The Compass-Anywhere deal is a wake-up call for the real estate industry. A single brokerage with massive market share now has both the scale and the incentive to keep listings inside its own walls. If MLSs continue to operate as they always have, they risk becoming irrelevant to the very market they were built to serve.
The MLS was created to guarantee cooperation, sharing of compensation and transparency, but that promise is breaking down. The compensation element disintegrated with the antitrust litigation. Clear Cooperation is under attack because brokerages are delaying, withholding or privately marketing listings.
As a result, neither agents nor consumers can assume the MLS is the first or most complete view of the market.
If MLSs fail to adapt to a consolidating market, they will lose the one thing that made them indispensable: trust. The path forward is clear — professional governance, modern technology, enforceable data standards and direct consumer value.
What the future of MLSs should look like
1. Governance and structure
Due to their association ownership roots, too many MLSs still run like neighborhood clubs instead of professional utilities. That slows decisions and keeps politics ahead of the public interest. If MLSs want to be taken seriously, they need governance built for speed, expertise and credibility.
- Independent boards: Replace volunteer governance with small, professional boards of seven to nine directors with expertise in data, technology, finance and consumer advocacy.
- Balanced representation: Large brokerages should hold seats, but so should people who represent consumer and fair housing interests.
- Regional scale: The U.S. does not need 500 MLSs. A network of 50 regional or super-regional utilities with consistent rules and shared systems would be faster, stronger and more credible.
2. Technology platform
Most MLSs don’t control their own technology. They license it from big vendors like Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) or Black Knight and simply pass it through to agents. That leaves them as regulators on paper, but without the infrastructure to back it up. To survive, MLSs need to transition from a service bureau to a technology company, owning and operating their core applications.
- API-first: Ditch RETS. Build real-time, standardized APIs that developers can plug into.
- AI-native: Automate compliance checks, data cleanup and enrichment instead of bolting on manual fixes.
- Consumer-facing: Run public portals with full listing histories so the MLSs, not portals, are the trusted record.
- Open marketplace: Create a platform where brokers and vendors can, easily and without draconian data restrictions, innovate and build on MLS infrastructure, not on third-party workarounds.
3. Data policy and transparency
The MLS is only as strong as its data. Without complete and standardized datasets, it cannot be trusted as the record of housing. Consistency is not optional; it is the foundation of consumer confidence and market credibility.
- All-inclusive listings: Every marketed property must be logged with a time stamp. No exceptions.
- Data portability: Buyers and sellers should own their transaction data and carry it across platforms.
- Standardized data: RESO has built the standards, but adoption has lagged. The problem is not technology. A small team using AI could normalize fields in days. The obstacle is politics and local control. Standards must be mandated and enforced with centralized validation, API-only feeds and AI-driven mapping.
4. Revenue and business model
Due to the egalitarian association-like structure, most MLSs continue to deliver a “one-size fits all” approach to fees. Yet real estate is anything but uniform. Brokers vary widely in size, strategy and the value they bring to the market. They need revenue models that reflect the value innovative brokers create by supplying the data and the value consumers expect from transparent access.
- Subscriptions plus services: Agents and brokers pay for baseline access, with premium tools sold as add-ons.
- Consumer tier: Buyers and sellers get free basic access, with upgrades such as detailed comps or affordability tools.
- Data licensing: Portals, fintechs and proptechs pay for enriched MLS data streams.
- Broker equity: Brokers provide the listings that power the system. Revenue models should recognize their role as suppliers, not just customers.
5. Compliance and enforcement
Rules only matter if they are enforced consistently and transparently. MLSs need systems that apply standards automatically and resolve disputes independently.
- Automated enforcement: AI should scan every listing before it goes live for required fields, fair housing compliance and duplicate marketing. Penalties must be immediate and proportionate to the infraction.
- Public accountability dashboard: MLSs should publish data on rule violations, late entries, false data and fines. Just as the SEC posts enforcement actions, MLSs must prove enforcement is consistent.
- Independent dispute resolution: Volunteer “professional standards” panels stacked with competitors should end. Disputes should go to independent arbitration with defined timelines.
6. Consumer-centric services
The MLS will not survive if consumers never experience it directly. It must become a utility for the public and the trusted source of record in housing.
- Direct-to-consumer portals: Every MLS should operate its own portal with listings, transaction tools and integrated services for mortgage, title and inspection. The goal is not to mimic or try to compete with Zillow and others, but to guarantee a complete and unbiased view of the market.
- Transaction data vault: Consumers should have a secure vault that stores offers, counteroffers, inspections and disclosures. Brokers play a central role in creating this record, but the MLS is the only neutral party positioned to preserve it long-term and make it portable across homes and platforms.
- AI-driven insights: MLSs should deliver consumer tools that rival or surpass portals, from affordability calculators tied to real inventory to climate and insurance risk scores to predictive analytics on pricing.
The MLS cannot remain a fragmented, slow-moving compliance tool with unsophisticated management. To matter, it must become a consolidated, API-driven housing utility that functions as public record, transaction marketplace and consumer platform.
That means expert governance, regional scale, enforced data standards, transparent compliance and services built for the public. The industry has debated these changes for years. The Compass-Anywhere deal shows there is no time left to wait.
If MLSs make the leap, they secure their place at the center of housing. If they do not, brokerages and portals will take the future for themselves, and consumers will never look back.
Amit Kulkarni is co-founder of Alloy Advisors. Connect with him on LinkedIn.
