The Listing Syndication Debate is not new (01/26/2012, 01/31/2012, 01/31/2012 and many more). Okay, I am kind of late to the table on this, but the listing syndication topic has picked up steam in the area where I live along Florida's Emerald Coast. Because of the local discussion, I have started thinking about how the syndication process works and the current or perceived issues. I am not going to go into all of the arguments against syndication but want to comment on one notable argument--that syndication sites have "valuable" listing data (copy, photos, virtual tours, etc.), which the real estate listing agent and broker spent their time and money creating. Everyone with me so far?

What's Valuable?

Value: the amount of money that something is worth; the price or cost of something.

My issue with this argument is how the data made its way to the syndication sites in the first place. For most of the cases, real estate agents and brokers chose to post their "valuable" listing data to these syndication sites with little or no rules to protect the integrity of the data and most of the time did it for free. The notion that there is value in listing data is akin to the diamond-water paradox. If you are not familiar with the paradox: water is more useful, yet diamonds command a higher price in the market. I put "valuable" in quotes not because I think it does not have value, but because the moment a decision was made to syndicate the listing data without compensation and adequate rules in place, they decided it had little or no value to them. You can not give something away and then claim its value is like that of a diamond. It's sounding like a bit of buyer's remorse, don't you think?

Most real estate agents and brokers pay fees to be part of an MLS and then are charged a fee to get an IDX or VOW feed to build a website which contains the listing data. The MLS has decided there is some level of value in listing data, yet the listing agents and brokers chose to give this data away to syndication sites. IDX and VOW feeds often have strict rules, many of which were put in place at the request of its members. With IDX rules in place for more than a decade and current VOW rules since 2008, real estate agents and brokers still have chosen to give away this information and now want to cry foul. I don't disagree that a problem exists with syndication, I just disagree that the syndication sites are to blame. Don't point the finger at the syndication sites; they only have the data because it was given to them with little or no rules.

The Solution

So guess what the solution is... Don't give "valuable" listing data to the syndication sites and make the syndication sites comply with rules your association/MLS dictates! I know I came out of left field with that one. As an affiliated VOW provider, we are constantly audited by the MLSs and have to pass reviews of our VOWs before we can show a single listing on the internet. MLSs and Associations with the help of their members, NAR and the Department of Justice have put these rules and processes in place for IDX and VOW feeds. So I ask, why can't a similar standard of rules be put in place for syndication, too? Until the rules are put in place, don't give away something that you have claimed has value. And stop placing blame somewhere else; take responsibility for the problem as a group and put the listing syndication debate to rest.

To view the original article, visit the Quantum Leads blog.