Who owns the listing? The growing push for brokerage data sovereignty

"Before we put listings online, having a listing was a marketing asset for the listing broker because you could put a sign on the property with your name or run a two-line ad in the newspaper listing your name and phone number. So, it brought you leads, and you didn't just allow some other listing broker to put their sign up in the yard because everyone knew the value of having a listing, Saul Klein, an industry veteran and the CEO of San Diego MLS, said."

"Listings, according to Klein, provide value to the listing broker from not only the sale of the property, but from the leads they bring in. However, once listings were made widely available online, more entities beyond the listing agent began finding ways to extract value from the listing and now some listing agents are demanding some of that control back."

"When we first started syndicating listings, nobody thought about contracts. We would just get the listings to the brokers and then give it to the portals that wanted them, Klein said. But fast forward to today and brokers are waking up again and realizing that those listings are worth money because they can see that they are making other people money."

"According to Cotality, BLX is an enterprise listing management and distribution platform that gives brokerages more direct control over how listings are created, standardized and syndicated across MLSs and portals"

Having a listing historically functioned as a marketing asset for listing brokers through yard signs and newspaper ads that generated leads. Listings provided value beyond the sale by bringing inquiries to the broker. As listings became widely available online, more entities found ways to extract value from listing data, including selling leads to agents. Listing agents and brokers now seek to regain control over where listing data appears and how it is used, especially while differentiating listing strategies such as private listings and coming soon phases. This need for a trusted distribution partner led HomeServices of America to work with Cotality on the Broker Listing Exchange (BLX), an enterprise platform for managing and distributing listings with greater broker control over creation, standardization, and syndication across MLSs and portals.

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