CRMLS provides two IDX solutions at no additional cost. Each has a different process to generate. What are the options and what is the difference?
1. IDX Standard
These links are generated within Matrix.
The search functionality includes all CRMLS and data share listings. You may tailor the capabilities of your search by including a map search and contact request form. CRMLS provides support for generating the IDX links, but does not provide support for the design and process of implementing the IDX links into a website. This option is available to all CRMLS users at no additional cost.
Learn More
2. IDX Plus
These frameable links, with Google Maps, offer CRMLS and data share listings, the features of the Matrix solution above, PLUS the following features: multiple languages, Office Listings links, and school data. Features are not customizable.
CRMLS provides support for generating the IDX links, but does not provide support for the design and process of implementing the IDX link into a website. This option is available to all CRMLS users at no additional cost.
The Clear Cooperation Policy is a NAR-mandated policy that governs the public marketing of listings and their entry into the multiple listing service. Within one (1) business day of marketing a property to the public, the listing broker must submit the listing to the MLS for cooperation with other MLS participants.
May 1st, 2020
Residential, Vacant Residential lot, and Residential 1-4 unit properties.
The Registered process in CRMLS allows agents and brokers to submit listing contracts to the MLS in compliance with CRMLS Rule 7.8 without having to file an exclusion/waiver form, such as the S.E.L.M. form. Within 2 days from the effective date of the listing agreement you must either enter listing into MLS as Active or Coming Soon or Register the listing if it will be excluded from the MLS for any period of time or for the duration of the listing.
For more information on how to complete this process, please visit https://kb.crmls.org/knowledgebase/crmls-registered-listings/.
Yes. If the seller wants to exclude the listing from the MLS, you must have written instructions in compliance with Rule 7.9.1.
Users are still required to obtain a C.A.R. Form SELM or equivalent exclusion form, but they do NOT need to submit the exclusion forms to CRMLS. Instead, keep the exclusion form on file at your local brokerage and enter an incomplete listing as Registered within 2 days of the effective list date. Click the following link for more information: https://kb.crmls.org/knowledgebase/crmls-registered-listings/
Many companies and individuals offer services as IDX vendors. This means they implement IDX search display on websites for real estate professionals. An IDX vendor licensed with CRMLS is a vendor that has an agreement with CRMLS to receive CRMLS’s data feed. These vendors are highly familiar with the CRMLS Rules and Regulations.
(Click Here for a list of IDX vendors contracted with CRMLS)
Here is a table comparing the differences between Registered, Coming Soon and Active:
The Registered process requires entry of: Address, Listing Contract Date, Price, Expiration Date, and Start Marketing Date.
No. Marketing to the public would trigger the Clear Cooperation rules, meaning the property would need to be placed in the MLS within 1 business day of such marketing.
DOM starts with the Active date.
CRMLS provides two IDX solutions at no additional cost. Each has a different process to generate. What are the options and what is the difference?
1. IDX Standard
These links are generated within Matrix.
The search functionality includes all CRMLS and data share listings. You may tailor the capabilities of your search by including a map search and contact request form. CRMLS provides support for generating the IDX links, but does not provide support for the design and process of implementing the IDX links into a website. This option is available to all CRMLS users at no additional cost.
Learn More
2. IDX Plus
These frameable links, with Google Maps, offer CRMLS and data share listings, the features of the Matrix solution above, PLUS the following features: multiple languages, Office Listings links, and school data. Features are not customizable.
CRMLS provides support for generating the IDX links, but does not provide support for the design and process of implementing the IDX link into a website. This option is available to all CRMLS users at no additional cost.
The Coming Soon status allows listing agents to place a property in the MLS for up to 21 days to pre-market and prepare the property (staging professional photos, preparing for showings, etc.) without Days on Market accruing.
• Marketing is allowed in both statuses, so long as Coming Soon listings are clearly marked as Coming Soon.
• Both Coming Soon and Active listings are fully displayed to other MLS users.
• The listing agent offers compensation to the buyer’s side on both Coming Soon and Active
listings.
Coming Soon listings have limited distribution: they will be visible in the MLS, but will not be included in the data feeds sent to real estate portal websites or in data feeds for agent and broker IDX websites.
[1] Coming Soon listings in San Diego County will go out to IDX feeds for applicable brokers. Applicable brokers are those who participate in CRMLS and have Coming Soon listings for properties in San Diego County, regardless of their MLS system or Association or Board membership. This does not affect any CRMLS listings outside of San Diego County.
