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The amount of time, energy and resources this industry is spending debating how to limit listing visibility — often under the guise of academic, moral or legal nuance — is staggering. To those outside our bubble, it must look like a turf war on a middle-school playground.
The difference? What’s at stake here is whether American homebuyers and sellers are being deliberately kept in the dark.
For decades, we’ve seen a carousel of new business models come and go — each claiming it would “change the game.” They didn’t. Then came the listing portals, and like it or not, they did change the game. For consumers, it was for the better. Visibility improved, the tools became more sophisticated, and agents eventually adapted.
Yet here we go again: The industry has not structurally changed since at least 2009, and the latest wave of disruption isn’t really delivering anything new; it’s just shifting power around. And that power can also mean informational asymmetry for homesellers and buyers.
Certain consumers (not all consumers, just some) are being steered into off-market transactions, disguised as exclusivity and efficiency. But let’s be clear: The data shows time and again that when properties aren’t marketed openly, sellers typically leave money on the table, buyers lose access, and the market as a whole becomes less transparent.
Hiding listings isn’t innovation. It’s a step backward.
So, who is this really benefiting?
Keeping listings hidden isn’t solving a consumer problem. It’s designed for competitive positioning, not better outcomes. Without intervention, this will persist. No clear lines are drawn. No consistent consumer-first standard is enforced.
And in many ways, MLSs can be left being the first line of defense, forced to implement and police rules that often contradict the spirit of an open marketplace. In practice, that means everyone is unhappy.
At Bright MLS, we support all business models. We believe in flexibility that goes beyond NAR’s recommendations. There are certainly use cases for office exclusives for homeowners whose privacy and security are of top concern. We recognize and support that ability for brokers to serve those homesellers.
But we also believe in facts. And the facts are that homes marketed “exclusively,” and outside of the open system, sell for less and take longer to sell. That’s not speculation, and we’re not guessing. We have the hard data.
We studied over 100,000 property sales across the Mid-Atlantic over the past six months. The results are conclusive: Properties marketed “privately” by licensed brokers and agents but off the MLS are not delivering better outcomes that are backed by data for buyers or sellers.
So, let’s ask ourselves: Who is truly advocating for the consumer? Who’s willing to say out loud that open access is better than curated exclusivity? Who’s willing to acknowledge that ethics aren’t just a side conversation, they’re the backbone of real estate?
At Bright, we are unapologetically pro-transparency. We decided when we started studying off-MLS transactions nearly five years ago that we would share what the data said. We will continue to be transparent and report on future trends. We will shine a light on what the data says. And the data shows that consumers benefit from homes being marketed transparently to everyone.
And we invite everyone — even our fiercest critics — to engage in this conversation openly, with the facts in hand. Because if you’re arguing for secrecy in a marketplace that is built on trust and efficiency, then maybe it’s not the model that’s outdated — maybe it’s the mindset.
So, what’s next? We have always had those who push the boundaries under the guise of innovation or a new business model, but we now have the data to evaluate those impacts. We believe most professionals in the industry understand a transparent marketplace is best for the consumer.
On the other hand, consumers only buy and sell a house every 10 years. The question is — who is ensuring the consumer has all the facts?
Brian Donnellan is President and CEO of Bright MLS.
