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The National Association of REALTORS® MLS Policy Statement 8, also known as the MLS Clear Cooperation Policy, takes effect for all MLSs beginning today, May 1. NAR’s Board of Directors adopted the policy last November.
The new NAR policy requires listing brokers who are participants in an MLS to submit their listing to the MLS within one business day of marketing the property to the public. Agents may promote a listing only within their brokerage – not with others on the MLS or outside of the brokerage.
The California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reviewed and adopted the policy with more details to its model rules for CA MLS, and on April 15, the MLSListings Board of Directors adopted the C.A.R. model rule changes. The C.A.R. SELM form has been modified to refer to the policy.
Within the MLSListings service area, the Clear Cooperation Policy applies to one to four-unit residential property and vacant residential lots. It does not apply to commercial listings and new construction of five plus units.
Brokers/agents can still take an exclusive listing, but can only promote or advertise the listing within their brokerage. If advertised to the public or to an outside agent, the listing must be added to the MLS within one business day as an Active listing.
Public marketing or advertising includes, but is not limited to conveying or displaying any information about the property or its availability for sale through or on any windows, signs, public facing websites, social media, brokerage or franchise operated websites (including IDX and VOW), digital communications marketing (ex: email, text or phone blasts, social media messaging), multi-brokerage or franchise listing sharing networks, flyers or written material or on any applications available to the public or through conducting an open house.
This rule only applies to “excluded” or “exclusive” or “waivered” listings. Listings entered as Coming Soon on the MLS may only be advertised as Coming Soon off the MLS.
For the next month, MLSListings will be educating brokers and agents about the new rules. MLSListings is urging agents to communicate with their broker about the new policy. Brokers, in turn, need to counsel their agents. Agents need to counsel their sellers about what it means to have an “exclusive” listing.
If caught violating the rule, an agent must enter the listing as Active. Agents in violation will receive courtesy notices for violations with a copy sent to their broker or office manager. The fine for a violation is $500 and escalates until the property is listed or the NAR maximum of $15,000 is reached. Many MLSs are imposing fines upwards of $5,000.
Visit MLSListings Clear Cooperation Resource Page
View MLSListings’ video on Clear Cooperation Implementation
California Governor Gavin Newsom has extended the state stay-at-home order through the end of May and has California’s Pandemic Roadmap to safely re-open all businesses and institutions stages. Meanwhile, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, along with the four other Bay Area counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, have announced they will ease some of their Shelter-in-Place (SIP) restrictions effective Monday, May 4. With regard to the practice of real estate, the Santa Clara County Public Health Order states (SILVAR has confirmed that the same applies to San Mateo County):
“Service providers that enable real estate transactions (including rentals, leases, and home sales), including, but not limited to, real estate agents, escrow agents, notaries, and title companies, provided that appointments and other real estate viewings must only occur virtually or, if a virtual viewing is not feasible, by appointment with no more than two visitors at a time residing within the same household or living unit and one individual showing the unit (except that in-person visits are not allowed when an occupant is present in a residence);“
Previously, private showings and walk-throughs were not allowed when an occupant was living in the residence. This mirrors prior direction for limited photography/videography, inspections, and necessary work to close a transaction, while generally limiting it to no more than three people at a property at one time.
The following guidance for showings of properties continue:
- No open houses.
- Virtual showings are highly encouraged. If a virtual viewing is not feasible, then an in-person viewing of the property may be done by appointment only.
- During the in-person showing of the property, all social distancing protocols must be practiced, and protective measures, such as the wearing of gloves, cloth face coverings, and not touching of surfaces and maintaining a distance of six feet between each other must be followed.
For more information on this announcement, visit the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® website at http://www.silvar.org.
Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® says ... 