Four Brokerages Form Shared Listing System to Counter Compass Strategy
AGNT, HomeServices of America, Keller Williams and Real REMAX Group announced Oct. 26 they are backing Open Real Estate, a shared listing platform designed to distribute property data across multiple listing services and authorized websites. Participating brokerages would be required to submit new listings within one business day of signing a seller agreement. Brown Harris Stevens, Lamacchia Realty, Samson Properties and Windermere are among the initial participants, with the four founding companies covering the cost of building the technology at no initial charge to members.
Six regional multiple listing services representing more than 120,000 real estate professionals filed a federal lawsuit against Compass last month seeking to enforce rules requiring brokers to share property listings. OneKey MLS in New York has since joined a separate lawsuit brought by California Regional Multiple Listing Service. Compass has expanded its private-listing network, arguing that homeowners should control when and how their properties are advertised; the company’s research shows sellers who first marketed properties as Private Exclusives or Coming Soons achieved sale prices 4.6% higher than comparable homes listed directly on the MLS and went under contract 34% faster.
Open Real Estate includes a “participant view” feature allowing certain properties to be shared exclusively among agents at participating brokerages without public marketing, similar to a system used by the Real Estate Board of New York. Brown Harris Stevens CEO Bess Freedman said the feature would accommodate a small percentage of sellers requesting privacy for security or personal reasons, while the broader platform aims to prevent data hoarding. Compass CEO Robert Reffkin said the new national listing service would return greater control to homeowners and their agents, and Open Real Estate’s founders said Compass would be welcome to join the platform.
The initiative comes after Compass completed a $1.6 billion merger with Anywhere Real Estate, bringing major brokerage brands under the same corporate umbrella. Open Real Estate would operate alongside existing multiple listing services rather than replace them. A Compass spokesperson said the company is challenging industry rules so homeowners can market their homes publicly even if they choose channels other than the MLS or Zillow, arguing that the law does not require homeowners to give those private companies their data.
The post Four Brokerages Form Shared Listing System to Counter Compass Strategy appeared first on Propmodo.
