The MLS will evolve. Who gets to shape what comes next?
The strength of the MLS lies in how participants use it to move the industry forward, with cooperative competition, transparency, and a focus on the consumer.
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The views expressed in this column are solely those of the author.
I was at an industry event recently, and many of my hallway conversations and table talks were centered around one question: What is the future of the MLS?
Compass Real Estate and Redfin have entered into agreements around private display of listings. Zillow has introduced Preview, with nearly 30 firms already participating. Realtor.com has its own version.
What do they all have in common — beyond the obvious goal of driving revenue and market share?
Each recognizes the institutional strength of the MLS in the real estate industry. The MLS remains at the center of the conversation as the repository of accurate, historic, and deeply local real estate data.
It's clear we're in a period of transition. And when industries go through change, it's easy to focus on platforms, technology, and distribution. But it's worth stepping back and asking more fundamental questions: What can the MLS become? How can the Realtor role evolve?
At its core, the Multiple Listing Service has never been a product. It's been a service. A service created for real estate professionals to:
Share information
Create efficiency
Collect data
Support cooperation in the marketplace
As valuable as that service is, the real strength of the MLS has always been how participants use it to move the industry forward — with cooperative competition, transparency, and a focus on the consumer.
The data in the MLS doesn't drive innovation. The people do.
One thing I know about Realtors is that they are not defined by a system. They are defined by their resilience, adaptability, and drive. They are defined by their ethical approach to humanizing a complex and often complicated process.
I have no doubt that the MLS will evolve. I have no doubt that the role of the Realtor will evolve.
That's why it's critical that we have a seat at the table — and take an active role in shaping what comes next.
Bryan Hutchinson is the CEO of the Oklahoma Association of Realtors, an organization serving more than 14,000 members across the state. He previously led Realtor associations in New Jersey and Texas. In addition to his executive roles, Hutchinson has worked in several other areas of real estate as a business owner, broker and home builder — all following a career in the U.S. Army, where he achieved the rank of Sergeant.