Above, Joe Hayden, Principal Broker, simpler.realestate Howard Hanna’s CEO Hoby Hanna published a recent op-ed in RISMedia titled, “The MLS is Not a Product. It’s Infrastructure.” I read it before my first coffee, and I agree with the central claim. I am writing this so I can add the part of the conversation that the…
The high-profile, industry-shaking battle between mega-brokerage Compass and dominant portal Zillow is back in the courtroom, as Zillow is asking a court to block a major MLS from cutting off its listing feed, claiming that Compass is engaging in an “illegal conspiracy” to promote its private listing and undermine Zillow. The 52-page lawsuit, which Zillow…
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…
Above: HomeServices of America CEO Chris Kelly at RISMedia’s CEO & Leadership Exchange Event in 2025. Minnesota-based brokerage giant HomeServices of America and Texas-based franchisor Keller Williams has announced they are joining a “listing data interface” that will replace MLS entry with a “controlled, brokerage-level environment,” while still promising full support and compliance with local…
A little over a week after Zillow sought to clarify its discussions with Chicago-based Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) over restrictions on private listings, the MLS appears to be digging in, as this week MRED CEO Rebecca Jensen sent an emotional open letter to members defending its private listing network against a “one-size-fits-all model.” With…
“I can prove anything by statistics except the truth.” That witticism, attributed to 19th century British orator and statesman George Canning, highlights something that remains extremely relevant today in the information age. While we have nearly unlimited access to data and analysis, they aren’t always—or perhaps often—leading us closer to the answers we seek. Case…
Redfin has formally—and publicly—asked Washington-based Northwest MLS (NWMLS) to change its rules and allow home sellers to pre-market their properties. The request, detailed in a letter from Joe Rath, Redfin’s Head of Industry Relations at Rocket Companies, challenges what critics have called one of the most restrictive policies around public marketing across the MLS landscape.…
A federal judge handed the National Association of Realtors (NAR) a major legal win today, throwing out a lawsuit by two brokers and an agent in Michigan, who had claimed that rules restricting MLS access violated federal and state antitrust laws. Douglas Hardy, Glenn Champion and Dylan Trent filed the lawsuit all the way back…
So-called “premarket” listings appear to be the next big trend for the industry. Zillow’s recent pivot to host what are essentially “Coming Soon” properties (and a mad rush by brokers to strike deals with the portal or other consumer platforms) was an overwhelming affirmation that real estate believes that, to some degree, limited marketing options…
ARMLS (Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service) has announced that shareholders and the board of directors have approved new corporate governance to shift from a primarily broker and agent-led board of directors to a group of non-competitor board members (e.g. not licensed to conduct real estate transactions in Arizona). The new structure forms a smaller board…
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