Here’s an idea to think about….
Today, we have robust rules in place that allow a broker to share their active, pending and in some cases, sold listings with their fellow practitioners via a local IDX policy.
What if we took that idea to another level? What if a broker could become part of a NATIONAL IDX feed where listings from MLSs from all over the country could be displayed on a local broker’s website? The same rules of engagement could apply. Brokers could opt any of their listings out of the national IDX feed just like they can with a local IDX feed.
Then a broker could display listings from all over the country on their website to encourage more traffic and engagement and allow for referrals to listings all over the country.
Since third-party portals are allowed to display listings from all over the country, why shouldn’t a broker be able to do the same thing? After all aren’t they the ones that curated and contributed the listings to the IDX feed in the first place?
We have the mechanisms in place to develop, promote and deploy national IDX feeds today. The MLS Issues and Policy Committee could draft a policy similar to local IDX policies to provide oversight to a national IDX feed. There are many vendors today that have the capabilities today to house and distribute national data to broker websites so there are no significant technology hurdles to overcome.
A national IDX feed would not impact local MLSs in any way. They would still gather listings from their local subscribers as always. The difference is they would feed their local listings into a national database that could be leveraged by brokers and agents across the country to build relevance, engagement, and traffic to their own websites and mobile apps.
Thoughts?
Good thought, but it could pose issues regarding broker and agent licensing and advertising. I would be interested how MLS’s that cross over states handle this issue.
RE: Is it time for a National IDX?
The post reads: “Then a broker could display listings from all over the country on their website to encourage more traffic and engagement and allow for referrals to listings all over the country.”
While this might seem to make sense and be seductive at first blush, it would most-likely have precisely the opposite effect of what I believe the author of the post imagines or intends.
As W. Ross Ashby enlightened us in his 1956 “Introduction to Cybernetics” … Variety absorbs variety. Indeed, as he insists, ONLY variety absorbs variety. A National IDX would continue to destroy the requisite variety needed to impute context and to “in”form prospective buyers and sellers. It’s already taking place (variety destruction) with MLS mergers, implementation of RESO standards, etc., etc. Bit by bit, “local variety” and value-adding context are rapidly being removed from the consumer/broker experience relationship. A National IDX (without attending to a whole bunch of other important matters first) would only accelerate the disappearance of added value from the services (too seldom) provided.
Think about it. Agents and brokers increasingly end-run standards of practice, MLS rules and guidelines, NAR ethics code, RESPA, etc. etc. In an ethical, or simply consumer-centric, value-adding proposed real estate brokerage environment, a National IDX might make sense. But that’s not the environment we have, thanks to the “industry” that came very late (compared to other industries like banking) … real estate came late to the technology table. National, State and Regional real estate ssociations have no mechanism to allow innovation from within their own world, let-alone consumer centric, value-adding service.
And let no one seduce you into believing that Big-Data and AI are going to make postivem meaningful (to the consumer) differences.
Please don’t shoot the messenger. Instead, read Ashby … and his peers from the 40s and 50s … little has changed of sound principles … what’s changed is the scale of tech hubris, the propagation of tech “sizzle” and the scale of failures.
In reply to this portion of your comment: “It’s already taking place (variety destruction) with MLS mergers, implementation of RESO standards, etc., etc. Bit by bit, “local variety” and value-adding context are rapidly being removed from the consumer/broker experience relationship.”
Perhaps. But not any time soon and not for the forward thinking agents and brokers that have crafted effective strategies at combining IDX data with excellent curated hyperlocal content, useful home valuation data along with a dynamic marketing and follow up strategy . While the handwringing takes place about the latest shiny object (iBuyers, AI etc.) there are plenty that are quietly going about their efforts to shed the noise and use technology & marketing to generate real results. I see no reason that a national IDX couldn’t be a useful feature, however, I see it more as a “value add” to a current strategy. Like anything else new it could also become a “value distraction”.
Ahem…at least one vendor could “flip a switch” and have this running right now, today, with full MLS compliance. This would instantly destroy the reach of the portals overnight especially as it relates to SEO. It could have further reaching ramifications as it relates to “networks” especially if any tech vendor would also provide the ability to instantly refer out of market leads to capable sales associates within the local market of the lead. The franchises and relocation networks would have serious heartburn with this concept.
**If** this would ever happen I know that we are ready to handle it without the need for a new “national feed.” We could do it today with all of our clients with the current MLS data feeds provided the legal framework was in place.
What about Upstream and BPP? Couldn’t they play a role in this scenario?
They certainly could.
Hi Travis,
Yes, I have been following Upstream for some time including its recent embrace of CoreLogic as the technology partner.. If you look back at the legacy and purpose of the 800+ MLSs, the core intent was to share listings bveyoned the scope of the local brokerage in order to spread the marketing effort to a larger audience.
Isn’t realtor.com or zillow.com et al really already a nationwide (dare I say worldwide) portal to listing data all in one place?
Why are there so many stovepipes of listing data? It’s the same argument as to why the “United” States of America doesn’t invoke one standard ID, drivers’ license, voter registration program. The inefficiencies are many. The power of centralization is huge.
The Broker Public Portal with Homesnap largely fills this objective by presenting the listings of nearly a million agents from over 150 MLS’s (and counting) in an industry friendly fashion that adheres to Fair Display Guidelines.
We have a tendency in this industry to solve problems (like the choice of several significant MLS’s in the country to not get on board with BPP and Homesnap) by looking for an end run.
John, you make a very good point here especially for a broker who takes the time to brand Homesnap to their brokerage.
This has been kicked around MLSs execs for awhile where there would be logical market sharing (like a Florida to Northeast).
However, we can out the best laid ideas out there, but agents have poor response to leads now in their own marketplace. It’d be even poorer on response to leads on a listing out of state. It’s another example of where technology won’t help agents that are bad to start with, only would make them worse.
And then good agents, I have found, aren’t really worried about this because they adjust their business and thrive.
“And then good agents, I have found, aren’t really worried about this because they adjust their business and thrive.”
Well said!
Just what the market needs, 1 million more agent/broker websites that don’t get any web traffic as it stands now.