Clear Cooperation: A lawsuit looms as the conversation continues 

Mauricio Umansky has joined the Clear Cooperation conversation, promising via Instagram to refile a lawsuit targeting the policy because "the homeowner should have the freedom to choose how he or she wants to market their home for sale, period, end of story."

Clear Cooperation has been a hot topic this month, with industry leaders and others taking divergent public stands on the policy and a key NAR group discussing its future at a private meeting.

The policy requires brokers to enter listing information within one business day of publicly listing a property and is either "imperative to an equitable market" (Zillow) or a "legal and financial risk" to the industry (Compass).

Umansky, founder and CEO of The Agency, is also a founding partner of the PLS.com, a private listing site that filed suit against NAR after the association's Clear Cooperation policy effectively ended the PLS.

What Compass' CEO had to say: Robert Reffkin threw his support behind Umansky, commenting on his Instagram post that "it is reckless for NAR to keep Clear Cooperation because it upholds a rule that many argue is collusive and anticompetitive."

He went on to say that it could even "be viewed as forcing agents to break the law" by undermining their fiduciary duty to sellers who prefer to market their homes outside the MLS.

Reffkin also called out "multiple lawsuits" that have challenged the way the rule was enacted. "One of those cases, Top Agent Network (TAN) v. NAR, is now cleared to enter discovery where more damaging facts may come to light," he added. "With this post, Private Listing System (PLS) seems to be coming back to sue NAR."

And Reffkin made it a pocketbook issue for agents as well.

"Our agents' dues to NAR are going to NAR's lawyers to defend this anticompetitive practice, and assuming NAR loses, our agent dues will go to pay Top Agent Network (TAN), Private Listing System (PLS), and other companies who were put out of business by Clear Cooperation."

What Redfin's CEO had to say: Kelman is firmly in favor of the policy, saying in a blog post that it creates a fair, open market and that pocket listings are a throwback to the industry's "exclusionary past."

"Studies also show that the buyers most likely to lose access to pocket listings are buyers of color," Kelman wrote. "No one should have to know the secret Facebook group to see a listing."

Where things stand with NAR: The MLS Technology and Emerging Issues Advisory Board took up the issue last week at its regularly scheduled — but unusually not so high-profile — two-day meeting.

Proposals regarding the co-mingling of MLS and non-MLS listings and brokerage back office feed also were considered at the closed gathering, which included members of the NAR Leadership Team as guests.

"These meetings are part of the process for evaluating potential MLS policy changes, which impact the entire industry and must involve robust discussion and input from stakeholders," NAR said in a statement. "In its deliberation, the Advisory Board weighed a wide range of perspectives including buyers, sellers, and real estate professionals, as well as fair housing principles, as they considered how to best meet these evolving stakeholder needs."

What's next: The conversations will continue when the board reconvenes in October.

"Because these policies have far-reaching implications for the industry and require especially thorough deliberation, the Advisory Board will consider next steps with the Leadership Team," NAR's statement said.