According to HousingWire, a House Judiciary subcommittee has launched an investigation into a partnership between real estate company Compass and MRED, one of the nation's largest multiple listing services. The subcommittee sent formal letters in late July requesting briefings from both companies about their use of private listing networks and their recent data-sharing agreement. The lawmakers are concerned that these arrangements may be limiting transparency, reducing competition, and ultimately harming both homebuyers and sellers in violation of antitrust principles.
The deal between Compass and MRED, announced in April, allows the MLS to expand its private listing network nationwide beyond its traditional Midwest territory. Under this partnership, agents can access listings that are kept off the public market. Compass then markets many of these properties as exclusive listings to its own agent network before they eventually appear on major platforms like Zillow, Redfin, or Realtor.com. This means some homes get a head start in visibility within Compass's system while remaining hidden from other agents and the general public.
The subcommittee raised several red flags about how this arrangement could harm the real estate market. HousingWire and other outlets have documented Compass's rapid growth in market share following mergers and the increasing prevalence of private listing practices tied to double-ended deals, where one agent represents both buyer and seller. The lawmakers want to understand whether Compass and MRED are using these structures to shield themselves from competition unfairly.
Both companies have been asked to provide staff briefings by early August to explain their business practices and partnerships. MRED indicated they would cooperate and help the committee understand how they operate. Compass declined to comment on the matter. This investigation was prompted in part by a lawsuit Zillow filed against Compass and MRED in May, claiming the two companies conspired to prevent Zillow from accessing listing data.
What I am seeing locally here in the Bay Area is that these national trends around data access and private listing practices are becoming impossible to ignore. As someone who works directly with buyers and sellers every day, I know that transparency and fair access to market information are foundational to how this industry should work. When major players can control which listings go where and to whom, it creates real friction in the market and makes it harder for people to make informed decisions about one of the biggest purchases of their lives.
