IDX / Broker Reciprocity

Key to Real Estate Success

One of the most important keys to success in the real estate industry is an agreement made between real estate brokers to help one another market homes for sale. Brokers have agreed to display and allow their Realtors to display each others listings on internet web sites. IDX (Internet Data Exchange), also known as ‘Broker Reciprocity’ is unique to the real estate industry. It is one of the rare cases where competitors come together with a common goal – to sell your house!

When a home is listed, it is entered into a centralized database controlled and supported by the local board of Realtors. The agreement (IDX) is to allow other brokers / Realtors to host a search engine of all active homes contained in the database or MLS (multiple listing system). In almost all cases, when you search for a home on a Realtor’s web site, you are searching all active homes for sale in that Realtors MLS region.

There are rules governing this agreement. If a home found on a Realtor’s web site is listed with a different brokerage, the IDX logo or Broker Reciprocity logo must be displayed in the listing result. In addition, the listing detail page must contain the listing brokerage name and listing brokerage phone number. Also, there are rules which govern the co-mingling of homes from different MLS regions. In most cases, a Realtor may not show homes from multiple MLS regions without differentiation. Rules governing IDX are created and enforced at the local board level and may vary from region to region.

When your home is entered into the MLS it is possible to disallow IDX sharing. By opting out of IDX, the home will only be found on the listing broker / Realtors web site. By opting in, the home can be found on all IDX web sites from within a given MLS region. As a result, when you list your home with a Realtor in good standing, almost all Realtors / Brokers in the MLS region are working to help you sell your home. Additionally, your home will be placed on certain National home search web sites.

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-Andy North