There has been a lot of attention placed on the National Association of REALTORS®’ (NAR) Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP) lately, from the debate between James Dwiggins and Mauricio Umansky at a recent industry event, to Art Carter’s write-up on CRMLS’ position on CCP.
We have heard many varying perspectives on why the CCP matters for MLSs, agents, brokers, buyers, sellers and consumers, but one perspective that has not received attention is why the CCP matters for technology vendors.
At its core, the CCP aims to create a transparent market, ensure fairness and promote equitable access to listings. For technical vendors, the policy also provides key advantages that drive innovation and efficiency in real estate technology solutions.
Let’s consider what would happen if CCP was no longer implemented and certain brokerages were able to withhold listings from the MLS and, in turn, IDX/VOW feeds. For tech vendors, that would recreate several challenges the industry has worked diligently to overcome: the fragmentation and availability of data. The result and impact this would have on consumer products could range from active listings being unavailable, marketing history being removed, partial inventory of available properties and CMA reports becoming increasingly unreliable.
One of the greatest accomplishments our industry has achieved over almost two decades is creating a standard in which data is not only available for consumption, but provided in a clean, consistent and reliable manner. I’m talking about the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO).
Through the continued collective effort of industry leaders, technologists and the leadership RESO has provided, we enjoy something unique that other markets outside the U.S. do not have: a singular standard for vendors to access MLS data. If CCP is no longer the policy that ensures listings make it to the MLS for fair and equitable distribution, every technology vendor will be subject to the broker’s willingness to share data, possible vendor discrimination and the technical capabilities of the brokers holding the listings.
Do brokers equally have the technical expertise and budgets to host a data platform as well as programmers and database administrators while covering the cost of network bandwidth? Sure, many of the bigger brokers already have a technology footprint to leverage, but do the smaller and boutique brokers? This will be yet another challenge to keep our industry fair and open to reduce potential litigation challenges.
Imagine what would happen if each broker held listings privately. We would see an incredibly fragmented market with inconsistent data and data disparities. Without this requirement, homebuyers and agents might struggle to find comprehensive market data, leading to misinformation and property transaction inefficiencies. There would be a lack of clear visibility in the market, creating scenarios where consumers would be subject to searching multiple brokerage sites and portals, all with varying user experiences. Real estate professionals who rely on technology tools for lead generation, client engagement and outreach would have to subscribe to multiple platforms to ensure data coverage for their market. This would be a huge step backward for our industry.
For technical vendors, Clear Cooperation means a more consistent and structured dataset that can be leveraged to create innovation in data analytics, artificial intelligence and automated tools that support agents, buyers and sellers. The policy provides a structured framework that enhances data reliability, drives innovation and supports the development of advanced real estate technology solutions.
While some critics argue that the policy limits private sales or exclusive listings, its benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.
The Clear Cooperation Policy promotes equitable access to listings, enhances market transparency and ultimately fosters a more competitive and consumer-friendly real estate landscape. While not perfect, NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy represented a significant step forward in ensuring fairness and efficiency in the real estate industry.
For more information, visit https://www.propstream.com/.
