Got Media?

Photos, virtual tours, floor plans, oh my! How and what to choose for your listing? The options are endless! In this forever-changing world of ways to showcase properties, let’s break down what is acceptable in the MLS.  

Photos 

Adding photos to the MLS is an important part of helping sellers sell their home. Photos are essential to showcase the property that is for sale and help ensure buyers and agents will stop and look—or even schedule a showing. Here are a few things to know when adding photos to NorthstarMLS listings.  

• No text (regardless of message) allowed. Use photo captions for messages and photo descriptions. 

• Unless you have permission from the listing agent, don’t copy listing photos for your own use. 

• The photo may not be digitally altered (“Photoshopped”) to the point it no longer accurately reflects the property. 

• No broker/agent/builder signs, banners, marketing or any other type of promotional material is allowed in the photo. 

• Photos and videos of listed property should not include people or pets. Wildlife, harvested game, equine and farm animal photos are permitted. An exception is made for lifestyle videos when shot from an overhead view. In this instance, no person should be identifiable, and pets may appear within the view. 

Floor Plans  

NorthstarMLS allows floor plans in MLS listings, even providing Dashboard access to CubiCasa, which you can use to scan properties in minutes to generate high-resolution 2D plans.  

No branding is allowed on floor plans except for the vendor who created the floor plan. Their logo may appear at the bottom of the page in no more than 10pt font. Floor plans are also acceptable in virtual tours and in supplements.  

Virtual Tours 

Virtual tours are a great way to enhance buyers’ first impressions of your listing by allowing them to tour the home before even going to the property. This is also a way for buyers who are unable to visit a property in person help determine if it is a fit for them.  

NorthstarMLS allows up to two non-branded tours for each listing. Whether adding a video media file (mp4, mov or avi) via the Add/Edit Photo Suite or a URL via the virtual tour tab, you are also making virtual tours available to over 4,000 agents and broker websites.  

Virtual tours added to NorthstarMLS cannot be branded. There cannot be any live links of any kind. Like photos, there cannot be any identifiable people or people that become the focus.  

Unidentified narrators are okay in virtual tours but should not identify the brokerage, agent or any other companies to avoid becoming promotional in nature. Like floor plans, it is okay to add the tour company logo in no more than 10pt font. Just be sure the tour company logo is not a live link.  

Have Questions? 

The NorthstarMLS team is here to help ensure the media you use in your listings is compliant and contributes to the reliable, quality data everyone expects from your MLS. Should you have questions or want us to review a photo, contact us at Rules@northstarmls.com. We are happy to take a look!