Compass has formalized its requirements for agents to cooperate with competing brokers on private listings, even as the brokerage continues challenging rules governing how properties are marketed through multiple listing services.
The company confirmed to Inman Wednesday that the new policy does not change conditions established in July 2025 for sharing private inventory with other brokerages and MLSs.
Compass’ Broker-to-Broker Cooperation Policy requires agents to share listing information and respond to inquiries from outside brokers, including on Private Exclusive and Coming Soon listings, unless sellers instruct otherwise in writing.
Agents must also make properties available for showings to qualified buyers represented by cooperating brokers whenever showings are being offered. They must present sellers with all written offers received.
The company said the requirements have been added to its policy manual and specified that the announcement applied only to Compass, not Compass International Holdings.
In a LinkedIn post, Compass International Holdings CEO Robert Reffkin drew a distinction between cooperating with other brokers and putting listings in the MLS.
“The MLS isn’t just a cooperation system anymore. It’s become a system that restricts how homeowners can market their homes,” Reffkin wrote.
Reffkin said 45 of Compass’ top 50 MLSs limit how long listings can remain Coming Soon, prohibit showings of Coming Soon properties or restrict when offers can be accepted.
The announcement also comes amid ongoing litigation over Compass’ private-listings strategy and scrutiny from lawmakers in both parties.
In July, a House Judiciary subcommittee led by Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., requested briefings from Reffkin and MRED CEO Rebecca Jensen on their companies’ private-listing partnership. Sen. Elizabeth Warren later questioned the arrangement, and in October she and Sen. Cory Booker urged the Federal Trade Commission to examine practices including private listings.
A nod to Bright MLS
Compass also said its agents nationwide should follow Bright MLS’ cooperation rules when marketing homes outside the MLS.
Bright MLS, which serves the Mid-Atlantic region, has required impartial cooperation among subscribers since at least 2024. Its current cooperation rule calls for sharing listing information and arranging showings regardless of compensation arrangements or whether the MLS distributes a property’s information.
Compass’ announcement uses mandatory language for its specific cooperation requirements but says agents “should” follow Bright’s broader standard.
The reference comes six months after Compass and Bright announced a partnership in May, with Compass committing to make nationwide listing data available through the MLS.
Emails presented during Reffkin’s July testimony in federal court in Chicago also showed him pressuring Bright to change its IDX rules amid Compass’ dispute with Zillow. Bright declined to intervene, prompting Reffkin to accuse the MLS of having “completely sold us out.”
What hasn’t changed
The policy governs how Compass agents cooperate with other brokers — it does not change the conditions under which the company has offered to share its private inventory.
In July 2025, Compass announced it would share its private exclusive inventory with competing brokerages and MLSs under two conditions: recipients could not alter or monetize listing information in certain ways, and they had to ensure agents would not be fined or banned for sharing listings.
The Compass spokesperson confirmed to Inman that those conditions remain in place but did not clarify whether Wednesday’s policy introduces additional obligations for agents or formalizes existing practices.
The announcement also follows Reffkin’s comments during Compass’ third-quarter earnings call about potentially participating in Open Real Estate, a national listing-sharing initiative.
Open Real Estate’s rules allow private listings to be shared exclusively with agents at participating brokerages, as long as the properties aren’t publicly marketed. Compass said Wednesday it had no further updates on potential participation in Open RE.
