April 2025 Broker Report

CRMLS Spotlight: Leadership Perspectives on Value

This year has been and continues to be about redefining value across the real estate industry. To help illuminate the value of the MLS from an executive perspective, we are hosting a webinar featuring CRMLS leaders to help guide brokers and office managers in our new era.

To discuss how CRMLS is responding to this current industry moment, our speakers will focus on leadership, the MLS, and looking towards the future.

Speakers include:

• CRMLS Chair: Carolyn Triebold
• CRMLS Co-Chair: Ken Scott
• CRMLS Treasurer: Andy Bencosme
• CRMLS Chief Relationship Officer: Sarah Trent Miranda 

Registration is free, but space is limited – register today!

Wednesday, May 7 at 2PM PST

Note: This event is for brokers and office managers only. Please do not share.

N.A.R. Multiple Listing Options for Sellers

Last month, the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) adopted a new MLS policy called Multiple Listing Options for Sellers. The primary aim of this policy is to allow sellers that are publicly marketing their properties to delay when they are available through Internet Data Exchange (IDX) and syndication for a specific period of time. NAR is allowing MLSs to implement this policy at their discretion by September 30. For more information on NAR’s announcement, click here.

Key Takeaways

• The CRMLS Board of Directors has voted to NOT create a new listing status or make any changes to current listing statuses to accommodate the new NAR policy
• The existing CRMLS data distribution system already provides almost all the same choices to sellers as the new NAR policy.
• Transparency (meaning being open, honest and clear) is the primary hallmark of CRMLS. Implementing a new status would only complicate things and create confusion for our agents and brokers.

After careful review and consideration, CRMLS will NOT be adopting this new policy and will instead use options already available to users to accommodate the aims of NAR’s request.

Why is CRMLS Choosing Not to Make Any Changes?

Simply put… there is no need. This new policy does not provide any additional seller choices or options, is not clear, not easy to understand or explain, and we don’t need to complicate things.

Because of the way our current statuses operate, there is no need for us to create a new status to accommodate this new policy. Adding a new listing status would be an undue burden to CRMLS users and the industry:

• Since the compensation lawsuits in 2024, agents and brokers have had to adapt to multiple seismic changes to remain compliant with the law. We don’t feel it’s necessary or in their best interest to create additional listing statuses to utilize.
• Introducing a new status could create confusion for CRMLS users who are also members of other MLSs, as they would need to learn and navigate different statuses that may not align across systems.
• A new status could also force our vendors to accommodate hundreds of different changes to remain compliant with each new MLS policy

In short, implementing a new status would be a disservice to our users due to:

• Increased compliance confusion
• Redundant or overlapping statuses
• Additional hurdles to day-to-day business operations
• Lack of clear communication to clients about where their listings will appear online

What Will CRMLS Do Instead?

CRMLS can achieve the policy’s aims and maintain transparency without introducing any new statuses. We will instead rely upon the Active status, which already accommodates this policy. CRMLS is exploring additional features that may be used alongside the Active status to support the NAR policy.

What Led to the New NAR Policy?

To understand why we have refused, we must explain where the impetus for this new policy came from:

• NAR was under increasing pressure from powerful, national brokerages to drop the Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP).
• Dropping the CCP would allow those brokerages to publicly market the listing while keeping their listings out of public circulation, essentially creating private listing networks.
• In an effort to maintain CCP as-is and to placate those complaining brokerages, NAR created this Multiple Listing Options for Sellers policy.

What Does the New NAR Policy Do?

The policy introduces a new category of exempt listings called “delayed marketing exempt listings.” Based on the NAR policy, this “new” listing category must be:

1. placed in the MLS for cooperation,
2. available for all MLS users to search and send to their customers,
3. be available for showings,
4. open for submitting offers, and
5. placed in the CRMLS VOW data feed, but
6. shall not be in the IDX or syndication data feed.

Based on this list of requirements CRMLS already has a listing status that complies with the first five requirements: Active. As it is, Active provides all the NAR policy required elements.

While Active listings also go into the IDX and syndication data feeds, a listing broker already has the option to opt out of both syndication and IDX for all the listings in their office. If a seller has any privacy concerns, or so chooses for
any reason, the seller can instruct their broker to opt their home out of all Internet distribution.

