Compass to share exclusives — if brokers, MLSs play by 2 rules 

Compass announced on Friday that it is committing to share its exclusive listing inventory with competing brokerages and all MLSs — as long as certain conditions are met. 

Laying out its terms: The first condition, Compass states, is that the recipient brokerage or MLS "agrees not to alter or monetize the homeowners' listings in any way" in order to keep the "listing agent front and center." Compass clarified to Real Estate News that the company is specifically "referring to practices like selling listing data to third parties," not  barring compensation to non-Compass buyer agents.

The second condition is that brokerages and MLSs who are accessing Compass' roughly 6,000 private exclusives will "ensure agents won't be fined or banned for sharing listings with the brokerage or MLS."

Putting rumors to rest: Compass' 3-phased marketing strategy — which encourages sellers to list their home as a Compass private exclusive before putting it on the MLS — and the brokerage's aggressive position against Clear Cooperation have put the company at odds with other brokerages, home search portals and MLSs who see Compass' efforts as being detrimental to consumers, agents and the integrity of home sale data.

For months, the company has claimed that its private exclusives push is about "seller choice" and rooted in consumer demand for more control over their listings. But there has been a lot of confusion — and rumors — surrounding Compass' efforts, the company acknowledged to media. 

"There are narratives circulating that make false accusations. By showing that we will make our exclusive inventory available to anyone who agrees not to alter or monetize the listing and keep the listing agent front and center, we reinforce what we have said all along: At Compass, we co-broke with everyone," a spokesperson said over email to Real Estate News.

Among those narratives are suggestions that Compass plans to monetize its own private exclusive listings or charge non-Compass agents to gain access these listings — but a Compass spokesperson said the company's announcement is "putting those false accusations to rest."

Firing back at Zillow: Compass is currently engaged in a number of legal disputes over private listings. In June, Compass filed an antitrust suit against Zillow over its move to ban some office exclusives via its new Listing Access Standards (LAS), while also asking the court for a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of the policy. 

Zillow attorneys pushed back on Compass, calling the brokerage's proposed discovery request as "overbroad" and "unduly burdensome" and described Compass' private listings effort as one that "seeks to upend the status quo and turn back years of progress in promoting listings access and transparency."

Compass' new conditions for sharing its private inventory appear to be aimed at MLSs, such as NWMLS in Washington state, and portals — namely Zillow — who have penalized or ostracized Compass and its private exclusives initiative.

"Zillow bans listings marketed outside of its platform, and CCP fines agents for sharing listings outside of their MLS platforms. What, hopefully, Compass' offer makes clear is that the CCP and Zillow bans are not rules against off-market listings; they are rules against sharing listings outside of their respective platforms," the Compass spokesperson said over email. 

Portals focused on profits, not consumers: "The purpose of a homeowner's listing is to sell their home, not to generate money for MLSs and portals," the spokesperson said. "If stakeholders won't agree to stop altering and monetizing a homeowner's listing, they're showing they care more about making money from the homeowners' listings than helping homeowners sell their homes."

Zillow did not immediately respond to Compass' claims or new listing conditions.