On Monday, four large real estate brokerages announced they’re co-creating a residential real estate listing distribution platform to help foster an "open, competitive marketplace."
Keller Williams Realty, Real REMAX Group, AGNT and HomeServices of America previewed their initiative, Open Real Estate, with a video featuring its executives and an open letter to the industry. In it, they say broad access to listing information is being "tested."
"Homes are increasingly marketed privately, outside public listing systems, and in ways that limit competition and reduce transparency," the letter reads. "Differences in how listing information is collected, maintained and shared across the industry can undermine its consistency, comparability and accessibility. When listings and property data are fragmented or restricted, buyers risk missing available homes, sellers risk reaching fewer potential buyers, and the transparency and competition that underpin a healthy housing market weaken."
The coalition goes on to say that data gaps caused by private listings can create "downstream consequences on the ability of banking, appraisal and insurance companies to property value real estate and protect buyers, sellers and homeowners."
How It Would Work
The idea is that participating brokerages and agents will only need to create their listings on the platform once, using minimum standardized fields.
Those listings would be shared with other brokerages and agents who have agreed to the platform's rules, called "member participants." At the same time, listings would be syndicated to MLSs, home search sites, portals, appraisers and data services. Open Real Estate says their platform complements MLSs, which will “continue to establish and enforce local listing rules and provide critical services to real estate professionals.”
Participating listing brokers must submit the property to the Open Real Estate database within one business day of the homeowner signing a listing agreement.
On the Open Real Estate website, Brown Harris Stevens, Lamacchia Realty, Samson Properties and Windermere Real Estate are identified as "initial participating members."
As for a timeline, the group is currently going through a vendor selection process now to design and launch its platform which it anticipates will wrap during the first few months of 2027.
The next six months will also be a busy planning period where they'll conduct informational sessions and work with MLS organizations and stakeholders to finalize governance and plans regarding technology.
The Lead Up
Private listings and fragmentation of listing data have been the subject of considerable debate.
The National Association of REALTORS®' position is that MLSs remain foundational in supporting a competitive, transparent and efficient marketplace, and that consumers benefit from access to comprehensive, reliable housing information. It does not take a public stance on marketing strategies. Those decisions are instead left to the MLSs themselves that have local discretion to serve the needs of their particular markets and consumers.
Leaders at each of the companies behind Open Real Estate have publicly participated in the private listing debate.
AGNT CEO Leo Pareja, for example, spoke about the importance of MLS data for financing on NAR's "Change Agents” Podcast.
“When you’re not sure what stuff’s worth, guess what financing looks like? It looks like 70% [loan-to-value], 60% LTV, 50% LTV," he said.
This spring Gary Keller, founder and executive chairmen of Keller Williams, spoke about how private listings could turn MLSs into "the market of last resort," made up of "leftovers" that fail to sell.
"If this were to happen it'd be a fundamental shift in how the residential real estate marketplace has evolved over time: from a transparent system built on shared information for the good of all sellers and buyers, to a fragmented system built on selective access for the good of the brokerage."
