In the first report of its kind, the National Association of Realtors' (NAR) Center For Realtor Technology has studied IDX adoption and implementation in case studies of MLS organizations across the country.

IDX stands for Internet Data Exchange, a guideline suggested by the NAR for MLS organizations to enable participating brokers to publish multiple listings service (MLS) listings for consumer viewing on their company and privately owned Web sites.

"This is a guide for technology types," explains Mark Lesswing, spokesperson for the Center. "But there were some stunning results, particularly the range and scope of the solutions."

According to Lesswing, MLSs are spending from $500 to $500,000 to implement Broker Reciprocity solutions. Agent News has already published a number of stories illustrating how some MLSs are turning Broker Reciprocity into new sources of revenue, as MLS listings payments from national aggregators begins to wane.

The Center points out that many of the more expensive solutions included marketing and publishing tools for brokers and agents, such as Web sites, that were not NAR-mandated for the implementation of Broker Reciprocity. These are presented as additional services to members. Lower costs were attributed to vendor-supplied solutions included in current maintenance agreements or at low additional costs, or to efforts by internal technical staff.

Of interest is the fact that 21 percent of respondents provided IDX solutions without offering a Web site, and 30 percent of those that do offer a Web site did not provide an Internet search mechanism, but said they plan to in the future.

Of the 40 survey respondents, which included MLS organizations and boards of Realtors of various sizes, close to 100 percent of available listings were published within a year of implementation. According to the report's findings, this dispelled the myth that only larger boards could afford to implement IDX solutions. Four out of 30 respondents (not all respondents included MLS participation numbers) were classified as small MLSs with less than 1000 listings. Seventeen out of 30 contained less than 5000 listings, while 13 had over 5000 listings.

Among the most popular solutions used by the MLSs were data download and smart-framing. Many MLSs such as Houston(HAR) offers both.

"A lot of people interpreted the policy differently, there is a policy and then there is the spirit of the policy," observed Lesswing.

The most significant finding was the widespread adoption of Broker Reciprocity by board members. Over 88 percent of respondents reported that they had 95 percent of listings available through IDX, and the NAR expects those numbers to improve.

Yet, while brokers endorsed Broker Reciprocity, less than 10 percent have actually adopted it into their personal Web sites. "There's still some fear about that," says Lesswing. "Of the people who have put it up, they have about 90 percent of the listings. For boards with the opt out option, the opt out rate is low - four percent."

According to surveys performed six months after adoption and then one year after adoption, it was found that six out of 19 (32 percent) respondents say their members were using download solutions after six months. That number jumped to eight out of 15 (53 percent) respondents reporting interest after one year.

"The NAR is pleased with how many MLSs are compliant," sums Lesswing. "If you look at the average cost, it was less than $10,000. By and large it isn't a large expense, it is more the time involved to get it up and running, or the utilities to do anything with the data. That 10 percent adoption shows the spirit of how it was intended to be used."

The Center for Realtor Technology will continue to provide new, useful information to Realtors to assist them in making technology decisions. Watch for updates on Agent News.