IDX - Internet Data Exchange
Data Exchange is a real estate property search
(agent or firm) website that allows the public to
conduct searches of approved Multiple Listing
Service properties in a certain area.
Website
users generally gain the benefit of anonymous
property searching and review. IDX sites usually
provide less detailed information than the full
Realtor Multiple Listing Service, limiting the data
to that which is deemed publicly accessible. This
system benefits both parties. The benefit to
realtors is that users of their IDX web site can
search freely, establish some confidence, and
qualify themselves before contacting the realtor.
Many IDX solutions provide lead capture
capabilities. The benefits to clients are to save
time and refine his target.
Certain
rules apply to the real estate companies’ ability to
display each detail about a property and specify
required disclosures that must be displayed on the
website. These "display rules" are set by the
Multiple Listing Service (MLS), which forms its
policy around the recommendations of the National
Association of Realtors.
There is some confusion among developers and
Realtors® alike as to what is the difference between
RETS and IDX. To help clear up the confusion; first,
lets start by looking at IDX and what that term
means. IDX stands for Internet Data Exchange, and
was a mandate from the National Associations of
Realtors® that said the “Associations of REALTORS®
and their Multiple Listing Services must enable MLS
Participants to display on Participants’ public
websites aggregated MLS active listing information
subject to the requirements of state law and
regulation.”
Typically
this mandate was answered by providing the MLS
participants a link that the participants could
frame into their own website. (This method is
available to NSBBOR MLS members as a free service
from both FAR's florida.living.net (delayed/update
via FTP) and InnoVia (real-time data). The other
method used to meet this mandate was to provide
access to a FTP (File Transfer Protocol) feed of the
data, which is commonly now referred to as the IDX
feed. Both of the above solutions pose problems for
Realtors® and their website developers. Almost every
single MLS’s FTP feed is different, requiring custom
coding or custom configuration for each MLS and/or
user. FTP feeds are only updated once per 24 hours.
The framed solutions on the other hand provide
little to no customization in looks or services
differentiation between Realtors. Framed pages also
have negative impacts on a websites search engine
ranking, causing it to be very difficult to market a
website.
A newer common and
now standard data exchange protocol for IDX
information (data feed) is the Real Estate
Transaction Specification or RETS. The old standard,
an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) Data Push, has to be
individually configured by the MLS provider and is
no longer supported by the NSBBOR MLS.
Now lets
talk about this thing called RETS, that has been
getting so much attention lately. RETS stands for
the Real Estate Transaction Standard. RETS is an
attempt, by NAR and the MLS vendors, to standardize
the way that IDX and other real estate application
data are provided. While still not a perfect
solution, it does offer many benefits over providing
the IDX data via FTP. First, RETS is typically setup
as a near real time access to the MLS data, meaning
that when Realtor® Bob enters a listing into his
MLS, it is provided out almost instantaneously to
users via the RETS server. RETS also provides a
standardized way to determine what data the MLS is
providing you, allowing for easier and less time
consuming setups for website developers. The RETS
standard is still maturing; however NAR, realizing
the potential for RETS to improve their members
access to the IDX data, has mandated that all
Realtor® Associations and their MLSs adopt RETS in
2009.
NSBBOR’s MLS currently offers
members the InnoVia frameable links as an included
member benefit and RETS is available for a
prescribed fee (individual agents, utilizing third
party (multiple-agent) IDX personal website solution
providers, are required to execute the data request
but are exempt from the data fees. The provider is
required to pay a fee). NSBBOR no longer supports
the FTP data feed.
So as you
can see RETS is just an improved way for the IDX
website to access the MLS data. RETS IS NOT IDX!
What is a VOW?
The simplest definition of
a VOW is a broker website that allows consumers to
access all of the non-confidential information in
the MLS after registering with a Realtor.
Virtual
Office Websites are really not much different from
the websites that brokers offer to consumers today.
There are only two significant differences - more
data fields and a registration requirement.
More
Data Fields
The rules
and regulations pertaining to the display of listing
information on broker websites across the country
vary from market to market. Some markets have long
permitted the display of deeper data fields like
Sold Listings, Listing History, Tax Data, Price per
Square Foot, and Days on Market. However, many
markets did not allow this information to be
displayed online. Only a member agent or broker
could access that level of data by signing into the
MLS and delivering the information to their client.
Suffice it
to say that MLSs are now required to provide a data
feed of all MLS information to any member broker for
display through VOWs with a few exception
-
Compensation offered to other MLS Participants - Type of Listing
Agreement - i.e. exclusive agency - Seller/Occupants name
and contact information - Showing instruction
Registration Requirement
Access to
this level of real estate information should only be
permitted when there is an expressed working
relationship between a consumer and a Realtor. To
access a VOW, the consumer is required to register,
agree to the terms of use, and agree they are
entering in a lawful broker-consumer relationship
(broker-consumer relationship as defined by state
law). To satisfy the registration requirements, the
consumer must provide their name and a valid e-mail
address. The password must also expire on a
specified date, and the broker must keep the
registration information of that consumer for 90
days after expiration.
To satisfy
the lawful broker-consumer relationship, the
consumer must click to agree to the terms of use,
and verify that they will not use the data for any
commercial use, and confirm that they have a bona
fide interest in the purchase, sale or lease of real
estate of the type being offered through the VOW.
Nobody - broker, consumer, or the website provider
may redistribute any of the information to any third
party.
How will VOWs change
the agent-customer relationship
With the
evolution of Internet Data Exchange (IDX) and
literally millions of real estate websites, the
consumer has had access to a significant number of
sources of property information. VOWs will allow
brokers, and possibly agents in markets where agents
have been included in VOW policies, to once again
place themselves at the center of the consumer’s
property search experience.
A broker’s
VOW will offer consumers the most comprehensive,
accurate and timely real estate information
available.
Which Form Do You Need?
MLS Participants and agents licensed with those MLS
Participants must fill out the appropriate agreement
and register with NSBBOR for any of these options.
*There are currently two
participating Affiliate Member vendors: 1)
WorldRETS & 2)
Superlative ** Fee exception - 3rd
party vendors (Licensees) requesting/using
persistent MLS data feeds (FTP/RETS) for
multiple-agent services pay a (single) setup and
annual data fee as previously established by NSBBOR
($225 setup/$200 annual). However, any eligible NSB
agent(s) that wishes to us the RETS Server for a
personal URL (3rd party vendor or otherwise) shall
not be charged a fee but are still required to
submit all required data request forms to the MLS
for approval.
New Smyrna Beach Board of REALTORS® provides information on New Smyrna Beach, Florida real estate and homes, Edgewater real estate and homes, Oak Hill real estate and homes, Volusia County schools, New Smyrna Beach real estate agents and brokerages, Edgewater real estate agents and brokerages and Oak Hill real estate agents and brokerages.
