{"id":1496,"slug":"research-brief-mls-data-inside-the-box-ontario-june-2026","title":"Research notes (capture-layer): inside the MLS box — what an Ontario member agent's account exposes, what goes unused, and what they're licensed to do with it (June 2026)","kind":"research-notes","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","candid-team"],"topics":["data-portability","open-data","privacy-pipeda","real-estate-mls","reso-data-dictionary","mls-data-licensing","ontario-real-estate-market","competition-law-canada"],"reference_body":"**Status:** Capture-layer (Deliverable 1 only) per author framing — *not* a KB entry or article draft. Three sections kept strictly separate: Inventory / Underused Layer / Licensing Reality.\n\n## Seam vs the existing public-data register\n\nThe project's separate **\"Ontario real-estate data source register\"** documents the OUTSIDE of the MLS box — what is gettable *without* board/MLS credentials (CREA HPI, StatsCan, Teranet / land-registry sold prices for a fee, municipal open data, post-2018 consumer sold-data portals). THIS capture is the INSIDE: what a credentialed member agent's own account exposes and what they may lawfully do with it. The seam line is **credentialed access + the Data Licensing Agreement / Authorized User Agreement**.\n\n**Flag:** the author could not retrieve the register from Drive during the source session — searches on `MLS`, `HPI`, `land registry`, `StatsCan`, `Teranet`, `HouseSigma`, `absorption`, `days on market`, `Greater Golden Horseshoe` all returned empty. The seam is asserted, not cross-checked against the register's actual entries. Verify before any published piece. See [[gaps-mls-data-inside-the-box-register-not-located-and-counsel-items]].\n\n## Section 1 — The inventory (what is inside the MLS via a member account)\n\n**The standardised field set — RESO Data Dictionary 2.0:**\n- [[reso-dd-2-0-architecture-41-resources-1745-fields-3683-lookups]] — exactly 41 resources / 1,745 fields / 3,683 lookups; ratified Oct 23 2023, effective April 15 2024. RESO's marketing \"more than 1,700 fields / 3,100 lookups\" is a rounded, non-version-specific figure — flag.\n- [[reso-dd-2-0-property-resource-652-fields-groups]] — the Property resource alone is 652 fields, organised into 13 named groups (Business, Characteristics, Equipment, Farming, Financial, HOA, Listing, Location, OccupantOwner, Structure, Tax, UnitTypes, Utilities).\n- [[reso-dd-2-0-full-resource-field-counts-list]] — full resource list with field counts (Property 652, Contacts 91, Member 87, Office 73, Media 41, Showing 44, HistoryTransactional 23, etc.).\n- [[reso-dd-2-1-draft-44-resources-2167-fields-q1-2026]] — DD 2.1 in draft (44 resources / 2,167 fields / 4,140 lookups), targeted end of Q1 2026, not yet ratified.\n- [[reso-rets-deprecated-june-2018-dd-2-0-ratification-timeline]] — RETS sunset June 2018; DD 2.0 ratified Oct 2023; effective April 2024; NAR-affiliated MLSs reportedly had to certify within one year (industry-reported, ~April 2025, not RESO-primary-confirmed).\n\n**The historical / non-active layer consumers never saw:**\n- [[competition-bureau-trreb-mls-more-detailed-than-realtor-ca]] — the federal Competition Bureau's own framing: the TRREB MLS holds previous listing & sale prices, comparable history, and time-on-market that REALTOR.ca does not show.\n- [[proptx-3-year-residential-5-year-commercial-sales-history]] — PropTx/MPAC appraiser product exposes 3-yr residential / 5-yr commercial sales history with full listing details.\n- [[nar-vow-3-year-minimum-sold-data]] — NAR VOW policy mandates a minimum of 3 years of sold data in IDX/VOW feeds.\n- [[reso-standardstatus-historytransactional-schema]] — the schema for status/history (StandardStatus lookups Active/Backup/Canceled/Closed/Expired/Pending/Withdrawn; HistoryTransactional resource 23 fields).\n\n**Built-in stats / CMA / market-intelligence tooling:**\n- [[itso-matrix-500-fields-cma-live-stats]] — ITSO Matrix self-described \"500+ fields, CMA tools, land-registry data, neighbourhood insights, live market statistics.\"\n- [[trreb-realm-listtrac-hoodq-skyslope-tools]] — TRREB/PropTx REALM bundles ListTrac listing analytics + HoodQ 450+ GTA neighbourhood guides + SkySlope forms.\n- [[trreb-market-watch-monthly-months-inventory]] — TRREB publishes monthly Market Watch report including \"Month's Inventory\" (absorption).