Leaders of the nation’s largest listing services say the industry is moving toward reducing the number of MLSs, as a growing wave of partnerships between the nation’s largest brokers and consumer real estate portals raises new questions about the future of multiple listing services.
But they also agree that the final stage is not a single national system.
Interviews with three MLS executives showed general agreement that consolidation among smaller MLSs is here to stay, and that pressures from brokerages, new technology, and consumers are forcing MLSs to evolve. But they disagree sharply over how far the integration should go and what role MLS should play as companies like Zillow, Redfin and Compass reshape how listings reach buyers.
“When I started in 2005, there were nearly 1,000 MLSs, and the reports that came out said; [this month]”We’re below 500 companies, and I know there’s been a fair amount of effort to merge additional organizations, but we’ll probably be below 400 within the next two years,” said CRMLS CEO Art Carter.
art carter
What Carter needs to know: He said he is consulting with several MLS consolidation groups this year.
“I know there’s a lot of work going on and a lot of discussion around these things,” Carter said, declining to name the organizations that have been working with them.
Days after Compass and Rocket announced a partnership to display upcoming listings on Redfin, Inman spoke with executives from CRMLS, BeachesMLS and Northwest MLS. These conversations preceded subsequent announcements indicating similar representations also exist on Zillow, Realtor.com, and Homes.com.
Two of the executives said they believed agents at major brokerage firm Compass would follow local MLS rules regarding premarket listings. (NWMLS CEO Justin Haag declined to discuss the partnership, citing ongoing litigation with Compass.)
Mr. Haag was concerned that such an agreement would lead to fragmentation of the real estate search.
“If you’re looking for a property and you have to look at 30 different portals to get a complete picture of the market, that’s a big problem,” says Haag. “It’s going to be very difficult for consumers to have to manage that.”
How low can you go?
Speaking at Inman Connect New York in February, Compass CEO Robert Refkin floated the idea that there could be a single national MLS.
Anne-Marie Ducatseye |Credit: AJ Canaria Creative Services
Shortly after, Canopy MLS CEO Anne-Marie DeCuzzi said a more appropriate number might be “maybe 25” for the number of MLSs in the country.
Executives believe significant consolidation will continue. However, each did not agree with the concept of a single MLS.
The number of MLSs in the United States has already declined from more than 1,000 in the early 2000s to about 484 today.
“I think everyone agrees [it’s] It’s too much,” Haag said.
Carter suggested that there may be close to one in each state, but perhaps more in areas within a given state that are truly distinct from other areas.
“I think it will probably settle in that 50 to 60 range,” Carter said.
Hague stopped short of providing specific numbers on the appropriate level of integration.
“What’s the correct number? I don’t know,” Hague said. “Maybe 100, maybe 50, maybe 20. I don’t think there’s one.”
BeachesMLS CEO Dionna Hall called a single national MLS an “operational nightmare.”
diona hall
“I think it’s a great idea to recruit that person,” Hall said. “I understand that from a broker’s perspective, it might sound like a great idea given the person’s position and background. But I don’t think it’s as realistic as someone looking in from the outside might think.”
“Since I started in this industry almost 20 years ago, there has been a push for more consolidation,” Hall said. “One of the great things is that most of the time MLS takes it seriously and [that’s] This is a big reason why we’ve seen MLS consolidation over the years. We obviously want this market to work for brokers. ”
Compass-Rocket-Redfin
When Zillow announced its partnership to display pre-market listings from brokerages, the portal said it would follow local MLS rules and regulations regarding marketing listings.
MLS executives pointed to existing policies if future brokerages and portal sites follow suit.
“CCP is still in place at CRMLS and will continue to be in place for the long term,” Carter said.
“We’ll be announcing the status soon. We’ll send it over IDX,” Carter said. “For marketing delays, the board has decided to set a zero date, so there will be no marketing delays.”
NWMLS stands out as an MLS that does not allow near-term listings and may block pre-listing marketing in its area.
Justin Haag
“We’ve never had that,” Haag said. “Coming soon is definitely a misrepresentation because it tells consumers that this home will be on the market soon when in fact they can buy it today. So it’s not coming soon. It’s already on the market.”
BeachesMLS lets you keep your listings in Coming Soon status for up to 21 days without adding days on market. It also allows for delayed marketing exemption listings of up to 21 days without being shared via the broker’s IDX feed, Hall said.
“So we feel that the pre-sale status of these two is already very flexible and we look forward to Compass being able to work within that.” [them]“I will tell you that there is a very innovative brokerage model in the South Florida market,” Hall said.
Carter said he doesn’t think CRMLS will compete with Zillow.
“MLS serves brokers and agents. Zillow serves consumers,” Carter said. “They can continue to be a great partner for the MLS industry.”
“You can’t be so naive as to think that at the MLS level, Zillow, Homes, and Realtor.com won’t pivot in a way that benefits shareholders,” Carter added. “That being said, they can still be a great partner for the MLS industry. The issue is making sure we do what we’re supposed to do at the MLS level, which is to provide transparent markets, complete markets to people as much as possible.”
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