Redfin-NAR, MLS-DOJ, CoStar-Homesnap: Inman’s Top 5

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Looking for a quick catch-up on the buzziest stories of the week? Here’s Inman Top 5, the most essential stories of the week, according to Inman readers.

And don’t miss The Download, our weekly column that breaks down one of the top stories of the week and equips you with what you’ll need to meet next Monday head-on.

1. Redfin leaves NAR — and calls on its brokers and agents to follow suit

In a message to employees on Monday, Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman cited NAR’s harassment scandal and other grievances as reasons for calling on 1,800 Realtors to cancel memberships.

2. DOJ intervention puts MLS commission settlement on ice

The homeseller plaintiffs agreed to a two-month extension of deadlines related to a proposed deal with MLS PIN after the federal agency asked for time to assess the deal’s “competitive impact.”

3. MLS commission settlement in jeopardy amid new DOJ ‘concerns’

The Department of Justice’s antitrust division on Thursday requested a two-month deadline extension to review a proposed deal between homesellers and MLS PIN, a broker-owned multiple listing service.

4. CoStar lawsuit accuses Homesnap founder of stealing trade secrets

The commercial real estate giant is seeking to stop Homesnap founder Guy Wolcott from marketing a new data-transfer platform, which CoStar alleges is “a copycat” of its own tech.

5. CoStar’s Homes.com beats Redfin, Realtor.com to become No. 2 portal

In a sign of the listing portal’s growing influence, Homes.com hit more than 100 million unique visitors in September, sparking a 1,290 percent annual increase in traffic. Now the portal is second only to Zillow.