Can I customize the search filters to include investor-relevant options like year built, lot size, days on market, or price reductions?

Yes, you can customize search filters for investor needs when you use MLSimport with a strong real estate theme. Fields like year built, lot size, days on market, and price changes come from your RESO (Real Estate Standards Organization) MLS feed. MLSimport saves them into WordPress so your theme can filter them like any other field. You wire MLS fields to theme fields once, then build investor searches in the theme’s search builder without touching code again.

How does MLSImport let me add investor-specific filters like days on market?

Investor filters like days on market start working once you map those fields into your theme. At first this feels complex. It really isn’t.

The MLS feed usually includes RESO-standard fields such as DaysOnMarket or the dates needed to compute it from ListDate and CloseDate. MLSimport pulls those fields into WordPress as numeric meta on each property, so they become normal query options. Your theme’s search builder can then treat days on market like price or beds and display it as a slider, dropdown, or min or max input.

In a theme like WPResidence, the built-in search form can show Days on Market as a numeric filter with preset ranges such as 0–7, 0–14, or 0–30 days. MLSimport just needs the mapping step, where you connect the RESO DaysOnMarket value or a computed value to a theme field in the plugin settings. After that, you can create fresh listings search pages by setting a default filter like DOM under 14 days.

This setup means you don’t calculate days on market yourself or write custom SQL queries. The plugin keeps the field updated whenever the MLS feed runs, often about once per hour as a starting point, and the theme’s normal property search reads that value. You can also sort by days on market, so investors can pull older or stale listings first if they want longer-on-market deals.

• Days on market values come from RESO DaysOnMarket and stay numeric.
• The mapping screen links DaysOnMarket into a theme field once.
• The search builder lets you add DOM as a range, slider, or simple minimum.
• You can clone search pages and lock in DOM caps like under 7 or 30 days.

Can MLSImport support filters for year built, lot size, and other property attributes?

Any numeric property field in your MLS feed can usually become a range filter on the site. There are edge cases, but they’re rare.

The RESO Data Dictionary includes standard fields such as YearBuilt, LotSizeAcres, and BuildingAreaTotal. MLSimport reads these from your MLS Web API and saves them into WordPress meta fields or mapped theme fields. Once that link is in place, your search form can show them as sliders, min or max boxes, or dropdowns like Built after 2000 or 1–5 acres, all set from the theme options.

In practice, you pick which RESO fields to map inside the MLSimport configuration screen, then choose matching target fields in your theme property setup. For example, you might map YearBuilt to a custom year_built field and LotSizeAcres to lot_size_acres. With that done, your theme can filter, sort, and show them without any custom code at all. MLSimport keeps those fields synced each time it imports or updates data from the MLS feed.

You can also build separate search pages that focus on different attributes, which matters for investors who care most about structure age or land area. One page might highlight land and acreage where the search leans on lot size range and skips beds and baths. Another might target newer builds only with a default filter like Year built ≥ 2010. The plugin just feeds clean numeric data while your theme UI controls how investors see and use the fields.

These mapped fields stay numeric inside WordPress so the theme can run faster meta queries and sort results with less trouble. For investors, that means filters like over 2 acres or more than 2,000 square feet act as real numeric searches, not loose text checks. MLSimport keeps those details accurate as the MLS data changes over time.

Is it possible to filter by price reductions, distressed properties, or value opportunities?

You can show price drops and distressed inventory with dedicated investor search pages that update on their own. This is where many investors actually start.

Many MLS feeds publish fields such as PriceChangeTimestamp, PreviousListPrice, StatusChangeDate, and status flags for REO, short sale, or foreclosure. MLSimport brings these fields into WordPress so your theme can treat recent price change or distressed status like any other search field. With that in place, you can build pages such as Price drops in last 7 days or Foreclosures under 300k that refresh each time the import runs.

You can also mix numeric fields to build rough value signals without custom coding. For example, some themes let you filter by price per square foot using the imported ListPrice and BuildingAreaTotal values. MLSimport doesn’t pick an investor method for you, but it gives your theme the clean data needed to build saved searches and landing pages that focus on reductions, status changes, or other deal signals on autopilot.

How do I actually add or rearrange investor filters in my MLSImport-powered search?

