HomeOfficial BlogDocumentsListing Agreement AddendumBill of RightsFirms Withdrawn from SyndicationContact UsIt's time to end listing syndication abuse.When real estate professionals create a new home listing in MLS, weoften authorize the sharing of that listing with third parties.This process is known as listing syndication. Due to the poorstandards currently in place, the listing then enters theproverbial “WILD WEST”.Syndication has had a number of unintended consequences.In fact, an entirely new industry has been created that is based onEXPLOITATION of these listings.As a result, everyone involved in the sales process -- homesellers, prospective home buyers, real estate agents and brokers --are HURT. The public isroutinely MISLED.Syndication sites hurt buyers and sellers.Unless we pay syndication sites not to remove or obscure ourcontact details from our listings, prospective home buyers aredirected to agents who are UNFAMILIARwith the home, but who have paid for the lead. These agents arethen free to promote other homes or areas that they do know well.The result is an epic fail. Buyers miss out on the best INFORMATION, and sellers miss out onvaluable showing OPPORTUNITIES.Syndication sites hurt agents and brokers.It's becoming a nightmare to manage our listings on the growingnumber of syndication sites to which our MLS listings arecirculated. Unless we pay them, the syndication sites DIVERT leads and OMIT key data,photos, or our contact information from our listings. These practices diminish the EFFECTIVENESS of our listings andhurt our businesses.Syndication sites manipulate and mishandle listinginformation.Many syndication sites DELETEor obscure key data from our listings, including home photos andour contact information. Many falsely INFLATE  their listing inventory. Someeven claim perpetual ownership of our listings' data, descriptions,and photos. Some re-syndicate our listings to numerous sites that,
like them, lack ACCOUNTABILITY.
Yet syndication sites aim to hold us legally accountable.
Syndication sites require us to hold them HARMLESS if legal action results
from their use of our listing -- a listing they'll MANIPULATE unless we pay their fees.
Their actions DAMAGE our
listings and hurt the industry.
Syndication sites often mislead the public.
New MLS listings appear on these sites within DAYS of their entry into MLS, but
when the MLS status changes to unavailable, it can take MONTHS for syndication sites to
purge them. Why? Because syndication sites profit from selling
leads on homes, regardless of the home's actual availability.
Syndication sites profit from carefully placed ads on our listings
-- so careful, in fact, that prospective home buyers are often MISLED into believing they're
contacting an agent who is familiar with the home.
We're exacerbating the problem by
failing to act.
Many of us VOLUNTARILY supply
our listings to the syndication sites. We do so each time we select
the “A