What is it?
The “Neighborhood Market Report” is defined as an advertising and/or information sheet (typically appearing in the form of a postcard, flyer or newsletter) compiled by and/or for use by a licensee which sets forth a list of home activity in a particular neighborhood area.
What it’s not
Advertising appearing in newspapers, magazines or other classified forms is not included in the definition of “Neighborhood Market Report” and is not authorized by this Rule 12.8.1.
How is it used?
Subject to the conditions set forth in (a) through (c) below, as well as throughout these Rules, Participants and Subscribers may include the listings of others in their printed “Neighborhood Market Reports.”
(a) Consent
The listing brokers’ consent for such advertising is presumed, in satisfaction of Rule 12.8, unless a listing broker affirmatively notifies the MLS that the listing broker refuses to permit others to advertise his listing in the “Neighborhood Market Report” (i.e. “opts-out”) either on a blanket or listing by listing basis.
Even where listing brokers have given blanket authority for other Broker Participants and Subscribers to advertise their listings in the “Neighborhood Market Report”, such consent may be withdrawn on a listing by-listing basis where the seller has prohibited it.
(b) Listing Attribution
All on-market listings in the “Neighborhood Market Report” must identify:
- The name of the listing firm(s) and the name of the listing agent(s) in a manner designed to easily identify such listing firm(s) or agent(s).
- Such identification shall be in a reasonably prominent location and in a readily visible color and typeface not smaller than the median used in the display of listing data.
(c) Allowable Listing Content
Broker Participants and Subscribers may include only those portions of the MLS compilation consisting of the following:
- Property address (and whether attached or detached) status, price, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, number of garages (and whether attached or detached), square footage, lot size, year built, tract or development name, and if there’s a pool.
- Display of any other fields, as well as confidential information and photographs, is prohibited.
Blanket Opt Out v. Listing Opt Out
- Blanket Opt out is a Broker decision at the Brokerage level.
- Listing Opt out is at the Agent level per listing, based on written instruction from the seller.
What’s the effect of the Opt Out?
Listing brokers that refuse to permit other Broker Participants or Subscribers to advertise their listings on a blanket basis may not display the listings of the other brokers’ listings in their own “Neighborhood Market Reports”.
Participants and Subscribers are not permitted to include listings in their Neighborhood Market Report from which listing broker has opted out and will be responsible for verifying that they have permission to advertise all listings contained in their Neighborhood Market Reports.