Do agents selling their own property have to put their property in the MLS?
QUESTION: I’m about to sell an investment property that I own. My BIC told me that the Clear Cooperation Policy requires that I list my property in the MLS. My preference would be to advertise only on social media, but I don’t want to get in trouble. Do I have to list my property in the MLS?
ANSWER: No. The Clear Cooperation Policy is a mandatory rule for listing brokers who are MLS participants. The rule states that within “one (1) business day of marketing a property to the public, the listing broker must submit the listing to the MLS for cooperation with other MLS participants. Public marketing includes, but is not limited to, flyers displayed in windows, yard signs, digital marketing on public facing websites, brokerage website displays (including IDX and VOW), digital communications marketing (email blasts), multi-brokerage listing sharing networks, and applications available to the general public.”
In this case, you are marketing your own property to the public through social media, but that does not mean you have to list it in the MLS. Brokerage is defined, in relevant part, as the practice of listing someone else’s property for sale in exchange for compensation. You are not acting as a listing agent, because you are not selling property for someone else for a fee. That is why the Clear Cooperation rule is not triggered. If you change your mind and use your firm to sell your property, then the property would need to be added to the MLS for other participants.
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