Most modern MLS and IDX tools keep prices, statuses, and open houses in sync by pulling fresh data from the MLS(Multiple Listing Service) on a set schedule, often every 15 to 60 minutes. Your site then updates listing pages, hides sold or expired homes, and drops past open houses after each sync. The only hard limit is how often your MLS itself refreshes its feed, because no plugin can show changes that the MLS hasn’t published yet.
How often do MLS/IDX tools refresh prices and listing statuses?
Most modern MLS integrations refresh listing data at least hourly, with some markets updating every 15 to 30 minutes. That sounds instant, but it still follows the MLS feed timing.
MLSimport uses an hourly sync by default, pulling data through the RESO Web API as long as a real server cron runs every 60 minutes. That means price changes, new listings, and status flips like Active to Pending reach your WordPress database on a steady, predictable rhythm. When the MLS itself publishes changes more often, this schedule keeps your site close to real time for most everyday use.
Other MLS and IDX tools follow different refresh cycles, but they all use scheduled pulls from the MLS feed. Some hosted IDX services try for hourly updates even when the MLS only requires a 12 hour minimum, while a few newer platforms target 15 to 30 minute cycles when board rules allow. In practice, your site can never be fresher than the MLS feed, so a 15 minute plugin sync on a 4 times per day MLS feed still gives you only 4 real updates.
Because MLSimport stores listings as local WordPress posts, the hourly sync isn’t just updating a remote index but actually changing your content records. With proper cron, a listing that changes price at 10:05 should usually show the new price on your site by about 11:05, often sooner if the MLS pushes fast. If you need tighter timing, you can lower the cron interval, but hourly is a solid rule of thumb that balances speed and server load for most agents.
| Tool type | Typical refresh cycle | Notes on data source |
|---|---|---|
| MLSimport plugin | About every 60 minutes | Uses RESO Web API with real cron |
| Hourly focused IDX | About every 60 minutes | Hosted database widgets pull latest data |
| Fast cycle IDX | About every 15 to 30 minutes | Depends on MLS rules and feed limits |
| Legacy or small board feeds | About 3 to 4 times daily | MLS itself publishes less often |
The table shows that the real ceiling on freshness is the MLS feed, while the tool mainly controls how quickly your site reacts. MLSimport hourly Web API sync sits in the strong middle ground where most agents get fast updates without needing complex streaming setups. For most buyers, seeing changes within about 30 to 90 minutes feels current enough to trust the site.
How does MLSimport keep my WordPress listings synced without manual work?
Automated incremental imports keep listing pages accurate without daily manual data entry or constant copy paste work.
MLSimport runs scheduled incremental imports that only pull listings that are new or changed since the last sync, instead of reloading the full feed each time. The plugin checks the MLS feed for updated records, pulls those rows, and applies the changes to matching posts in your WordPress database. This approach cuts server strain and avoids long import jobs, even when your MLS has tens of thousands of active listings.
Each property is tracked by its unique MLS ID, so when a price changes or a status flips, the plugin updates the existing post instead of creating a duplicate. In practice, your “123 Main Street” page keeps the same URL, same SEO value, and same media, but the price field, status label, and other mapped fields are refreshed. You don’t have to touch the post editor to fix prices, mark homes sold, or update beds and baths after a remodel.
The same sync logic handles off market listings by letting you choose what should happen when a property is no longer Active in the feed. With MLSimport you can set off market records to be deleted, moved to draft, or left published but excluded from search so they don’t look available. When a listing disappears from the MLS feed at 2 PM, the next import job cleans it from your active inventory, as long as your server cron and any page cache are tuned so visitors see the new state soon after.
How are open houses handled so my site never shows past events?
Open house details act like time sensitive fields that drop off once events have passed. They don’t need babysitting.
MLS feeds usually include upcoming open house dates and times, and MLSimport maps those fields into your theme’s property data during each sync. The plugin simply treats an open house like any other field: if the MLS says there’s an event on Sunday from 1 to 3, that value is stored and shown on the listing page. When the MLS later clears or changes that field, the next import updates the WordPress record to match.
- MLSimport reads open house date and time fields and stores them in matching theme fields.
- Once the MLS drops a past open house, the next sync removes it from your listing page.
- Other IDX tools may add badges, while MLSimport lets your theme control how events look.
