Connecticut Multiple Listing Service Terminates ListHub Syndication

Wallingford, CT – A few short weeks ago the newly formed Zillow Group stood to lose its prime source of real estate data when ListHub terminated its long-standing agreements to provide listings from Multiple Listing Services to Zillow and Trulia. Despite this latest salvo in what is sure to be a long fight for dominance between Zillow Group and News Corp (owner of Move), the Connecticut Multiple Listing Service (CTMLS) brokers and agents have been able to remain above the fray.

By hammering out direct agreements with both Trulia and Zillow all the way back in 2011 and 2012, respectively, the Connecticut MLS ensured its brokers and agents the uninterrupted ability to advertise listings on Zillow and Trulia, as well as through separate agreements with Homes.com, Homefinder.com, and Realtor.com.

"When CTMLS identified that these five websites account for more than 90% of all real estate traffic on the Internet, it was important to move immediately to ensure our brokers' ability to syndicate their listings, while also protecting their data from misuse," said Cameron Paine, CEO of the CTMLS. "We addressed the needs of our brokers by guaranteeing access to the five most dominant real estate websites on the Internet. We also guaranteed data protections with strict contractual terms of use preventing re-syndication, sale, and re-use, among others. For our brokers, it was a matter of professionalism that their listings be as accurate as possible, whatever website they may be found on."

Connecticut MLS brokers now have the ability to choose which real estate portals to advertise their listings on directly through the MLS. With broker preference as a default selection, agents can choose from the five real estate portals above directly in the listing input screen of the MLS.

"It is critical today that MLSs provide their Brokers with this level of transparency," said Phil Carloni, President of CTMLS. "What CTMLS has created with our partners at Core Logic is a system that gives our brokers the ability to choose which listings to syndicate without the need for a separate platform. This streamlines our process greatly and puts the control of advertising real estate on the Internet back where it belongs - in the hands of brokers."

Now that the broker's ability to syndicate will be handled directly within the MLS, the Connecticut Multiple Listing Service will terminate its syndication agreement with Move-owned ListHub effective July 31, 2015.

About CT MLS:

The Connecticut Multiple Listing Service (CTMLS) is among the top twenty largest MLSs in the country and is recognized as an industry leader. Based in Wallingford, CT, the CTMLS creates opportunities for brokers in all parts of the state to cooperate with each other in the buying, selling and renting of homes, condos, multifamily property, land and commercial properties. CTMLS empowers its clients with knowledge, tools and services that enable them to excel in their profession. The CTMLS listings database has over 25,000 listings and facilitates over $7 billion in annual Connecticut real estate transactions.