CRMLS venture sues CoStar, Homes.com over unpaid fees  

A real estate technology company built by one the nation's largest multiple listing services is taking CoStar to court.

REcore Solutions, a provider of MLS data licensing tools and other products — and an offshoot of the California Regional MLS — is suing the portal giant over unpaid data licensing fees, a move that could also result in Homes.com losing access to a significant number of listings in the state.

The complaint was filed on Oct. 21 in the San Bernardino Superior Court and also lists the commercial real estate transaction platform TEN-X Inc., which CoStar acquired in 2020, as a defendant.

A dispute over unpaid fees: In a news release, REcore said it had filed a breach of contract lawsuit, alleging that Homes.com and its parent company CoStar failed to pay fees in accordance with a licensing agreement established in January 2024. 

REcore claims CoStar agreed to pay a set amount per listing view, with a cap of $500,000 per year. Those fees mostly go to listing brokers, according to court documents.

"For two years following the CoStar acquisition of Homes.com, the company representatives verbally committed to paying for access to the MLS listing data, acknowledging the significant value provided by listing brokers and MLSs," the release stated. REcore said the lawsuit was filed after a year of unsuccessful negotiations.

According to the court filing, the defendants owe REcore not less than $887,500 in fees for 2024 and 2025, alleging that CoStar paid only $75,000 of the $500,000 it owed in 2024, and $37,500 in 2025. REcore has also asked for attorneys' fees.

Prohibited use of data: In the court filing, CRMLS said it believes virtually all the revenue that CoStar generates in its service area has come from advertising activities on Homes.com and through printed materials that incorporated CRMLS listing data — uses that are prohibited under CoStar's licensing agreement. 

"Defendants did not seek or obtain permission from CRMLS, the listing brokers or copyright holders to repurpose the listing content in printed advertising," according to the filing.

Additionally, the filing stated that CoStar used CRMLS listing data to train AI models for the purpose of optimizing search results, consumer-facing features and site functionality, which is also prohibited by the licensing agreement.

Going back on a promise? Apart from the contractual issues cited in the filing, REcore said Homes.com agreed not to become a participating broker — which would allow it to access listings via an IDX feed — but subsequently applied for such a feed.

"Both CRMLS and REcore are deeply disappointed by the reversal in position from Homes.com and CoStar," according to the release, which added that the portals "have refused to honor their financial commitment to REcore in which funds were intended to be shared with the listing brokers who contribute the very data powering Homes.com."

Cutting off Homes.com's data feed: In response to the alleged breach of contract, REcore said it will terminate Homes.com and HomesPro data feeds containing CRMLS listings on Nov. 1. Any listing broker who wants to have their CRMLS listing record sent to Homes.com may contact REcore to establish a Participant's Data Return feed, the company noted.

Who pays the fees? Only companies that don't directly contribute to the MLS network are subject to the licensing fees, in accordance with rules approved by the U.S. Department of Justice and implemented by the National Association of Realtors in a 2008 consent decree, REcore indicated.

The filing notes that defendant Ten-X has a California broker's license but has not represented any buyer or seller in a transaction using the CRMLS database, meaning it has contributed no benefit to the CRMLS network.

"This system ensures brokers contributing valuable information and data to the MLS are fairly compensated for any monetization of those contributions," according to the news release.

A contentious time for the industry: Both CoStar and CRMLS have been engaged in other conflicts recently.

CoStar sued Zillow for copyright infringement over the summer, and the rivals have made a number of dueling accusations as the litigation continues. And just this week, Zillow claimed CoStar — which acquired Matterport last year — didn't renew its Matterport API agreement. Zillow said it would start pulling Matterport tours from its listings.

CRMLS, meanwhile, got into a battle of words with Compass last week over listing ownership and control. So far, the dispute has stayed out of the courtroom, though Compass sued Northwest MLS earlier this year over different listing restrictions.

Real Estate News has reached out to CoStar for comment and will update this story if and when a response is received.