In the face of a rapid and accelerating shift in the MLS landscape, the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) announced today that it is introducing two new optional MLS policies, focused on topics at the forefront of the ongoing debate—namely, data and membership—along with tweaks to MLS committee eligibility and a new policy statement.
According to a release from NAR, MLSs will be allowed “at their discretion” to copyright photos and property descriptions submitted by members, and restrict the use of data feeds based on criteria that are “reasonable, objective and applied equally to all participants.”
“These updates reflect our commitment to ensuring MLS policies remain relevant, effective and responsive to the needs of today’s real estate industry,” said NAR CEO Nykia Wright in a statement.
The changes—approved by the Multiple Listing Issues and Policies Committee during NAR’s annual meetings in New Orleans—come at a time when MLSs are scrambling to keep up with demands from brokers and evolving technology. Many MLSs—both Realtor®- and broker-owned—have announced national platforms, and proactively shifted their policies around listing syndication and data.
Cameron Paine, CEO of MARIS MLS, tells RISMedia via email that “MLSs can only benefit from adoption of sensible improvements to protect their data.”
“(T)he new NAR rules are positive efforts toward that end,” he adds.
The new policy statement, also focused on data, “reinforces” that “the use of MLS data must comply with applicable MLS participation or data licensing agreements and be connected to providing real estate brokerage services, preparing appraisals, or other valuations of real property.”
An NAR spokesperson clarified that MLSs can still license data for other purposes—for example, to tech companies or universities—but that this must be at the discretion of the MLS. Enforcement also remains a “local discretion” matter, the spokesperson said.
Asked if the new data feed policy could be used to restrict MLS data feeds based on broad criteria—for instance, where a participant is located geographically—the NAR spokesperson said that the use of “(l)ocal eligibility requirements will be matters of local discretion…subject to those requirements being reasonable, objective, and equally applied to all participants, and applicable laws.”
Notably, Chicago-based MRED (not affiliated with NAR) made waves in the spring by briefly cutting Zillow off from its listing feed, claiming the portal violated a different rule when it banned certain limited-marketed listings. Compass had pressured several other MLSs—unsuccessfully—to cut Zillow’s feed based on that same rule.
Compass has also been outspoken about the alleged misuse of data by MLSs, specifically by recruiting companies, and is embroiled in lawsuits with a handful of big MLSs, mostly focused on policies restricting off-MLS marketing.
The policy allowing MLSs to copyright photos and listing descriptions comes as MLSs face AI aggregation and scrapers, with at least one big MLS directly confronting AI companies that were pilfering data—including listing descriptions and photos. NAR clarified that brokers “retain the right to independently use and license their own listing content,” and can opt-out of “assigning a copyright interest to the MLS.”
“Organized real estate, including banks and lenders, depend on the MLS to provide timely, accurate and comprehensive data, but the MLS has been consistently undermined by the wholesale theft and unfettered scraping of MLS compilation data,” Paine said.
Paine also characterized the new rules as “overdue,” adding that “any efforts to improve the qualifications of those serving on the MLS Committee are welcome.”
