How to get MLS data from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV)

Are you looking to build a website or app for your real estate business that uses MLS data from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV)?

Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

• You need to be a real estate agent that’s licensed in REBGV or in Chilliwack & District Real Estate Board (CADREB)or Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB). There is reciprocal data collaboration between these boards. This means that the boards share data with each other and you can access it all through a single connection with REBGV.
• You’ll need a web developer, preferably one that has experience building real estate websites that use MLS data
• You’ll need to submit IDX, VOW, and reciprocal data agreements to the real estate board that you belong to.
• You’ll need to contact REBGV’s IDX department to request access to their RETS server — this is where the fun begins!

The Real Estate Transaction Standard (RETS)

REBGV facilitates MLS data sharing through a RETS interface. RETS is an industry-specific technology that most real estate boards use to share data. RETS isn’t meant to be used in real-time, so you’ll have to periodically check for updates, store the data in a database, and then query the data through your website or app. You’ll also have to store the listing images and there are millions of them.

If you have no experience using RETS, you may want to consider contacting a certified vendor of REBGV like Repliers to help you. Repliers has a REST API (not RETS) solution that makes it much easier for web developers (even with no experience in real estate) to get MLS data for use in their website and apps. It saves developers thousands of hours and reduces overhead costs.

The scenic route

When you first reach out to REBGV’s IDX department, they’ll verify that you have the proper agreements in place with your real estate board to get access to the MLS data.

Once this is done, they’ll provide you with a test login (for development purposes) to their RETS server that will give you access to fake MLS data.

Once you’re done developing your website or app, you’ll have to submit it for compliance to REBGV’s IDX department. Be prepared for a long compliance experience. REBGV is really busy with compliance requests and it’s unlikely that your website or app will be compliant on the first attempt. In our experience, this took months.

Once your website or app has been approved, REBGV will supply you with a production login that will allow you to access real MLS data. The production login’s setup varies from the test login, so you’ll have some work to do to refactor your backend to support the differences with the production login. In our experience, this was really frustrating. We expected that the test and production environment would have been the same.

Save yourself time and money

Contact a certified vendor like Repliers to help you with this. As a certified vendor, we’re entrusted by REBGV to work with you to simplify the whole process and ensure your website or app is compliant. Repliers will save you hundreds of hours, reduce your monthly costs, and get your website or app to market way sooner than if you take the scenic route.