\n\n**Programmatic access paths — feed vs screen:**\n- [[reso-web-api-odata-v4-oauth-direct-replaces-rets]] — modern REST/JSON on OData v4, OAuth, calls the MLS directly, no local duplication; NAR mandates production-level Web API access for REALTOR-association MLSs.\n- [[reso-provides-no-data-only-standards]] — RESO itself provides NO data; data requests go to local MLSs after agreeing to their licensing.\n- [[crea-ddf-2012-channels-consumer-grade]] — CREA Data Distribution Facility (2012), opt-in via REALTOR Link; channels include National Shared Pool, National Franchisor Pool, Member Feed, Real Estate Advertising Website, Partner, Franchisor Direct Feed; feeds carry **consumer-grade (REALTOR.ca-level)** data, NOT the deep layer.\n- [[idx-nar-policy-active-reciprocity]] — Internet Data Exchange = NAR-governed reciprocity *policy* (not a feed), letting participants display each other's active (+ pending/sold per local option) listings publicly, no login.\n- [[vow-password-protected-historical-sold-deeper-layer]] — Virtual Office Website: password-protected, requires established broker-consumer relationship; carries the deeper historical/sold/off-market layer.\n- [[back-office-feed-deepest-not-public]] — back-office feed is the deepest tier, powers CRM / listing / document management, must not be public.\n\n**The actual Ontario systems:**\n- [[proptx-innovations-trreb-for-profit-subsidiary-realm]] — TRREB's for-profit/taxable MLS & technology subsidiary; REALM front-end merges land-registry and MLS data; ~70,000 members.\n- [[proptx-mls-rules-effective-dec-2-2024]] — operative PropTx MLS Rules effective Dec 2 2024 (primary PDF).\n- [[itso-not-for-profit-2020-matrix-cotality-tiers]] — ITSO not-for-profit established 2020, runs Matrix (CoreLogic / Cotality); Super Subscribers vs Standard Subscribers tiers.\n- [[ontario-mls-data-divide-proptx-vs-itso]] — fracturing landscape; PropTx-led migration vs ITSO holdouts (Cornerstone, BDAR, Brantford); single-membership agents must search multiple boards; client-facing duplicate listings; stats double-count.\n- [[crea-mls-realtor-trademarks-three-pillars]] — CREA owns MLS®/REALTOR®/Multiple Listing Service® registered trademarks; licences member boards; runs REALTOR.ca + DDF; sets national By-Laws, Rules, REALTOR® Code, Three Pillars of the MLS® Mark.\n\n## Section 2 — The underused layer\n\n- [[typical-agent-uses-sliver-of-1745-fields]] — most agents use a sliver: active search + a few comps + their own listing — a fraction of the 1,745-field, multi-year, multi-resource dataset they pay board+MLS dues to access.\n- [[absorption-months-inventory-formula-ontario]] — months of inventory = active ÷ monthly sales; 0-4 seller / 4-6 balanced / 6+ buyer; rarely run at hyperlocal scale.\n- [[cancel-relist-reset-dom-zero-pasalis-globe]] — documented Ontario tactic: cancel-and-relist resets DOM to zero; condo relistings hit 163pct of sales in mid-October in the 416; GTA condo months-of-inventory 3.1 in September.\n- [[cumulative-dom-displayed-toronto-hamilton-niagara]] — MLSs in Toronto/Hamilton/Niagara now track and display cumulative DOM, eroding the reset tactic.\n- [[housesigma-self-reported-2m-users-5m-visits-inconsistent]] — HouseSigma self-reported metrics (2M+ registered users, 5M+ monthly web visits) are inconsistent across pages — flag, treat skeptically.\n- [[housesigma-2018-treb-inflection-sold-prices-public]] — HouseSigma's inflection point came shortly after the 2018 SCC-final outcome opening sold data on VOWs; \"first in Canada to make sold prices publicly available.\"\n- [[consumer-portals-commoditise-just-sold-edge]] — practitioner consensus: consumer apps have watered down the realtor competitive advantage of \"just-sold\" data; portals cannot capture local nuances, off-market activity, or hold-offer strategies.\n- [[durable-member-edge-shifts-to-deeper-structured-layer]] — strategic implication: portals commoditised the *headline* sold price; the durable member edge is now the deeper structured layer (full field history, relisting chains, sub-market absorption, list-vs-sold spreads, off-market, ListTrac analytics).\n\n## Section 3 — The licensing reality (highest stakes, treated conservatively)\n\n**Three concentric circles. Each is treated as a discrete legal posture.