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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Above: Alex Vidal. Photo by AJ Canaria. Shortly after REMAX President Alex Vidal joined the brokerage after three years at ERA Real Estate, Compass—which now owns ERA—filed a lawsuit against Vidal for allegedly violating a non-compete agreement. Filed in Texas on Sept. 19, the case was recently moved to the Delaware Court of Chancery.  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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It’s good for Jason Tsalkas that he fully understands his father’s Greek heritage, lest he be a bit blue at not receiving the kudos a son might expect from his dad after accomplishing what he has. After all, not only did Tsalkas choose to change careers and pivot into real estate, as did his father,…

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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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Above: Howard Hanna Real Estate Services CEO Hoby Hanna. Photos by AJ Canaria. There’s a sea change confronting the residential real estate industry, and Hoby Hanna isn’t mincing words: “Brokerage is not enough anymore. Not for Howard Hanna, not for your company, not for our agents, and ultimately not for the consumer.” Hanna delivered this…

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Editor’s note: This is the third of a three-part series on how agents earn recommendations and referrals from AI. Read part one here and part two here. When a prospective buyer or seller asks someone they trust to recommend a real estate agent, you want your name to be the first one mentioned. What happens…

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The environment I’m mini golfing with my kids on a day off when a request comes in from one of my agents. She needs market data to present to a client. After 20 years in this business, I know where the market stands. Years ago, a presentation this big would have taken me hours to…

The post Op-Ed: AI Will Deliver Maximum Exposure. The Aggregators Won’t Survive It appeared first on RISMedia.

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Above, from left: John Featherston, Leo Pareja, James Dwiggins. Photo by AJ Canaria. Consolidation has been one of the most talked about trends in real estate this year—and the conversation continued at RISMedia’s 38th Annual CEO & Leadership Exchange when Leo Pareja and James Dwiggins joined John Featherston on stage to dig deeper into eXp…

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