New listings platform gaining buy-in from brokerages, MLSs 

Open Real Estate, the brokerage-sponsored listings platform announced Oct. 26, is garnering significant initial backing from real estate leaders.

Indies get behind OpenRE: More than 825 letters of support have come in since the initiative was introduced last week by AGNT (parent company of eXp), HomeServices of America, Keller Williams Realty and Real REMAX Group, according to a news release from the four launch partners.

Nearly 60% of the letters have come from independent brokerages, the partners noted, including Atlanta Communities, Iron Valley Real Estate, LoKation Real Estate and Realty of America.

MLSs signal alignment: The proposed platform, which serves as a new data layer allowing members to enter a listing in standardized fields once and have that information shared simultaneously with other participating brokerages and local multiple listing services, is also drawing support from some major MLSs. Cooperation from MLSs could be critical to the initiative's success, according to some in the industry.

The leaders of Bright MLS, California Regional MLS, NTREIS and NorthstarMLS are among the MLS leaders responding positively to the initiative thus far. 

Brian Donnellan, Bright's president and CEO, said his MLS "look[s] forward to actively participating and partnering with industry leaders to build on the capabilities already in place at Bright and advance a more connected, efficient, broker-driven marketplace." CRMLSs' Art Carter noted that his organization is "in alignment with the concept of allowing brokers to bring listing data in from outside the CRMLS MLS Input Platform," adding that "it has been a long-term project of CRMLS to allow our Brokers to have that ability."

NTREIS CEO Chris Carrillo said he and his MLS "welcome constructive dialogue with Open Real Estate," while NorthstarMLS's Tim Dain advised his MLS peers to view the initiative not as a "threat" but as "an opportunity to strengthen the cooperation that has served our industry for decades."

What Open Real Estate wants to achieve: When unveiling the concept last week, founding partners Leo Pareja, Chris Kelly, Chris Czarnecki and Tamir Poleg said Open Real Estate will be designed to work alongside MLSs and serve as a marketplace that doesn't favor one brokerage company over another. The initiative comes during a time of fierce debate over private listings and how public marketing and listings cooperation should be handled.

The four founding brokerage leaders said the new platform has clear rules regarding private listings, and they hope the initiative will bring the industry together.

"It is meant in every way to be inclusive, and so we are open to the entire brokerage community that wants to join this thing," Chris Czarnecki, president and CEO of Keller Williams, told Real Estate News.