The Multiple Listing Services Council claimed that a “false narrative” about pre-sale homes is gaining traction.
The real estate industry’s main MLS trade group is blocking the wider use of pre-marketing strategies, warning that limiting listing exposure could fragment the housing market and tilt competition toward larger companies.
In a blog post published this week, the Multiple Listing Services Council claimed that a “false narrative” is gaining traction. It suggests that sellers may benefit by moving their listings away from MLSs and selectively marketing their listings within intermediary networks and limited channels.
“A cooperative marketplace like MLS only works if participants contribute to it in the same way they benefit from it,” the organization wrote. “Information silos and concealment reduce competition among brokerages and move markets from open, shared systems to more fragmented systems.”
CMLS warned that withholding listings and key data points, including listing dates and price changes, would reduce transparency and make it difficult for buyers, sellers and small brokerages to compete on an equal footing.
While the group did not explicitly target any specific companies or organizations, the statement comes as brokerages and portals are rapidly rolling out new pre-marketing and coming soon strategies that give listings exposure before they enter the MLS, a change that many MLSs see as a direct challenge to the cooperative model.
The pace of these developments has accelerated in recent weeks.
In February, Compass announced a partnership with Redfin and Rocket Companies to display pre-MLS listings in the second phase of the brokerage’s three-phase marketing strategy. And on March 17, Zillow announced a “preview” program with Keller Williams, REMAX, HomeServices of America, United Real Estate, and Side.
The next day, eXp Realty announced that it would syndicate pre-market listings on Homes.com, Realtor.com and ComeHome, and that its listings would be distributed through the third-party listing platform Zenlist.
Zillow expanded its efforts this week, adding 20 more brokerage partners to the program. The company said the “rapid adoption” of brokerages it partners with to bring soon-to-be listed properties to the platform “demonstrates the growing industry-wide demand for a more transparent, consumer-first approach to sharing pre-market properties.”
Many industry leaders weighed in on the change, reflecting a growing divide over whether premarketing expands consumer choice or undermines the MLS model.
Some executives say the new program will give sellers more control over how their homes go on the market, while others warn that the approach could fragment inventory and make it harder for buyers to get a complete picture of available homes.
Others point to the competitive implications and argue that concentrating listings on certain platforms can “create an advantage” for brokerages, especially if it focuses consumer attention in one location rather than another.
CMLS ultimately framed the issue as one of market functioning and fairness for consumers.
“Markets work best when information is widely shared, rules are applied fairly, and brokers compete on service rather than control over access to information,” the group said.
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