I have been in the real estate industry for 50 years. I’ve worked with over 10,000 sellers across my kitchen table, sold over 10,000 homes, and practiced real estate law for decades. I was ranked the #1 agent in my state by Realtor Magazine. I’m not saying that to impress anyone. I say this because what I’m about to say comes from a career spent in the trenches, not behind the podium.
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Robert Refkin’s recent op-ed on Inman’s fiduciary duties and obligations of MLSs is more than just a legal argument. It exposed the underlying fault lines of the entire real estate industry. And he’s right.
Levkin didn’t have to pick this fight. After acquiring Anywhere and its collection of highly regarded brands, Compass was already influential in the American real estate industry. The safe bet was to consolidate, consolidate and aggregate the revenues.
Instead, Mr. Levkin chose to bet on publicly traded companies to challenge the very system that most industry leaders dare not question. When I met him, he looked me in the eye and said he believed this was the right thing to do for all agents, not just Compass agents.
After half a century in this industry, I’ve developed a solid instinct for discerning who’s real and who’s imposing. Levkin is the real deal.
But this editorial is not about Robert Refkin. It’s about you.
Before MLS
Let’s go back to where we started. I sold real estate with my dad in Cincinnati before there was a structured MLS. Agents shared their lists as they flipped through copies of list sheets in giant black three-hole binders.
Was it primitive? of course. But the concept behind what eventually became modern MLS was great. Brokers share their inventory with other brokers, allowing sellers to reach more buyers and buyers to view more homes. It’s a win for everyone.
Its original concept has brought extraordinary value. That’s still the case today. Data accuracy, comparable sales, IDX syndication, and intercompany collaboration. These are real benefits and I don’t take them for granted.
control system
But somewhere along the way, MLS evolved from a tool that served agents to a system that controlled them. And that difference is very important because it goes to the heart of what it means to be a professional.
Let’s think about what it means to be a professional. Doctors create treatment plans based on each patient’s individual circumstances. Lawyers develop strategies tailored to each client’s situation. Architects don’t give every client the same blueprint. A hallmark of the profession is exercising independent judgment in the best interests of each client.
Now consider what would happen if the MLS imposed a one-size-fits-all marketing mandate on all properties, regardless of the property, the market, or the wishes of the seller. It strips away the very thing that makes real estate a profession. This turns agents into workers who follow instructions passed down to them by private industry bodies, rather than exercising their own expertise on behalf of the people they hire.
That’s not professionalism. That is commoditization. And that’s the exact opposite of what agents and sellers deserve.
Where MLS has gone too far
Legal issues become inevitable here. In nearly every state, listing agents have a fiduciary or statutory duty to sellers. That obligation includes obedience, which means following the customer’s legal instructions. This is not an MLS instruction. Not NAR’s preference. client instructions.
When a seller says, “I want to avoid a day on the market. I want to avoid recording a price adjustment. So please market your home as a coming soon listing for two weeks before it’s active on the MLS,” that’s a legitimate instruction from the person who owns the property and is paying for the service.
If an agent complies with that request and MLS responds with threats of fines or access revocation, that would be simply wrong. A qualified professional in any field should never be faced with that choice.
If an MLS fines an agent for following a seller’s desired marketing plan after the agent is immediately explained the benefits and drawbacks of MLS exposure, the MLS has fabricated a financial conflict of interest for that agent.
State law requires sellers to disclose conflicts of interest. Imagine a conversation like this: “While I would like to follow your instructions, MLS could fine me up to $5,000 if I did, so I recommend that you do what MLS wants instead.”
It’s not a relationship of trust. It’s a hostage situation.
Let the seller choose
With upcoming listings now available to the public on many major home search portals, the MLS can no longer claim that it is the only gateway to the public. Hundreds of millions of consumers see these “coming soon” listings. The transparency debate is gone. What remains is a system that protects its own relevance at the expense of the professionals it was created to serve.
I want to be clear. I value MLS. I have benefited from it for decades. Some major MLSs have adopted flexible coming soon policies and have proven that they can modernize without losing the collaborative foundation that makes their systems valuable. These MLSs understand that the way to remain indispensable is to serve, not force, their members.
After 50 years and 10,000 kitchen tables, I can say this with confidence. Real estate agents are some of the hardest working and most resilient professionals I have ever known. They are entitled to a system that allows them to trust their judgment, respect their expertise, and serve their customers without fear of punishment if they do exactly what the law requires.
Let your agent be professional. Let the seller choose. And let MLS fulfill its original purpose of serving the people who built this industry, not controlling them.
Greg Hague is the CEO of 72SOLD and a real estate attorney, broker, and agent with 50 years of experience in the industry. Connect with him on Facebook or LinkedIn.
