Chicago-based MLS Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) maintains a private listing network, which it has consistently defended even against pressure from other industry power players such as Zillow.
Now, MRED’s private listing network is expanding outside Illinois, following an announcement on April 24 that the MLS is partnering with Compass to take its whole platform nationwide, allowing any agent to join MRED (and access Compass’s and other private listings).
Compass has been a consistent defender of private listings and networks thereof, framing the debate in terms of “seller choice.” The company filed a lawsuit against Zillow for the portal’s listing standards that called for listings to be publicly available, though Compass dropped the suit in March.
Following MRED and Compass’s announcement, Tennessee-based MLS Realtracs announced it was similarly going national in a partnership with Compass (as well as United Real Estate).
Joe Rath, head of industry relations at Rocket, described this as a “structural shift” that will boost competition among MLSs.
“MLSs that offer flexibility in how listings are marketed will attract agents. MLSs with rigid rules will watch their membership move to these newly available national options,” Rath wrote on social media.
Are other MLS insiders feeling the same way?
In comments provided to RISMedia, Amit Kulkarni, interim CEO of Homes for Heroes and former chief marketing officer of Bright MLS, expressed skepticism about Compass and MRED’s plan: “It makes for a fun press release, but operationally I don’t get it.”
“Agents are already paying dues to one or two MLSs in their actual market. Asking them to join a third in a state they don’t work in, just to plug into Compass’s private listing system, is a hard sell. Where’s the actual value to the agent or to their clients?” Kulkarni asked, before also questioning the operational structure of MRED expanding.
“If Compass and (CEO Robert Reffkin) genuinely wanted to build a national MLS, MRED isn’t where you’d start. MRED is a mid-sized regional player covering Chicagoland, southern Wisconsin, and northwest Indiana, and like most MLSs of that size, they license their core technology platform from a third-party vendor rather than building it themselves,” Kulkarni explained.
“Going national in any real sense requires a tech foundation, a representative governance structure, and broker relationships across major markets—none of which materialize just because you change the membership terms on a regional MLS,” Kulkarni added.
MRED did not respond to a request for comment on the new program.
Bill Fowler, founder of the MLS Innovator Network who has previously worked as Zillow’s director, MLS and industry relations, and Compass’s senior director of industry relations, expressed more optimism about MRED and Compass’s move, explicitly telling RISMedia: “I hope we see a lot more of this.”
“Most people will focus on the immediate use case around private listings, but the bigger story is the signal this sends to the industry. MRED is demonstrating that MLSs don’t have to sit back and react to these shifts,” said Fowler.
“They can lead by creating durable, scalable solutions to problems that are showing up across every market,” he added. “That’s the real significance of a partnership like this. Actively listening to broker members, creatively removing friction, and acting quickly and decisively. This wasn’t a policy decision; this is all about business.”
Duking it out
The move by MRED comes at a precarious moment for the MLS industry. Compass has put significant pressure on MLSs that don’t allow its private listing-focused marketing strategy, while publicly applauding those that do (including MRED).
Notably, as part of the partnerships, Compass is promising to subsidize real estate professionals who join MRED and Realtrac’s new national programs.
A Compass spokesperson deferred questions on its partnership to MRED.
Washington state-based Northwest MLS (NWMLS), which has come to legal blows with Compass over its opposition to private listings, also criticized MRED and Compass’s move.
In comments to RISMedia, NWMLS CEO Justin Haag called the MRED and Compass partnership “another step backwards in the real estate industry.”
“Private listings prioritize exclusivity over transparency and create a tiered system that hides homeownership opportunities while degrading data integrity by manipulating material information, such as days on market and pricing history,” Haag said. “NWMLS remains committed to protecting an open marketplace where data serves as a public good rather than as a private asset used for maximizing profits at the expense of consumers.”
Compass has consistently defended its private listing networks and marketing strategy, saying that sellers always make the final decision on how to market their homes, and claiming that there are significant benefits to “premarketing.” The company has also heavily incentivized the use of the practice, according to internal communications that came to light during the Zillow lawsuit.
Kulkarni similarly criticized MRED/Compass’s framing of private listing networks as a benefit to the consumer, arguing in his comments to RISMedia that “’Seller choice’ is the slogan, but no seller wakes up wanting to opt into a private MLS. Sellers want their house sold for the most money in a reasonable amount of time. The industry has manufactured a ‘choice’ that now has to be force-fed to sellers, when what sellers actually need is the broadest possible buyer audience competing for their home.”
Kulkarni was also critical of the timing of the announcement, when the real estate market has shifted to a more buyer friendly environment.
“Inventory is up year-over-year, days on market are stretching, roughly a third of listings are seeing price cuts, and the housing market is about as balanced as it’s been in a decade,” Kulkarni said. “In that environment, sellers need more buyer exposure to drive competition, not less. Doubling down on private networks that restrict who sees a listing is the wrong move for the market we’re heading into. It’s the real estate equivalent of stocking up on winter jackets in a heat wave.”
