Realtracs extends Zillow listing feed past June 8 deadline

Despite the passing of the June 8 deadline, Tennessee-based MLS Realtracs has told subscribers that listing distribution to Zillow will continue uninterrupted as contract negotiations between the two parties more forward. 

In an email sent to subscribers on Friday, obtained and verified by HousingWire, Realtracs said that it remained “actively engaged in discussions with Zillow, Homes.com, Redfin and Realtor.com regarding our new licensing agreements.”

“We continue to believe those discussions are productive and progressing,” the email stated. “We remain focused on reaching agreements that reflect the principles outlined below. Discussions remain active and productive, and we expect negotiations to continue beyond the June 8 timeline we had originally been working toward.” 

The email also noted that regardless of the outcome of these negotiations, brokers will still be able to directly send listings to the portals of their choosing through MLS GRID’s Broker Only Export program. 

Realtracs said it is doing this because the licensing agreements it had been operating under “reflected a very different real estate industry.”

“The rise of artificial intelligence, data aggregation, lead generation platforms, and large-scale consumer portals has only reinforced the need for clarification around ownership, usage rights, and the value of broker-created content,” the email stated. “In many ways, this conversation is long overdue.”

Realtracs: Brokers own their data

According to Realtracs, over the past 20 years, listing data was distributed in a way that allowed third-party companies and vendors to use, retain, modify, market and monetize the content that was created by listing brokers. 

“Our position is built on a simple belief: brokers and their clients own their data – not outside vendors, platforms, or technology providers,” the email stated. “That belief guides everything we’re working to accomplish through our new licensing model.”

Due to this view, Realtracs said it believes that brokers own the listing data they create, that the listing data has value and that there is a need for a modern framework that reflects these beliefs. 

“Our goal is not to restrict opportunity. Our goal is to ensure transparency, choice, and respect for broker-created content,” the email stated. “The future of listing data should be shaped by the professionals who create it, not solely by the companies that consume it. We appreciate your support as we work toward that goal.” 

What happened with Zillow

In May, Realtracs told brokers that it would suspend Zillow’s listing data feed on June 1 if the listing portal did not comply with the MLS’s updated IDX display policy by May 31. However, just before the June 1 deadline, Realtracs announced that it would continue sending the listing feed to Zillow until June 8, when Zillow’s licensing agreement was set to expire. 

In late April, Realtracs updated its IDX display rules adding a requirement that “if a seller wants their listing publicly marketed, it must appear in search results that match a buyer’s criteria.” 

This means all listings entered into Realtracs that match a consumer’s search criteria must be returned in a vendor’s or portal’s consumer search results unless the seller has specifically elected to not include their property listing or address in public displays. 

As of May 31, Realtracs said Zillow was the only listing portal or vendor that was not in compliance with the updated policy. 

Part of a larger legal battle

In mid-May, Chicagoland-based MLS Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) suspended Zillow’s listing feed for two days over a “material breach of its license agreements.”  The feed was restored after a Chicago federal court partially granted Zillow’s temporary restraining order, forcing MRED to restore the listing feed. The two parties extended the temporary restraining order, which also prevents Zillow from banning any MRED listings, last week. This dispute was part of a larger legal battle between Zillow, MRED and Compass International Holdings, in which Zillow has accused MRED and Compass of colluding. 

Earlier this spring, both MRED and Realtracs announced plans to expand nationwide, with both securing national listing feed agreements with Compass, as well as with United Real Estate for Realtracs.