**\n\n**Circle (i) — SEE (use within own practice, advise own clients):**\n- [[member-may-use-mls-cma-broker-selected-comps-permitted]] — broker-selected comparables for a CMA are permitted even where consumer-driven *display* of sold/expired/withdrawn/pending data is restricted. The line: who chose the listings — the consumer (display rules apply) or the broker in the course of brokerage services (permitted).\n- [[mls-data-personal-information-aua-confidentiality]] — the data is personal information in the agent's hands; the AUA is a confidentiality agreement.\n\n**Circle (ii) — FEED / DISPLAY (pull a feed, show it on a website):**\n- [[idx-control-test-aggregator-fails]] — IDX subject to a control test: if a third-party aggregator controls the overall display, the listing fails the test and IDX's built-in consent disappears.\n- [[seller-opt-outs-vow-forces-idx-aggregator]] — seller can opt out of all internet display; opting out of VOW forces opt-out of IDX/aggregators; sellers can disable AVMs and blogging.\n- [[vow-terms-of-use-bona-fide-non-commercial-mls-ownership]] — VOW Terms of Use require an established broker-consumer relationship, bona fide interest, personal non-commercial use, and acknowledgement of MLS ownership and copyright; bar consumer from copying, redistributing, sublicensing.\n- [[avp-derivative-rights-scoped-to-vow]] — Affiliated VOW Partner rights are *derivative* of the member's and scoped to operating that member's VOW.\n\n**Circle (iii) — BUILD ON / REPUBLISH (most effort, hardest no's):**\n- [[proptx-aua-s7c-no-decompile-analyze-derivative-works]] — PropTx AUA s.7(c) expressly forbids decompile / reverse-engineer / disable / modify / **analyze** / create derivative works of the software / MLS Database / BRS Database; s.4 prohibits use contrary to By-Laws, MLS Rules, MLS Policies, or REBBA/TRESA.\n- [[treb-encrypted-token-anti-scraping-tpm]] — TREB deploys anti-scraping services, firewalls, IDS, and encrypted token authentication as Technological Protection Measures (TPMs).\n\n**Competition Bureau v TREB (2011-2018) — the landmark case:**\n- [[competition-bureau-v-treb-2011-2018-saga-timeline]] — full 7-year timeline through to SCC dismissal Aug 23 2018.\n- [[treb-vow-restrictions-abuse-dominance-s79]] — what it OPENED: TREB's VOW exclusions held to be abuse of dominance under Competition Act s.79; order requires TREB to stop restricting member access/use, **including display of historical listings and sale prices on VOWs**.\n- [[treb-case-vow-publication-not-fully-public-mandate]] — what it LEFT unsettled: the case dealt with VOW (password-protected) publication, NOT fully public unrestricted republication.\n- [[fca-2017-mls-compilation-lacks-originality-obiter]] — in *obiter*, the FCA endorsed the Tribunal's conclusion that the TREB MLS compilation lacked the originality (skill/judgment/labour) for copyright. The single most consequential — and most contested — point for any builder.\n- [[treb-pipeda-defense-failed-on-facts-not-principle]] — TREB's PIPEDA-based justification failed on the *evidence*, not in principle; a better-evidenced privacy justification remains theoretically open.\n\n**Subsequent scraping / agent-funnelled / feed-termination cases:**\n- [[treb-v-mongohouse-2019-permanent-injunction-scraping]] — permanent injunction; scraping via TPM circumvention is unlawful (Copyright Act s.41 + AUA breach + third-party licence breaches).\n- [[trreb-v-restats-redatum-2021-fc-30-denied-injunction]] — Federal Court denied TRREB's interlocutory injunction; data \"comes from its clients, which are TRREB members\" — agent-permissioned access survived (no ruling it was lawful).\n- [[ims-v-trreb-2023-fca-70-copyright-revived]] — FCA allowed TRREB's copyright claims to proceed; prior 2017 obiter did NOT finally decide originality of *this* MLS work; **the copyright question is live again, not settled.**\n- [[ojohome-v-crea-trreb-2025-feed-terminated]] — TRREB terminated IDX access (Oct 2024); CREA restricted DDF feed (Dec 2024); brokerage's injunction to restore access denied; site cut from ~54,000 to ~11,500 listings. Boards/CREA actively police feed eligibility.\n- [[pipeda-no-independent-cause-of-action-fca]] — no independent civil action for breach of PIPEDA; complaints must go to the Privacy Commissioner first (s.14).\n\n**PIPEDA on the personal information inside listings:**\n- [[pipeda-ontario-no-substantially-similar-law-applies-in-full]] — Ontario has no substantially-similar private-sector law (only BC, AB, QC do); PIPEDA applies in full to Ontario real estate.