Don’t let business decisions result in hostility toward brokers

As we continue to speak out about the business decisions that are reshaping our industry – especially around private listings and the quiet dismantling of our MLS system through a national MLS service that is being promoted MRED and Compass – there is something I want us all to keep in perspective – and I include myself in this.

As these conversations grow louder, it would be easy for things to slide into an “us vs. them” mentality toward individual agents. I don’t want that to happen. Not from me, and from no one in this industry.

We see it all the time in politics. Someone belongs to a certain party, practices a certain religion, or has a different background – and suddenly he or she is placed in a category. People no longer see the individual. They only see the label. They direct their frustration and anger at an entire group based on the actions of a few. It’s one of the worst tendencies we have as humans, and I refuse to let us fall into the same trap here.

Keeping the focus on people

So let’s keep something important in mind: Compass agents are great people, as do the other agents from different brokerages who may hold different beliefs than ours.

Most officers have the same goals and fears as the rest of us. They want to grow, serve their customers well, make a difference in the lives of buyers and sellers – and yes, put food on the table for their families.

They chose to license with a company because that company offered them something they valued. And honestly? Much of what these organizations deliver in terms of tools, technology and marketing resources is truly impressive.

The urge to shake up the standards that have served our industry for decades does not come from these colleagues. It comes from much higher up the corporate ladder.

The agents and executives who encourage private listings are passionate, talented, and fiercely competitive people. That competitive drive is exactly what got them where they are today.

But that same drive – that hunger for dominance and market control – is showing real consequences. Not just for you, the working agent, but for the buyers and sellers we all must serve ethically.

The Clear cooperation policy exists for a reason: to protect consumers by ensuring broad market exposure and transparent competition. When listings are withheld from the MLS, buyers lose access to the inventory, sellers can make less money, and the playing field tilts towards whoever controls the most private inventory.

That is not innovation. That’s consolidation dressed up as disruption.

But here’s my point – and it’s the crux of this piece.

For those of us working to reduce and protect the open, cooperative market that benefits all, we must never let our frustration with corporate decisions turn into hostility toward individual agents.

The person sitting across from you at the closing table who happens to be carrying a Compass business card is simply a professional who wants to treat their customers well. They did not design the policy. They navigate through it, just like we do.

We can hold corporate leadership accountable for decisions that harm our industry And still treat every agent we encounter with the professionalism and respect they have earned. That is not a contradiction. That’s character.

This industry is built on collaboration. Our entire value system – the MLS, the National Association of Realtors Code of Ethicsthe cooperative commission model – is designed around the idea that agents work together at the service of their customers, even with competing brokers. The moment we turn on each other is the moment we give the critics exactly the story they want.

So, as things continue to unfold, let’s stay clear about who we actually disagree with. Let’s focus our energy where it belongs – on policy, on leadership, on systemic change – and keep the door open to every individual actor we encounter along the way.