Every Friday, we round up the most popular, most read, most critical stories of the week to give you a quick catchup on the big headlines you might have missed in the hustle and bustle of the workweek. Here’s this week’s Top 5 as chosen by our readers.
P.S. Don’t miss The Download, our weekly column that breaks down one of the week’s top stories and equips you with what you’ll need to meet next Monday head-on.
EXp CEO: You can’t champion consumers and gatekeep listings

In an Inman Exclusive, Leo Pareja, CEO of eXp Realty, writes that exposure sells homes, while shielding listings hurts sellers, limits buyers and undermines trust.
Portal wars field a new fighter — backed by the country’s largest news publisher
Mysterious newcomer plans to generate buyer and seller leads quickly after teaming up with Gannett Company to display listings across its news sites.
Kevin Sears on what he’d tell the DOJ (if he gets another meeting)

Thrust into his role atop the largest trade organization in the country nearly a year early, Sears shares insights on interactions with the DOJ, the multiple listing services and an industry divided.
Dwiggins on Compass, Zillow and real estate ‘Armageddon’

The co-CEO of franchisor NextHome, James Dwiggins, talks about the future of the industry in light of the debate over NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy ahead of his appearance at Inman Connect San Diego.
These are the 31 markets where home prices have fallen the most

Laura Gangi Pond / Shutterstock.com
Price softening continues to spread from the Sunbelt into the Western U.S. and the inventory of homes for sale is growing at an accelerating pace, ICE Mortgage Technology reports.