\n- [[opc-2009-002-sold-price-address-personal-mls-not-publicly-available]] — KEY: sold price + address is personal information; pulling it from the MLS does NOT qualify for the \"publicly available\" consent exemption (even though it would also be in the land registry — the exemption depends on where you collected it from).\n- [[opc-2005-303-other-agents-mls-records-top-5-sellers]] — using *other agents'* MLS sales records in a \"top 5 sellers\" ad without consent breached Principle 4.3; merely using the MLS does not constitute consent.\n- [[crea-privacy-code-2001-10-principles]] — CREA Privacy Code in place since 2001; 10 PIPEDA principles; brokerages must obtain seller/buyer consent and produce proof on request.\n- [[opc-2009-004-aggregation-publicly-available-de-identified-analogy]] — combining publicly-available directory info with geo-demographic stats does not create new personal info; by analogy, sufficiently aggregated/de-identified market statistics likely fall outside PIPEDA consent rules — but the de-identification threshold is fact-specific (DS for the MLS-aggregate application).\n\n## Rules distilled (R1-R10)\n\n- [[rule-treat-mls-data-access-as-contract-not-login]]\n- [[rule-mls-no-scraping-tpm-circumvention-unlawful]]\n- [[rule-mls-no-derivative-works-aua-s7c-analyze-clause-is-broad]]\n- [[rule-mls-copyright-is-live-not-settled-since-2023-fca-70]]\n- [[rule-mls-sold-price-address-needs-consent-not-publicly-available]]\n- [[rule-ontario-pipeda-applies-in-full-no-substantially-similar-law]]\n- [[rule-no-mls-realtor-trademarks-adjective-only]]\n- [[rule-agent-permissioned-redatum-seam-is-exposed]]\n- [[rule-mls-member-edge-is-the-deep-layer-not-the-just-sold]]\n- [[rule-mls-inside-vs-outside-seam-do-not-recatalog-public-proxies]]\n\n## Caveats and gaps\n\nSee [[caveats-mls-data-inside-the-box-untested-clauses-and-self-reported-metrics]] for the conservative list of untested clauses, self-reported metrics, and contested copyright status. See [[gaps-mls-data-inside-the-box-register-not-located-and-counsel-items]] for the open research items (chief among them: the Drive-side register that the source session could not retrieve).\n\n## Sister briefs (existing KB)\n\nAdjacent affirmative + cautionary briefs on data, moats, and licensing-fenced commercial data: [[research-brief-information-asymmetry-decision-edge-june-2026]] (which inward decisions a proprietary information advantage changes), [[research-brief-public-data-private-moat]] (public-data moat mechanics), [[research-brief-dataset-is-the-product]] (own vs rent), [[research-brief-data-driven-tools-smb-june-2026]] (live data — edge or overkill).","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"research-brief-public-data-private-moat","title":"Research brief: Public data as a private moat — building proprietary intelligence from government open data (piece 11 of 15)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"research-brief-dataset-is-the-product","title":"Research brief: The Dataset is the Product — when a service business should own its data (piece 12 of 15)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"research-brief-data-driven-tools-smb-june-2026","title":"Research brief: live data and data-driven tools for SMBs — when it's an edge, when it's overkill (June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"research-brief-information-asymmetry-decision-edge-june-2026","title":"Research notes (capture-layer): the affirmative, inward decision-edge case for data intelligence — information asymmetry applied to pricing, demand, risk, retention, targeting (June 2026)","kind":"research-notes","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"reso-dd-2-0-architecture-41-resources-1745-fields-3683-lookups","title":"RESO Data Dictionary 2.0 — 41 resources / 1,745 fields / 3,683 lookups (ratified Oct 23 2023; effective April 15 2024)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"reso-dd-2-0-property-resource-652-fields-groups","title":"RESO DD 2.0 — Property resource is 652 fields, organised into 13 groups","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"reso-dd-2-0-full-resource-field-counts-list","title":"RESO DD 2.0 — full resource list with field counts (Property 652, Contacts 91, Member 87, Office 73, …, TransactionManagement 