According to REcore, in accordance with the standards approved by the Ministry of Justice (DOJ) in his Consent Decree from 2008 with the National Association of Real Estate Agents (NAR), the Company does not charge fees for MLS participants who directly contribute to the network effect of the MLS.
“Instead, the REcore fee structure requires entities that use MLS data to generate revenue, without representing buyers or sellers, to pay for those usage rights. CRMLS then requires REcore to return profits from such use to the brokers who provided the original MLS content,” reads a statement from REcore.
REcore adds that this system ensures that brokers who contribute to the MLS are fairly compensated for generating revenue from those contributions.
According to REcore, these allegations of breach of contract date back to CoStar’s acquisition of Homes.com. REcore said at the time that CoStar representatives “verbally committed to paying for access to the MLS listing data.”
“In the same conversations, Homes.com criticized competitors in the portal space that used IDX data feeds to monetize listings without returning revenue to brokers,” REcore claims. “Homes.com also indicated that they would not become a participating broker and would not use an IDX data feed to serve listings on their website.”
Despite these claims, REcore says Homes.com later applied for an IDX feed and claims to be eligible for the feed as a participating broker. To obtain this feed, CoStar and Homes.com signed the REcore licensing agreement, which went into effect in January 2024. REcore said the fee structure was part of this agreement. According to REcore, licensees who monetized the MLS data, rather than using it to acquire buyer and seller customers, were required to pay for the data usage rights under the agreement. The company says that under the terms of this agreement, Homes.com has agreed to pay approximately $2 per MLS listing record displayed on their site.
“After more than a year of efforts by REcore to reach a resolution, the company had no choice but to protect the MLS data and the agents who provided it by filing a lawsuit against Homes.com and CoStar,” a statement from REcore said.
In addition to filing the lawsuit, REcore said it is also terminating the Homes.com and HomesPro data feeds containing CRMLS listing records beginning November 1, 2025. However, the company said that if a CRMLS participant would like to have their CRMLS listing record sent to Homes.com, he or she can work with REcore to set up a Participant’s Data Return feed.
“The service provided will be free of charge and without restrictions on Homes.com’s monetization of that data,” reads REcore’s statement.
Additionally, REcore said it will delay the first round of payments to CRMLS listing agents until 2026 due to Homes.com’s alleged breach of contract.
“Furthermore, every dollar REcore and CRMLS spends to defend these rights is a dollar taken from the listing brokers who deserve to be compensated for their contributions,” the statement reads. “Both CRMLS and REcore are deeply disappointed by the reversal of Homes.com and CoStar’s positions. Despite CoStar spending millions on parties at real estate events and more than a billion dollars marketing their services, they have refused to honor their financial obligation to REcore.”
CoStar did not immediately return HousingWire’s request for comment.
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