Should realtors be required to multiple-list homes for sale?

 The WSJ has the story:

An Industry Dispute Threatens to Shake Up How Homes Are Listed for Sale. Some real-estate brokerages are pushing to repeal a National Association of Realtors rule governing how listings are marketed. By Nicole Friedman, Nov. 3, 2024

"The National Association of Realtors’ landmark settlement is changing the way homes are bought and sold. Now, another industry dispute threatens to shake up how homes are listed for sale. 

A rule implemented in 2020 requires most real-estate agents to add listings into local databases known as multiple-listing services within one business day of publicly advertising the listing. 

Advocates say the rule, known as the clear cooperation policy, makes the housing market more transparent by putting available homes in one place. The goal of the rule was to reduce the number of home listings that are shared privately with a select group of buyers or agents, known as pocket listings.

But opponents say the rule limits sellers’ options for how they can market their homes and puts brokerages at risk of lawsuits. The Justice Department’s antitrust division is investigating the policy, and a lawsuit against NAR regarding the rule is scheduled to go to trial in late 2025.

...

"The NAR rule currently allows listings to be kept off the MLS if they are only marketed within one brokerage, known as an “office exclusive.” That exception can benefit big brokerages, which have more potential buyers for those in-office listings. 

...

"In some markets, most Compass listings start out as office exclusives, Reffkin said in an August earnings call. 

“Those homeowners, they want to be able to test the market” before listing their homes more widely, he said. “The reason why private exclusives at Compass are so popular is because they do not have days on market [or] price drop history.”"