I’m looking forward to speaking at CMLS Brings It To The Table and joining industry leaders for an important conversation about how AI is showing up in real estate and why the decisions your organization makes now will define your competitive position. Join us and be part of the discussion.
Register here: https://councilofmls.org/brings-it-to-the-table-2026/
NAR Midyear (RLM?) is starting a little late this year but tradition is tradition! I can’t believe we are at year four of doing this quasi-event that seems to get bigger every year we do it.
I’m inviting everyone to meet up at the Omni Hotel’s Marquee Lounge, Sunday night (6/14/26). Anywhere from 9 PM on, just get there before last call (midnight), and let’s all raise a glass together in a place we have enjoyed each other’s company for so long!
This year Zillow has stepped up and will pick up a few rounds of drinks, so get there early.
Doubletake: It’s time to take another look at Paragon Connect
If you haven’t taken a serious look at Paragon Connect lately, you’re making a decision based on outdated information. And in an industry where we love to complain about vendors not keeping up, we should probably hold ourselves to the same standard.
So let’s do a doubletake.
What’s actually changed?
Paragon Connect has become a full-featured, browser-based platform built for how agents actually work today — on any device, without the headaches of legacy desktop installs.
The transition is real — but worth it
Getting agents to update their habits is basically an Olympic sport. But the MLSs that have gone through it will tell you the same thing: the preparation matters more than the platform. Back-end system evaluation, solid documentation, cross-MLS help guides, accreditation-aligned training — do the work upfront and the landing is worth the effort.
The bottom line
Platforms matter. User experience matters. And sticking with “good enough” because the alternative feels risky is how you end up behind the curve.
Paragon Connect has put in the reps. It deserves a fresh set of eyes.
Go take another look. You might surprise yourself.
Inspired by a Facebook post on MRED’s website.
The Industry Relations Podcast is now available on your favorite podcast player!
Rob and Greg break down the major industry-shaking news of the week: Real Brokerage acquiring RE/MAX, and what that means for brokerage consolidation, valuation logic, and the future competitive landscape.
They then dive into the far bigger strategic battle unfolding between Compass, MLSs like MRED, and portals like Zillow. The discussion centers on private listings, MLS policy fragmentation, and whether the industry is heading toward a full-scale “team vs team” conflict over control of listing data.
The episode explores how MLS consolidation, broker strategy, and consumer expectations are colliding—and whether this moment forces the industry into a decisive power struggle.
Connect with Rob and Greg
Watch us on YouTube
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Production and Editing Services by Sunbound Studios
“Interacting naturally with the full breadth of MLS data elevates both the level of insight and the confidence behind it. For subscribers, that shows up in better decisions, faster workflows, and more informed client conversations. For MLS organizations, it reinforces what they already are: the source of truth for the market.”
— Kim Prior, VP of Product, FBS
OK, so here’s what FBS actually built: a way for Flexmls subscribers to connect ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini directly to their MLS account using the Model Context Protocol (MCP). You ask a question in plain English, and the AI answers it using your MLS’s actual, complete, standardized listing database.
The nerdy detail that matters here is MCP. It’s an open standard that’s quickly becoming the way AI tools connect to outside data sources. FBS building on it (rather than rolling their own proprietary thing) is the right call. It means subscribers can move between AI platforms freely. Use Claude today, switch to Gemini tomorrow. The plumbing stays the same.
And this is where it gets interesting for the MLSs themselves. The Flexmls MCP Server works for agents pulling comps, sure, but the MLS can use it too. Market reports, local intelligence, all generated from their own data. That’s the MLS reinforcing its position as the authoritative source in its market. Which, honestly, is something a lot of MLSs need to be doing more of right now.
Each MLS controls activation. Authentication runs through existing Flexmls credentials. The data governance stays where it should: with the MLS. FBS clearly thought about the security question before anyone could ask it.
What I’m curious about is adoption. Sure it’s seems cool, but will MLS members even know what to ask? Is a chatbot the way forward? Plus there are real estate agents, and AI agents. How do we account for those use cases?
That being said, 330,000+ subscribers across North America now have a path to plug AI into their actual workflow. Real connection to real data, ready to go.
Real to Acquire RE/MAX, Creating a Leading Technology-Enabled Global Real Estate Platform
“When Gail and I founded REMAX in 1973, we built a company for business-minded entrepreneurs with a customer-service mindset. For more than 50 years, REMAX has attracted trusted, productive professionals, shaped the real estate industry, and changed the lives of buyers and sellers around the world… I know now is the right time and Real is absolutely the right partner to move REMAX into the future.” — Dave Liniger, RE/MAX Co-Founder
So. Real Brokerage, with its 33,000 agents, is acquiring RE/MAX and its 145,000 agents for $880 million. The combined company will be called Real REMAX Group. Tamir Poleg will run it from Miami.
33,000 buying 145,000. The company that’s been around for less than 10 years just swallowed the company that’s been around for 53.
