News & Past Hot Tips

To improve clarity & transparency for buyers searching on public websites, the SCWMLS Board of Directors recently passed a new requirement for the word “Auction” to prominently display on the main photo of all auction listings. We are finding that consumers do not always read the MLS remarks, and are often confused about the price that displays.

Below is an example of an acceptable disclosure. Photo labels in Paragon do not display on public websites, so please add the disclosure to the photo itself. If an auction listing is entered into the MLS without “Auction” prominently noted on the main photo, it will automatically be added for you.

Additional information and requirements for auction properties can be found here. As always, if you have any questions regarding this new policy, please contact MLS staff at listings@wisre.com.

If you are working with a buyer on the purchase of a listing that is marked Limited Service = Yes, please notify the listing agent when an offer is accepted, and again once the property has closed. With limited service listings, the cooperating agent often works directly with the seller, and the listing agent is not informed of accepted offers or closings. Please take this extra step to notify them, so they can update the MLS and ensure all members have access to accurate and timely data.

Many agents use their smartphone to take photos for their listings. There is a setting that will cause the photo files to be saved in an incompatible format called ‘heic’. If this happens you won’t be able to upload them to your listing because that file format is not currently supported in Paragon. To make sure this doesn’t happen, check the settings in your camera app.

On Android, open the camera app and tap the gear wheel icon at the top left to access the settings. Tap Advanced picture options, and make sure High efficiency pictures is toggled off.	On iPhone, go to Settings, Camera, and tap Formats. Make sure Camera Capture is set to Most Compatible.

But what if you already took a lot of photos and they are saved in the heic format? One workaround is to email the photos from the phone, because emailed photos are sent as jpegs.

If they are already saved on your computer in heic format, use a conversion tool such as iMazing Converter.

The Type feature pick list contains three distinct stages for properties that are under construction or newly built:

• Building Plan with Lot = Proposed home is not yet started. Building plans are allowed on the MLS only if they include land with the sale, and only one building plan per lot may be entered. If there are additional floorplan or finish options, these can be noted in the remarks.
• Under Construction = Hole has been dug & construction is underway. The estimated date of completion (or stage of completion at the time of listing) is required in the first line of the public remarks.
• New/Never Occupied = New home is completed & move-in ready. A photo of the front exterior of the home is required at this stage.

It is important to update the feature as a home moves from plan, through construction, to finish. If you add upgrades or finish more square footage than the original listing states, please adjust the price and applicable fields/features in the MLS to reflect these changes. We often see the sale price several thousand dollars more than the list price due to additions/upgrades, which makes it difficult to use these sales for appraisals and CMAs.

To find upcoming Broker Opens, you can use the Tours section on the Market Monitor. For both the Tours and Open House categories, the “Day(s)” field defines the number of days looking forward. So to see if there are any Broker Opens coming in the next 2 weeks, type 14 in the Day(s) field then click Refresh. Click the number to view the details. The maximum number of days you can enter is 30. You can also run a Tour/Open House Search – click the Search icon and choose Tour and Open House. Under Tour/Open House Status choose T – Tour. This method allows for more options to narrow down your search, as well as allowing you to look forward more than 30 days.

On Tuesday, 11/5, we enhanced how open houses and broker opens are entered and searched for within Paragon. In short, you will now add open houses and broker opens (tours) from the listing input & maintenance screen or from the Select an Action menu:

This enhancement will:

• Allow you to enter more than two open houses at a time
• Allow you to take advantage of open house alerts to consumers via Collaboration Center
• Put all upcoming open houses and broker opens front and center via the home page Market Monitor
• Streamline workflow and allow downstream vendors easier and more uniform access to open house data (all vendors were notified of changes on 10/11)

Active open houses have been automatically moved to the new Open House module, so there is no need to re-enter what is already in Paragon.

Click here for detailed instructions on this new enhancement

There are two types of days on market (DOM) counts in the MLS:

• DOM = the number of days an individual MLS # has been actively marketed (Active, Offer-Bump, or Offer-Show status). The DOM resets each time a new MLS # is entered.
• CDOM = the cumulative number of days a property has been actively marketed. This includes the DOM from previous MLS #s. The CDOM will only reset if a property is off-market for at least 31 days between listings.

A few notes:

• To ensure a DOM count of 0, a listing must be entered on the list date.
• Days on market do not accumulate while a listing is in Delayed, Withdrawn by Seller, or Offer-No Show status.
• In order to enter a new MLS #, a new listing contract must be secured (an amendment does not suffice). If a new listing contract is not obtained, the new listing will be deleted and a fine of $50 will be assessed.

When you’re looking at a listing with a lot of documents that you want to print out, there is a way to print all of them at once. This can be done from a report view called ConnectView. If you are looking at the Agent Full view in Paragon, click the green Reports button and choose ConnectView. If you don’t see ConnectView under Favorites it will be under Specialty Views.

