Chicago-based MLS Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) just announced a seemingly transformative nationwide expansion of its platform (and private network), aiming to give agents across the country access to an MLS-backed platform for so-called “pre-marketed” properties as the industry rapidly shifts toward these new options.
In an announcement shared with RISMedia, Compass International Holdings (which now includes the Anywhere brands and several other brokerages) said it was committed to sharing its Coming Soon and Private Exclusives on this new platform, as well as subsidizing the cost of the first 100,000 agents who join.
“We also want to support MLSs, like MRED, that value, support and protect their customers, who are real estate agents, from retaliation by other MLSs and portals, and ensure that agents can fulfill their fiduciary duties to their home seller and home buyer clients,” said Compass CEO Robert Reffkin in a statement.
The move would appear to be another major step involving Compass that is shaking up the traditional way listings are shared and marketed. For the last few years, Reffkin and Compass have pushed hard to loosen restrictions on how and where listings can be displayed, lobbying against NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy and filing lawsuits against an MLS that banned private listings.
Compass has explicitly threatened MLSs that don’t offer what it has described as “seller choice,” while specifically applauding MRED and others who offer options for pre-marketing and private listings.
“MRED has been providing sellers with options and buyers with transparency through our Private Listing Network for a decade,” said MRED CEO Rebecca Jensen in a statement. “The MLS is meant to facilitate cooperation between agents in support of their clients’ needs, not dictate marketing or business model practices.”
The details of how the new program would function—including price and how usage of the private network will impact other MLSs—were not immediately clear. Previous data released by MRED has shown that about 15% of listings on its platform go through its internal private network.
The release notes that MRED’s private network “offers more options for publicly marketing active listings including the ability to manage price history, days on market, and automated valuation models.” Reffkin and other private-listing proponents have pointed to price drop and days on market data as disadvantageous to sellers, claiming that private networks or pre-marketing can get sellers a higher price.
MRED, notably, also said that as part of this new offering it was committing “to protect and safeguard agents who participate in its PLN from being banned or penalized by third party portals and IDX feed recipients.”
That appears to be a direct callout of Zillow, which engaged in a high-profile back-and-forth with MRED over its rules banning certain private listings—rules that have since been significantly relaxed.
Zillow could not immediately be reached for comment.
In its release, MRED does not shy away from the impact of the new program or its timing, pointing to “heightened industry discussion around the marketing of listings, homeowner choice, and equitable broker access to off-multiple listing service…inventory.”
“As the industry continues to navigate how policy changes best meet consumer demands for flexibility, the Compass International Holdings–MRED relationship underscores a shared commitment to consumer choice and the support of real estate professionals,” the announcement reads.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to RISMedia for updates.
