Last April we wrote about how MLS public websites are increasingly becoming a top destination for buyers searching for homes online. MLS public sites consistently rank in the top five when comparing property views with the national publishers like Trulia and Zillow, according to traffic statistics collected by ListHub.

We recently announced the expansion of the Real Estate Network (REN), to extend the syndication of property listings to consumer-facing websites and mobile apps operated by MLSs. The Houston Association of Realtors is the first MLS to participate in the network at launch, and will make its public site, HAR.com, available as a publisher to all brokers in ListHub-supported MLS markets throughout Texas. HAR.com has millions of visitors per month viewing listing detail pages 37 million times in January 2014. It is also ranked second among all real estate websites in Texas.

Through the expansion of the Real Estate Network ListHub allows brokers to advertise their listings on leading real estate search websites, including highly trafficked MLS public websites, at no additional cost and little effort. The MLS REN websites will comply with a unique set of rules which will apply to MLS public websites displaying properties outside their own MLS market. Two key principles include:

1. All leads will be provided directly to the listing agent and only to the listing agent (or other lead recipient expressly indicated by the listing broker)
2. Properties are only authorized for consumer display on the public-facing site and shall not be included in the receiving MLS’s member listings database

Analytics for the traffic and leads generated by the MLS sites will be available for brokers and agents to gain insight into the value provided by MLS website advertising. The MLS REN Rules were formed based on input from a broad set of industry participants, including brokers and MLSs.

If your MLS is interested in becoming an MLS REN partner email us at mls.info@listhub.com for details!