Above, Art Carter
California Regional MLS (CRMLS), the country’s largest MLS—home to over 110,000 members—is launching a new set of MLS system fields referring to Concessions in Price (CiP) today.
The fields promise to enhance communication between listing and buyer agents, as well as homebuyers, by providing “up-front” information surrounding concessions, according to a release from CRMLS. Concession information can now be made at the listing level, directly available in the MLS, allowing sellers to advertise monetary concessions and buyers to “receive a clearer idea of financial options.”
“We’re always looking for ways to improve user experience, and, considering the fact that data shows an extensive use of concessions in CRMLS’ Closed listings, these new Concessions in Price fields at the listing level seemed like no-brainers,” CRMLS CEO Art Carter explained in a statement. “By providing new fields that clearly specify a seller’s willingness to consider concessions, we can better foster communication between all of our users to make finding the right property that much easier,” he concluded.
This launch comes as a result of the National Association of REALTORS®’ (NAR) settlement, and after Carter sat down virtually with RISMedia, explaining both the practical changes that have to be made leading up to August by MLS platforms, and the impact of the changes on national real estate overall.
The biggest change coming out of NAR’s settlement might be most felt by agents, but practically, it is all about the MLS.
Starting in August, offers of compensation can no longer be communicated in any way on MLS platforms. That change may or may not have the effects that lawsuit plaintiffs claim it will—namely, lowering overall commission costs for consumers—but it will require significant pivoting by those who manage and work with those platforms.
Last year, close to 40% of CRMLS’ closed listings included concessions, according to CRMLS.
“I’m not a believer that you can steer the car by looking in the rearview mirror,” said Carter in a May 15 RISMedia webinar. “I’m just going to focus on going forward—and there is a path forward, and there is a very successful path forward for those individuals in this industry who can figure out these changes and work toward the positive. And the positive is, putting the consumer in a much better position to understand exactly what’s going on in the transaction, especially on the buy side.”
Carter and other MLS leaders will delve further into the evolving MLS environment during the session, ‘How MLSs are Adapting in the Commission Lawsuit Era,’ taking place at RISMedia’s CEO & Leadership Exchange, this Sept. 4 – 6.
