IDX, VOW and CREA DDF explained: what your Ontario website is allowed to show
Three data feeds decide what listings your website can show and who gets to see them. Here is what each one allows in the GTA, who signs the paperwork, and why sold prices only come through one of them.
· 5 min read
Every real estate website that shows listings gets them from a data feed, and the feed decides almost everything: which listings appear, whether sold prices can be shown, and who is allowed to see them. In the GTA there are three feeds a team is likely to hear about: IDX and VOW from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) through PropTx, and CREA's DDF.
This guide explains each one in plain language, using the boards' and regulators' own descriptions, checked on November 7, 2026. It's general information, so confirm the current rules with your brokerage and the board before you sign anything.
The three feeds at a glance
| IDX | VOW | CREA DDF | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comes from | TRREB, through PropTx | TRREB, through PropTx | CREA (REALTOR.ca DDF®) |
| What it shows | Active listings from brokerages that opt in | MLS® data for the brokerage's clients, including sold prices | Listings that members and brokerages choose to share |
| Who signs | The brokerage (IDX Data Agreement) | The brokerage (VOW Datafeed Agreement) | Brokers and members manage what they share |
| Who can see it | Anyone visiting the site | Visitors who register in a password-protected area | Anyone visiting a site that carries the feed |
| Run by a provider? | The brokerage can designate a third party | The brokerage can designate an Affiliated VOW Partner | Through technology providers CREA lists |
How listing data reaches a website
- 01
The board
TRREB's listing data is distributed by PropTx, which runs the board's online data agreements.
- 02
The brokerage
The brokerage signs the IDX or VOW agreement. A team can't sign on its own; the agreement sits with its brokerage.
- 03
The provider
The brokerage can designate a third party, called an Affiliated VOW Partner for a VOW, to take the feed and build the site.
- 04
The website
The site displays the listings under the board's rules, with the brokerage's name shown as RECO requires.
- 05
The visitor
On an IDX site, anyone sees active listings. On a VOW, visitors register first, then see the fuller data, sold prices included.
IDX: active listings for anyone
PropTx describes IDX (Internet Data Exchange) as the feed that "allows Brokerages, through reciprocal agreements, to advertise their active listings on each other's websites" (PropTx IDX Datafeed). A brokerage completes the IDX Data Agreement, and then it, or a third party it designates, can pull the listings of every brokerage that has opted in.
IDX is what most realtor websites run on. It's public, simple and familiar to visitors. Its limit for marketing is that every site with the feed shows the same listings with the same descriptions, so IDX pages rarely bring search traffic on their own. SEO for realtors in Ontario covers the pages that do.
VOW: sold data, behind registration
A VOW (virtual office website) is, in the Competition Tribunal's words as quoted by RECO, "a password-protected area of a brokerage's website where consumers can access and search a database containing MLS information" (RECO, August 28, 2018). It works like a brokerage office online: a visitor becomes a registered user first, then searches the data a brokerage could show a client in person.
PropTx offers the VOW feed to brokerages that sign its VOW Datafeed Agreement. Members who sign can access the data and "designate an Affiliated VOW Partner (AVP)" to run the site on their behalf, and everyone involved must follow the board's VOW Policy and Rules (PropTx VOW Datafeed).
Why sold prices are on VOWs
For years, TRREB kept sold prices out of the data it sent to members' VOWs. The Competition Bureau challenged that, and in April 2016 the Competition Tribunal ruled that TREB, as it was then called, had abused its dominant position. The Federal Court of Appeal dismissed TREB's appeal, and on August 23, 2018 the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear it, so the Tribunal's order took effect (Competition Bureau backgrounder). Since then, brokerages can show historical sales data, sold prices included, on a VOW.
Two limits come with it, per RECO's notice on the ruling:
- A VOW is not advertising. Sold information on a password-protected VOW isn't treated as advertising, so it doesn't need the consent that advertising a sale does.
- Advertising still needs consent. Outside the VOW, in an ad, a postcard or a public web page, registrants must not publish details of an agreement of purchase and sale, such as the price, without the written consent of the parties. And the price of a conditional offer should not be shared on a VOW either.
Why a VOW matters for leads
Registration is the step that turns a visitor into a lead. A homeowner who registers to see what sold on their street has told you who they are and what they're thinking about. That's the structure behind neighbourhood portals: public pages that rank, with sold details one click away behind registration.
CREA DDF: sharing listings across sites
CREA describes REALTOR.ca DDF® (Data Distribution Facility) as "a managed service for REALTORS® and broker owners who are looking to share listings with multiple third-party websites, while providing access to more listings for your own website" (CREA). Broker owners control how their listings are shared and can set permissions for the salespeople in their offices.
DDF works through pools. A site can show the member's own listings, the brokerage's listings, and listings from members taking part in the National Shared Pool; listings can also flow to franchisor sites and to advertising and partner sites. It's national, which makes it useful outside TRREB's area: some smaller Ontario boards reach website platforms through DDF instead of a direct feed.
CREA's page doesn't list sold history among what DDF shares. In the GTA, if you want sold prices on your site, the route is a TRREB VOW.
Which feed do you need?
- You want your site to show current listings: IDX is enough. Outside TRREB's area, your platform may use DDF instead.
- You want sold prices, and registrations as leads: you need a VOW, which means a VOW Datafeed Agreement signed by your brokerage and a provider designated as its Affiliated VOW Partner.
- You want your own listings shared on more sites: that's what DDF is for, managed by your broker.
Most website platforms handle the feed for you, but they don't all cover every board or every feed type. Our comparison of three Canadian platforms shows how they list TRREB coverage.
Getting set up
- Ask your broker of record whether the brokerage already has an IDX or VOW agreement with PropTx.
- If not, the brokerage starts the agreement online through the PropTx Data Syndication and Agreement System. PropTx's Data Administrator answers questions at 416-443-8131 or dataagreements@proptx.ca.
- For a VOW, the brokerage designates your provider as its Affiliated VOW Partner.
- Before launch, check the site against the board's display rules and RECO's advertising requirements, including the brokerage name (Bulletin 5.1).
Board policies change. This is general information, not legal advice; check with your brokerage.