The only element of this new rule not being implemented by CRMLS is a listing-specific IDX or syndication opt-out. It is critical to note that Zillow.com and Redfin.com both receive a VOW feed from CRMLS and it is expected
that Homes.com will soon request a VOW. All three of these portals will have all the listings in this new category. Since these brokerages have the ability to operate a VOW, this policy is rendered nearly ineffective. So, the actual result
of this NAR policy is to allow a listing onto these three major portals but deny that same listing to the almost 30,000 CRMLS agent and broker IDX websites and Realtor.com (which does not operate a VOW). Is this really any seller’s
intention?

As a broker cooperative, CRMLS does not support private listings or soloing information. These practices will inevitably lead to an imbalanced and unfair marketplace. In addition, our current listings statuses already support the spirit of the new policy.

How to use our current statuses to achieve the aims of the new NAR policy:

• Open Listing: For sellers who want to keep their listing off the MLS and still publicly market.
• No Cooperation Listing (Office Exclusive): For sellers that do not want to publicly market.
• Coming Soon: For sellers who want to delay showings to allow time to prepare a property.
• Active: For sellers who want to put their listing in the MLS for cooperation and receive quality offers faster than any of the above options.

The CRMLS Board of Directors has determined after careful review and a clear understanding of the current listing distribution processes that the new NAR policy is ineffective and an unneeded addition for our purposes. It’s time to stop unnecessarily changing up the rules and to let agents and brokers get back to work.

We aim to have our user’s best interest at the forefront of all decisions we make. Thank you for your continued support during times of change.

MLS Stats

Compliance

Get to Know the Compliance Knowledgebase

The CRMLS Compliance Knowledgebase is a collection of guides, reference materials, FAQs, and How-Tos available via the CRMLS Compliance website. Scroll through and search the topics to find answers and instructions for your most common inquiries.

This month we highlight the Compliance Knowledgebase article “Coming Soon FAQs”.

Below is a list of important information to be aware of when using the Coming Soon Status:

1. The Coming Soon Form must be signed by the seller prior to submitting the listing as Coming Soon in the MLS.
2. You may market a listing in the Coming Soon status to any consumer, whether they are existing clients of the brokerage or not, so long as the marketing clearly labels the listing as Coming Soon and states when the listing will be placed in the status of Active.
3. The Coming Soon status allows listing brokers and agents to place a listing in the MLS for cooperation for up to 21 days (except New Construction Listings) while preparing a property for showings (staging, professional interior photos, repairs, etc.).
   • The listing will automatically update from Coming Soon to Active on Day 22 of the listing’s input date or on the Start Showing Date, whichever is earlier.
   • CRMLS cannot extend the 21-day limit on a listing in Coming Soon status under any circumstances (except New Construction Listings), and the MLS system will not allow you to select a date more than 21 days from the entry date. Should you need more time, you may place the listing in the Hold status.
4. No one can show Coming Soon listings to anyone under any circumstances. This includes but is not limited to Virtual Open Houses and Virtual Showings. If you plan to show the property, you must update the listing status to Active or Active Under Contract prior to the showing date.

Note: Coming Soon is a one-time use status. Once changed to Active, the property cannot be changed back to Coming Soon.

View additional Coming Soon resources below:

• Coming Soon Status
• Registered vs. Coming Soon

Compliance Presentations Available to Your Brokerage

As a reminder, CRMLS Compliance is available throughout the year to provide you with various complimentary presentations for your agents. Presentations are available both in-person and virtually. Please fill out our form to schedule Compliance training for your office.

Broker Compliance Helpline

You can contact the Broker Compliance Helpline in three simple steps:

1. Make sure your MLS ID is ready (note that only active brokers, office managers, and personal/office assistants connected to a broker or office manager can use theBroker Compliance Helpline). To learn if your ID has the correct MLS user class, please email brokers@crmls.org. 
2. Call 909-859-2043.
3. Press 3 to speak directly to a Compliance Analyst for assistance. 

You can reach us Monday – Friday from 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM PT. Please do NOT share this phone number with agents. 

If you have questions regarding your user class or personal/office assistant accounts, please email us at brokers@crmls.org.