Four brokerage giants are launching what they call “shared infrastructure” to keep listings shared broadly, seemingly in direct opposition to Compass and its campaign to undo cooperation-focused rules, in an initiative dubbed “Open Real Estate.”
The four companies founding the initiative are Keller Williams, AGNT (parent of eXp and NextHome), HomeServices of America and Real REMAX Group.
Four other brokerages were listed as “participating members.” Those companies are Brown Harris Stevens, Lamacchia Companies, Sampson Properties and Windermere Real Estate.
“As questions grow about who controls access to housing information and how property listings are shared industry-wide, the need for a more connected, transparent housing marketplace has become increasingly clear,” the companies wrote.
According to a release from Open Real Estate, every brokerage is invited to join as a “free participating member,” committing to what the brokerages call “reliable, broad access to market inventory” by consumers. The release didn’t define the roles of “participating” versus “founding” membership.
In a statement shared with RISMedia, a Compass spokesperson said the brokerage welcomes the initiative, calling it “good news for all agents and their clients.”
“Compass International Holdings is excited that there will be a national real estate listing service that will return the power back to the creator of the listing—the homeowner and their trusted agent,” the spokesperson said.
The platform is not a national MLS, according to its website, which added that “over time” it “may advocate for various housing policies at the federal and state levels that align with our principles and our consumer-first approach to residential real estate.”
The Compass spokesperson said, however, that the mega-brokerage views Open Real Estate as “essentially” a national MLS, and something that signals the end of the MLS “as we know it.” The spokesperson said Compass is aligned with the Open Real Estate initiative on the principle of brokers controlling listing data, while still waiting for details to be worked out.
“We look forward to helping build the next chapter of listing services,” the spokesperson said.
Asked why Compass is not part of the initiative, the spokesperson pointed back to the statement, noting the initiative is just beginning.
In a video released alongside the initiative, HomeServices President and CEO Chris Kelly said the initiative would “seamlessly distribute listing information and connect buyers and sellers.”
AGNT CEO Leo Pareja said in the same video that “we believe that access information, transparency should be a benefit,” while Keller Williams CEO Chris Czarnecki said “competition” from this transparency “helps sellers and buyers achieve their best possible outcomes.”
“This is not a walled garden or another marketplace that favors one company over another,” the companies wrote in an open letter shared with RISMedia. “Open Real Estate is designed to work alongside MLSs and existing real estate portals, making it easier for real estate professionals to share property information and connect buyers and sellers across the housing market.”
What it is (and isn’t)
The “shared infrastructure” of Open Real Estate’s technology platform appears to be similar to some of the single-entry systems utilized by brokerages and MLSs, with the Open Real Estate companies describing it as an entry point for listings that are then distributed to MLSs, portals, other brokerages and “other authorized recipients,” with Open Real Estate’s website also naming appraisers and “data services.”
HomeServices last spring announced a partnership with Cotality to use a new platform called BLX, a “listing data interface” meant to function similarly and allow the company and its brokers to exert “greater control” over listings.
One of Compass’s critiques of the MLS system is what it has characterized as inappropriate usage of brokerage data, licensed or sold to third parties including academics and tech companies. On its website, Open Real Estate promised that “(p)articipating brokerages and agents will share in the value generated by the listing information they contribute,” and saying it would provide more details “as the initiative proceeds.”
Open Real Estate avoided naming names around the issue it said it is seeking to address in terms of access and market fragmentation, but on its website, claimed that “today’s real estate marketplace is deteriorating as large amounts of available inventory is being cloistered and marketed privately to a limited group of buyers.”
“These conditions create friction and opportunity for discrimination and potentially other unlawful behaviors. It can also cause a breakdown in the aggregation of data on home pricing and sales, with downstream consequences on the ability of banking, appraisal and insurance companies to properly value real estate and protect buyers, sellers and homeowners,” Open Real Estate said.
Notably, NAACP President Derrick Johnson warned that private listing practices “harken back to redlining,” with others both inside and outside the industry warning that private networks could impact minority and first-time homebuyers. Compass has strenuously disputed this, with CEO Robert Reffkin saying in sworn testimony in court that a fair housing lawyer signed off on the brokerage’s signature “black box.”
Along the “principles” espoused by Open Real Estate is data integrity, with the companies promising that “(a)ll members (and users) should have full visibility to all homes available for sale and the information when sold.”
It was unclear if that includes stats like days on market or price drops, which many MLSs (and Compass) have made optional or sought to obscure on their platforms. According to Open Real Estate’s website, all member listings must be entered into the initiative’s database within one one business day of a listing agreement, with options for a “participant view” that allows participating brokerages to see it, but disallows all forms of public marketing.
The Compass spokesperson highlighted this rule, claiming it is “essentially” creating a private listing network.
Open Real Estate also promised “clear rules around governance and ownership,” designed to make “make it easier for industry participants to share property information.” The initiative’s website said that it “has full discretion over where the database’s listings are syndicated.”
They were also careful to say the new platform “is designed to work alongside MLSs, which play an essential role in establishing local listing rules and providing services to real estate professionals.”
This is a breaking story. Stay turned to RISMedia for updates.
Editor’s note: this story was updated at 11:05 a.m. eastern time with comments from a Compass spokesperson.
