MLS Feed Integration
RETS / IDX and CREA DDF
Every real estate website must have feed integration.
There are many types of feed and we are familiar with it.
RETS / IDX
CREA / DDF
(For Canada Only)
Before we go further with feed integration, it is important to know some acronym.
- MLS -Multiple Listing Service
- IDX – Internet Data Exchange
- RETS – Real Estate Transaction Standard
- CREA – Canadian Real Estate Association
- DDF – Data Distribution Facility
IDX is a real estate property search site which allows the public to conduct searches of approved MLS properties in a certain area. Site users generally gain the benefit of anonymous property searching and review. IDX sites usually provide less detailed information than the full Realtor MLS, limiting the data to that which is deemed publicly accessible.
What is MLS
- Provide facility to publish “unilateral offer of compensation by a listing broker”
- This offer of compensation is considered a contractual obligation
- It can be negotiated between the listing broker and the broker representing the buyer
Since the commission for a transaction as well as the property features are contained in the MLS system, it is in the best interests of the broker participants (and thereby the public) to maintain accurate and timely data.
MLS Service
MLS is a suite of services that enables real estate brokers to establish contractual offers of compensation (among brokers), facilitates cooperation with other broker participants, accumulates and disseminates information to enable appraisals, and is a facility for the orderly correlation and dissemination of listing information to better serve broker’s clients, customers and the public.
Advantages of MLS
- Retrive information about all home for sale by all participating broker.
- MLS system contain hundred fields of information about property.
- Fields are determine by real estate professionals and who are knowledgeable.
- Public real estate websites contain only a small subset of property data.
RETS is a framework used in the United States and Canada by the real estate industry to facilitate the exchange of data. RETS was launched in 1999 by the National Association of Realtors and related groups.