NWMLS hits back at Compass, suspends — then reinstates — IDX feed 

Since Compass announced its first private listing in Washington state last month — in defiance of local MLS rules — the brokerage has been at odds with Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) and Windermere Real Estate, which maintains several seats on the NWMLS board. In the latest scuffle, NWMLS escalated its response by suspending Compass' IDX feed, a move first reported by Inman, before reinstating the feed two days later.

What NWMLS had to say: NWMLS issued a statement to Real Estate News after this story was first published, saying the temporary suspension, which began on April 15, was due to Compass agents' "failure to input numerous of its own listings and share those listings with other member real estate firms and their clients."

As a solution, NWMLS offered Compass a data license for its own listings, but the brokerage declined, according to an MLS spokesperson. Ultimately, Compass' IDX service was restored on April 17 after NWMLS "worked with Compass … to facilitate compliance" with MLS rules. NWMLS also noted that Compass agents had access "to all other Northwest MLS systems" during the suspension.

What Compass had to say: Compass sees the situation differently. A spokesperson told Real Estate News that its IDX feed was "suspended without warning" soon after the brokerage initiated a private exclusives blitz in the Seattle area, impacting Compass "clients and agents alike."

"After one week of dozens of Compass clients launching non-exclusives, NWMLS bypassed the 'NWMLS Bylaws and Rules Committee' process and changed a rule that has been around for decades to force non-exclusives into NWMLS," said Cris Nelson, regional vice president for Compass' Northwest division. 

"And after two weeks of dozens of more Compass clients launching unenforceable listing agreements, compliant with NWMLS rules, NWMLS suspended Compass' IDX feed with no warning," Nelson added.

How it all started: Compass announced its first private exclusive listing in the NWMLS territory on March 20 and subsequently launched several more in the following days. The pre-marketing push was likely intended to force a response from NWMLS, Real Estate News learned in the first week of April — either in the form of levying fines against Compass agents or making an exception to its rules against pre-marketing and private listings. 

The penalty for breaking MLS rules against pre-marketing is as high as $5,000, Compass agent Sam Cunningham — the first to launch a private exclusive in the Seattle area — told Real Estate News. However, Compass leadership told agents that it would "remain committed," indefinitely, to covering any fines from NWMLS. As of April 4, no fines had been reported.

Preparing for a legal battle? On April 10, Compass CEO Robert Reffkin signalled on Instagram that the company had engaged a law firm in its quickly escalating conflict with NWMLS, posting a quote from Crowell & Moring LLP that suggests NWMLS is "in effect asking agents to break the law" by not allowing sellers to direct their agents to list their home privately and off of the MLS. "State law supersedes MLS rule," the lawyers said.

While NWMLS has repeatedly declined to comment on the ongoing dispute with Compass, the organization shared an open letter on March 28 reiterating its position on pre-marketing, arguing that such strategies are "misguided," "exclusionary" and not for the benefit of sellers or buyers. Around the same time NWMLS published its letter, Compass launched a website dubbed Washington Homeowner Rights which sought to collect contact information from Compass seller clients for a possible class action against the MLS.