Three separate federal lawsuits involving Compass and seven different MLSs are now making their way through the (often slow-moving) civil litigation process, marking a clear new level of conflict between incumbents defending long-running industry practices and deep-pocketed disruptors with new priorities. The confrontation comes after more than a year of fast-escalating tensions, in which the…

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Outspoken independent broker Anthony Lamacchia, who has never hesitated to share opinions and engage on hot industry topics, has been relatively quiet (at least by his standards) on the current industrywide debate over listing policies. Until now. In a 13-minute video posted to his coaching YouTube channel on Oct. 19, Lamacchia excoriated Compass’s focus on…

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A third MLS today publicly rejected threats from Compass over listing rules, as New York-based OneKey MLS joined CRMLS in California and Unlock MLS in Texas in refusing to change policies despite significant back-channel pressure and legal threats from the mega-brokerage. In a release early this morning, OneKey CEO Richard Haggerty said the MLS would…

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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…

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Amid the evolving arms race for inventory, and policy disputes focused on listing access, Compass today launched what it is calling a website “redesign,” bringing a huge amount of “Coming Soon” listings from all its brands together in one place. Dubbed “See It First,” the mega-brokerage is pitching the new format as a way to…

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