In an entirely expected move last Friday, Oct. 16, Compass filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against California-based CRMLS, asking a judge to prevent the MLS from enforcing its “mandatory submission” policies that the brokerage argues violates antitrust policies. As it has continued to campaign for changes to certain MLS policies, a Compass spokesperson told RISMedia…
CRMLS is not waiting around for a promised lawsuit from Compass over its listing policies, filing its own federal lawsuit against the mega-brokerage late last night as a fight over exclusive inventory and listing control has once again spilled into federal court. In the 36-page complaint, CRMLS asked a federal judge in New York to…
Above: CRMLS CEO Art Carter Back in 2020, the Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP)—compelling agents to submit properties to the MLS within one day of public marketing—recieved immediate pushback. But the headlines mostly centered on the reactions of ostensible outsiders, including listing startups that filed lawsuits and antitrust law enforcement that flagged the policy as potentially…
There is a lot of noise in the real estate industry right now. Clear Cooperation. Private listings. Lawsuits. And now a growing push toward exclusive “Coming Soon” and preview platforms. Let me be clear about where HomeSmart stands. Until shown otherwise, we believe listings should be broadly accessible, not restricted to any one platform or…
State legislatures across the U.S. have been seeing new bills that would restrict private real estate listings, with mandates that such listings also be publicly marketed. Wisconsin enacted such legislation in December 2025 (to take effect in January 2027), while another bill of this nature is under consideration in Washington state. Now, the Illinois legislature…
Compass CEO Robert Reffkin has been unafraid to challenge other industry figures. Reffkin has been an outspoken critic of the National Association of Realtors®’ (NAR) Clear Cooperation Policy, and Compass is currently engaged in litigation with Zillow over the latter’s new listing rules. Reffkin has previously claimed that Zillow, NAR and MLSs “exploit” agents in…
Above: Leo Pareja and Todd Denman Teams have a lot of reasons to change their affiliation. They also have a lot of reasons not to. As 2025 increasingly becomes the year of consolidation, big companies are scrambling to recruit high-producing teams amid a general shuffle of power and priorities across the real estate landscape—moves that…