Research started back in 2013 to assist brokers with data distribution of their listings aka “Syndication.” As a result of study, survey’s and the work of a consultant, the MLS identified a couple of objectives:
1) Make it easier for brokers to distribute their listings based on where they and/or their clients decide they want them to go.
2) Negotiate Terms of Use with sites/portals more advantageous to brokers than standard Terms of Use offered by the portals.
Beginning in 2016, the MLS will be launching a new Data Distribution Platform that will contain three important component pieces:
- It will contain a new RETS (Real Estate Transaction Standard) Server that will make it easier for the MLS to define data sets for distribution, and contains additional security protections on the data that are not in place today.
- It will move contracting for data distribution (IDX/VOW/RSA) etc. into an online environment, to make the contracting portion more efficient. (There are also a series of contract changes taking place simultaneously that we hope will dramatically simplify the process for all parties (see IDX Contract Changes Article for more info).
- It will contain dashboard controls that will give brokers two important features: 1) the ability to push their inventory to a variety of online publishers 2) measurable results from those publishers — how much traffic was received? How many leads came back from those portals? etc.
Both the platform and contract changes we are making next year will help us achieve the first objective.
To satisfy the second objective, we have engaged the law firm of Larson Skinner to negotiate directly on our behalf with the largest of the Portals – Zillow Group. Larson Skinner was the first to negotiate a direct MLS deal with Zillow and have subsequently negotiated about 60 such agreements. We also retain the rights to use that agreement with any other portals. We have a workgroup of 6 individuals who have oversight of that negotiation process and our first draft is being finalized. We expect for there to be several rounds of negotiations and expect for those to go one through Q1 of 2016.
