News & Past Hot Tips

We are excited to announce that effective Tuesday, April 22nd, Delayed listings will be eligible for Collaboration Center and auto-email notifications via SCWMLS. This enhancement will allow agents to configure Paragon searches to automatically notify consumers of Delayed listings.

Here are a few important details:

• Effective 4/22, listings in Delayed status will be visible to consumers who are set up on Paragon searches in the main SCW database.
• To include Delayed listings in existing notifications and saved searches, agents will need to manually add Delayed status to their search criteria (on or after 4/22).
• We are not allowed to include Delayed listings from other MLSs in our auto-email notifications, so these will no longer display in the main SCW database. They can still be found by switching to WIREX. Delayed listings in these counties will appear in the main SCW database once they are Active. (We will keep you updated if Delayed listings from other MLSs are approved for inclusion in the future).

Additional information on Delayed status can be found here. Please feel free to contact listings@wisre.com with any questions.

SCWMLS is aware of the recent NAR delayed listing announcement. We are reviewing the change and will communicate with our members before the change takes effect on September 30th. In the meantime, the current rules for Delayed listings and Office Exclusive listings continue to apply. Please click the following graphic for more information:

Lone Wolf/Zipform is having a global issue this morning. Members are logging in and being told they are inactive in NRDS (they are not) and to contact their local association.

We are working with our representatives at Lone Wolf to resolve the problem ASAP and will update this post when it has been resolved.

As a member of South Central WI MLS, you also have free access to the NAR’s Realtors Property Resource. RPR delivers on-the-go access to an all-encompassing real estate platform, available exclusively to REALTORS®, and offered at no additional cost. Easily accessed through desktop, iOS, and Android devices.

Research properties, create reports, and answer client questions—all within minutes. A wealth of information and property data awaits you. Listings, tax and mortgage history, sales, valuations, demographics, psychographics, and school and neighborhood information, to name just a few.

Go here and click ‘Create a New Account’ to sign up for free access to this powerful resource.

For more information and help guides, click here.

SCWMLS is aware of the recent NAR delayed listing announcement. We are reviewing the change and will communicate with our members before the change starts September 30th. For now, business will continue as usual.

The security of clients’ properties is a top priority for all of us. If you have a change of plans with regard to the timing of an appointment or who will be showing a property, please communicate this to the listing agent ahead of time – even if the agents are within the same firm.

Accessing a property (or sharing access information) without the seller or listing agent’s permission can result in fines to the showing agent(s) and their broker. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping clients’ informed & their properties secure!

To resolve the issue with Collab Center email links not opening on mobile devices, users may need to clear their internet browser history & cache. If you are still experiencing the issue after taking the following steps, please contact support@wisre.com.

Click here for a PDF of instructions for clearing cache

iPhone:

• go into Settings and tap Apps
• tap Safari
• scroll down and tap Clear History and Website Data
• choose All history
• tap Clear History

Android:

• in Chrome, click the 3 dots menu at the top left
• tap Delete browsing data
• change ‘Last 15 minutes’ to ‘All time’
• tap Delete data

Did you know the MLS has an associated document for marketing energy efficient features of a home? It’s a great way to highlight things like solar panels, green building certifications, and other energy-saving upgrades & appliances. Check it out here!

There are also several features in the MLS that can be used to draw attention to these improvements (here’s where to find them on the profile sheets). Why should you include this information on your listing? Not only can it attract a larger pool of buyers (and potentially increase property value), it is also useful to appraisers when researching comparable sales.

It’s that time of year again! Daylight Saving Time began on Sunday, March 9, 2025.

Please remember that Supra BT LE lockboxes do not adjust for Daylight Saving Time. For agents that have programmed lockbox access hours, the effective access hours on those lockboxes will be one hour later during Daylight Saving Time than the pre-set access hours.

To ensure fairness & cooperation, please keep these important rules in mind:

• If a new listing is to be entered as Delayed, or as Active with a future show date, no one – including the listing agent/firm – can show the property during the period between the list date and entry into the MLS. The grace period for MLS entry allows time to gather information. It does not provide an opportunity to show the property if it will not be available for showings when it hits the MLS. 
• If a listing is Delayed or Active with a future show date, it cannot be shown to potential buyers or previewed by any agent – including the listing firm. Agents from the listing firm may be given access to the property on an individual basis only to assist the listing agent with marketing preparations (ex: staging, offering a price opinion). Any type of group tour by the listing firm is considered a violation.
• The only circumstance in which a delayed listing can be shown is if a sight unseen offer has been fully accepted by all parties. Once accepted, that buyer may be given access to the property since they have a binding purchase agreement.  In all other circumstances, showing a delayed listing will result in review & potential sanctions by the MLS Board of Directors.
• For a helpful chart on the “Dos & Don’ts” of Delayed listings, click here.

