Canopy MLS CEO Anne Marie DeCatsye, Realtor.com CEO Damian Eales, and NextHome CEO James Dwiggins spoke about integration, data transparency, and why national MLSs aren’t the solution to the industry’s problems.
There are many numbers between 1 and 500, but for Anne Marie DeCatsye, CEO of Canopy Multiple Listing Service, only number 25 matters.
Anna Decatsi
“I think there should be more integration, both on the MLS side and the association side,” she told the Inman Connect New York crowd. “There shouldn’t be 500 MLSs. But there definitely shouldn’t be one. I don’t agree with just one. But I think there should be maybe 25 MLSs in the country.”
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DeCatsye’s vision would effectively eliminate local MLSs and associations, but would benefit brokerages and consumers by providing a more efficient MLS system, she said. The CEO said Canopy has acquired 12 smaller MLSs over the years, expanding Canopy’s subscriber base to about 23,000 agents in North Carolina and South Carolina.
“We also need consolidation of real estate agent associations,” she says. “And the small real estate agent associations and the even larger real estate agent associations that are using the MLS as a value proposition on the association side, that’s wrong. The association is not the benefit of the MLS. The MLS should not be the benefit of the association. Associations have their own benefits.”
“I think brokers are kind of saying it out of their mouths right now, because they need to step up and demand more consolidation and not pander to agents who want to remain part of smaller associations,” she added.
DeCatsye’s Connect session came on the same day that Compass CEO Robert Reffkin also appeared on the Connect stage to advocate for national MLS.
Damien Eales
DeCatsye recently collaborated with Realtor.com on the release of Realtor.com+, a multifamily home search experience for real estate agents and their buying clients. The portal’s CEO Damien Eales said the experience highlighted the value of MLS as industry players push to replace the current system, either by abolishing it or consolidating it into a single national organization.
“Coming from another country where there is no MLS and brokers, listing agents and sellers have to pay for advertising, I find this very unusual, but in this country it’s free. Of course the ecosystem can improve,” he said, also on Tuesday’s Connect Stage. “But to diminish the ultimate value of this great cooperative, this American real estate system, is as ridiculous as I know it.”
“And the fragmentation that can exist if people get what they want is a real problem,” he added. “So instead of arguing with MLS, instead of threatening, suing, or suing MLS, we chose to stand by MLS.”
Eales said Realtor.com+ is an example of what a synergistic relationship between MLSs and portals could look like, pushing back against the idea that portals are eroding from the industry. The CEO said MLSs have the data but struggle to create engaging consumer experiences, which is where the portal shines.
“The reality is, and our research shows, the vast majority of these listings are being re-entered into the portal by consumers,” he said. “Why? The reason why consumers do that is because the portal provides a better experience. It’s because we invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the brand and the user experience.”
According to Realtor.com statistics, real estate professionals are essentially paying “5 cents on the dollar for free advertising across the industry,” he said. “MLS allows us to do that. It’s a very good deal compared to other countries.”
james dwiggins
Flaws aside, NextHome CEO James Dwiggins, who appeared on stage with Eales and DeCuzzi, said the MLS system is still needed. Otherwise, the industry risks a scenario where a small number of companies control the majority of listings and keep them in private listing networks.
“I think everyone in the audience needs to understand what kind of game is being played here. There are conglomerates that control 60 percent of the market share in some places. I think the idea of a private listing goes beyond just the Compass brand,” he said. “They’re going to find a way to leverage that market share, and this is the part that everyone needs to realize. Other big companies aren’t going to sit on the sidelines.”
Dwiggins said Keller Williams, eXp Realty, REMAX and Berkshire Hathaway could be at the center of the next big merger, with the combined companies potentially having a market share that rivals or surpasses Compass International Holdings. The CEO cited the airline industry as an example of what real estate could look like, echoing insights from a previous session featuring eXp CEO Leo Pareja.
“So United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines are all thinking the same thing in this industry,” he said. “And the rules and the politics and all the things that we have, they just don’t care.”
“The whole point of MLS is to not go back to where we were 40 years ago, where you didn’t know what the hell you were selling,” he added. “I think we’re going to have to bend the MLS rules to some degree. The MLS rules are there for a reason. There’s a reason for the fines, not to make money, but to improve data integrity. And I don’t know if anyone knows how to achieve data integrity better than MLS.”
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