Trulia, the nation’s second most popular real estate listing portal, has signed direct feed agreements with 125 multiple listing services, 69 of them in 2014.
The agreements are a sign that MLSs are increasingly comfortable sending listings directly to third-party portals rather than through listing syndicator ListHub.
Zillow, the nation’s top real estate portal, has said it has signed direct feed agreements with dozens of MLSs and yesterday announced an imminent deal with one of the nation’s largest MLSs — in time for the upcoming expiration of the portal’s agreement with ListHub.
Zillow is set to acquire Trulia shortly, and when it does Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff has said the company plans to combine the portals’ listings into one database. Whether the companies’ agreements with MLSs allow this remains to be seen.
MLSs who participate in Trulia’s direct feed program, Trulia Data Connect, ensure that their listings are accurate and updated on the portal about every eight minutes, the company said, noting that a recent internal analysis found that 18 to 32 percent of the listings coming from indirect or third-party sources contain inaccuracies.
Alon Chaver
“By working together with Trulia to improve the accuracy of listings, the MLS community isn’t just protecting brokers and their listing agents from legal liability, it is helping brokers and agents grow their businesses with better-quality leads,” said Alon Chaver, Trulia’s vice president of industry services, in a statement.
“In addition, displaying accurate information about a listing is in the best interests of the general public.”
MLSs who agree to have all of their brokers’ listings automatically opted in to the direct feed receive prominent branding, broker and agent attribution, enhanced data displays, higher-quality leads and reduced workload for their brokers, Trulia said.
Trulia’s most recent MLS partners include Mid-Hudson MLS, Southeast Arizona Multiple Listing Service and the California Desert Association of Realtors.
Additional reporting contributed by Inman News reporter Paul Hagey.
