Compliance Corner- Coming Soon listings

Please note: this article is a snapshot of a message that was posted on the MLS system at some point within the last year.  Things evolve rapidly in our industry, and the information in this article may have changed since it was first published. Compliance Corner articles are not updated after they are published, even if the information contained within has changed.

For the most up-to-date information on this (or any other topic), please visit our SmartDesk.

Compliance Corner #34

March 1, 2021

Everything you need to know about Coming Soon listings

Recent trends of pre-marketing a listing while the property is being prepared for the market has led us to create the COMING SOON status.  COMING SOON allows for this trend while remaining compliant with the rules of the MLS.

Coming Soon listings allow for a property to be marketed prior to it being an active listing on the MLS.  Parameters are in place to ensure both agents and consumers know when the listing will be active and that access to the listing is the same for all agents and consumers, including the listing agent. A Coming Soon listing is on the market but not available for showings or offers.

Here’s what you need to know:

• You must have a valid, fully executed listing agreement.
• You must have your seller sign the SmartMLS Coming Soon Addendum, which can be found in the Listing Forms or Coming Soon sections of the SmartMLS website.
• The Go Live date (Expected Active Date) determined by you and the seller must be included on the listing in Matrix.
• The Go Live date (Expected Active Date) must be within 14 days of the date the listing was entered in Matrix.
• Note: The Go Live date CANNOT be shortened once the listing is entered as a Coming Soon in Matrix
• The signed SmartMLS Coming Soon Addendum must be uploaded as a supplement in Matrix (to the Coming Soon Supplement Type). 
• If you extend the original EAD, you must get a new copy of the Coming Soon Addendum (with the new date) signed by the seller and uploaded to the listing (replace the original Coming Soon Addendum).
• Make sure you are not in the listing in Add/Edit around midnight of the expected active date.  If you have the listing locked in Add/Edit, Matrix will not be able to run the procedure that switches it from Coming Soon to Active (at which point you will need to contact SmartMLS staff so we can manually switch it to Active).
• Days on Market (DOM) for Coming Soon listings starts accruing on the Go Live date.
• An exterior photo of the property must be uploaded.
• It is permissible to put a sign in front of a COMING SOON listing.
• The listing CANNOT be shown during the coming soon period.
• The listing must be available to show upon when it is made Active.
• No offers can be presented during the coming soon period.
• Cancelling a Coming Soon listing and relisting it as active prior to the activation date on the listing will result in an automatic fine.
• Although the Buyer's Agent Compensation (BAC) field is required when you enter a Coming Soon listing, the contents of that field will not display while the listing is in the Coming Soon status.  Once the listing switches from Coming Soon to Active, the BAC field becomes visible.
• These fields are restricted in the following ways:
  • Listing Date- cannot be changed once the listing has been saved.
  • Expiration Date- cannot be shortened once the listing has been saved.
  • Go Active Date- can be extended to a maximum of 14 days, but cannot be shortened once the listing has been saved.
• Coming Soon listings are fed to Broker/Agent IDX sites, but not major portals like realtor.com.
• If the property is listed on the MLS as Coming Soon, the list agent is allowed to manually enter the listing on realtor.com (since the MLS will not syndicate it to them).
• Coming Soon listings will appear on Homesnap, as it is the mobile app of the MLS.  Agents logged into Homesnap Pro will see Coming Soon listings- consumers will not see Coming Soon listings in their basic version of Homesnap.
• Coming Soon listings can be included in Auto Emails.
• For more detailed information about Coming Soon listings, please visit the Coming Soon listings page on our corporate website (https://smartmls.com/smartmls-rules-and-regulations/Article 4, section 4.26 and 4.27)
• Here is a very brief video about Coming Soon listings that may be helpful.

Now that you know all the rules, you can see what happens if you don't follow the rules by looking at the Fine table (pages 47-49) in the SmartMLS Rules and Regs.

NOW AVAILABLE:  Compliance Corner Archive!

Have you ever wanted to revisit a past Compliance Corner article that is no longer available in Matrix?  Now you can.  Simply click this link Compliance-Corner-Archive or enter compliance corner in the SMARTDESK search bar and you will be able to view all past articles.

As always, please feel free to contact the Compliance Team for additional information.  Send an email to Compliance@SmartMLS.com or call us at 203-750-6000.