Realtracs keeps Zillow Listing Feed live in Nashville amid negotiations
The Nashville MLS had previously threatened to delist Zillow’s listings in the region today. It said the parties were negotiating how they would compensate brokers for the listing data that powers Zillow.
The MLS that powers the real estate industry in Nashville and beyond failed to cut off Zillow’s access to the broad list of homes for sale that powers the portal.
Realtracs had said last week that it planned to follow in the footsteps of Chicago’s MRED MLS and cut Zillow’s direct access to listings on the market starting June 1 over what it said were violations of listing rules.
When MRED shut down Zillow’s feed, the portal quickly lost more than half of its listings in Chicagoland, a move that Zillow said would cause irreparable damage.
Realtracs was expected to follow suit when it announced on Sunday that it was in negotiations with Zillow and set a new deadline of June 8.
“Realtracs continues active negotiations with Zillow as the current licensing agreement approaches its June 8 expiration date and is committed to minimizing disruption to brokers and their clients during this process,” Realtracs said in a statement this weekend.
The MLS said it aimed to ensure that brokers received compensation for use of the content of their listings.
That gets to a central problem some in the industry have with Zillow and other search portals that receive listings through the MLS and then monetize them by tapping into the huge audiences they attract of consumers looking at listings.
“Realtracs believes that brokers own their listing data, and the organization negotiates on behalf of its members to ensure the value of their work is recognized by platforms, including Zillow, that rely on listing information created by brokers and agents to run their businesses,” the company said.
A judge overseeing a lawsuit Zillow filed against MRED and Compass issued a temporary restraining order restoring the Chicagoland data feed while the parties continue their battle in court.
In a statement, Realtracs CEO Stuart White said the MLS was focused on serving its members.
“That means protecting seller choice, recognizing the value of broker-created listing content and providing a platform that encourages collaboration while maintaining flexibility and opportunity for everyone involved in a transaction,” White said in a statement.
In late April, Realtracs announced it was expanding beyond its traditional regional reach and accepting subscribers anywhere in the country. In the same announcement, Realtracs said it had secured all listings from Compass International Holdings and United Real Estate.
MRED had announced the same expansion just a week earlier, and it also secured Compass’ listings.
Similar to MRED’s expansion, Compass offered to subsidize membership costs for Compass agents who join Realtracs as full members.
If Zillow loses its direct feed in Nashville, real estate agents who want their listings on the platform could make their own deals with Zillow, as some did in Chicago.
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