative Meetings in Washington, D.C., National Association of REALTORS® Director of Engagement Rodney Gansho shared the decision made earlier this year to give MLSs additional time to implement two of the eight policy changes approved by NAR’s Board of Directors in 2021.

Together, the policy changes were made to bring greater transparency to the operations over 550 MLSs operated by REALTOR® associations and to help ensure consistent service to MLS participants across the country. Typically, MLS policy changes go into effect Jan. 1, and MLSs have until March 1 to implement the changes. Based on questions and concerns from MLSs, NAR has extended until Sept. 1 the deadline to implement:

• A requirement that MLSs offer their participants, or their designees, a single data feed in accordance with their licensed authorized uses.

• A requirement that IDX displays and virtual-office websites (VOWs) identify the listing firm and an email or phone number provided by the listing participant.

Gansho said the delay doesn’t mean the recommendations are being reconsidered. He advised MLS executives to use their time wisely to meet the Sept. 1 deadline.

Committee members also heard from RealMLS CEO Nicole Jensen about the work of an NAR presidential advisory group she’s chairing on statewide data sharing.

Data sharing among MLSs has been a topic of discussion for more than two decades. Proponents say it would enable real estate professionals—not just sales agents but appraisers and others—to service clients across MLS boundaries without having to join many MLSs or rely on third-party portals. But data-sharing proposals have been stalled by a variety of concerns, including fears that MLSs will lose autonomy and that real estate pros will work outside their area of expertise.

Separately, Jon Coile, vice president of industry relations for Home Services of America and chair of NAR’s MLS Technology & Emerging Issues Advisory Board, reported that his group is looking into proposals to merge NAR’s IDX and VOW policies into one.