Cyberattack takes down Fresno real estate listings. Outage widespread in California, U.S.

The primary tool for real estate professionals in Fresno and other parts of California to post listings and see what’s available for buyers was still out of commission Monday from a cyberattack that took down their vendor’s servers.

Rapattoni Corporation in southern California, which hosts multiple-listing services across the state and nation, was hit by hackers on Aug. 9, and its servers remained offline Monday, said Brian Domingos, president of the Fresno Association of Realtors. Rapattoni has not provided an estimate for when the system may be restored, he said, “just that they’re working around the clock.”

Inman, a real estate information website, reported that a ransomware attack was to blame, which is when a hacker takes control of systems until a ransom is paid. Inman cited messages from Rapattoni to its customers that said federal authorities were investigating and that its insurance company was “negotiating with the ransomware individuals.” The report added that the attack is affecting hundreds of thousands of MLS member agents nationwide.

The outage means that in affected areas, home sellers won’t have as much exposure for their properties and buyers won’t be able to see as easily what’s available. This doesn’t mean agents can’t call each other or use other digital methods to spread the word. Even so, MLS services for decades have been the primary vehicles for real estate professionals to do their jobs.

The cyberattack has been cramping the flow of the local real estate market, Domingos told The Bee. “It’s challenging, because the MLS is the traditional way we find out about listings, sold listings and homes under contract. All of that is not being reported.”

The Fresno Association has been with Rapattoni for about 23 years, Domingos said. “They’re a national vendor, very reputable. But there are thousands of Realtors affected by the outage.”

The reports have caused concern over whether credit card information and other data shared by real estate agents and brokers with Rapattoni via the local MLS system could be at risk. “We’ve asked that question because we need to protect our members. Has any of that information been compromised? They told us they don’t believe so.”

It’s not clear if customer information related to listings hosted by Rapattoni’s servers was compromised.

On social media platforms Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), Rapattoni acknowledged Saturday that the company does not know when its systems will be up and running again.

“All technical resources at our disposal are continuing to work through the weekend. We still do not have an ETA at this time,” the company posted on Facebook on Saturday.

Of the hundreds of various multiple-listing services across the country, industry data sites indicate that Rapattoni serves about 5%. Rapattoni’s web site reflects that at least 34 other real estate organizations in 12 states subscribe to the company’s real-time information service. Besides the Fresno Association of Realtors MLS, other California MLS systems being affected by the attack include Bakersfield, Bay Area Real Estate Information Services, Calaveras County, Kings County, Sacramento Association of Realtors, Ojai Valley, San Francisco Association of Realtors, South Tahoe Association of Realtors, and the Tehachapi Area Association of Realtors.

Real estate professionals rely on multiple listing services to submit listings of homes for sale on a platform that allows agents representing buyers to know what homes or properties are available on the market, as well as the listing price and myriad other details including open houses. Realtors also use the MLS to update their listings to reflect what properties have sold and at what prices.

“The MLS is our primary source of data related to real estate listings,” Domingos said. “Third-party sites get their information from us (through the MLS), status changes, new listings, sold data. If a Realtor is looking for homes that meet certain criteria for buyers, or advertising open houses, they go to the MLS.”

The MLS also provides “comps,” or pricing data on comparable sales when agents are helping sellers price their properites for sale, he added..

In the meantime, the Fresno Association or Realtors – and many other affected MLS systems – are finding work-arounds. In Fresno, Domingos said, “we’re manually submitting new listings and open houses to the FRA staff, and they’re compiling those for hourly updates” to member agents.

Ralph Hoover, Rapattoni’s president, did not return a phone message left by The Bee at the company’s offices on Monday.