Is It Time for a National IDX?

Here's an idea to think about...

Today, we have robust rules in place that allow a broker to share their active, pending and, in some cases, sold listings with their fellow practitioners via a local IDX policy.

What if we took that idea to another level? What if a broker could become part of a national IDX feed where listings from MLSs across the country could be displayed on a local broker's website?

The same rules of engagement could apply. Brokers could opt any of their listings out of the national IDX feed just like they can with a local IDX feed. Then a broker could display listings from all over the country on their website to encourage more traffic and engagement and allow for referrals to listings all over the country.

Since third-party portals are allowed to display listings from all over the country, why shouldn't a broker be able to do the same thing? After all, aren't they the ones that curated and contributed the listings to the IDX feed in the first place?

We have the mechanisms in place to develop, promote and deploy national IDX feeds today. The MLS Issues and Policy Committee could draft a policy similar to local IDX policies to provide oversight to a national IDX feed. There are many vendors today that have the capabilities today to house and distribute national data to broker websites so there are no significant technology hurdles to overcome.

A national IDX feed would not impact local MLSs in any way. They would still gather listings from their local subscribers as always. The difference is they would feed their local listings into a national database that could be leveraged by brokers and agents across the country to build relevance, engagement, and traffic to their own websites and mobile apps.

Thoughts?

To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.