Expiring and Relisting = Violation and Fine
Key points:
• Expiring and re-entering a listing is a manipulation of listing data and violation of REcolorado Rules and Regulations.
• This causes issues with data integrity, resulting in inaccurate data that skews housing market statistics and market activity.
• Violating this rule results in an immediate $100 fine.
You rely on accurate data to serve your clients. When listing data is manipulated, it affects data integrity and causes serious issues for everyone who relies on listing data to run their business, including you and your peers. Expiring and re-entering listings is a manipulation of REcolorado Matrix data and a violation of REcolorado Rules and Regulations.
What is the rule?
The REcolorado Board of Directors passed a change to Listing Period Rule (Section 1.5), which states, “The listing period will begin when the listing is made Active and will continue until the listing is in an off-market status. This will be referred to as Days In MLS. If the listing broker and/or listing office expires and enters the same property within 30 days, a violation of the MLS rules will occur, and an immediate $100 fine will be assessed.”
What does the change mean?
The REcolorado Board of Directors is strengthening the language around and consequences of expiring listings. When a listing is expired as a broker-directed action, it manipulates MLS data and alters the accuracy of market activity. There will be an immediate $100 fine if the broker or anyone in their office expires and relists a property within 30 days.
Why Can’t I Expire and Relist?
Expiring and re-entering listings is a manipulation of REcolorado Matrix data and a violation of the Rules and Regulations. One of the reasons MLS organizations, including REcolorado, have rules is to make sure we all have access to accurate data, which is key to serving your clients. Accurate data includes how long the property has been in the MLS.
Pro Tip: If you want to pause Days in MLS, consider if you should change the listing status to Withdrawn. Review the Lifecycle of a Listing >>
What happens if I expire a listing and re-enter it immediately?
If the listing broker or listing office expired and enters the same property within 30 days, it constitutes a violation of the MLS rules and an immediate $100 fine will be assessed.
If special circumstances arise, you can contact REcolorado Customer Care at support@REcolorado.com
I’m cofused. If a listing expires and then my clients want to extend/renew it, how can I legally accomplish that?
Hi Marie, thank you for your question! If you have an amend/extend please contact our Customer Care team at support@REcolorado.com with that information and they would be happy to place your listing in an Active status and update the expiration date. Please note, to avoid your listing being expired, it is always a best practice to have an amend/extend before your original expiration date.
This tile needs to be a case by case! For example, I just reactivated a listing and Zillow wouldn’t take the old pictures down. The only way around was to expire and start over.
Hi Lisa, thank you for your comment. Zillow does not remove photos, and we cannot directly speak to their processes. If you feel there is an error within REcolorado Matrix please feel free to contact Customer Care at support@REcolorado.com.
I am glad to see that this if finally being addressed. It certainly was a “game” that many brokers played and frustrating as I would have to go back and manually calculate the actual days on market to show a prospective listing client the actual true days on market.
Thank you for your comment, Marci. This is why the REcolorado Board of Directors decided it was time to take more action. Our goal is to make certain REcoloraodo Matrix has the most accurate data possible so you can use it to serve your clients and reliable market statistics can be generated.
I just had a situation where I needed to change the property type and I was directed by the REColorado office to expire the listing and re-enter it. How are the “immediate” $100 fines going to be assessed? It seems like there are several cases where that is the only way to fix certain issues after they are entered.
Hi Sherri, thank you for your comment. In cases where REcolorado Customer Care provides instruction to expire and re-enter a listing to correct a discrepancy, associated fines will be waived. Please contact our Customer Care Team at support@REcolorado.com for assistance on individual listings.
With the in person showings more recently non essential, will this rule or another rule be reconsidered to stop the clock on days on market, like other states? I would think lack of in person showings, or virtual showings until buyer can see home in person after contract resulting in a change of mind and contract termination and extended days on market due to the covid-19 will also create an issue with accuracy.
Hi Kaleigh, thank you for your question. REcolorado, along with other MLS’s across the country, have chosen to maintain the Days in MLS calculation. Please read our blog Connecting the Dots – The Many Benefits of Maintaining Days in MLS, which explains that manipulating the DIM calculation would distort the accuracy of our MLS data and portray a false picture of the market that so many rely on from our MLS systems. REcolorado believes it is our responsibility to maintain the integrity of our market data now and into the future.
I work with many out of state sellers being my area is Summit County. Sometimes a client will let a listing expire, shop other brokers and come back to me in this time frame. If it really expired and this is the circumstance the data is also inaccurate as to how the property is marketed and thus , you are interfering with the normal course of doing business and limiting according to the wishes of the client who must come first. This is interfering with the public’s right to choose and make their own decisions. Yes games will be played with days on the market, but the history tells the whole story and is available to all brokers.
Hi Todd, thank you for your comment. If this situation occurs, please contact our Customer Care department at support@REcolorado. They will gladly assist you.
Hi
A few questions regarding the change:
– Is there a fine if a property is expired for 30 days and then entered on day 31?
– Previously, agents would want to expire a listing for 30 days to reset DOM. What would be the purpose or rationale for someone wanting to re list a home within 30 days after being expired?
– With DIM, If there is no way to reset days in MLS by taking a home off the market for 30 days anymore then a home listed today and in MLS for 60 days then sold and listed again by the new owner a year later would start with 61 days in MLS when they listed, is that correct? Or is there a time period that DIM goes back to zero? Days, Owner change, Agent change etc.?
– A home listed today and in MLS for 60 days then expired would show 60 days in MLS. Then if that home was listed again on day 91 or 31 days after the expiration would be showing 61 days in MLS, is that correct? Same as above what if there was an agent change, owner change etc.?
– Is there any scenario that a home would/could show 0 days in MLS after being expired or sold? Agent change, Owner Change, Time period etc.?
– Trying to figure out what the purpose of the new rule is as it doesn’t seem like it would make any difference if days in MLS was going to keep ticking up forever on all homes?
Thanks for the help and clarification.
Hi Michael, thank you very much for your questions and for your commitment to fully understanding MLS rules!
– The REcolorado Rules and Regulations Committee has seen an uptick in the number of listings that are being expired and re-listed within 30 days for the purpose of manipulating the count for Days in MLS. To protect the integrity of the data in the MLS, they made the decision to strengthen the language around the rule.
– This rule comes into play only if a property is expired for less than 30 days before being re-listed. There is no rule violation, and no fine, if the same broker or office re-lists a property on day 31 or after.
– The count called Cumulative Days in MLS (CDOM) was eliminated when we moved to the new version of REcolorado Matrix. We now only count Days in MLS now which starts when a listing is made Active and stops a listing’s status is moved to Pending or Withdrawn. For more information about statuses, please see the ABCs of Matrix Statuses.
– With the introduction of the Clear Cooperation policy, which will go into effect May 1, you will see Closed listings, with zero Days in MLS, only if they were entered in REcolorado Matrix for comp purposes.
If you would like additional clarification or to discuss specific scenarios, please feel free to reach out to our Customer Care team at support@REcolorado.com.
Great information thank you for the clarification!
Is there any chance you can bring back the old Quick CMA? It was much easier to read than the current version. Thank you.
Hi Jackie – thank you very much for your question. We’ve shared your feedback with the product team, as we’re always looking for ways to enhance your experience. You may also try creating a Rapid CMA out of Homesnap, powered by REcolorado. Simply follow the steps in this video [https://youtu.be/0l_Fa1cJcdo] to learn how. For more information about comparative analysis reports, please visit our CMAs and Pricing Learning Path on REcolorado.com: https://www.recolorado.com/pros/training/cma-pricing