As our readership grows exponentially (thanks for being a part of that, by the way), there are quite a few topics we've covered in years past that need to be dusted-off and revisited. These are important issues, folks! We don't want you to miss out if you were late to the party. For instance, take the issue of IDX vs. VOW. I'm going to take a few moments to preach on this since our last article on the subject was ages ago.

Definitions

• IDX (Internet Data Exchange): Also referred to as "broker reciprocity," IDX is a system whereby brokers and agents can display other participating brokers' listings on their websites – only if they reciprocate and let those other brokers display their listings, too. Participating brokers pull a data feed from the MLS that contains all the active listings for all participating brokers. There are very specific, strict rules about the fields included in the IDX data feed.
• VOW (Virtual Office Website): A VOW is a broker website that allows the public to create an account and view every bit of data (except confidential data like showing instructions) in the MLS.

What's the Same?

Both IDX and VOW are tools used by brokers to share property information with the public.

What's Different?

The central difference between IDX and VOW is the registration requirement. With VOW, consumers must create an account and sign in to view data. With IDX, there's anonymity (or as much anonymity as possible on the Internet, but that's a topic for another day).