Bigger. Better. Bolder. Inman Connect is heading to San Diego. Join thousands of real estate pros, connect with the power of the Inman Community, and gain insights from hundreds of leading minds shaping the industry. If you’re ready to grow your business and invest in yourself, this is where you need to be. Go BIG in San Diego!
Each week on The Download, Inman’s Christy Murdock takes a deeper look at the top-read stories of the week to give you what you’ll need to meet Monday head-on. This week: With platforms and portals pushing back against its policies, is the National Association of Realtors losing its grip on the industry?
After holding sway for decades as the country’s most powerful trade organization, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) may finally be losing control of some of the platforms and entities that drive real estate sales in the U.S.
TAKE THE INMAN INTEL SURVEY FOR APRIL
Recently, both MLSs and that nation’s largest portal, Zillow, have pushed back on NAR policies with changes that seemingly ignore the group’s rules. This comes alongside months of debate regarding NAR’s internal organizational practices, handling of the commission lawsuit settlement and a Clear Cooperation debate that raged among industry leaders prior to the implementation of a new Multiple Listing Options for Sellers policy.
EXTRA: Biggest MLS in the nation rejects NAR ‘Delayed Marketing’ policy
In addition, a post on Zillow’s LinkedIn page culminated in a battle royale with CEOs from all sides joining in the comments.
Beginning in December, Zillow began to change the way listings are made visible on its portal platform in defiance of NAR’s no-commingling policy.
Listings are quietly ‘commingling’ on Zillow again after 4-year hiatus by Taylor Anderson
Four years after it complied with NAR’s no-commingling rule, Zillow is quietly reversing course to allow the display of non-MLS listings alongside other properties on the platform, having previously obscured them with a filter many users never knew existed.
In markets where local MLSs never enacted the rule — or recently rescinded it — users of the search portal will now see more properties in their search prompts by default, including for-sale by-owner (FSBO) listings, non-MLS auctions and buildable floor plans.
EXTRA: Auction.com says its listing views are up with Zillow commingling
NAR has long defended the policy and repeatedly rebuffed efforts to eliminate it.
As power shifts and practices recalibrate, you need to come at your own business informed and prepared, with knowledge about what’s next and systems that pay off both now and in the future. This week, Inman contributors offered perspective on where the industry is headed, along with how-tos you can use to be ready for anything.
Private listings just got real: State regulators have entered the chat
State regulators are scrutinizing Realtor practices and mandating consumer-friendly, fiduciary-level professional behavior, Summer Goralik writes.
5 ways to reset systems, scale with ease, future-proof your
Shift your business out of survival mode when you adopt a CEO mindset, implement smart processes and procedures, and scale with the future in mind, broker Jessica Souza writes.
What skills will brokerages and their leaders need in
In the face of economic headwinds and shifting market dynamics, brokerages must embrace change with clarity, strategy and agility, The Agency’s Rainy Hake Austin writes.
Christy Murdock is a writer, coach and consultant and the owner of Writing Real Estate. Connect with Writing Real Estate on Instagram and subscribe to the weekly roundup, The Ketchup.