As a reminder, Wisconsin Statute 452.136 and the Code of Ethics Standard of Practice 12-5 require that you include your firm name in all advertising, including social media. This ensures compliance with state regulations and helps maintain transparent business practices. For further guidance, please refer to this helpful article by the WRA on the Do’s and Don’ts of advertising.

There is currently a bug in the display of the Open House date and time info on MLS data sheets. Extra code characters are being displayed:

Until the bug is fixed, the workaround is to switch the output type in Print + from PDF to HTML:

Listings that are no longer available for showings due to an accepted offer must be moved to the status of Offer-No Show. It does not matter if all contingencies are removed; the deciding factor is if showings are allowed or not. A listing can go directly from Active to Offer-No Show status if a seller does not wish to continue showings once the offer is accepted. MLS rules require this change within 3 days of when the property is no longer available to show.

The MLS continues to receive reports of a scam in which an agent is contacted to list a property (often vacant land) by someone posing as the property owner. The scammer will typically handle all communication remotely and request the property be listed for less than its value in order to generate immediate interest. This helpful article from the WRA explains the scam and how to avoid it.​ NAR also has some tips and an informative video on the topic.

If the fraudulent lead came from Realtor.com or Homes.com, please forward the info to listings@wisre.com, as MLS staff can assist in getting the user blocked. Agents may also forward any suspected spam leads from Realtor.com directly to customercare@realtor.com

Another resource is PropertyFraudAlert.com. This free public service is monitored by the county land records offices and will alert a property owner of potential fraudulent recordings that affect their property. Although it does not prevent fraud from happening, it provides an early warning system so the property owner can take the appropriate action if fraudulent activity has occurred. It may be particularly helpful to share this with a property owner who has had someone pose as them and attempt to list their property. Sign up is quick & easy. Go to PropertyFraudAlert.com, select the state & county in which the property is located, and choose how you’d like to be notified.

Within Paragon, there is an easy way to see the number of potential buyers (Paragon contacts with saved searches) at the current list price, and how many there would be if the price were changed.  This functionality is available for partial listings and subject properties, as well as live listings.  When maintaining a listing click the Price Analysis button at the top:

The popup will show the current number of buyers that currently match your property. Enter the new price you are considering and click Recalculate Buyers to see the difference that would make. Click the Use New Price button to use the new price on the listing, then click Save Listing.

Check out this short video demonstrating this cool feature:

UPDATE 1/28 – The issue has been resolved.

UPDATE 1/23 – The fix for this problem will be applied during the next downtime maintenance period, Tuesday morning 1/28 from midnight until 6:00am.

If you sold a property in one of these counties that was listed by a member of another MLS, the listing should already be in the SCWMLS.  If you were not properly credited on the buyer side, simply forward the closing statement & “drafted by” page of the offer to listings@wisre.com.  We will credit you with the sale so it appears in your SCWMLS inventory & production statistics.

The start of a new year is a good time to pull statistics – not only to help set goals for the coming year, but also to make sure you were properly credited with prior year sales (if any are missing, please forward the closing statement & “drafted by” page of the accepted offer to listings@wisre.com).

Here’s how to pull the report in Paragon:

Under the Resources menu, choose Paragon Statistical Reporting:

In the menu on the left side of the screen, click the arrow next to Sales Detail (under Broker) to expand that section, and then choose Agent:

In the criteria screen that appears, change the Date Range dropdown to Year, enter 2024 in the Begin and End date fields, and then click Generate. This will display a report of all the properties you listed and/or sold in 2024, as well as your units & volume for the year.

To set up a buyer on Collab Center with auto notifications about new properties you need two things: a contact, and a saved search. The quickest way to set this up:

1. ​​ Create a contact – Click the Contacts icon and choose Create Contact. Enter a first name, last name, and email address, then click the Save button at the top left.

2.  Build the search – On the left panel click Buyer Activity, then click the green plus sign Add Search. Then to the right, click the green plus sign Add New Saved Search.

Put in your criteria, then hover over the Save Search button and choose Save Search. It will suggest a search name for you which you can change if you like. Click Save.

​3.  Send the Welcome Message – Click the blue Send Welcome Message button to send them the link to access their Collab center site.

​​That’s it! The search is now running and will send them new matches and price changes.