RETS (or Real Estate Transaction Standard)

The Real Estate Transaction Standard is the preferred method for sharing Multiple Listing Service information about real estate available for sale between the MLS and a real estate agent's web site.

RETS (or Real Estate Transaction Standard)

The Real Estate Transaction Standard, or RETS, is the preferred method for sharing Multiple Listing Service (MLS) information about real estate available for sale between a central data source (the MLS) and various Realtor's, real estate agent's, and real estate agency's web sites.

RETS is the protocol which, as of December 2009, has replaced IDX as the standard for MLS integration to a web site.

Why Does This Matter to Me?

As a Realtor, real estate agency, or real estate agent, you want to list property information on your web site to entice real estate buyers to request a showing or make a purchase. You also want to list available properties on your real estate web site to show sellers that you can move their properties.

RETS allows you to show all the properties in the MLS on your web site, or to just show properties that match certain criteria if you prefer to be more selective about the properties you show.

As the replacement for the slow and outdated IDX, RETS is faster, more reliable, less expensive, and requires less overhead. This helps to insure that the real estate property listings on your real estate web site are up to date and accurate.

RETS is expected to eventually be able to provide real-time updates to Realtor's web sites, but that isn't quite ready yet. However, RETS will allow a web site to have properties updated multiple times per day without excessive burden on the MLS or the real estate web site.

Paydirt Design provides RETS support for our real estate clients in need of an integration with their MLS.