In survey after Intel survey, agents and leaders at non-Compass brokerages have expressed deep skepticism about CEO Robert Reffkin’s years-long effort to wrest control of listing data from local MLSs.
So when Reffkin took the stage at Inman Connect New York last month, the vision he put forth of a national MLS seemed carefully designed to assuage those concerns.
Under Reffkin’s new proposal, a national coalition of real estate agents would share data with each other through a new, jointly owned listing platform. This platform would have “no disproportionate ownership” by Compass, he said, and would be governed by an independent board.
This proposed structure appears to have captured the attention of leaders and agents across the brokerage spectrum, according to an analysis of Intel’s responses to the February survey. And while many are skeptical of Compass’ motivation for proposing it, most respondents said they could be won over if the details were right.
While professionals from all types of real estate agents responded to the February survey, this analysis focuses primarily on the groups Reffkin most needs to convince to make such a platform a reality: the agents and leaders at competing brokerages, many of whom are wary of Compass gaining an even bigger foothold in the real estate industry.
And the first signs are that this proposal may have potential.
Read in the full report what needs to be done for the sector to fully jump on board.
An industry, intrigued
Agents at Compass are already lining up to support the idea, according to February survey results.
But Reffkin would need leaders from other brokerages to sign on to get this off the ground, and those leaders would likely want broad support from their agents to pull off a project of this magnitude.
For these reasons, Intel spent most of its time investigating how non-Compass agents responded to questions about the proposed structure.
Ask:
- “Compass CEO Robert Reffkin recently proposed replacing local MLSs with a single national MLS owned by a coalition of brokers. He said Compass would have “no disproportionate ownership” and that the platform would be governed by an independent board. Regardless of who proposed it, does this structure appeal to you?”
Comment shares, agents not affiliated with Compass:
- 18% – Yes, this is the right way forward.
- 39% — Yes, I’m open to this structure, but I need to see more details.
- 22% — No, I’m not a fan of this idea, but the right plan could change your mind.
- 21% — No, this is taking the industry in the wrong direction.
This means that even among agent respondents who are not affiliated with Compass, 57 percent showed open interest in this proposed structure, even though some questions remained unanswered. And only 21 percent indicated that they were completely closed to the idea.
Leadership at non-Compass brokers showed a similar level of interest in the proposal as their agents, although the “hard no” camp was slightly larger at 30 percent.
Unsurprisingly, longtime Compass agents were even more supportive of the idea. And agents with recently acquired Anywhere brands ended up somewhere in between.
The resulting picture is one of an industry where a wide range of agents are open to this discussion, including those outside Compass. But it’s also a situation where Reffkin and Compass would have to go to great lengths to ensure the structure benefits all brokers.
Winners and losers
One of the biggest obstacles facing proponents of a national MLS is the perception that the platform would actually serve the interests of Compass over those of the broader real estate industry.
Here’s how agents from Compass’ competitors described the most likely impact such a platform would have on broker competition.
Ask:
- “If brokers were to build a national MLS platform as Reffkin described, which of the following most accurately describes the likely outcome?”
Comment shares, agents not affiliated with Compass:
- 30% — The vast majority of real estate agents would be better off.
- 32% — Companies like Compass would gain a competitive advantage, while smaller brokers would have less control over how their data is used.
- 10% — The vast majority of real estate agents, including Compass, would be worse off if the industry moved away from local MLSs.
- 10% — It would have no meaningful impact on the success or competition of brokers.
- 18% — Other (written response)
This concern seems to largely explain why many non-Compass agents and leaders – even those who find the idea of a national, broker-owned MLS attractive – are reluctant to give a blank check to the project.
Broker-owners and executives at non-Compass firms were even more likely to say that Reffkin’s national MLS structure would likely give Compass a competitive advantage, despite the CEO’s claims that the board would be independent. This is one of the main concerns that Reffkin should address.
But the concerns didn’t stop there.
Is it a Zillow beater?
One thing that large groups of agents and brokerage leaders agree on is that an agent-owned listing platform would likely pose a real challenge to Zillow, whose data comes primarily from contracts with various local MLSs.
However, some differences in confidence were observed.
Ask:
- “If real estate agents were to band together to create their own national MLS, how likely is it that the new platform will replace Zillow as the most used real estate portal by consumers?”
Comment shares, Compass+Anywhere agents
- 42% – Very likely
- 35% – Somewhat likely
- 18% – Somewhat unlikely
- 5% – Very unlikely
Comment shares, agents not affiliated with Compass:
- 22% – Very likely
- 37% – Somewhat likely
- 27% – Somewhat unlikely
- 18% – Very unlikely
While a majority of non-Compass agents (59 percent) thought it was likely that such a project would succeed in displacing Zillow with consumers, that share was lower than within Compass’ business (77 percent).
The managers’ answers to this question closely matched the officers’ sentiment.
It is clear from these results that any proposal would have to address many issues and appease many competing factions before the real estate industry could fully get behind it.
But for real estate agents who want to see a post-Zillow real estate industry, Reffkin’s proposal seems like an attractive starting point.
Methodological notes: This month’s Inman Intel Index questionnaire ran from February 19 to 26 and received 914 responses. The entire Inman reader community was invited to participate, and a rotating, random selection of community members were asked to participate by email.. Users responded to a series of questions related to their self-described corner of the real estate industry – including real estate agents, brokerage leaders, lenders and proptech entrepreneurs. The results reflect the views of the involved Inman community, which do not always reflect those of the wider real estate industry. This questionnaire is carried out monthly.
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