You manage investor filters through your theme’s visual search builder, not by changing the plugin code. This is the part most people like.

In a common setup with a theme like WPResidence, you’ll see a drag and drop search form builder in the theme options. That builder reads the property fields that MLSimport has filled from the MLS feed, such as year built, lot size, days on market, and price change dates. You choose which of those fields to show, change labels, pick the input style, and order them in the form, all from the WordPress admin.

For example, you might rename Lot Size to Acreage to match how your investors talk and show it as a range slider between 0.25 and 20 acres. In the same builder, you can move Days on Market next to price and beds or hide non investor fields like HOA amenities from an investor specific form. MLSimport does not cap how many filters you include; the real limit is how much your theme and hosting can handle in a single query.

Many site owners end up with at least two main search forms: a general buyer search and an Investor Search that shows stronger filters like DOM, year built, lot size, and maybe building area. With MLSimport providing local data instead of an iframe widget, your designer is free to match the search layout to any landing page style you prefer. You can drop a slim investor bar in a hero section, a full width advanced form on a main investor page, or a compact sidebar search on content pages without changing the plugin at all.

Can I add niche investor filters like multi-family only, 2–4 units, or cap-rate proxies?

Niche investor searches come from mixing mapped MLS fields with your own custom taxonomies or flags. It sounds heavy, but it’s mostly setup work.

Most RESO feeds include fields such as PropertyClass, PropertySubType, and NumberOfUnitsTotal, which are enough to build multi family and 2–4 unit filters. MLSimport reads those and stores them in WordPress, so your theme can expose Multi family, Duplex, Triplex, or Fourplex as checkboxes or as a main property type filter. For small multi family investors, you can tighten this more by requiring units between 2 and 4.

You can also fake cap rate style searches with mixes of price, units, and living area. For example, you might create a saved cash flow search page that requires at least 2 units, a maximum price of 500,000, and a minimum building size. MLSimport doesn’t calculate yield numbers, but because the data is local, you can add a custom field like Investor Grade in the theme and fill it from MLS flags or manual tagging for certain listings. That same tag can then power a simple Investor Only checkbox in your search form or a taxonomy archive like Off market opportunities.

I should pause here. Some people expect a magic cap rate button. You won’t get that. What you do get is the raw pieces, and then you or your developer decide how strict or loose that investor grade tag should be. That gap between tools and choices never fully goes away.

FAQ

Can every investor-relevant MLS field become a search filter on my site?

Any investor field that your MLS provides and MLSimport maps into WordPress can usually become a search filter through your theme. There’s one catch.

If your feed includes values such as DaysOnMarket, YearBuilt, LotSizeAcres, or PriceChangeTimestamp, MLSimport will store them as meta fields on each property. Your theme’s search builder then sees those fields and lets you add them as sliders, dropdowns, or text inputs. The real limit is whether the MLS sends the data at all, not the plugin itself.

Does MLSImport limit how many filters I can show to investors?

The plugin doesn’t set a strict cap on filter count; performance mostly depends on your theme queries and hosting power.

You can include many fields such as beds, baths, year built, lot size, DOM, and more in one form if your theme supports them. On common shared hosting, keeping visible filters under about 15 to 20 is a decent rule of thumb for speed, but stronger servers can handle more. MLSimport simply feeds the data, and you tune the number of active filters based on page load tests.

Can I keep investor filters consistent if I pull listings from more than one MLS?

Yes, multi MLS setups can still share one investor search because RESO standard fields line up across feeds fairly well. It’s not perfect, but it works.

MLSimport connects to each RESO compliant MLS using the same field names for core data like ListPrice, YearBuilt, and LotSizeAcres. When you map those once to your theme fields, the search form doesn’t care which MLS a property came from. You get one unified investor search where a Built after 2000 filter applies across all connected MLS regions.

How can I confirm that lot size or price change data is actually available in my MLS feed?

You can ask MLSimport support to review your feed and confirm whether certain investor fields are present. This step saves guesswork.

Different boards expose different optional fields, even under RESO, so checking early avoids frustration later. Support can inspect sample records from your MLS and tell you if fields like LotSizeAcres, PreviousListPrice, or PriceChangeTimestamp are filled. Once you know what’s there, you map those into your theme and design investor filters around real, not assumed, data.