Practicalities of access to data from multiple MLSs?

[bdw]

I'm working on a service that will be used by realtors with their clients and it would benefit greatly from access to the local MLS listings. I've read lots of documentation for RETS and some open source RETS/IDX solutions so I think that I can work through the technicalities of retrieving and using the data. However, I have some high level questions about the practicality of dealing with multiple MLSs that I suspect folks on this forum can easily answer.

The realtors using this service could be anywhere in the country, so ultimately the service would need access to many different MLSs, although any realtor would only have access to listings from their MLS. Access to everything would only be after a secure login, realtors would be added to the service through their broker who would in turn need to supply RETS login info for data retrieval from their board's MLS. In short, the intention definitely isn't any sort of combined nationwide MLS - the goal is to provide a service to the realtors that's fully within their MLS board's rules.

If a single realtor/broker is signed up for the service, then things are straightforward. When they sign up I collect the login info for RETS access to their MLS, download all of the data and then they can use it when they're logged in. Which brings me to my first couple of questions:

(1) Normally a broker would get access to the MLS data to add listings and search to their agency website and they completely control and operate the site. In this case, while the data is still for their use with their clients and access is restricted, the data is on an external site and in some sense we control it. Would this raise any problems with the average MLS?

(2) What portion of the 1000 or so MLSs in the country actually support RETS or IDX access? In practice, how easy is it for brokers to get a login for access to their board's MLS data? Is it reasonable to expect them to have or easily get this access?

When only one realtor/broker in a region has signed up, the service would clearly need to retrieve the MLS data using their credentials and they'd be the only ones accessing it. However, when multiple brokers from one MLS have signed up, it's a little less clear how one handles the MLS data downloads and access.

(3) Obviously for efficiency I would only want to be downloading and storing the MLS data once, but which broker's credentials would I use to do the nightly updates? How often would I need to validate the credentials of the other brokers? I imagine that any companies that specialize in hosting real estate websites eventually find themselves in this situation - is it an issue with the MLS, or do you just download the data using any one of the broker's logins and then use it with all of the broker's who are members of the same MLS?

(4) Would I end up having to deal with all of the MLSs directly to negotiate agreements, or is it kept simple because brokers sign up for my service and the access to the MLS data is through their login? Everything I've heard suggests that MLSs are extremely protective of their data and very picky about who accesses it and what they do with it, so I'm just trying to get a feeling for how difficult this is going to be in the real world.

Sorry for the long post, but I thought it would be easier to get all the questions out there at once so that I could get some overall perceptions from all of you who have been dealing with MLSs for years. Thanks!

[webmaster]

It's a pretty common question around here and the answer is always the same - you are not allowed to have access to raw data feeds to aggregate data and create a service - feeds are granted for "agent or broker use only" - and they must be privately owned and controlled agent or broker domains - you simply cannot do it.
Sorry.

[bdw]

I don't want to aggregate the raw data feeds to create any sort of combined service. I am working on a service for realtors and it would be more useful to them if I could integrate the listings from *their* MLS with the rest of the functionality I'm providing. I understand that the feeds are "granted for the agent or brokers use only" and that's in essence what I'm doing. It's just that the service will be centrally hosted and because it will be used by realtors in different regions, it would end up needing data from multiple MLSs. However, the data from different MLSs would not be combined in any way - a realtor would only have access to data from their MLS and they have to login to get at it.

I don't think that my questions can be quickly dismissed as just plain not allowed. Companies that host real estate web sites and offer an IDX service as part of that hosting must be accessing MLS data on behalf of the brokers whose sites they're hosting. If they host sites for brokers in multiple regions, then they must be storing data from more than one MLS.

If I was creating this service as a custom one-off for a single broker, it would definitely fall within the guidelines of the MLS rules that I've been able to find and read. My questions are more about the practicalities of doing this with multiple brokers in multiple regions. Everything that I read gives me the impression that MLSs may not be very consistent across the country in terms of when or even if they provide broker access to their data feeds. At this point I'm really trying to get a feeling for what portion of brokers/realtors would even be able to take advantage of the feature if I could integrate their local listings. If half the MLSs don't offer RETS or IDX access at all and if many of those that do are super restrictive about when and if they give their brokers access to the feeds, then it might not be worth me even considering this feature.

[RonnieG]

Practically speaking, what you are proposing is basically what REW and other IDX vendors do for their real estate agent clients. There is no pat answer to your question though. You just have to contact each MLS individually to find out what their respective rules are for 3rd party vendors supporting their brokers and agents. As a vendor, if you support more than one agent per MLS, you would most likely need to have your own IDX/RETS login ID and passwords, and would not use any one agent's ID. Most MLSs do offer IDX or RETS or a choice of either. Due to the complexities and frequent changes, you will want to start out gradually, one major metro area and market at a time, and feel your way through the first few MLSs processes. Once you get to a certain point, you may even need a dedicated MLS coordinator on staff, as REW has, to keep up with everything and insure continuing compliance.

[cormip]

Some other issues to consider:

1. RETS does not equal universal data format. Most MLSes will have their own data format, independent of whether they use RETS (which is a transaction standard) or FTP (push or pull). You'll have to decide whether you maintain database structures to match each MLS or convert MLS data to a common structure.

2. Fees. Some MLSes require that as a 3rd party "IDX" vendor, you pay a fee for access to the data. So, the broker may have access to the feed for possibly no cost, but for you to get that feed, you have to pay.

3. Review the fairly recent NAR-DOJ Settlement Terms, since it addresses some of things it sounds like you want to do.

As previously suggested, you should take things slowly and got all the information you need from your initial targeted MLSes before you get started.

[bdw]

Thanks for all the helpful answers. I guess that I'll plan to add support one MLS at a time and expect to need to deal directly with each. Does anyone know where I can find a list of all of the MLSs in the country, perhaps even with contact info. When a realtor signs up I'd like to have them choose from a nice list of MLSs rather than have them type in a name freeform and have to deal with typos, ambiguity, etc.