Scroll down and click the Documents bar to show all the attached documents. At the top right there is a Print PDF button.

Clicking this will allow you to combine some or all of the documents into a single PDF file, which you can then print or save.

When viewing a listing in Paragon, the correction button can be found in the toolbar directly above the listing information:

In Paragon Connect, it can be found within the three-dot menu in the upper right corner:

You can use CubiCasa floor plans to easily create an interactive virtual tour for your listing. After making your scan, purchase the Plus or Plus 3D plan at a 25% member discount. Then upload your listing photos and CubiCasa will automatically place them on the floor plan and create an interactive tour. You will get a link to the tour to add to your listing.

Click here to see an example, and for more information.

Are you tired of reading about the rules? Then check out our “fun” video that explains what you need to know about entering new listings (in under 2 minutes!):

The responsive design of Paragon’s new Collaboration Center provides a robust and seamless experience across all devices—smartphone, laptop, tablet, or desktop. Agents can quickly set up personalized buyer and seller portals with rich content and an interactive dashboard. Through their personalized portal, buyers can:

• View new matches, changes, and agent-recommended listings
• Mark homes as favorites, possible, or rejected
• Add comments, compare, and tag listings
• Communicate easily and request showings with their agent
• Search homes and save searches (if enabled by agent)
• Use a mortgage calculator

The portal also includes local property data (schools, history, transport, restaurants, etc.), and agents can track buyer activity in real time.

Click here for an updated list of schools by county & district for the 2024-2025 school year.

In response to intermittent issues with mobile carriers blocking SMS/text notifications, ShowingTime recently implemented a new opt-in feature to ensure more seamless message delivery. To continue receiving important updates and key listing notifications, please take a few moments to confirm you have opted-in to receive SMS text messages from ShowingTime.

Complete the opt-in process: When a new mobile number is added to ShowingTime, or after 60 days of inactivity for an existing mobile number, ShowingTime will send an opt-in text message. It will state: “You’re in! Stay updated on your listing appointments. Reply START to receive SMS notifications from ShowingTime. Msg & data rates may apply. Text STOP to unsubscribe.” You must reply “START” to complete the opt-in process.

• Texts will be paused until ShowingTime receives confirmation. Once confirmed, messages that were not sent while waiting for the opt-in will be delivered.
• The prompt will be resent after 60 & 120 days to ensure receipt. If there is no response, or the recipient replies with STOP, the mobile number will be marked as “Do Not Send” and no further text notifications will be sent to that number.
• If you’re not receiving text messages, or you inadvertently opted out, text “START” to 847-865-6549 to opt in at any time.

We also suggest downloading the ShowingTime mobile app. Clients can also download the Home by ShowingTime app to stay informed throughout their buying or selling journey. For more ShowingTime information and to download the mobile apps visit:

SCWMLS ShowingTime Page

SCWMLS Supra eKEY users automatically have access to Central Wisconsin and LaCrosse Area MLS Supra keyboxes. In addition, they can request access to Supra keyboxes in the Northeast WI MLS by contacting our office. You can check to see which MLS’s your eKEY is currently programmed to access by clicking the right arrow (>) next to “South Central Wisconsin MLS” within the orange bar located near the top of your Supra eKEY app home page. More information on accessing keyboxes in other areas can be found here.  

Highlights Include:  

We are excited to share that SCWMLS members can once again click to schedule showings through Paragon for Metro MLS listings (MM prefix).  This integration utilizes Metro’s showing service, Aligned Showings.

The Aligned Showings icon looks like this: and can be found in the same location as our ShowingTime link.  This integration has been turned on in the main SCWMLS database. Each member will be required to accept an end user agreement when accessing the software for the first time.

Scheduling a Showing via Aligned Showings is Easy

1. From the agent full report in Paragon, click to access a calendar.  Within Paragon Connect, click Aligned Showings within the list of integrated products.
2. Click the date for your showing request, the type of showing, and click Next.
3. You will be presented with available times. Drag the time bar to select the time you would like. Showings are set for 30 minutes by default. You can change this by accessing a drop down on the right of the time bar.  Click Next.
4. Enter a message, if you would like, before sending your request. This may be a good time to request keybox access. Click Send.
5. Watch for confirmation via email.

We understand your time is valuable and appreciate your patience as we worked on this new integration.  If you have any questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to support@wisre.com.

When entering the above grade, below grade, and total square footage fields for a new listing, only include space that is finished. To be considered finished, the following components are needed:

1. Heat source
2. Finished walls
3. Finished ceiling
4. Finished flooring

If one component is missing, the space can still be counted as finished, but the missing component must be disclosed in the public remarks. If two or more components are missing, the space cannot be counted as finished. The room dimensions section should only include finished rooms. More detail can be found within this helpful guide.