Spring 2025 MLS Data Integrity Update

While you’re busy helping buyers and sellers navigate the real estate marketplace, the NorthstarMLS Rules & Regulations team is busy ensuring the superior data quality you and your clients expect from NorthstarMLS listings.

Late Listings Still on the Rise

As we reviewed data for the first quarter of 2025 we noticed an interesting trend: Late Listings are trending up heading into the second quarter, with our system flagging 5-10 listings daily. Between March 1 and May 15 this resulted in a total of 108 correction notices sent. The number of listings flagged was even higher, with some resolved before becoming notices. As a reminder, a listing must be entered in NorthstarMLS within two (2) business days from the start of the listing contract. Entry of a listing after that date is considered late.

We first noticed this rise in violations in January and discussed the possible confusion you might have between Incomplete and Withheld listing statuses in the blog, Avoid these Late Listing Rules Violations Pitfalls. It explains when listings can go live in the MLS and looks at situations that drive late listings like missing required signatures.

Other Familiar Notifications Top the List

Outdated Pending Status Listings 

At 1,284 or 64% of all notifications sent in this March – mid-May time frame, Pending Status continues to top the list. Outdated Pending Status listings occur when the projected close date has passed and the listing was not updated to Closed or the projected close date pushed out to a new closing date.

For more details, check out our Projected Close Date resource page. 

Virtual Tours 

At 220 notices sent in just 1.5 months this spring, Virtual Tours was the second highest problem area at 11%. Fortunately, we have good resources readily available to keep your listings compliant, including the blog, Virtual Tours: Follow These 6 Tips for Compliant Listings.

We also are happy to review your virtual tours for compliance issues. Send us the link at Rules@northstarmls.com and we will take a look! 

Finished Square Footage 

Six percent or 123 of the correction notices sent this spring had to do with finished square footage. This is a very popular reason subscribers reach out to the NorthstarMLS Rules & Regulations team, so we’ve compiled the common questions and discrepancies we routinely encounter in this handy blog:  Six Considerations When Calculating Finished Square Footage and the Finished Square Feet Guide. 

Compensation Notice  

As part of the Settlement implementation last year, you could no longer use the MLS to make any offer of compensation (whether the compensation would be from the listing broker or the seller) to other participants on listings filed with the MLS after August 15, 2024. We sent 40 notices (2% of notices) regarding references to compensation in listings this spring. 

For a refresh on the rules around offers of compensation, visit the Settlement MLS Updates page of our website. 

Status 

At 4% with 79 notices sent March through mid-May, we suggest reviewing the Listing Status Guide on our website as a refresher. Understanding listing statuses ensures accuracy in MLS reporting, legal compliance and a smooth experience for both buyers and sellers.  

This guide outlines the available NorthstarMLS statuses, how each one is defined, when to use them and how they affect Days on Market. Proper use of statuses helps maintain data integrity and transparency and improves search results across platforms.  

All status changes must be entered within two business days (excluding weekends and state or federal holidays) of the change to ensure compliance and timely updates. You must retain documentation of changes and make them available to NorthstarMLS upon request.  

Bedroom Nonconformity 

Rounding out the list is Bedroom Nonconformity, with 68 or 3% of the notices sent. NorthstarMLS rules only require that a bedroom can be counted as such, if the county or city recognizes a space as a legal bedroom. 

However, NorthstarMLS does not have a defined set of requirements or regulations of our own.  If you are uncertain whether a bedroom is legally conforming, agents should contact the city or county assessor to determine the legality of the space being called a bedroom.  

Read this Conforming Bedrooms Rules & Regulations post for full details. 

Providing the high quality data you expect as a NorthstarMLS subscriber is the top priority of the Rules & Regulations team. With the vast majority of corrections being dismissed, our main objective is not to penalize you, it’s to ensure the correction is made so the data is accurate and timely. We are also a resource – contact us at rules@northstarmls.com and we’re happy to assist.