The National Association of Realtors’ Board of Directors has adopted the Clear Cooperation policy at its Nov. 11 meeting, which essentially puts an end to hip pocket marketing. Also known as MLS Statement 8.0, the policy requires listing brokers who participate in multiple listing services to submit their listings to the MLS within one business day of marketing a property to the public.
The rule was proposed by NAR’s MLS Technology and Emerging Issues Advisory Board to address the proliferation of off-market (hip pocket) listings. The board believes that circumventing the MLS “excludes consumers, undermining Realtors’ commitment to provide equal opportunity to all.”
Brokers can still use “office-exclusive” listings and use other means to protect the privacy of their clients, but public-facing marketing campaigns for properties not on MLS will be verboten. Brokerages can adopt the new rule at any time, but it becomes mandatory for all Realtors on May 1, 2020.
Here is the full text of the new policy:
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.
