Clear Cooperation Policy Change: Multiple Listing Options for Sellers

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This week we have fielded questions about the new NAR MLS policy about Clear Cooperation… entry of listings in the MLS.  There are basic answers we know now, but plan to work on updating rules and policies in the spring and roll out information in the summer (our deadline is before 9/31/25).  There are a lot of moving parts, but much will be the same for Berkshire MLS users, with options built into the submission process to meet seller marketing needs.

  • SAME: New listings must be shared in MLS within 1 day of public marketing or 2 days from seller’s signature, by default.
  • SAME: If an Office Exclusive is executed, a copy goes to MLS staff only and this listing stays out of the MLS and remains private
  • SAME: We anticipate Coming Soon listings to be entered just as new listings, with delayed showings as usual.
  • NEW(ish): Delayed Marketing Period, where listing goes into the MLS but not out to IDX or Syndication sites.

Again, we find the Berkshire MLS has been doing it right all along – we have always put the broker and their client in the driver seat of marketing a listing, with the option to “opt out” of IDX or syndication built right into each listing entry. This new Delayed Marketing Period is the same as opting out of public marketing via the MLS buttons on the Data Distribution tab.  NAR has indicated that each MLS will determine length of a delayed marketing period suitable for their local marketplace.

We do have a lot of unanswered questions that we are working to solve – are “delayed marketing” listings included in virtual office website feeds, what tools is FlexMLS going to provide to help implement these changes technically, what changes do we need to make to our forms, what rules will be have in place to make sure that consumers, not brokerage models, are driving the decision about marketing of the listing, etc…

But know this – don’t worry!  As we implement changes, we will keep you posted, but we don’t see a significant shift in the options you currently have.  We will make sure to vet all of the changes through our local lens and keep you informed!