4)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"reso-dd-2-1-draft-44-resources-2167-fields-q1-2026","title":"RESO DD 2.1 — draft (44 resources / 2,167 fields / 4,140 lookups), targeted end of Q1 2026, not yet ratified","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"reso-rets-deprecated-june-2018-dd-2-0-ratification-timeline","title":"RESO RETS deprecated June 2018; DD 2.0 ratified Oct 23 2023, effective April 15 2024; NAR-affiliated MLS one-year certification (industry-reported ~April 2025)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"reso-marketing-1700-fields-rounded-imprecise","title":"RESO marketing \"more than 1,700 fields / 3,100 lookups\" — rounded, non-version-specific (flag)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"competition-bureau-trreb-mls-more-detailed-than-realtor-ca","title":"Competition Bureau (Canada 2014) — TRREB MLS \"much more detailed than… REALTOR.ca,\" holds previous prices, comparables, time-on-market","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"proptx-3-year-residential-5-year-commercial-sales-history","title":"PropTx / MPAC appraiser product — 3-year residential / 5-year commercial PropTx MLS sales history with full listing details and photos","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"nar-vow-3-year-minimum-sold-data","title":"NAR VOW policy — minimum of 3 years of sold data required in IDX/VOW feeds","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"reso-standardstatus-historytransactional-schema","title":"RESO StandardStatus lookups + HistoryTransactional resource — the schema that models the historical layer","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"itso-matrix-500-fields-cma-live-stats","title":"ITSO Matrix — \"more than 500 fields across property types, plus CMA tools, land registry data, neighbourhood insights, Authentisign, AnswerLink, and live market statistics\"","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"trreb-realm-listtrac-hoodq-skyslope-tools","title":"TRREB / PropTx REALM — bundles ListTrac listing analytics, HoodQ 450+ GTA neighbourhood guides, SkySlope forms","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"trreb-market-watch-monthly-months-inventory","title":"TRREB monthly Market Watch — includes \"Month's Inventory\" (absorption)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"reso-web-api-odata-v4-oauth-direct-replaces-rets","title":"RESO Web API — REST/JSON on OData v4, OAuth, calls MLS directly (no local DB duplication); NAR requires REALTOR-association MLSs to provide production-level Web API access","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"reso-provides-no-data-only-standards","title":"RESO provides NO data — only standards; data requests go to local MLSs","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"crea-ddf-2012-channels-consumer-grade","title":"CREA Data Distribution Facility (DDF®) — created 2012, opt-in via REALTOR Link®; multiple channels; feeds are consumer-grade (REALTOR.ca-level), NOT the deep layer","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"idx-nar-policy-active-reciprocity","title":"IDX (Internet Data Exchange) — NAR-governed reciprocity *policy* (not a feed), active listings + pending/sold per local option, public display no login","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"vow-password-protected-historical-sold-deeper-layer","title":"VOW (Virtual Office Website) — password-protected, requires established broker-consumer relationship, carries the deeper historical/sold/off-market layer","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"back-office-feed-deepest-not-public","title":"Back-office feed — deepest tier, powers CRM / listing / document management; must not be public; requires broker consent","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"proptx-innovations-trreb-for-profit-subsidiary-realm","title":"PropTx Innovations Inc. — TRREB's wholly-owned for-profit/taxable MLS subsidiary; REALM front-end merges land-registry and MLS data; ~70,000 members","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"proptx-mls-rules-effective-dec-2-2024","title":"PropTx MLS Rules — operative version effective Dec 2 2024 (primary PDF)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"itso-not-for-profit-2020-matrix-cotality-tiers","title":"ITSO (Information Technology Systems Ontario) — not-for-profit, established 2020, Matrix™ on CoreLogic/Cotality; Super Subscribers