Why Should I Use IDX?

If you have been around awhile, you may know that the internet has not. In fact, it was not until the 1990s that agents began posting listing information online. However, once started, it never stopped. It is among the key ways that agents get new business.

Many people think that displaying property online is done by every real estate agent, broker, and MLS – but this is not true. In a recent review of four MLS market places, we learned that only about 20% of MLS subscribers have property search websites.

Initially, the internet became an efficient way for agents to show customers information about listings without jumping in the car and driving all around town. Home buyers loved it. Eventually, home sellers realized that it was a good way to market homes too.

Today, agents have the opportunity to provide direct access to every MLS listing through a product that is called IDX.

IDX stands for "Internet Data Exchange" and is also called Broker Reciprocity. The idea was that brokers reciprocated in allowing each other to display their listings on their websites. Over time, the reciprocal right was extended to agents.