MLS that quit enforcing Clear Cooperation gets back on board 

The Park City Board of Realtors and MLS, which last year paused enforcement of Clear Cooperation over legal concerns, today announced that it will embrace the updated policy, which allows sellers to temporarily hold off on publicly marketing their homes.

The Clear Cooperation Policy requires homes to be listed on the MLS within a day of being publicly marketed. This "promotes an open, inclusive marketplace where buyers have access to all properties in one place," said Jamie Johnson, CEO of the Park City association and MLS. "At the same time, the delayed marketing option recognizes that some sellers need a higher level of privacy."

"We're pleased to be among the first MLSs to adopt this reasonable and balanced approach," Johnson added.

How we got here: Last month, the National Association of Realtors decided to maintain the divisive policy, with an important addition that allows sellers to keep their homes off the Internet Data Exchange. The IDX feed allows real estate agents, brokers and home search sites — such as Zillow, Realtor.com and Homes.com — to display MLS property listings.

The policy update, plus the news that the Department of Justice does not consider CCP to be inherently anti-competitive, eased fears of the Park City association that continuing to enforce Clear Cooperation would lead to legal action.

"We believe this approach strikes a fair balance," said Maverick Bolger, president of the PCBR Board of Directors, in an April 18 statement. "Buyer clients deserve full access to available inventory through their brokers, and sellers who value discretion, now have an effective path to market their home privately yet efficiently."

What's next: The Park City MLS said it is working on making the new policy adjustments in its systems "and will make members aware as soon as they are ready to fully implement the changes."

The industry at large, however, continues to wrestle with the implications of the new policy, with Zillow and Redfin among the major players barring listings that are publicly marketed but not widely available via the MLS.