NWMLS responds to Compass, blasts efforts to ‘gatekeep’ listings 

After Compass CEO Robert Reffkin and Windermere CEO OB Jacobi traded barbs over Clear Cooperation and private listings last week, Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) jumped into the debate, clapping back at Reffkin's criticism of the MLS. 

The core arguments? Reffkin says MLS policies prohibiting private listings are "restrictive" and limit seller choice, while NWMLS characterizes rules allowing off-market listings as "misguided" and "exclusionary."

This week, the dispute escalated further with Compass confirming to Real Estate News that it is behind a website directed at Washington homeowners who "believe they were damaged by the current rules and practices of NWMLS" and "may be entitled to compensation."

NWMLS on cooperation and transparency: "For more than 40 years, real estate brokerage firms in Washington state, as members of Northwest MLS, have agreed to cooperate and share all listings of all properties with the entire brokerage community and the public," Justin Haag, president and CEO of NWMLS, wrote in a Mar. 28 statement. 

"Northwest MLS strongly believes that consumers should have access to all property listings and that sellers are entitled to the benefit of exposure of their property to the full marketplace. An open, fair, transparent, and comprehensive marketplace benefits all market participants, including sellers, buyers, brokers, and appraisers."

Pro-PLN brokerages want to be 'gatekeepers of property listings': In a series of Instagram posts promoting Compass' first private listings in Washington state, Reffkin singled out NWMLS, accusing the organization of being a "monopoly" with rules "designed to keep it this way by making sure no alternative listing systems can compete."

While Haag's statement doesn't mention Compass or its CEO by name, he directs his remarks at brokerages that "have advocated for MLS rules that facilitate hiding property listings from consumers" — likely a reference to Compass.

Haag argues that efforts to lobby the industry, including other MLSs and NAR, are "not for the benefit of sellers or buyers, but are instead designed to benefit those brokerage firms by entrenching them as the gatekeepers of property listings." 

Because of its fundamental disagreement over the ethical merits of private listings, NWMLS "has declined to adopt those misguided, exclusionary rules," Haag wrote in his response, adding more harsh words about the efforts of large brokerages to push for such policies:

"Proponents of hiding listings masquerade their self-dealing as offering 'seller choice.' They argue that sellers somehow benefit from not making their listing available to all potential buyers. They don't," Haag said. 

Haag warns of 'dismantling of the real estate marketplace': A number of industry leaders have speculated about the unintended consequences of an industry rush toward private listings, often highlighting issues related to transparency, brokerage consolidation and impact on agents. Some have said there could also be impacts to first-time buyers and communities of color should the industry move further in that direction, a concern noted by Haag in his statement.

"Restricting the visibility of available homes to a select, exclusive group of buyers and brokers is fundamentally unfair and perpetuates inequities that have long plagued the housing system," Haag wrote, arguing that "restricting access to listings" will lead to the "dismantling of the real estate marketplace for the exclusive benefit of those brokerage firms" that choose to lean heavily into private networks.

"The discriminatory effect and disparate impact that results from restricting access to listings to an exclusive group of buyers and brokers is just that — discrimination," Haag added.

A Compass-backed suit against NWMLS? The feud between Compass and NWMLS appears to be escalating to possible legal action. A newly published website dubbed Washington Homeowner Rights, first surfaced by Inman, is seeking contact information for Washington homesellers who had previously worked with Compass. A Compass spokesperson confirmed to Real Estate News that the website was created by the brokerage.

While the website does not explicitly mention a class-action suit, some of the language suggests that Washington homeowners who worked with Compass "believe they were damaged by the current rules and practices of NWMLS" and "may be entitled to compensation," hinting at potential action against the MLS.

"NWMLS prohibits all forms of pre-marketing and off-MLS marketing — even when the seller and their agent want to take that approach to protect privacy or test pricing before going public. These rules mean sellers have no choice but to fully expose their listing immediately — leading to longer days on market and price reductions that may hurt their bottom line," the website says.

There are no officers or other individuals listed or mentioned as members of the Washington Homeowner Rights initiative, though the website's terms of service and privacy policy link directly to Compass' website. Additionally, some of the language used in the site is very similar to Reffkin's talking points in his public remarks about NWMLS and Windermere.