CMLS CEO Denee Evans argued against the “removal or significant weakening of a policy so critical to the integrity of our housing market” in an open letter to NAR and its members Friday afternoon.
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With the fate of the National Association of Realtors’ Clear Cooperation Policy hanging in the balance, the Council of Multiple Listing Services has joined the growing cohort of industry leaders urging NAR to uphold the rule.
Denee Evans
“The debate over NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy is intense and complex,” CMLS CEO Denee Evans said in an open letter Friday afternoon. “Our position is measured and simple: CCP should remain in place. Modifications should preserve the spirit and effect of the policy. The CMLS Board of Directors has arrived at this conclusion after careful consideration of the objections to CCP.”
“We do not believe many of these concerns are inherently invalid,” it continued. “But none of them, alone or in aggregate, merit the removal or significant weakening of a policy so critical to the integrity of our housing market.”
CMLS shared Evans’ letter the day after NAR’s MLS Technology and Emerging Issues Advisory Board met and discussed Clear Cooperation. NAR confirmed the meeting in a statement to Inman Friday afternoon, saying that board had met “for the second time in seven weeks—an accelerated pace reflecting the importance of the CCP issue.”
The NAR board did not take any action or make a formal recommendation regarding Clear Cooperation. Instead, it turned over feedback it has received on the issue to NAR’s leadership team.
“NAR will continue to evaluate CCP in the broader context of the issues facing NAR and the industry,” the statement continued. “As a national organization that represents members across the country, NAR continues to receive a range of passionate opinions about CCP. We believe any changes to policies and practices as important as CCP has to carefully weigh feedback from a wide range of members, stakeholders, and industry experts.”
The statement added that NAR will be considering the issue in light of “ongoing litigation and DOJ investigations.”
“As such, NAR will work carefully and diligently to ensure that we continue to review CCP to ensure a decision is made in such a way that is in the best interest of members and consumers,” the statement concluded.
The meeting of NAR’s MLS Technology and Emerging Issues Advisory Board, as well as Evans’ letter, come as Clear Cooperation has risen to one of the most-debated issues in real estate. The rule, first approved in 2019, requires agents to put their listings into their NAR-affiliated MLS within a day that marketing begins. It was a polarizing policy from the get-go, but in recent weeks figures such as Compass CEO Robert Reffkin, The Agency CEO Mauricio Umanksy, eXp CEO Leo Pareja, Zillow President Susan Daimler and many others have all taken public stands on one side or the other.
In Evans’ case, she echoed in her letter previous arguments in favor of CCP, saying the policy ensures homebuyers have a full view of available listings in the market and have a fair shot at competing for that inventory. On the sell-side, she said homesellers “will pay dearly” in a market where listings are siphoned off to private listing networks — curtailing the benefits of broadcasting listings on the MLS and industry competition.
“If CCP is repealed, sellers will pay dearly. Buyers will find it more difficult, and perhaps more expensive, to see a full picture of their options,” she said. “Agents will awaken each morning to a constrained view into their market.”
“Brokers will find it more difficult to compete as listings are systematically held within private networks and a few market-dominating firms,” she added. “We respect those who disagree with us, but we stand for the big idea.”
Evans also said the industry cannot risk drawing further scrutiny from federal regulators, who have already targeted multiple industry policies — namely NAR’s former buyer-broker compensation rules — in an attempt to crack down on antitrust violations.
“The Clear Cooperation Policy was put into place just five years ago in response to a rise in pocket listings,” she said. “Despite the fact that the ‘office exclusives’ exception permitted holding listings within a single company, those who want to repeal or weaken CCP want more.”
“We believe this is risky in a world where consumer, regulatory, and legal scrutiny on our industry has never been more acute,” she added. “The optics of hoarding homes are as bad as the actual effects.”
Evans further argued that requiring brokers to submit listings to their MLSs within one business day of marketing isn’t a perfect rule and should be updated.
However, the CMLS CEO warned against making changes hastily, as NAR faces pressure to make a final decision about CCP at the upcoming NXT Conference in November.
“Repealing CCP hastily is both reckless and unnecessary. Many adjustments to the policy have been proposed and should be evaluated more fully over a more deliberate timeframe,” the letter read. “NAR should not view CCP as an ‘either/or’ problem, but as an opportunity to fine-tune mandatory listing submission, the remaining pillar of MLSs’ unique role in the residential real estate market.”
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