NWMLS counterclaim strikes back at Compass over ‘deceptive scheme’
The Washington-based MLS, which was sued by the brokerage a year ago, said it’s fighting “a battle for the future of the American real estate market.”
The battle between Northwest Multiple Listing Service and Compass over how to market home listings escalated this week when the MLS filed counterclaims against the brokerage in federal court.
The counterclaims: NWMLS has alleged that Compass' 3-phased marketing strategy violates Washington's Consumer Protection Act because it is a "deceptive scheme" designed to conceal data from the public at large, the MLS said in a press release on Friday.
"By withholding inventory from consumers and competing brokers, NWMLS argues Compass is creating a 'two-tier' real estate marketplace: one for the Compass-represented insider, and another, depleted one for the general public," the statement said.
NWMLS further described its current litigation with Compass as "a battle for the future of the American real estate market."
"This case is about more than just MLS rules; it's about putting people over corporations," NWMLS CEO Justin Haag said in a statement. "We are standing up for the principle that every family has the right to see every home for sale, because housing data belongs in the sunlight, not in a private vault. It is time to make the housing market more equitable for everyone instead of simply making real estate CEOs richer."
Allegations grounded in state law: The Washington state-based MLS is arguing that its own MLS regulations are codified by a new state law set to take effect in June 2026.
NWMLS is referring to Senate Bill 6091, which prohibits real estate agents from marketing properties to an exclusive group of buyers or brokers unless the listing is simultaneously marketed to the public and other real estate agents.
The bill is in line with NWMLS's Rule 2, which requires marketing concurrent to the market at large and other real estate brokers, the counterclaim states.
Leaning into deceptive marketing claims: In its counterclaim filed on Apr. 2, NWMLS argues that Compass's marketing strategies that "emphasize exclusivity and exclusion" both inhibit competition and go against fair housing principles.
By "wiping the slate clean" after testing properties as private exclusives and Compass Coming Soons before putting listings on the MLS, NWMLS argues that the brokerage is artificially resetting time on market and price history, concealing the truth about a property's demand, and suppressing the "public auction effect," which tends to drive up home prices with more potential buyers competing for a property.
Furthermore, the MLS is alleging that Compass encouraged agents to violate their contracts with consumers by putting the brokerage's own corporate interests above the consumer's interests and transparency.
Compass 'stands with consumers': In a statement sent to Real Estate News, Compass suggested its policies follow a nationwide trend in favor of consumer choice.
"Across the country, we are seeing a clear trend that consumers want more choice, transparency, and flexibility, and are pushing back on industry-imposed mandates," a Compass spokesperson said in an email.
"We stand with consumers, real estate professionals, homeowners, homebuyers, and competition. We are confident NWMLS will fail to deter consumers and courts from its illegal acts."
The brokerage also suggested that NWMLS's counterclaim was a form of retaliation for Compass exposing its "illegal scheme to deprive homeowners of their rights and block competition."
"NWMLS is not focused on serving consumers, or even the real estate professionals who rely on it. It is a for-profit company comprised of and controlled by our competitors. It wants to maintain tight control of the Seattle-area real estate market and protect its power and money."
How we got here: Compass filed a lawsuit against NWMLS in April 2025 alleging that the MLS was engaging in monopolistic and anticompetitive business practices by enacting policies that prohibit pre-marketing and office exclusives.
The litigation came about after Compass said it had attempted to work with NWMLS to implement rule changes to allow office exclusives — and after Compass CEO Robert Reffkin had attacked the MLS and its board on social media.
NWMLS filed a motion to dismiss the case last summer; that motion was denied in a Mar. 19 ruling.