The Liniger quote is the one to pay attention to. That’s not a guy being dragged to the altar. Liniger literally shifted the entire real estate industry to a more agent focused model. He created the future of real estate back in the day, and today is saying, “now is the right time,”.
I think I understand the deal. Real gets the global footprint and franchise cash flow it never had and agent economics it desperately needed. 180,000 agents across 120 countries. On paper, it’s elegant. The tech play I’m not so sure about. RE/MAX had Booj, then Inside Real Estate, now Real’s reZEN and HeyLeo? Product fatigue is a thing, Real should understand this if they really think their tech stack is a meaningful factor to their success.
Now zoom out. Compass closes on Anywhere in February and suddenly controls Coldwell Banker, Century 21, Sotheby’s, and roughly 25% of the agent population. Two months later, Real eats RE/MAX. We’ve gone from thousands of independent brokerages to a world where two companies could control close to 40% of all agents in the U.S.
Let that settle for a minute.
Here’s the real question. RE/MAX was built on a specific promise: you’re an independent contractor running your own business, the franchise owner is your partner, not your boss. That is a big deal to the RE/MAX network which tends to attract more experienced agents.
Having done a lot of business with RE/MAX over the years, it’s very, how do you say… Colorado. Corporate culture is going to be a thing. Plus franchise owners didn’t sign up to be employees of a tech company in Miami either. They signed up to be entrepreneurs with a balloon on their sign. If the integration respects that, this could work. If it doesn’t, those 145,000 agents have legs.
The consolidation continues, and the year isn’t even half over.
The Listing Bits Podcast is now available on your favorite podcast player!
Greg Robertson is joined by Dominik Pogorzelski from Restb.ai to discuss the evolution of AI in real estate—from early photo tagging to large-scale property intelligence. They cover how AI is now embedded in MLS workflows, powering listing input, compliance, and valuation, while also exploring the challenges of scale, accuracy, and the future of AI in the industry.
Aligned Showings — MLS-owned showing software built to simplify scheduling, improve communication, and keep MLS data where it belongs.
Giant Steps Job Board – Built for organized real estate and PropTech, not generic tech bros and recruiters who don’t know what an MLS is.
Compass International Holdings Gives a Data Feed of All of its Listings to MRED
“MRED is announcing nationwide expansion of its MLS service, including the Private Listing Network (PLN), to any licensed agent.”
“Compass International Holdings is also committed to subsidizing some of the cost of MRED access to the first 100,000 Compass International Holdings agents to join MRED as full members.”
Holy shit! A regional MLS in Lisle, Illinois just announced it’s going national. And the largest brokerage in the country is picking up the tab.
Let me back up.
A few weeks ago I wrote about Reffkin’s proposal for a brokerage-owned national MLS. At the time, sources told me he’d pitched the idea on stage of Brian Donnellan CEO, of Bright MLS leading the charge. Apparently that didn’t go anywhere. So Robert went shopping and found a willing partner in Rebecca Jensen, who has been running MRED for years and has never been shy about doing things differently.
I once compared Rebecca to Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones on Industry Relations. She’s been building dragons for a decade with the Private Listing Network, quietly, while the rest of the MLS world debated whether private listings should even exist. Now she’s burning the map.
This is MLS consolidation, but not the kind we’ve been tracking. Not two neighboring MLSs merging to save on overhead. This is a single MLS going national overnight, powered by Compass’s inventory and Compass’s checkbook. MRED goes from 250,000 listings annually to… what exactly? Compass alone does over a million transactions a year post-Anywhere. That’s not expansion. That’s a whole new animal.
Now let’s talk about what they’re actually offering. MRED says agents can “manage price history, days on market, and automated valuation models.” That sounds an awful lot like suppressing information that buyers would find useful. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m not a fan of less information in real estate. Full stop. But here’s my real question: is MRED still capturing actual DOM and price changes on the backend, just not displaying them publicly? Because if the data exists internally but gets hidden from consumers, that’s one conversation. If it’s not being tracked at all, that’s a much scarier one. And will other MRED brokers like their MLS getting so cozy with Compass?
Then there’s this line: “MRED also commits to protect and safeguard agents who participate in its PLN from being banned or penalized by third party portals and IDX feed recipients.”
Bold. Really bold. But how? Zillow has already shown it will punish listings that get marketed outside their ecosystem before hitting the MLS. What exactly is MRED going to do when Zillow bans a Compass agent’s listings? Send a strongly worded letter? File a lawsuit? Kick them out of the MLS? I’d genuinely love to know, because that promise is either the most important sentence in this press release or the emptiest.
Look, I see what’s happening here. Reffkin has been playing chess all year. The Redfin syndication deal. The war on Clear Cooperation. The national MLS pitch. And now he’s found an MLS CEO willing to go full Dracarys with him. Rebecca gets to go from running a midwestern MLS to running a national platform. Robert gets an MLS partner who won’t fine his agents for pocket listings and will actually fight the portals on his behalf. It’s a hell of a deal for both of them.
Whether it’s a good deal for everyone else… that’s the part I’m still working out.