Coming Soon listings will be included in Virtual Office Websites (“VOW”) data feeds.
Per MLS Rule 7.9, “Marketing” and “Advertising” includes, but is not limited to, information about the property or its availability for sale displayed on any: signs, websites, social media, brokerage or franchise operated websites, communications (verbal or written), multibrokerage or franchise listing sharing networks, flyers or written material, or on any applications available to the public, or by conducting an open house.
Rule 7.9 provides any individual or entity that has signed within the previous year a Disclosure Regarding Real Estate Agency Relationship form in compliance with CA Civil Code section 2079.16 that identifies the Listing Broker shall not be considered a “member of the public.” So, any individual or entity with whom your brokerage does not have such an AD form is a member of the public. Further, other agents in your brokerage (those under the same broker’s license) are not members of the public.
“Days on Market” or “DOM” for a listed property is a measure of the number of days that a property is listed in the status of Active or Active Under Contract in the MLS. Accordingly, DOM will begin to accrue the day a listing first appears in Active or Active Under Contract status. Not that DOM is NOT a measure of how many days that the property has been in the MLS.
Yes. You can market the property on Facebook, or other sites as “Coming Soon” as long as the property has already been entered under the Coming Soon status on the MLS. Marketing and Advertising as defined in Rule 7.9 is permitted and shall include language that the property is “Coming Soon” and shall include the date for which the property will become Active. The DOM will not begin accumulating until the listing is in the status of Active or Active Under Contract. If marketing has taken place prior to entering the listing as Coming Soon on the MLS, the property must be entered under the status of Coming Soon or Active within 1 business day of the public marketing taking place.
No. Once the property has been marketed to a member of the public, the listing must be entered in the MLS as either Coming Soon or Active within 1 business day.
A violation of Rule 7.9 will result in the issuance of a Warning Notice and is subject to a citation in the amount of 1% of the list price and a minimum fine of $500, not to exceed $2,500 if not timely entered in the MLS.
An Exclusion form is an instruction from the seller that states that a property will not go into the MLS at all or will be submitted to the MLS at a later date. The CAR SELM includes disclosures related to the specific effects of excluding a listing from the MLS, including that the property will be subject to limited exposure as it is not available for cooperation on the MLS. The Coming Soon form is an instruction from the Seller to input the property as a Coming Soon listing. This form includes disclaimers and disclosures that there will be limitations to exposure of the listing and the property. Additionally, the Coming Soon form allows the seller to advise when the property is available for showings.
Yes. The Coming Soon form can be found in zipForms and on our central website on the CCP and Compliance home pages (https://go.crmls.org/clear-cooperation-policy/ and https://go.crmls.org/compliance/). Using the Coming Soon status without a seller-signed Coming Soon form is a violation of Rule 10.1 – Failure to Obtain Seller’s Authorization for Coming Soon status listings and is subject to a citation and fine in the amount of $750. This rule does not carry a warning.
Yes, pursuant to Rule 8.1 and Ca. Civil Code sections 1086 and 1088, a valid listing agreement is required because the property is in the MLS for cooperation. A listing that is entered in the MLS prior to an effective agreement in place will result in a violation of CRMLS Rule 8.1 and is subject to a citation and fine in the amount of $1,500, and immediate removal of the listing.
Begin by entering the listing information as you normally would. On the listing input screen, select the status of Coming Soon while under the Status tab. Under the Office/MLS tab, you will be prompted to enter the Start Showing Date. When all information is entered, click Save as Incomplete, or Submit Listing.
Contact CRMLS Compliance by email at compliance@crmls.org or live chat (https://go.crmls.org/compliance-live-chat/). Be prepared to provide the Compliance analyst with the effective listing agreement and a seller signed Coming Soon form. Once supporting documentation is provided and reviewed, you will be walked through the process to correct this error. For all future listings, make sure you are selecting Coming Soon as the status under the Status tab on the listing input screen. Under the Office/MLS tab, you will need to enter the Start Showing Date, which is the date the listing will be changed to Active.
Yes. Per Rule 11.5.1, an exterior photograph that displays a substantial portion of the exterior structure of the property is required for all property types, except business opportunity. Coming Soon listings are not exempt from this requirement.
Yes. While in the status of Coming Soon, offers may be presented and accepted by the seller(s).
Yes. A listing in the status of Coming Soon may be publicly marketed by use of flyers, For Sale signs, Facebook posts, etc. However, no showings or open houses may take place.
