As you may or may not know by now, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) just announced additional options for sellers to consider when listing their property in an NAR-affiliated Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

Illinois REALTORS® is closely tracking these developments. Here is what you need to know:

First, it is Illinois REALTORS® firm belief that, generally, the “big market with guardrails” as we call the MLS, is the most competitive, efficient marketplace for sellers to sell their homes. They get the biggest pool of qualified buyers, which brings better outcomes for sellers and more options for buyers.

However, sometimes sellers have legitimate reasons for wanting to limit the market exposure of their homes to the MLS, where the listings also go into the MLSs Internet Data Exchange (IDX ) and onto sites of third party syndicators.

After intense research with many different stakeholders in the industry, NAR’s new policy statement, Multiple Listing Options for Sellers, will operate alongside its current Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP). It is effective immediately giving affected MLSs until Sept. 30 to implement the change.

This new category of listings is in addition to the currently allowed “office exclusive” listing. Per the CCP, all listings are submitted to the MLS by the next business day, with additional options for the sellers.

To summarize, there are now three possibilities:

1. Under CCP, the listing goes into the MLS by the next business day and is widely marketed in the MLS, the IDX and in syndication. (“The big market”)
2. Under “delayed market exempt listings,” the seller after being informed of all options chooses to make the listing available only to MLS participants and subscribers for some period of time to be determined by the MLS. The listing will not be entered in the IDX or in syndication.
3. Under “office exclusive listings,” the seller after being informed of all options chooses to have the listing office keep the listing “in-house” not marketing outside of the listing brokerage at all.

The CCP was developed in response to firms attempting to establish private listing networks that are literally smaller, and thus less competitive, potentially harming sellers and excluding many buyers.

NAR states, “Our goal is and always has been to foster an efficient, fair and transparent real estate market for consumers and to help brokers and agents carry out their ethical duty to put their clients’ interests first.”

For more FAQs and updates on these important developments, go to facts.realtor.