MLSs must adapt to ‘structural shift’ in listing strategies 

Editor's note: As brokerages and portals move to create their own rules around pre-market listings, MLSs are faced with a choice — follow the lead of their trade organization, which takes a clear stand against selective marketing, or offer flexible policies that accommodate the shifting marketplace. In the final installment of our three-part series Dividing Lines, many MLS leaders say they're concerned about what they're seeing — but others believe these changes only pose a threat if MLSs stop providing value.

Read part one and part two.

The race among brokerages and portals to provide off-MLS marketing options — whether in the form of "early access," private or coming-soon listings — has taken some by surprise in an industry with a reputation for moving slowly. 

When Zillow announced its Preview program in March, industry leader Russ Cofano said it was a sign that "the first wave of industry recalibration following the Compass-Anywhere combination is now in full swing." 

How are MLS leaders responding to this "recalibration"? And what will the next wave look like?

A 'major structural shift'

MLS leaders across the country have been following the rise of pre-marketing options with interest, according to a recent survey.

Fifty-seven percent of executives view pre-MLS listing strategies as either a "major structural shift" or a "meaningful trend," according to a T3 Sixty Flash Poll conducted in late March. The poll received 100 responses from MLS executives across 35 states. (Note: Real Estate News is an editorially independent division of T3 Sixty.)

Meanwhile, 71% of respondents said they felt "high" or "moderate" concern about the impact of pre-marketing on listings transparency, access to inventory and data quality.

Asked to identify which models or strategies they saw as the biggest threats, MLS leaders were fairly evenly split, with portal-first models, private networks and public pre-MLS promotion each cited by 52%-55% of the respondents. 

Executives also suggested that exclusive inventory posed a threat to small- and mid-sized brokerages, which may be forced to join larger brokerages in order to access inventory.

Not surprisingly, the vast majority of respondents (80%) said the MLS should remain central in some way while adapting to a shifting market.

But those leaders seemed more concerned about equal access for all MLS participants than their own institutional self-preservation, with 63% selecting access as a top priority. That was followed by strengthening coming-soon programs, cited as a top priority by 52% of respondents. 

Looking past the heat of the moment

"We're in the height of whatever this is going to be," Brian Donnellan, Bright MLS president and CEO, told Real Estate News. "Everything feels very, very hot and raw. It will be interesting in 10 years to look back and put some context around what it is."

Time and perspective will allow leaders to see "what worked well and what didn't work well, and maybe adjust our policies on some of these things when all the pressure is not on," Donnellan continued. 

The Bright MLS CEO said he has always believed it's best to develop policies well in advance to address the challenges of a down market — before actually getting stuck in one. Otherwise, "everybody's just irrational and it's tough to make changes."

The San Francisco Association of Realtors, for one, is grappling with changes of its own. In 2025, the association's MLS began sending coming-soon listings to brokerage participants in VOW/back office data feeds, Hud Bixler, SFAR's chief information officer, told Real Estate News. 

SFAR is now weighing the need for further adjustments to its seller marketing options, including whether coming-soon listings should be allowed on public sites. Ultimately, any new changes will depend on feedback from the MLS's member subscribers.

"Our job is not to be in the middle of the marketing process of that home, it's to facilitate that," Bixler said.

Donnellan doesn't necessarily see the pre-marketing movement or broker-portal partnerships as a fundamental threat to the MLS — but he does believe MLSs need to stay alert and continue to adjust to subscribers' needs.

"If you're adding value to the ecosystem, then you really shouldn't be that worried about threats that come in," Donnellan said. And Bright MLS adds that value, he believes. "I think we provide stability for brokers to work with other brokers as well as transparency to buyers and sellers out there. And I think that's a good place to be."

Change will continue

As industry sentiment shifts, some MLS leaders have already taken steps to adapt, opting for consolidation or data-share partnerships — and even opening up their services to agents across the country.

On May 1, Deneé Evans — CEO of the Council of Multiple Listing Services, the trade organization for MLSs — said she would be stepping down from her position at the end of the month. While her plan to depart was originally disclosed a year earlier, the timing of the announcement was noteworthy, coming just days after MRED and Realtracs announced they would be taking their MLS services nationwide — with Compass International Holdings as their first big-name participant.

CMLS interim CEO Amy Gorce, who has served as CEO of the MLS-led property listing data company REdistribute for about the last three years, will have a tall task ahead of her as MLSs, portals and brokerages continue to test boundaries and challenge how listings can and should be distributed. 

Sweeping change is already afoot — and it looks like it won't stop anytime soon.