A READER WRITES:

Do I have to display listing office info on my IDX feed?

Dear Stellar MLS,

I have a Stellar MLS IDX feed on my site and it shows the contact information of the listing offices. I'd rather the customer contact me instead; do I have to display the listing office info?

-IDX Feeder

Dear IDX Feeder,

In short, yes. National Association of REALTORS® recently updated its policy on Listing Attribution on Internet Data Exchange (IDX) displays and Virtual Office Websites (VOW), and you must display the Broker Attribution field on your IDX feed to be in compliance.

The Updated NAR® Rule:

Section 18.2.12 of the NAR® Summary of 2022 MLS Policy Changes:

All listing displayed pursuant to IDX shall identify the listing firm, and the email or phone number provided by the listing participant in a reasonably prominent location and in a readily visible color and typeface not smaller than the median used in the display of listing data.

How to Stay in Compliance

If you have not done so already, update your IDX feed or contact your IDX vendor to make sure the Broker Attribution field is set to display on your site, and it is clearly visible according to the NAR® rule by September 1, 2022, or risk compliance violations.

How to Change Your Broker Attribution Information

While the Broker Attribution field will default to the office’s phone number in Stellar MLS’s membership records, there is an option to change your broker attribution information through your Stellar MLS Broker Portal. View the instructions here. Note that any updates made to this field will apply to all listings from that office on IDX and VOW displays.

As always, thank you for helping to maintain the NAR® and Stellar MLS compliance rules! We want cooperation and fair compensation as much as you do and we rely graciously on agents like you to help maintain our policies.

Sincerely,

The Stellar MLS Admin & Data Integrity Team