Tom and Leslie

06/13/2026

Very true…

05/19/2026

Long post but you may be interested in the State of Real Estate... Current lawsuits may fundamentally reshape residential real estate nationwide in the next the next 12–24 months . Here’s a current snapshot of the major lawsuits and industry battles centered on private listings, MLS control, and Clear Cooperation across the national real estate landscape.

****The Core Issue Driving Everything****
At the center of nearly every lawsuit and strategic alliance right now is the fight over:
-Private listings / office exclusives
-Whether listings should appear in the MLS immediately
-Who controls listing inventory
-Whether portals like Zillow should be allowed to punish brokerages that market privately first

The debate revolves around NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP):
If a property is publicly marketed, it must be submitted to the MLS within one business day.

THE MAJOR CAMPS:
1) PRO-PRIVATE LISTING / DELAYED MLS EXPOSURE

These companies generally support allowing listings to remain private, office-exclusive, or delayed before going fully public:
-Compass
-Anywhere Real Estate (partially supportive depending on brand/market)
-CoStar Group
-Some luxury brokerages including:
-Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty
-Certain MLSs including: MRED (The Chicago & Northern Illinois MLS that all local Realtors use)

Their Argument:
-Sellers deserve privacy and control
-“Pre-marketing” creates strategic pricing advantages
-Brokerages should control their own inventory
-Zillow and portals are becoming monopolistic gatekeepers

2) PRO-OPEN MLS / ANTI-PRIVATE NETWORKS

These companies strongly favor broad MLS exposure and oppose large-scale private networks:
-Zillow
-Redfin
-RE/MAX
-Many MLS organizations
-Most fair-housing advocacy groups

Their Argument:
-Private listings reduce transparency
-Consumers miss inventory
-Pocket listings harm fair housing access
-MLS fragmentation hurts buyers
-Large brokerages are trying to “hoard inventory”

Biggest Lawsuits Happening Right Now
1. Compass vs Zillow (THE Industry War)
Filed: June 2025
Main Claim: Compass sued Zillow alleging:

-Antitrust violations
-Monopolistic behavior
-Illegal exclusion of listings

****Compass accused Zillow of creating a “Zillow Ban” that punished listings marketed privately for more than one day before MLS entry.

Compass Position - Compass wants:

-Pre-marketing rights
-Office exclusives
-Delayed public exposure
-Freedom from CCP-style enforcement

Zillow Position
Zillow says:

-Consumers deserve equal access
-Hidden inventory hurts buyers
-Private listing networks fragment the market

Current Status
****Compass lost its request for an injunction. A judge suggested Compass failed to prove monopoly claims.

****Compass later voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit after Zillow softened portions of its listing-access standards.

2. Zillow vs MRED + Compass (Chicago War)

This is now becoming one of the most important MLS battles in America.

Filed: May 2026
Zillow sued:

-MRED (Again... Chicago's MLS)
-Compass

Zillow alleges they conspired to:

-Hide listings
-Force Zillow to display Compass private listings
-Punish Zillow for enforcing transparency rules
-Why This Matters

Chicago/MRED may become the national testing ground for:

-Private listing carve-outs inside MLS systems
-“Private network” listing channels
-MLS segmentation
-A national MLS

This could reshape how MLS systems operate nationally.

05/04/2026

It's been a busy April!
tomandleslie.com

04/22/2026

Last week, the total number of residential contracts in MRED's residential marketplace soared to 3,774. That mark was a 15% week-over-week increase and a 19% year-over-year jump. It was also the largest single-week total in that metric since June of 2023.

04/19/2026

National Association of Realtors’ economist…

04/14/2026

The old grey shade just ain’t what she used to be… 🎶

04/01/2026

Interesting....

Curated by Smartbrief. Japanese homebuilders are making a significant impact on the U.S. housing market through a strategy of acquiring American builders. This approach, reminiscent of Japan's rise in the automotive industry, has led Japanese companies to announce or complete 23 acquisitions....

03/25/2026

Good insight on National markets...

Key takeawaysMore home shoppers are checking their buying power, even if they’re not signing contracts yet.Home sales activity is edging up, but only

03/17/2026

FANNIE MAE PREDICTS MORTGAGE RATES WILL STAY UNDER 6%

Fannie Mae’s March Housing Forecast predicted that the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate will remain at 6% in Q1 (which ends in a couple of weeks), but it put the 30-year rate under 6% for the rest of 2026 and 2027.

For 2026, Fannie Mae forecast the mortgage rate will hit 5.9% in Q2, 5.8% in Q3, and 5.7% in Q4. The organization expected the rate to waver between 5.6% and 5.7% in 2027.

10/22/2025

"Of the nearly 1,000 markets tracked by Homes.com, 63% experienced annual price increases and 37% saw annual price decreases. Among the top 40 markets, 10 saw their median prices remain flat or decline, while another 10 experienced price increases of 3% or higher. A large share of that growth was concentrated in the Midwest, a continuation of an existing trend." Chicago was #12 on the list with year-over-year appreciation at 2.6%
TomandLeslie.com

The cost to purchase a median-priced home in the United States grew 2% in September compared to the same time a year earlier, ending a summer that saw