No. Coming Soon listings cannot be shown by anyone, under any circumstances. This includes, but is not limited to, Virtual Open Houses and Virtual Showings. If the property is going to be shown, the listing status must be updated to Active prior to the showing date.
Yes. You can advertise an open house and disclose the date in which the property is available to be shown, however, the property cannot be shown prior to the date disclosed unless the listing is updated to the Active status.
Yes. The listing will automatically update from Coming Soon to Active on Day 22 of the listing’s input date, or, the date entered into the Start Showing Date, whichever is earlier.
Yes. The change needs to be made prior to the current Start Showing Date and the new Start Showing Date cannot exceed the 21-day time frame allotted for Coming Soon.
No. Listings of any property type may use the status of Coming Soon.
To submit a report of off-mls marketing for a property that is not in the MLS as Coming Soon or Active, click on the following link to access the web form below: https://crmls.secure.force.com/TicketSubmission/. The web form will prompt you to enter information regarding the property being marketed, the brokerage firm or agent marketing the property and the type of marketing found. You will also be required to upload any proof of marketing that corresponds with your report. Once submitted, a confirmation will appear on the screen and you will receive a second confirmation via email once a case is created. The CRMLS Compliance Department will review the report and take appropriate measures to correct/address the issue.
Reports received for activity by an agent who is not a CRMLS user are deemed outside of CRMLS’s Compliance jurisdiction and will be referred to the violating agent’s appropriate MLS for further processing. As with all reports submitted to CRMLS, the report will be kept confidential and your contact information will not be submitted with the report unless you provide written authorization for CRMLS to submit that information on your behalf to the violator’s MLS.
Many companies and individuals offer services as IDX vendors. This means they implement IDX search display on websites for real estate professionals. An IDX vendor licensed with CRMLS is a vendor that has an agreement with CRMLS to receive CRMLS’s data feed. These vendors are highly familiar with the CRMLS Rules and Regulations.
(Click Here for a list of IDX vendors contracted with CRMLS)
Marketing and advertising includes, but is not limited to, any information about the property or its availability for sale displayed on any: signs, websites, social media, brokerage or franchise operated websites, communications (verbal or written), multi-brokerage or franchise listing sharing networks, flyers or written material, applications available to the public, or open houses or showings.
Business days are Monday through Friday, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and federal/state holidays.
Yes. An office exclusive will be covered under Registered.
Yes. The seller still has the ability to exclude their property from the MLS; however, no marketing of the property can be done, and a seller instruction form must be signed. If any marketing does take place, then the property must be entered in the MLS within one business day. By keeping the property off of the MLS, the seller is agreeing that the listing broker will only share the property with the listing broker’s own clients.
CDOM (Cumulative Days on Market) will reset after 90 days off the MLS.
No. CRMLS keeps all reporting parties’ identities confidential at all times.
Yes. The Clear Cooperation Policy does not change an off-mls sale’s eligibility from being entered in the MLS once a sale closes. Rule still applies.
Yes. If attempting to share the listing with only your own clients and then determining that the listing is not getting enough exposure, with written permission of your seller, you may enter the listing in the MLS as an Active or Coming Soon listing. (Under the Coming Soon status, no showings can occur.)
No. The Clear Cooperation Policy was proposed by the National Association of Realtor Emerging Issues and Technology Advisory Board after having received numerous complaints and requests to take action from agents and brokers of all size complaining about a lack of inventory and the challenge of dealing with off MLS properties. Additionally, in June 2018 the Department of Justice convened a workshop centered on competition in real estate. One of the DOJ’s focuses was the challenge with pocket listings and the negative impact that pocket listings were having on potential buyers. When the Clear Cooperation Policy was presented to the NAR MLS Policy Committee for debate, approximately 90% of the brokers and agents speaking on the issue supported the policy. Similarly. 92% of the NAR Board of Directors, which is made up of brokers and agents from firms of all sizes, voted in favor of the policy.
Yes. To be clear, a listing agent can communicate the office exclusive listing to anyone with whom their brokerage has signed an Agency Disclosure form in the last year.
Yes. CRMLS does not require showings to take place while a property is in Active status. If the seller and listing broker agree on terms that address the issues, CRMLS is not in a position to interfere with that process.
No. Putting up a sign is marketing and would trigger the requirement to submit the listing into Active or Coming Soon within one business day.
No. There aren’t any limitations on inspections related to Clear Cooperation rules.
Yes. This can be done in any format, and no specific form is required.
Yes. While a listing is in Hold status, marketing to the public can continue.
