Zillow, Realtracs finalize MLS data licensing agreement

Zillow and Realtracs have finalized an updated data licensing agreement that keeps Nashville-area listings flowing to Zillow while adding new guardrails around how multiple listing service data can be used, including in AI applications, the companies announced Tuesday.

The agreement covers Realtracs, the MLS that serves the Nashville region and markets across Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, according to the announcement. Realtracs listings will continue to appear on Zillow, preserving exposure to what Zillow calls the largest online audience in residential real estate.

Zillow said its Listing Access Standards were not modified as part of the deal and remain in effect in the Nashville region.

The updated license is framed as a “modern” standard for how broker-created listing data may be licensed and used by Zillow, with explicit protections for how that data is used in emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. 

Zillow said that at the core of the agreement is a shared position that every publicly marketed home should be visible to every potential buyer. While both organizations acknowledge that some sellers prioritize privacy, the revised deal signals a joint push toward maximum market exposure as the default,

Zillow tools remain available for Nashville agents

The announcement emphasizes that agents and brokers in the region will not lose access to Zillow-owned tools they already rely on including Follow Up Boss, dotloop and ShowingTime. 

Zillow said the Realtracs agreement is part of its ongoing work with MLSs and industry leaders to “modernize how broker-created listing data is licensed and protected” while keeping consumer listing access intact.

In an emailed statement Realtracs president and CEO Stuart White wrote that the MLS “is committed to the brokers and agents who create the listing content that powers our industry, and at its core our property listing platform must do two things well: provide complete and accurate information so buyers can make informed decisions and give sellers the ability to choose how broadly a listing is marketed.”

“We’re pleased that Zillow has signed our modernized license agreement, which furthers those guiding principles by establishing clearly defined use rights, responsible use standards, and stronger protections for broker-created data while preserving sellers’ ability to reach the broad audience they expect when marketing their homes,” he added.

A summer of negotiations

This new agreement comes after Realtracs told brokers in late May that it would suspend Zillow’s listing data feed on June 1 if the listing portal did not comply with the MLS’s updated IDX display policy by May 31. However, just before the June 1 deadline, Realtracs announced that it would continue sending the listing feed to Zillow until June 8, when Zillow’s licensing agreement was set to expire. On June 8, Realtracs told subscribers that listing distribution to Zillow would continue uninterrupted as contract negotiations between the two parties moved forward. 

In late April, Realtracs updated its IDX display rules adding a requirement that “if a seller wants their listing publicly marketed, it must appear in search results that match a buyer’s criteria.” 

This means all listings entered into Realtracs that match a consumer’s search criteria must be returned in a vendor’s or portal’s consumer search results unless the seller has specifically elected to not include their property listing or address in public displays. 

As of May 31, Realtracs said Zillow was the only listing portal or vendor that was not in compliance with the updated policy. 

Part of a larger battle

In mid-May, Chicagoland-based MLS Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) suspended Zillow’s listing feed for two days over a “material breach of its license agreements.”  The feed was restored after a Chicago federal court partially granted Zillow’s temporary restraining order, forcing MRED to restore the listing feed. The two parties extended the temporary restraining order, which also prevents Zillow from banning any MRED listings, last week. This dispute was part of a larger legal battle between Zillow, MRED and Compass International Holdings, in which Zillow has accused MRED and Compass of colluding. 

Earlier this spring, both MRED and Realtracs announced plans to expand nationwide, with both securing national listing feed agreements with Compass, as well as with United Real Estate for Realtracs.

This article was written by Brooklee Han and generated with the assistance of HousingWire Automation, then reviewed by a HousingWire editor before publication.