March 19, 2025

This communication will serve as official notice to comply with the 30-day notification requirement to Participants of the Southwest Multiple Listing Service regarding changes to the SWMLS Rules & Regulations. These changes will become effective on Thursday, April 17, 2025.

On February 19, 2025, several changes were approved by the SWMLS Board of Directors as mandated by NAR. Additional updates include minor edits and amended date corrections. Below are excerpts from the affected sections.

Southwest MLS Rules and Regulations

Section 1.0 Listing Procedures

Note 1

The exclusive right-to-sell listing is a form of listing where the Seller provides exclusive authorization exclusive right-to-sell listing is the form of listing where the seller authorizes exclusive authority to the listing broker to cooperate with other brokers in the sale of the property. (Amended 4/92) (Amended 02/25)

Section 4.6, No Filtering of Listings – (remove comma)

Participants and Subscribers must not filter out or restrict MLS listings that are communicated to customers or clients based on the existence or level of compensation offered to the cooperating broker or the name of a brokerage or agent. (Adopted 08/24) (Adopted 11/24)

Section 5.0.1 Required Consumer Disclosure

Disclosures of Compensation: MLS Participants and Subscribers must:

1. Disclose to prospective sellers and buyers that broker compensation is not set by law and is fully negotiable. This must be included in conspicuous language as part of any listing agreement, buyer written agreement, and pre-closing disclosure documents (if any).

2. Conspicuously disclose in writing to sellers, and obtain the seller’s authority, for any payments or offer of payment that the listing Participant or seller will make to another broker, agent, or other representative (e.g. real estate attorney) acting for buyers. This disclosure must include the amount or rate of any such payment and be made in writing in advance of any payment or agreement to pay. (Adopted 08/24) (Adopted 11/24)

Section 5.0.1 was missing from the latest version, so this has been included. The rationale is that multiple listing services that require disclosure of potential short sales should adopt this rule.

Section 5.0.1 Disclosing Potential Short Sales

Participants must disclose potential short sales (defined as a transaction where title transfers, where the sale price is insufficient to pay the total of all liens and costs of sale and where the seller does not bring sufficient liquid assets to the closing to cure all deficiencies) when reasonably known to the listing participants. (Amended 5/09) (Amended 8/24)

Section 11: Ownership of MLS Compilation and Copyright

By the act of submitting any property listing content to The Service the Participant represents and warrants that he or she if fully authorized to license the property listing content as contemplated by and in compliance with this section and these rules and regulations and also thereby does grant to the MLS license to include the property listing content in its copyrighted MLS compilation and also in any statistical report on comparables and to provide to third parties for purposes of making portions of the compilation available to the general public or as approved by the Board for other uses by The Service supporting the buying, selling, leasing or appraising of real estate. Listing content includes, but is not limited to, photographs, images, graphics, audio and video recordings, virtual tours, drawings, descriptions, remarks, narratives, pricing information, and other details or information related to listed property. (Amended 5/06) (Amended 5/18)

Each Participant who submits listing content to the MLS agrees to defend and hold the MLS and every other Participant harmless from and against any liability or claim arising from any inaccuracy of the submitted listing content or any inadequacy of ownership, license, or title to the submitted listing content.(Amended 8/18) (Amended 5/18)

Section 7.0 Compliance with Rules—Authority to Impose Discipline

By becoming and remaining a Participant or Subscriber in this MLS, each Participant and Subscriber agrees to be subject to the rules and regulations and any other Service governance provision. The Service may, through the administrative and hearing procedures established in these rules, impose discipline for violations of the rules and other Service governance provisions. Discipline that may be imposed may only consist of one or more of the following:

• letter of warning letter of reprimand
• attendance at Service orientation or other appropriate courses or seminars which the Participant or Subscriber can reasonably attend taking into consideration cost, location, and duration
• appropriate, reasonable fine not to exceed $5,000 ($15,000)
• suspension of Service rights, privileges, and services for not less than thirty (30) days nor more than one (1) year
• termination of Service rights, privileges, and services with no right to reapply for a specified period not to exceed three (3) years. (Revised 11/14)

Section 14.0 Changes in Rules and Regulations

Amendments to the Rules and Regulations of The Service shall be by consideration and approval of the Board of Directors of The Service, subject to final approval by the Board of Directors of the Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS® and shall be effective thirty (30) days following notification to Participants.

Note: Some associations may prefer to change the rules and regulations by a vote of the participants of the service, subject to approval of the board of directors of the service, with final approval by the board of directors of the association of REALTORS® which is the sole and exclusive shareholder of the stock of the service corporation. 

Section 18.2.4

Participants may select the listings they choose to display through IDX based only on objective criteria including, but not limited to, factors such as geography or location (“uptown,” “downtown,” etc.), list price, type of property (e.g., condominiums, cooperatives, single-family detached, multi-family), or type of listing (e.g., exclusive right-to-sell or exclusive agency). Selection of listings displayed through IDX must be independently made by each Participant. (Amended 05/17) (Amended 11/21)

Section 18.2.12

All listings displayed pursuant to IDX shall identify the listing firm and the email or phone number provided by the listing Participant in a reasonably prominent location and in a readily visible color and typeface not smaller than the median used in the display of listing data.* (Amended 05/17) (Amended 11/21)

* Displays of minimal information (e.g., “thumbnails”, text messages, “tweets”, etc., of two hundred [200] characters or less) are exempt from this requirement but only when linked directly to a display that includes all required disclosures. For audio delivery of listing content, all required disclosures must be subsequently delivered electronically to the registered consumer performing the property search or linked to through the devices application.(Amended 05/17) (Amended 11/21)