It’s the invisible backbone that powers consumer access to real estate listing data. But, oftentimes, the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and its interests get overlooked amid bitter legal battles over broker cooperation rules and intense debates over AI and listing data control.
But Jessica Edgerton, the new CEO of the Council of Multiple Listing Services (CMLS), wants to change all that. Edgerton tells RISMedia she sees an urgent need at a pivotal time to get in front of lawmakers and regulators to ensure that MLSs have a seat at the policymaking table.
If anyone is up for the task, it’s Edgerton; she previously served as chief legal officer and executive vice president with the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (LeadingRE) and as a lawyer for the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).
Just three months into her new role, Edgerton and her team, including Cameron Kinzer, CMLS’s new director of advocacy, embarked on a whirlwind visit with eight congressional offices to discuss a range of issues—from AI to copyright fee increases to data privacy. She quickly realized there was a significant education gap on the MLS’s role “as a core institution for a healthy real estate market.”
The education gap is one that CMLS is eager to fill, she adds.
“It was a little alarming that folks needed as much education as they did, but it’s clear they wanted to hear more. This was the first step,” Edgerton says. “There has never been a time more important for the MLS to have a strong voice; CMLS is that voice.”
Building momentum
CMLS represents more than 230 MLSs that serve over 1.8 million real estate subscribers, including agents, brokers and appraisers. The trade group has broad support in its plans to shape policy. Edgerton isn’t wasting any time to build on the momentum of the group’s Hill meetings.
When asked if she has consensus among her organization’s members, Edgerton insists she’s not looking to create one or “use a one-size-fits-all” across all states.
Currently, the most urgent and fiery policy debate is over off-MLS listing policies and private networks used by brokerages like Compass. Only a handful of states have laws governing private or limited marketing. MLSs appear divided on that complex issue, with many updating their policies to allow more options for sellers.
One thing all CMLS members agree on is that everyone should use the MLS as a source of truth for accurate, timely listing data, Edgerton says. Another general point most MLS leaders agree on: Copyright fees and processes shouldn’t be cumbersome and expensive.
“Several years ago, the (MLS copyright) fees were around $80,” she says. “At this point, MLSs are dealing with $500 fees, and there’s another $200 increase being looked at. So inefficiencies, fees—those two things are very much tied together.”
Looking further ahead, Edgerton says she hopes specific legislation will include the definition of an MLS and build it in as a crucial part of the process to ensure public marketing of listings across the board.
“That’s No. 1; that’s a very specific rule,” Edgerton says. “In terms of the broader picture, I want to see in the next year our advocacy program having created relationships and launch pathways for any MLS-related issue that comes up in every state. I want to continue to build out our fundraising.”
CMLS took a critical first step toward beefing up its advocacy efforts last week during its Open House conference when it announced a new broker membership tier to bring more brokers and MLS leaders together to work on joint issues. The trade group is also forming a broker advisory committee to deepen cooperation between the two groups.
As litigation heats up, MLSs dig in for ensuing fight
The legal volleys traded between MLSs and Compass intensified this week when California Regional MLS (CRMLS) preemptively filed a federal lawsuit against Compass over its office exclusives listing policy. The move came a day before the Oct. 6 deadline Compass gave the MLS to stop fining agents for “publicly marketing” office exclusive listings, alleging antitrust behavior.
Compass CEO Robert Reffkin has repeatedly criticized the MLS system as being anticompetitive, accusing them of being a “monopoly.” He has also attacked MLSs for fining his agents for following sellers’ instructions to market listings off the MLS.
These head-to-head courtroom battles are one thing for MLS organizations with big pockets. But they could pose a serious challenge for smaller MLS entities to defend themselves, underscoring the need for MLS advocacy, says Richard Haggerty, CEO of OneKey® MLS, which serves more than 43,000 real estate professionals across New York.
Haggerty says he’s most concerned about the outcomes for consumers and the housing industry if attacks from outside forces on the MLS’s infrastructure are successful.
“A fractured marketplace would create significant damage to that infrastructure,” Haggerty says. “If you look at how all of the entities that are part of the infrastructure—the (government-sponsored enterprises), the appraisers, the insurance companies—rely on complete, accurate (listing) data. That reliance has been taken for granted, quite frankly, because it’s always been there.”
Haggerty says he’s unsure that federal legislation would really solve the current issues between MLSs, real estate search portals and major brokerages with exclusive listings like Compass, because that could always have “unintended consequences.” However, he points out “that unintended consequences of litigation are much greater.”
“I wish that we could actually have open, honest dialogue and really focus on what is best for the consumer,” Haggerty says.
Balancing urgent threats with long-term goals
Finding a balance between running the day-to-day business of MLSs and responding to threats from AI and legal challenges is top of mind for Haggerty. AI data scraping is probably the most urgent problem facing MLSs right now. But if protracted litigation with firms like Compass becomes the norm, the MLS industry will be distracted from bigger threats, Haggerty noted.
“I want to look at the benefits of AI, because I think the upside is tremendous, as we maintain our vigilance to make sure that we try to put those guardrails up so that the negatives of AI can be contained,” Haggerty emphasizes.
But not everyone in the MLS community is eager to see federal regulators jump into their business. Dawn Pfaff, president of Nationwide MLS and State Listings, Inc., says she’s “not a huge fan of regulation” and worries that “it hampers the free market.”
“It’s not that I don’t think there’s any place for laws; I absolutely do think fair, common-sense laws need to apply,” Pfaff says. “But I don’t believe that you should go fix the market by lobbying the government.”
With AI usage scaling so quickly (especially in real estate), Pfaff adds “the cat is already out of the bag” and is skeptical that the government can stop it—even with new regulations. Instead, Pfaff says she believes the free market will sort it out and determine the winners.
What comes next
Still, CMLS and other vocal leaders within the MLS space recognize the time is now to act. According to Edgerton, NAR and other industry groups don’t always advocate for the role of the MLS as narrowly and intentionally as she would like to see. So they’re stepping up to do it—not as a replacement or competitor to NAR, but more as a supplement, Edgerton emphasizes.
“They have a lot on their plates,” Edgerton says of NAR, adding that Zillow has also been a powerful ally in the cause to preserve the MLS ecosystem.
Edgerton notes there’s a lot of politically- and industry-motivated questioning of the role of the MLS, but she hopes to reinforce the message to the industry—and to lawmakers—that the health of the nation’s housing is at stake if the MLS is weakened.
And she’s doing everything in CMLS’s power to fight back.
