Massive Compass Merger Likely To Increase Private Listings

In April of this year, I published two blog posts here and here regarding the push for private real estate listings spearheaded by Compass Real Estate. In a nutshell, Washington State real estate brokerage firms have traditionally agreed to share all real estate property listings publicly through the multiple listing service. This policy is known as "Clear Cooperation." The policy has led to robust sharing of listings and has facilitated the development of significant businesses like Redfin and Zillow to serve as "go-to" sites for prospective real property purchasers and others.

Some brokerages, however, have lobbied for private listings that allow exclusivity (rather than requiring all listings to be public), arguing that this can achieve better results for buyers and sellers. While Compass Real Estate has served as this chief proponent, other parties have opposed this push, such as the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) itself, Zillow, Redfin, and