PROView - February 2009 - (Page 5) The Use of Online Listings Remember the days when many prospective customers walked through the door, enticed by the ad you had placed in your office window or local newspaper? While those days certainly aren’t over by any means, at least it’s safe to say that the majority of home seekers find their prospective home online first. During the last decade the Internet has evolved into the vast marketplace it is today. From simple online stores to giant online auctions, the virtual world has become as natural a place to obtain information as television or newspapers. The real estate market is no exception. For many years now, consumers have been able to go online to view available homes. Through the Internet Data Exchange (IDX), listings have been readily available through websites by virtually any broker and agent who wanted to make listings available to consumers. IDX is by definition advertising through which consumers may contact a physical office or an agent associated with a real estate brokerage. Home seekers aren’t required to register in order to access listings and all information provided at any IDX website is open to all cyber-visitors who usually remain anonymous. Along with an increased use of the Internet, we have seen the emergence of new brokerage business models. Some brokerages experimented with onlineonly services several years ago. In order to provide complete brokerage services online, these brokerages needed to provide more data, including sold and offmarket information. NAR’s response was an attempt to create rules to govern the new business model. According to the DOJ, online brokerages were placed at a disadvantage by NAR’s rules by virtue of not being able to provide data on an equal basis as bricks and mortar offices and other restrictions were also deemed anti-competitive. Under the settlement, NAR enacted a new policy that guarantees that Internet-based brokerage companies will not be treated differently than traditional brokers. Under the new policy, brokers participating in a NAR-affiliated MLS will not be permitted to withhold their listings from brokers who serve their customers through virtual office websites (VOWs). In addition, brokers will be able to use VOWs to educate consumers, make referrals, and conduct brokerage services. “The new virtual office website policy helps clarify the rules of operation for all entities in the real estate business,” says Leslie Tyler of ZipRealty.com, a brokerage that has operated a virtual office website since the 1990s. “The concept of a virtual office website is as if you “took a street corner office and moved it online.” Tyler stresses that a virtual office website isn’t a standalone platform with all exchange conducted online. “The core idea of a virtual office website is to provide consumers online tools with which they have the same information available to them as they would have through a physical office.” Virtual Office Website versus IDX While IDX is considered advertising, virtual office websites are considered online brokerages. The listing broker’s consent to display listings is not required for a virtual office website, just as it is not required to show listings through bricks and mortar offices. A virtual office website may be a stand-alone, online portal to local real estate but it may just as well be a supplement to a website operated by a broker or agent affiliated with a physical office. In the state of Florida, a physical office is a requirement. Key Provisions of the Virtual Office Website Policy Let’s take a look at some noteworthy provisions of the new virtual office website policy: In addition to brokers being able to have a VOW, agents and non-principal brokers can operate a virtual office website with the consent, supervision and accountability of a broker. Differing from what you’ll find with IDX, brokers cannot opt out of providing listings to the virtual office websites of other brokers. Virtual office website operators can, however, exclude listings placed on their websites based on objective criteria including, but not limited to, geography, list price, property type and cooperative compensation offered by the listing broker. Another allowed exclusion is whether the listing is represented by a Realtor® or not. Sellers continue to have the right to exclude their property from being listed online at all. At the seller’s written request, their property address may also be excluded. Agents will want to explain to their sellers that address exclusion may cause their property not to appear properly in map searches and map-based tools. PINELLAS REALTOR® ORGANIZATION February 2009 5 http://www.ZipRealty.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of PROView - February 2009 PROView - February 2009 Contents Chairman’s Notes Feature Story PROActive Marketplace Analysis Home Sales Report MLS Update Mind Your Manners Calendar of Events & Programs Brokerage Design Marketing PROView - February 2009 PROView - February 2009 - PROView - February 2009 (Page Cover1) PROView - February 2009 - PROView - February 2009 (Page Cover2) PROView - February 2009 - Contents (Page 1) PROView - February 2009 - Chairman’s Notes (Page 2) PROView - February 2009 - Chairman’s Notes (Page 3) PROView - February 2009 - Feature Story (Page 4) PROView - February 2009 - Feature Story (Page 5) PROView - February 2009 - Feature Story (Page 6) PROView - February 2009 - Feature Story (Page 7) PROView - February 2009 - PROActive (Page 8) PROView - February 2009 - PROActive (Page 9) PROView - February 2009 - PROActive (Page 10) PROView - February 2009 - PROActive (Page 11) PROView - February 2009 - Marketplace Analysis (Page 12) PROView - February 2009 - Home Sales Report (Page 13) PROView - February 2009 - MLS Update (Page 14) PROView - February 2009 - Mind Your Manners (Page 15) PROView - February 2009 - Mind Your Manners (Page 16) PROView - February 2009 - Calendar of Events & Programs (Page 17) PROView - February 2009 - Brokerage Design (Page 18) PROView - February 2009 - Brokerage Design (Page 19) PROView - February 2009 - Marketing (Page 20) PROView - February 2009 - Marketing (Page 21) PROView - February 2009 - Marketing (Page Cover3) PROView - February 2009 - Marketing (Page Cover4)
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