Clear Cooperation
The Clear Cooperation Policy was implemented to help strengthen cooperation, uphold the value of the MLS, and provide an equal opportunity to all for access to the real estate listings being publicly marketed by the brokers and agents in the Cape Cod & Islands Multiple Listing Service.
This rule is in effect starting May 1st, 2020.
Clear Cooperation Rule
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, digital communications marketing (email blasts), multi-brokerage listing sharing networks, and applications available to the general public.
Guidance on Public Marketing
Public marketing includes, but is not limited to, flyers displayed in windows, yard signs, digital marketing on public-facing websites, brokerage website displays, digital communications marketing (email blasts), multi-brokerage listing sharing networks, and applications available to the general public. This includes the use of any language to solicit showings about a property.
At all times, showing the property to brokers outside the listing firm or to the clients of brokers outside of the listing firm is considered public marketing. Absent an office exclusive agreement, showing the property to clients or other members of your brokerage is considered public marketing.
Social media and other forms of public marketing is not limited to just paid advertising, but posting on Facebook, Nextdoor, Twitter, or Instagram is considered public marketing, whether posted on your business page, on your personal page, or in a group.
Public marketing of the property by anyone, including the seller or the real estate photographer, would trigger making it available in the MLS within 1 business day.
Listing Submission Timeline
A listing must be submitted to the CCIMLS office within forty-eight (48) hours of a signed exclusive agreement. That property; however, does not have to be available in the MLS. Should you choose to delay entry into the MLS or have an office exclusive listing, the property cannot be publicly marketed. If a delayed or office exclusive listing becomes publicly marketed, it must be available in the MLS either as ‘Coming Soon - No Showings’’ or ‘Active’ within 1 business day.
Definition of Business Day
Business days include Monday through Friday and exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. Holidays include all recognized federal and state holidays. A listing must be made available in the MLS by 5 pm on the first business day following the public marketing.
Example: A listing being publicly marketed on a Tuesday, must be available in the MLS by 5 pm on Wednesday.
Listing Types
When an agent takes a listing, there are various ways the agent needs to think about the listing to comply with MLS entry requirements. Below are the scenarios and the description of what can be done with each listing type.
A traditional listing is a listing where the seller of the property signs either an Exclusive Agency or Exclusive Right to Sell agreement and wants the listing broker to market the property to other brokers inside and outside the listing firm. The listing agreement was signed and is entered as Active in the MLS within forty-eight (48) hours of all signatures or within one (1 business day) of public marketing, whichever is sooner. This would be entered into the ‘Active’ status.
A Coming Soon listing is a listing where the seller of the property signs either an Exclusive Agency or Exclusive Right to Sell agreement and the seller and the listing agent agree the property is not to be Active in the MLS initially,. A Coming Soon listing may be publicly marketed; however, it may not be shown during this time period to anyone, including licensees of the listing brokerage. A listing may stay as a Coming Soon Listing for up to 21 days, at which time, it will become Active. This would be entered in the ‘Coming Soon - No Showings’ status.
A delayed listing is a listing where the seller of the property signs either an Exclusive Agency or Exclusive Right to Sell agreement and the listing agent and seller agree the listing will not be made available in the MLS for a period of time. During this time period, if the listing is publicly marketed under the definition contained within this document, then the listing must be made available in the MLS either as a ‘Coming Soon’ or as an ‘Active’ listing.
The property cannot be shown to anyone, including licensees of the listing firm -- and if it is, it must become Active within 1 business day of the showing. A delayed listing agreement is due to the MLS within 48 hours of all signatures of the listing or within one (1) business day of publicly marketing the property, whichever is sooner. The listing agreement may either be emailed to the MLS office or the listing saved as a draft listing inside the MLS system. When entered into the MLS, it may be entered into the ‘Coming Soon - No Showings’ or ‘Active’ status.
An Office Exclusive Listing is a listing where an Exclusive Agency or Exclusive Right to Sell listing agreement has been signed and the seller opts out of dissemination of the listing through the MLS for the duration of the listing agreement period. The seller must agree to the terms of an office exclusive and acknowledge they are foregoing the entry into the MLS and public marketing of the property.
If an office exclusive becomes publicly marketed, it must be made available in the MLS within one (1) business day as either an Active or Coming Soon listing. Public marketing includes showing the property to brokers outside the listing firm and their clients. The listing may only be promoted between brokers and licensees affiliated with the listing brokerage and their clients in a one-to-one promotion.
Office Exclusive listings may only be entered into the MLS as a Comparable Sale, given the appropriate rules are followed, as outlined in the Comparable Sale Policy.
Frequently Asked Questions
A. Yes, if publicly marketing the property, which includes putting up a yard sign, putting the listing on your website, or sending an email blast out. There are all the necessary privacy controls built into the MLS system to let a seller keep their discretion and privacy in a listing. When adding a listing to the MLS, there is a Broker Distribution tab where you can select that the ‘seller directs listing to be excluded from the internet’ and that the ‘seller directs address to be excluded from the internet’.
A. No, this is a mandatory policy of Cape Cod & Islands MLS. If the seller directs that they do not want this listing to be entered into the MLS and for the property to not be publicly marketed, then the seller can have an Office Exclusive listing. However, if the property is publicly marketed as an office exclusive, the listing must then be entered into the MLS within 1 business day.
A: This would be a delayed listing. An exclusive listing agreement must be submitted to the MLS within 48 hours of acquiring the seller(s) signature(s). The listing agreement must be emailed to mlssupport@cciaor.com or saved to an incomplete listing. There can be no public marketing of a delayed listing under the rule.
Documents & Forms
This form to clearly inform the seller of what the seller is forgoing by entering into an office exclusive agreement and foregoing both entry into the MLS and public marketing.
This flyer provides to information to consumers about the benefits of the listing their house in the MLS and why it is good for them for their agent to cooperate with others.
