OneKey® MLS Rejects Compass Demand, Defends the Open Real Estate Marketplace

OneKey® MLS takes a stand to protect an open and transparent marketplace, fair housing, and consumers.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OneKey® MLS rejects demands from Compass, Inc. to change its rules governing the sharing of publicly marketed listings. OneKey stands firm for an open, cooperative marketplace where sellers can reach more potential buyers and buyers can access housing opportunities regardless of which brokerage they choose. This commitment supports seller choice, fair housing, consumer protection, and full and fair competition.

OneKey Supports Seller Choice and an Open, Fair and Competitive Marketplace

OneKey MLS believes home sellers should have flexibility and choice, which is why we provide a range of marketing options, including those that protect seller privacy. Compass’s demand, however, seeks something fundamentally different: the ability to advertise homes for sale while hiding them from the shared MLS database. Framing this demand as 'seller choice' obscures its true effect. It allows a single brokerage to act as a gatekeeper, controlling who can see a listing and which competing agents can bring buyers to the table. Real estate firms should earn a home buyer’s or seller's business through better service not by restricting access to the local housing supply.

The cooperative MLS model operates on reciprocity and is inherently pro-competitive. OneKey MLS enables fair, transparent, and equal access to everyone. OneKey’s rules apply equally to all participants, who collectively shape those policies through an established process for rule changes, and do not discriminate in favor of large brokerages. A single brokerage should not be permitted to benefit from the shared inventory of its competitors while keeping its own publicly marketed listings outside the shared marketplace.

OneKey MLS fully supports industry innovation and firmly opposes any proposals that would weaken the reciprocal framework essential to an open, fair, and competitive marketplace. Such proposals are not innovation; they are a dangerous step backward to a less transparent era, where housing access depended entirely on who you knew.

Compass’s Demands Threaten the Open, Fair and Competitive Marketplace

Compass's challenge strikes at the core of how real estate operates, raising a consequential question for the industry and the consumer: Will publicly marketed homes remain accessible to everyone, or will the marketplace fracture, making access a private privilege determined by the listing company?

"A truly competitive real estate marketplace relies on shared, cooperative infrastructure, not fragmented, private networks," said Richard Haggerty, CEO of OneKey MLS. "Withholding inventory from the open marketplace comes at the direct expense of consumers by restricting buyer access and potentially limiting a seller's return on their investment. Consumers deserve the freedom to work with the professional they trust without being limited to one company's private inventory. That cooperative model creates equal opportunity, and those fundamental protections are worth defending."

The Financial Cost to Consumers and the Agent’s Fiduciary Duty

A real estate professional’s fiduciary duty is to secure the best possible financial outcome for their client. Hiding inventory under the guise of "seller choice" actively undermines this duty by reducing the price sellers may receive for their homes. Independent research confirms that limiting a home's exposure weakens competitive bidding and suppresses true market value.

A comprehensive study by Bright MLS and Drexel University found that homes marketed openly on the MLS sell for 17.5% more than comparable off-market properties—costing the average seller roughly $53,890 in lost proceeds.¹ Furthermore, a recent national report by Zillow found that sellers in New York who opted for off-market sales lost a median of $13,749 per home.²

Recognizing the threat of manipulated, fragmented markets, federal lawmakers, including Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker, recently urged the FTC to investigate anti-competitive and deceptive practices within the online home-buying marketplace, specifically citing the anticompetitive use of private listings.³

The Threat to Fair Housing and Equal Access

Fragmenting publicly marketed properties across individual brokerage networks creates unnecessary barriers that directly undermine fair housing objectives. Hiding listings for some, but not others, creates an invisible barrier that systematically shuts out minority and first-time buyers from equal homeownership pathways. Civil rights leaders agree: NAACP President Derrick Johnson recently warned that the rise of private listing networks constitutes a "modern form of digital redlining," explicitly stating that defending open access to housing inventory is "more than an industry dispute. This is a civil rights issue."⁴

Fair housing advocates are also sounding the alarm. In a landmark ethnographic study, sociologist Dr. Elizabeth Korver-Glenn found that off-market pocket listings enable agents to maintain segregated networks, warning that the practice effectively acts as modern "digital redlining," helping to "reproduce racial inequality in the contemporary housing market."⁵

OneKey MLS remains committed to a marketplace where seller choice and broad access work together. By supporting agents, protecting consumers, and advancing transparency, fair housing, and innovation, OneKey is helping to preserve a strong and competitive real estate marketplace for everyone.

To read OneKey MLS's official response to Compass, visit https://corporate.onekeymls.com/choice-and-competition.

About OneKey® MLS

OneKey MLS serves real estate professionals and consumers across the Hudson Valley, Long Island, and New York City. With more than one million active, pending, and historical listings, we provide the trusted data that powers one of the most dynamic marketplaces in the country. Learn more about our commitment to transparency, fair housing, and innovation at https://corporate.onekeymls.com.

Footnotes & Data Sources [1] Bright MLS & Drexel University, "Off-Market vs. MLS-Listed Sales: What the Data Shows," citing a 17.5% premium for on-market homes resulting in $53,890 additional seller proceeds. [2] Zillow Research Group, "Off-MLS Home Sellers Left More Than $1 Billion on the Table," February 14, 2025. [3] Office of U.S. Senator Cory Booker, "Booker, Warren Urge FTC to Investigate Anticompetitive, Deceptive Practices in Online Home-Buying Marketplace," October 15, 2026. [4] Johnson, Derrick. "The Next Fight for Fair Housing Is Online." TIME Magazine, August 4, 2026. [5] Korver-Glenn, Elizabeth. "Compounding Inequalities: How Racial Stereotypes and Discrimination Accumulate across the Stages of Housing Exchange." American Sociological Review 83, no. 4 (2018).