Even as more and more multiple listing services have signed up to send listings directly to major portals Zillow and Trulia, many have chosen to offer their brokers a syndication tool that allows them to opt into and manage listings that go to those portals as well as Homes.com.
So far, more than 35 MLSs representing 234,124 subscribers have signed up for the tool, Clareity Direct Connections. Launched in December, CDC connects to data management platforms for Zillow Group, which owns Zillow and Trulia, and Homes.com.
Agreements between Zillow Group and rival-owned listing syndicator ended earlier this month, prompting the company and MLSs to scramble to sign direct feed deals in advance of the expiration.
Reno-based Northern Nevada Regional MLS is one of the three dozen or so to implement Clareity’s syndication tool and keep listings going to the third-party portals.
“NNRMLS has chosen Clareity Direct Connections to maintain syndication continuity and broker choice following the Zillow Group’s transition from the ListHub platform,” said George Pickard, who works on integrations and development at NNRMLS, in a statement.
“It has simplified the opt-in process for our members and improved efficiency for our support staff.”
Clareity describes the tool as an “easy button” for managing opt-in permissions for brokers and agents. The tool does not offer the ability to syndicate on a listing-by-listing basis and neither do the listing management dashboards offered by Zillow Group or Homes.com.
“This is not a feature that CDC is planning to add, unless our customers ask for it in the future,” Clareity spokeswoman Amanda Larson told Inman.
Other MLSs, including Chicago area-based Midwest Real Estate Data LLC, have put their own syndication tool in place for their brokers. MRED, which is broker-owned, wanted to give its brokers a way of owning and controlling their own syndication tool, MRED spokesman Jeff Lasky told Inman.
MRED’s new tool, developed by its MLS vendor dynaConnections, also does not let brokers choose where listings go on a listing-by-listing basis, but does allow them to withhold individual properties from any listing display at all, he said.
MLSs have signed direct agreements with third-party portals in the last few months because they realized they could negotiate more favorable terms with the sites than brokers could get on their own, Clareity said.
The company pointed to an Inman article in which MRED CEO Rebecca Jensen said the MLS had negotiated a two-year direct feed agreement that some of its brokers thought was even better than what they had negotiated with Zillow.
“It’s refreshing to see so many MLSs take back control of direct listing distribution,” said Clareity CEO Gregg Larson in a statement.
“The leading portals are now providing better attribution than ever before in exchange for a direct feed. Listing agents get top billing and free leads, and listing brokers receive free branding and a link back to their site.”
Direct feeds also ensure more timely and accurate data display and terms that cannot be changed without MLS authorization, Clareity said.
In addition to NNRMLS, other MLSs that have signed up for Clareity’s syndication tool include:
- Intermountain MLS
- My Florida Regional MLS
- State-Wide MLS of Rhode Island
- Greater Tulsa Association of Realtors
- Southwest Illinois Regional MLS
- Mid America Regional Information Systems
- Miami Association of Realtors
- Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors
- Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors
- Spokane Association of Realtors
- Corpus Christi Association of Realtors
- Honolulu Board of Realtors
- Indiana Regional MLS
- Consolidated MLS
- Heartland MLS
Clareity Direct Connections can be integrated into Clareity’s single sign-on dashboards, but does not have to be in order to be deployed by an MLS, the company said.
