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A California real estate powerhouse has launched a legal war against brokerage giant Compass, accusing the company of trying to rig the housing market in its favor by keeping lucrative home listings hidden from competitors while cashing in on everyone else’s data.California Regional Multiple Listing Service (CRMLS) filed a federal lawsuit against New York-based Compass, escalating an increasingly nasty feud over whether real estate agents can publicly advertise homes without sharing those listings with competing brokers, according to Inman.The explosive legal showdown could reshape how homes are bought and sold across California and potentially the rest of the country.CRMLS, one of the nation’s largest multiple listing services, filed the complaint Oct.5 in the U.S.
District Court for the Southern District of New York, just one day before a deadline Compass had set for the organization to back down.At the heart of the bitter dispute is a controversial practice involving so-called “office-exclusive” listings — properties that brokerages keep off the MLS, the massive database agents use to share homes for sale.Compass argues homeowners should have the freedom to publicly advertise their properties without being forced to place them on the MLS.But CRMLS claims the brokerage wants to have its cake and eat it too.“What the rules do not permit is having it both ways — publicly marketing a property to attract buyers while simultaneously withholding that property from the MLS cooperative,” CRMLS attorneys wrote in the complaint.The organization argues Compass wants access to thousands of competing agents’ listings while keeping its own publicly marketed properties out of the shared database.CRMLS CEO Art Carter blasted the brokerage’s position, accusing it of attempting to exploit a system built on cooperation.“Compass has rejected our reasoning and is advancing legal arguments that we believe are unfair and would allow Compass to free ride on the har...