With the call for social distancing as a way to combat the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), we recognize that this poses some unique challenges for your business. Some aspects of our industry frequently thrive on physical interaction, like open houses and showings.
Review the options below to help you determine the best course of action for you and your sellers:
Temporarily Off Market Listing Status
The Temporarily Off Market (TOM) listing status is an excellent option if you are considering postponing showings at this time. The TOM status is used when an active listing becomes unavailable for showings. Guidelines for the TOM listing status are outlined in the Stellar MLS Rules – Article 4.12: Listings Not Available for Showing.
Here are some things you need to know if you are considering updating one or more of your active listings to a TOM status:
- You will be required to have written consent from your seller (email is acceptable).
- Your Active Days on Market (ADOM) and Cumulative Days on Market count will be paused.
- Your listing will no longer syndicate to IDX feeds and third-party sites like Zillow, Realtor.com, etc.
- You will not be allowed to conduct any showings, but you can update your status back to active if you decide to accept a showing.
- No new marketing will be permitted. You do not need to take down a sign that is already up or retract previously published marketing content, but you cannot create new marketing.
Special Covid-19 Consideration: If you are updating your listing status because of the Covid-19 social distancing constraint, we encourage you to place the following verbiage in the public remarks: Due to COVID19 concerns, this listing is temporarily unavailable for showings until MM-DD-YYYY.
Control Your Showings with ShowingTime
If you decide TOM does not fit your seller’s needs at this time, and your listing remains in an Active status, remember, the ShowingTime tool gives you the ability to place reasonable restrictions on when a showing may be scheduled. Please note, while restrictions are allowed for active listings, if the property will be unavailable for showings for more than 2 business days, then you must update the listing status to TOM.
Tip – Supplement a restricted showing schedule with virtual tours available through Property Panorama and RealBiz Media.
Click on the button below to view and download step-by-step instructions on how to access ShowingTime from your Stellar Dashboard, set up your showing instructions, and set appointment restrictions:
Stellar staff wishes good health to all of our customers and partners as we navigate this situation, and we will continue to work alongside our industry providers to publish ongoing solutions to help you run your business. We are here for you! For questions or concerns, please email us at support@stellarmls.com or call 800-686-7451.