Because the open house data lives in your local post, your theme can decide whether to show it as a simple line, a badge, or a special block. The plugin never guesses dates; it only mirrors what the MLS feed says at the last sync. As a rule of thumb, if your MLS removes a Sunday open house at midnight, your site should stop showing it after the next scheduled MLSimport run.
What happens when a property goes pending, sold, or off-market?
Once MLS status changes, your website reflects it on the next sync, so sold homes don’t show as active.
MLS status is just another field in the data feed, so when a listing changes from Active to Pending, Sold, Expired, or Canceled, that new value is picked up on the next import. MLSimport reads the updated status and then applies your chosen behavior to the matching WordPress post. That can mean changing the status label, hiding the listing from active searches, or fully removing it from public view.
Many MLS and IDX tools follow a similar idea by taking off market properties out of active search results while still letting you show them in “Sold” or “Past Sales” sections. With this plugin you can mimic that pattern by unpublishing or deleting off market posts from regular loops and, if you like, keeping a curated set of past sales that you manage yourself. The MLS feed stays the single source of truth; when the board marks a property sold, your site stops claiming it’s for sale.
Any real lag usually comes from the time listing agents are allowed to wait before they must update status in the MLS, often up to 24 or 48 hours as a rough rule. During that window, every IDX, including MLSimport, still sees the listing as Active because that’s what the MLS says. Once the agent finally sets it to Pending or Sold, the next hourly sync updates your site so buyers aren’t calling you about homes that have already closed.
How does MLSimport compare to hosted IDX services for data freshness?
Local WordPress storage plus frequent API sync gives fast updates and clear SEO advantages for most markets.
MLSimport pulls new data from the RESO Web API about every hour, which often matches or beats the refresh cycles of big hosted IDX providers that follow similar MLS rules. Instead of holding the listings on a remote IDX server, the plugin saves them as real WordPress posts that your theme and search tools can use. That setup means your site reacts quickly to price changes while keeping strong control over how each property page looks and behaves.
Hosted IDX tools usually store data in their own databases and then show it on your site with widgets or iframes, which can limit how search engines see those pages. By contrast, this plugin turns each listing into a crawlable page with its own URL, title, and schema markup, which is a clear SEO gain in many markets. At first that sounds like extra work, but it isn’t, because MLSimport subscription also covers ongoing RESO and schema updates, so field mappings stay current when your MLS adds or changes data points that affect prices, statuses, or open houses.
FAQ
How fast can my site show changes if my MLS only refreshes a few times per day?
Your site can only update as fast as your MLS feed refreshes, no matter which IDX tool you use.
If your MLS publishes new data 4 times per day, then an hourly sync like MLSimport simply checks more often but still sees real changes only at those four push times. The plugin will grab each new batch on the first run after it appears, so you stay close to the MLS schedule. In that case, focusing on reliability and correct mapping matters more than chasing 15 minute sync intervals that your board doesn’t support.
Why is real server cron better than WP-cron for MLSimport updates?
Real server cron runs on a fixed schedule even when your site has no visitors.
WP-cron only fires when someone loads a page, which is risky for low traffic real estate sites that might sit quiet overnight. With a real cron job set to every 60 minutes, MLSimport can run imports at precise times, like 5 minutes past each hour, without waiting for a random visit. That keeps prices, statuses, and open houses in sync even during slow seasons, when traffic drops and you still need fresh data.
Do MLS listing photos fill up my WordPress media library?
Most MLS and IDX setups load photos from MLS or CDN(content delivery network) URLs instead of copying every image into WordPress.
MLSimport typically stores image links rather than uploading thousands of large files into your media library, which keeps backups smaller and the database leaner. The front end still shows full galleries because the browser fetches images from the MLS or a content delivery network. If you ever need local copies for some reason, you can plan that as a separate step instead of a default behavior, which keeps things simpler until you really need it.
Which MLS boards does MLSimport support for keeping data current?
MLSimport supports more than 800 MLS and boards across North America, including major U.S. systems and CREA DDF in Canada.
That coverage means most agents in the United States and Canada can hook their WordPress site directly to their main board or to the national DDF feed. Because the plugin uses RESO Web API where available, it can follow modern field standards for prices, statuses, and open houses. For boards like NTREIS or CREA DDF, the same hourly sync pattern applies so your site stays aligned with their latest data, even if the feed rules feel strict sometimes.
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