Stellar MLS promises trust, accuracy with new home search site
The Cribio-powered portal will route consumer inquiries directly to listing agents, unless buyers access the site through a special link from their agent.
"Search Homes Straight from the Source. Accurate listings from the agents who list them."
This is the promise that greets house hunters on Stellar MLS's newly launched home search site, StellarMLS.com, which is powered by the Broker Public Portal's search platform Cribio. The BPP debuted its rebranded portal a year ago.
Designed to support agents: At more than 75,000 subscribers, Stellar may be the largest multiple listing service to date to launch a Cribio-powered site. Listing information comes straight from Stellar, and the site is "[d]esigned to support rather than compete with brokers and agents" by routing consumer inquiries directly to listing agents instead of buyer agents who pay to advertise, according to a Sept. 29 announcement.
A 'trusted place to point clients': Amid debates over what listings can be seen where, Stellar CEO Shayne Fairley said the MLS decided to launch the site now "because the home-search landscape keeps shifting, and Stellar customers deserve a steady, trusted place to point clients — one where they can find the full picture of homes for sale, built on data they can trust and without the interference of ads or lead-generation schemes."
"The industry conversation around home search will continue to evolve," Fairley added. "Our focus remains where it has always been: on our customers and giving them the tools and resources they need to serve their clients."
Buyer agents can benefit too: Listing agents do not get all inquiries, the MLS noted. The site allows buyer agents to, free of charge, generate their own unique link that takes clients to a version of the site with that agent's branding and allows contact requests to be routed to the agent or their office.
"This does require the consumer to certify they are working with that agent/office," Stellar says in an FAQ on its website.
Stellar MLS is a shareholder in BPP. Other MLSs that have launched Cribio-powered home search sites are Northwest MLS (NWMLS), NorthstarMLS, MetroList, One Key MLS, RMLS Alliance, Canopy MLS, MIBOR, Doorify MLS and MRED.