Under these difficult circumstances with Covid-19 we realize sellers may not want people coming into their homes and are not ready for full listing exposure, but want to let members of the MLS know that their home is for sale.  The Board of Directors has approved a rule change to remove the 21 day limit on Coming Soon listings. A listing may now be entered into the MLS for the duration of the listing contract. The Start Showing Date field is now called the Start Active Date and will remain a required field. If you're not certain when the listing will be ready for full marketing, enter the day after the end date on the listing contract to avoid the listing automatically changing to Active. As a reminder, Coming Soon listings are not included on REALTOR.com, Zillow, in any IDX feeds or other third party feeds, or viewable on customer portals. 

Please review the following summary of the Coming Soon status. You can also view the exact language of rule 10.1.2 of the MLS Rules and Regulations.

• The Start Active Date  may be for the duration of the listing contract.
   
• A listing contract and Coming Soon Addendum is required to submit a Coming Soon listing. The Addendum can be found here. It will also be available in the zipForms local forms library soon. 
   
• The Coming Soon status will be searchable from Full/Quick/Map Searches and displayed on the Hot Sheet.
   
• While a listing is in the Coming Soon status, days on market are not calculated.
   
• Once a listing goes from Coming Soon to Active status, it can never go back to Coming Soon. 
   
• Coming Soon status listings will not be included on REALTOR.com, SBAOR.com, in any IDX feeds or other third party feeds, or viewable on customer portals. 
   
• Coming Soon listings are not allowed on Tour of Homes or Open House lists.
   
• Coming Soon status listings are automatically changed from Coming Soon status to Active based on the Start Active Date via an automatic process that will run at the beginning of each day.
   
• At any time, a Coming Soon listing can be changed from Coming Soon to Active by the listing office or member.
   
• A Coming Soon status listing requires all the same data required to submit an Active listing.
   
• The “Coming Soon” status shall not be used or implemented to create a “pocket listing” or to circumvent other MLS policies or Rules. By placing a listing into the Santa Barbara MLS, members agree to cooperate with other members.  Therefore, if the listing agent will be showing the property during the “coming soon” time frame, he/she should also make the home available for other agents to show.