IDX & Data Feed Overview
IDX (Internet Data eXchange) Program
What is it?
IDX is a program allowing MLS Participants (broker-owners) to give each brokerage participating in the program permission to display each other’s listings on the broker’s company website(s) (subject to the rules of UNYREIS and NYSAMLSs).
All broker-owners who are MLS participants automatically become IDX participants and their listings are included in the UNYREIS IDX database. A participant may ‘Opt Out’ to not allow their listings to be included in the IDX database, but they lose the benefit of displaying IDX listings on their company website if they do so.
What does it cost?
UNYREIS does not charge a fee for any portion of the IDX program, however some of the other MLSs in our database do charge if you want their data (Ithaca Board of REALTORS).
How Do I Get Started?
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Broker Owners
View the NYSAMLSs Broker-Vendor Resource Guide which includes our IDX Rules.
Broker-owners have two options for participating in the IDX program. Your vendor may request a raw data feed via the Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) Trestle platform or you may use the IDX Property Search Link that is available via Matrix.
- TRESTLE – The New York State Alliance of MLSs uses the Trestle™ Data Management Platform from Cotality to distribute data. Your vendor will need to have or set up an account on Trestle for the New York State Alliance of MLSs (NYS) connection. We use one Data License Agreement for all the participating MLSs in our database. UNYREIS does not charge a fee at this time, but there is a vendor fee charged by Cotality via Trestle and some MLSs in our database do charge a fee (see below). Other things to know:
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- The New York State Alliance of MLSs is a joint venture of the Upstate New York Real Estate Information Services LLC (UNYREIS, Rochester), Central New York Information Service Inc (CNYIS, Syracuse), and Western New York Real Estate Information Services LLC (WNYREIS – Buffalo).
- Our MLS database also contains several other MLSs in the region (Chautauqua-Cattaraugus, Cortland, Elmira-Corning, Ithaca*, Jefferson Lewis, McKean PA, Mohawk Valley, and Otsego-Delaware).
*Note –When choosing any feed that says “(All NYS)”, there is an additional monthly fee for Ithaca Board of REALTORS (IBR) data. IBR will bill the fee directly quarterly. Contact IBR with billing questions or to set up your account at IBR@IthacaRealtors.com. Or, choose a feed that “(Excludes Ithaca)” instead to exclude IBR data. - The vendor starts the procedure and adds the broker’s name and email address (and agent’s name and email, if applicable) to the connection. All approvals are handled via AuthentiSign and originate in Trestle.
- Vendors enjoy these benefits from Trestle:
- Consistent metadata across all MLS Organizations.
- Standardized field names to comply with RESO Data Dictionary Standards – reduces the cost of mapping.
- Single point of query – They can pull data from New York. California and North Carolina in the same query.
- Developer Support via Email and Slack Channels for support (email Trestle Support to request access).
- Forward this info to the web developer that is doing your website:
- View this link to learn how to start pulling data from Trestle.
- Reach out to Trestle Support for any questions/concerns or contact our IDX Dept staff at idx@grar.net.
2. IDX Frame-able Link via Matrix and or Matrix Agent Webpage-The IDX option in Matrix allows you to create an iframe link for your website to allow your clients to search from the MLS. This option is for those who have a website where they can edit the content and web pages. If you do not have a website, check out the Agent Web Page option. It gives you the basic functionality of a website without having to develop one.
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- See IDX Search Links and Personal Websites Created in Matrix to get started.
Agents
Agents also have two options for displaying IDX listings on their web pages. While they may not request a data feed directly from UNYREIS/NYS, an agent may request that their vendor obtain a data feed via Trestle (see above) to use for a custom IDX webpage. All agent implementations should be coordinated with your broker who will be a signer and need to approve the connection and your vendor. Please provide your vendor with your broker’s name and email so that they may include them in the signing. UNYREIS does not provide agent level support, as the IDX program is a Broker-Owner program per NAR mandate.
Additionally, agents may also use the Agent Webpage or IDX features of Matrix. See IDX Search Links and Personal Websites Created in Matrix to get started.
Third Party National Portal Data Feeds
All UNYREIS MLS listings get syndicated to Realtor.com unless the broker has opted out of that program (to do so, email GRARHelpDesk@grar.net).
See our 3rd Party Website Tips and Tricks for some things to know about syndicating to Realtor.com
Note – the broker may be able to syndicate to more national sites by establishing an account on ListHub.
Questions?
Contact GRAR IDX Department and/or Trestle Support
GRAR does not provide technical or user support for Trestle. If you feel that there is missing data or the process is not updating, please contact for any questions/concerns.
Otherwise, please refer to the resource documents provided below.
- 2023 Broker-Vendor Resource Guide & IDX Field List for NYSAMLSs
- To learn more about the Data Dictionary, please visit https://www.reso.org/data-dictionary/
- NYSAMLSs Approved IDX Logo
- View this documentation link to see how to get started with Trestle