Garden State MLS

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Summary

We want to assure you that GSMLS will continue operating during this time of uncertainty and that we are here to support our members.

While GSMLS offices are currently closed we are able to provide all services without requiring in-person visits to our offices.

What follows is a list of ALL Temporary changes that GSMLS has made related to the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Listing Status and Showing Requirements

(A) Active status: 

These listings must be available for showings.  Any restrictions on showings (e.g., by appointment only, subject to screening questions that are asked of all clients, etc.) must be disclosed in the Showing Instructions and Special Showing Instructions.  If you are using a GSMLS Keybox and have turned on the Call Before Showing code (CBS, details below), you must disclose that in the Special Showing Instructions for the listing. 

The requirement that (A) Active listings be available for showing can now be satisfied by:

Including a Virtual Tour in the Virtual Tour section of Edit Media.  Please note that a Virtual Tour must be unbranded, just like listing photos, since Virtual Tours are made available to the public through  emails from the GSMLS system, on the GSMLS public website, within GSMLS IDX data feeds, and  within GSMLS data feeds to third parties like Realtor.com, Zillow, etc.  

- OR -

Posting a Virtual Showing in the Links section of Edit Media and noting this in Special Showing Instructions.  A Virtual Showing may be prerecorded or may be a “live” showing of the property with or without an interactive component.  Since a Virtual Showing will likely be branded (i.e., it will show or identify the listing broker or listing agent) only other GSMLS members can access Virtual Showing links.  It is a cooperating broker’s responsibility to establish the procedure the cooperating broker’s agents should follow when presenting their clients with virtual showing options.      

GSMLS Members can quickly identify whether a listing includes a Virtual Tour by looking for a “V” in the Media field that is displayed on reports (next to the number of images available for listings).  If any links, including a Virtual Showing link, are included with a listing, an “L” will be displayed in the same location.  Please remember, however, if a Virtual Showing link is included with a listing, the availability of the Virtual Showing MUST be noted in the Special Showing Instructions in order for the listing to be considered available for showing. 

(T) Temporarily Withdrawn status: 

If all showings of an Active listing, including showings by the listing office, are being stopped temporarily, you must change the listing status to T. Information that you and your sellers want to make available to other GSMLS members regarding when showings might resume for the property can be posted in the Agent Remarks. If the listing has a GSMLS Keybox, consider removing it to ensure that showings do not occur. Be aware that listings in the T status will expire once the expiration date is reached, but it is possible to extend the expiration date prior to the listing expiring.

Update 3/26 – GSMLS is working to implement a change in the calculation of Days On Market (DOM) to exclude days that a listing is Temporarily Off-Market (listing status of T).  The change will be retroactive to the state’s declaration of a public health emergency earlier in March.

(CS) Coming Soon status: 

This listing status is only available when a listing is initially submitted to GSMLS (it is not possible to change an existing listing to the CS status) and only applies to listings that DO NOT PERMIT ANY SHOWINGS of the property.  If any showings are permitted for the listing, the listing status must be Active.

Open Houses with Virtual Showings

As reported above, Virtual Tours and Virtual Showings now satisfy the “available for showing” requirement for Active listings. We have added a Yes/No field for Virtual Showings to Open House, along with a field for the URL/link. Those changes were released on March 26th. GSMLS’ public site and emails from the GSMLS system will display these fields. We expect to make these fields available during the week of March 30th to all vendors that receive data from GSMLS for IDX and other sites such as Zillow, Realtor.com, etc. **NOTE: GSMLS was notified on March 25th that Zillow and Trulia will be removing Open Houses from their sites. It is possible that others will follow suit or change to accommodate alternatives like virtual showings.

Training

In-person training for GSMLS is suspended until further notice. However, GSMLS is now offering remote, instructor lead training (See the Training Schedule link at the bottom left of the Homepage). Additionally, online intro training is currently available within the system by using the menus at the top right for Hello (your name) -> Online Training and then choosing Introduction. Additional, advanced online training will be made available in the near future.

Instructions/Tips related to the Temporary Changes

How To Add A Virtual Tour To A Listing:

Members can add unbranded Virtual Tours to their listings by navigating to Agent Inventory -> Active then choosing Edit Media -> Virtual Tour.   There are over 130 unbranded virtual tour vendors currently approved by GSMLS.  If your vendor supplied you with a link for GSMLS virtual tours, copy that link into the URL input box.  Otherwise, use the magnifying glass at the end of the URL input box to search for your vendor.  When you find your vendor, click the vendor’s name in the search box and GSMLS will populate the URL input box for you but remember to input your Tour ID at the end of the URL.  Be sure to click Save once you have entered you tour(s). If your virtual tour vendor is NOT on the list of approved vendors, please email HelpDesk@gsmls.com with contact information for your virtual tour vendor. 

How To Add A Virtual Showing To A Listing:

Members can add Virtual Showings (such as links to FaceBook streams, Zoom or WebEx meetings, etc.) to their listings by navigating to Agent Inventory -> Active then choosing Edit Media -> Links.

Supra Keybox Call Before Showing (CBS) codes:

If showings for your listing are by appointment only or otherwise require that the listing agent be contacted prior to the showing of a property, GSMLS keyboxes can be used to help enforce that requirement.  If you enable the CBS code on your keybox, eKey holders will be required to enter the CBS code in addition to their PIN in order to obtain keys from the keybox. 

** If you are enabling the CBS code for your keybox, be sure to note this in the Special Showing Instructions for your listing.

Enable or Disable “Require CBS Code” (You need the keybox in your possession to do this.)

1. Turn on the keybox.
2. Open the Supra eKEY app and select My Keyboxes.
3. Select a keybox.
4. Select Program Keybox.
5. Select Require CBS to enable or disable. ** If you are enabling CBS, you can also edit the CBS code by tapping the current code and changing it.
6. Select Program.
7. Enter shackle code.

Displaying Addresses and Street Names in Media:

Unbranded virtual tours may now display property addresses and maps.  In addition, listing photos may include visible street signs.