vs Standard Subscribers tiers","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"ontario-mls-data-divide-proptx-vs-itso","title":"Ontario MLS data divide — PropTx (TRREB-led) vs ITSO holdouts; Cornerstone (Waterloo Region) on ITSO with Cotality; single-membership agents must search multiple boards; client-facing duplicate listings + double-counted stats","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"crea-mls-realtor-trademarks-three-pillars","title":"CREA — owns MLS®/REALTOR®/Multiple Listing Service® registered trademarks; licences member boards; runs REALTOR.ca + DDF; sets national By-Laws, Rules, REALTOR® Code, Three Pillars of the MLS® Mark","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"typical-agent-uses-sliver-of-1745-fields","title":"Typical agent uses a sliver of the 1,745-field MLS dataset — active search, a handful of comps for a CMA, posting their own listing","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"absorption-months-inventory-formula-ontario","title":"Months of inventory (absorption) = active listings ÷ monthly sales; 0-4 seller / 4-6 balanced / 6+ buyer (Ontario practitioner framing)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"cancel-relist-reset-dom-zero-pasalis-globe","title":"Cancel-and-relist resets DOM to zero — Pasalis-adjacent practitioner (Globe & Mail); condo relistings hit 163pct of sales in mid-October in the 416; GTA condo months-of-inventory 3.1 in September","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"cumulative-dom-displayed-toronto-hamilton-niagara","title":"Cumulative DOM now displayed in Toronto / Hamilton / Niagara MLSs — eroding the reset tactic","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"housesigma-self-reported-2m-users-5m-visits-inconsistent","title":"HouseSigma — self-reported \"2M+ registered users / 5M+ monthly visits\" + \"1.9M Active Users / $500M+ Yearly $ Volume\"; internally inconsistent across pages — flag","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"housesigma-2018-treb-inflection-sold-prices-public","title":"HouseSigma — \"first in Canada to make sold prices publicly available\"; inflection point came shortly after the 2018 SCC-final outcome opening sold data on VOWs","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"consumer-portals-commoditise-just-sold-edge","title":"Consumer portals commoditised the \"just-sold\" edge — practitioner consensus; portals cannot capture local nuances, off-market activity, or hold-offer strategies","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"durable-member-edge-shifts-to-deeper-structured-layer","title":"Durable member edge has shifted from headline sold price to the deeper structured layer (relisting chains, sub-market absorption, list-vs-sold spreads, off-market, ListTrac analytics)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"member-may-use-mls-cma-broker-selected-comps-permitted","title":"Even where MLS prohibits *displaying* sold/expired/withdrawn/pending data, broker-selected comparables for a CMA are permitted (\"both on a VOW and in the office\")","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"mls-data-personal-information-aua-confidentiality","title":"MLS data is personal information in the agent's hands; the Authorized User Agreement is a confidentiality agreement (PropTx Rules definitions)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"idx-control-test-aggregator-fails","title":"IDX control test — if a third-party aggregation site controls the overall display, the listing fails the test and IDX's built-in consent disappears","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"seller-opt-outs-vow-forces-idx-aggregator","title":"Seller opt-outs propagate — opting a listing out of VOW forces opt-out of IDX/aggregators too; 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IMS)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"pipeda-ontario-no-substantially-similar-law-applies-in-full","title":"Ontario has no substantially-similar private-sector privacy law → PIPEDA applies in full to MLS personal info (only BC, AB, QC have substantially-similar laws)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"opc-2009-002-sold-price-address-personal-mls-not-publicly-available","title":"OPC Case Summary #2009-002 — sold price + address is personal information; pulling from MLS does NOT qualify for \"publicly