How MLS APIs Can Improve Your IDX Performance

In today’s times, connectivity has become the norm and using the internet to perform activities and functions has become second nature to people. It isn’t restricted to ordering things off the internet anymore; people do practically everything online. Even looking for houses.

Real estate companies have evolved over the years and adapted to changing times by creating an online presence to attract more customers. A few years ago, the concept of virtual property listings was a rather redundant one. Agents did upload properties on MLSs (Multiple Listings Services), but the drawback was that this property list could only be viewed by MLS members. This created a problem since a large potential customer base was unable to access this information.

This is where IDX came into the picture.

IDX as a Game Changer

Real estate agents and brokers were able to post MLS listings on their websites using IDX. This enabled them to target a large customer pool by giving people access to property listings. IDX also went through significant stages of development to arrive at its current form. Numerous technologies were integrated into IDX; for example, iFrame, FTP, RETS. Albeit beneficial, all these technologies were accompanied by stark drawbacks.

In this article, we are going to look at an IDX technology which is relatively new but offers a lot of comprehensive advantages to your website – the MLS API.

How the MLS API Can Boost IDX Performance

MLS API stands for Multiple Listings Services Application Program Interface. This IDX technology combines various features – like allowing third-party hosting and SEO-friendliness – to enhance the performance of your website. Here are 5 major advantages of using the MLS API for your IDX website.

MLS API - MLS API Can Boost IDX Performance

Limited Coding Required

The MLS API makes use of the API to connect your website to the MLS. This means that all the queries go through the API and it displays the information results based on certain pre-set processes. Using an API enables you to simplify the process, because it uses only one element. This reduces the time and expertise spent on developing the website significantly.

Less Maintenance

The API uses the search query to display only those MLS listings that fit the criteria. This prevents tens of thousands of listings from being uploaded on your website, which reduces the burden of maintaining the website greatly.

Limited Hosting Required

Unlike some technologies before it, the MLS API does not download and recreate the listings database on your website. It instead uses the original database as the source for displaying search results. This reduces the scope and scale of hosting that your website would need to accommodate so much data, thereby also reducing hosting costs.

Less Security Concerns

The more data you have on your website, the greater risk there is of hackers attempting to gain unethical access to it. The advantage of the API is that it prevents a load of data from being hosted on your website. This also greatly reduces risks or instances of hacking or security breaches.

Compliance Issues are Reduced

Displaying MLS data on a website is subject to certain rules and regulations that are made to deter agents or brokers from making wrong use of the data. The more data there is to display, the greater the compliance concerns. Since MLS API uses limited data on the website, there are fewer rules and regulations to be considered; hence, lesser compliance concerns.

Conclusion

The advantage of using an API, apart from those aforementioned, is that it is a popular technology that has been used in the technology and development industry for a long time. Hence, a lot of developers are adept with APIs. In case of a site breakdown or upgrade, finding an API expert is quite easy.

The MLS API offers a lot of benefits for a property listings website. If you have an IDX website, then using this API can prove to be quite beneficial in terms of SEO, security, compliance and overall website efficiency.