available\" consent exemption (decisive against MLS-sourced republication)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"opc-2005-303-other-agents-mls-records-top-5-sellers","title":"OPC PIPEDA Case #2005-303 (and BCREA #409) — using OTHER agents' MLS sales records in a \"top 5 sellers\" ad without consent breached Principle 4.3","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"crea-privacy-code-2001-10-principles","title":"CREA Privacy Code (in place since 2001) — 10 PIPEDA principles; brokerages must obtain seller/buyer consent for board collection/use/disclosure and produce proof on request","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"opc-2009-004-aggregation-publicly-available-de-identified-analogy","title":"OPC PIPEDA Case #2009-004 — combining *publicly available* directory info with geo-demographic stats did NOT create new personal info requiring consent; **by analogy, sufficiently aggregated/de-identified MLS market stats likely fall outside PIPEDA consent (DS for the threshold)**","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"caveats-mls-data-inside-the-box-untested-clauses-and-self-reported-metrics","title":"Caveats: MLS-data inside-the-box brief (June 2026) — untested clauses, self-reported metrics, contested copyright status","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"gaps-mls-data-inside-the-box-register-not-located-and-counsel-items","title":"Gaps: MLS-data inside-the-box brief (June 2026) — public-data register not located; counsel items","kind":"research-notes","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"rule-treat-mls-data-access-as-contract-not-login","title":"Rule: treat MLS data access as a contract (DLA / AUA / VOW Terms / IDX policy), not just a login","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"rule-mls-no-scraping-tpm-circumvention-unlawful","title":"Rule: no scraping. TPM circumvention is unlawful (TREB v. Mongohouse permanent injunction)","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"rule-mls-no-derivative-works-aua-s7c-analyze-clause-is-broad","title":"Rule: no \"derivative works\" of the MLS Database. PropTx AUA s.7(c) includes \"analyze\" — broad, ambiguous, untested. Counsel-required before any analytics product asserts non-breach","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"rule-mls-copyright-is-live-not-settled-since-2023-fca-70","title":"Rule: treat MLS copyright as LIVE, not settled. 2017 FCA originality obiter was revived by 2023 FCA 70 (IMS v. TRREB)","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"rule-mls-sold-price-address-needs-consent-not-publicly-available","title":"Rule: do not republish sold price + address from MLS without consent. OPC #2009-002 — MLS-sourced ≠ registry-sourced; the \"publicly available\" exemption fails when the MLS is the source","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"rule-ontario-pipeda-applies-in-full-no-substantially-similar-law","title":"Rule: Ontario has NO substantially-similar private-sector privacy law — PIPEDA applies in full. Do not extrapolate enforcement intensity from Quebec / BC / Alberta","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"rule-no-mls-realtor-trademarks-adjective-only","title":"Rule: do not use MLS® / REALTOR® / Multiple Listing Service® marks as nouns; adjective-only (\"MLS® System\"); never in business / domain / meta-tag","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"rule-agent-permissioned-redatum-seam-is-exposed","title":"Rule: the agent-permissioned (Redatum) seam survived only an injunction — no court has ruled it lawful. Boards actively terminate feeds. Treat as exposed, build resilience","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"rule-mls-member-edge-is-the-deep-layer-not-the-just-sold","title":"Rule: the durable member edge has shifted from headline sold price (commoditised post-2018) to the deeper structured layer — build articles + products around that, not the just-sold figure","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"rule-mls-inside-vs-outside-seam-do-not-recatalog-public-proxies","title":"Rule: the seam vs the public-data register — this brief is INSIDE the box. Do NOT re-catalog the OUTSIDE proxies (HPI / StatsCan / Teranet / municipal open data / consumer sold portals)","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-21T02:03:15.561Z","updated_at":"2026-06-21T02:03:15.561Z"}