Real Estate Listing System (RELS)

How are we different? FAQs

Business Structure:

RELS is a private for-profit limited liability company, dedicated to competing in the marketplace for your listing services, bringing the highest value services at a fair price.

Why this structure is important to you?

RELS is not an association of competitors it is a private advertising platform.

Unlike NAR and other Broker-Owned MLS listing systems, RELS will not be Anti-Competitive by nature:

• No board members and no rules committees made up of competitors.

• No industry rules or "code of ethics" will be made or enforced.

• No Standard of Practice rules will be maintained or enforced.

• No rules or policies will be voted on by subscribers.

• Cooperation is not required.

• Compensation to other agents is not required.

• All actively licensed agents will be allowed to voluntarily subscribe to our advertising platform.

Why should we join a system not owned by its members?

The Real Estate Listing System (RELS), as a private, for-profit limited liability company, provides a groundbreaking shift in how real estate listing services function, offering an alternative that prioritizes independence, fairness, and flexibility. By eliminating mandatory cooperation and compensation, RELS empowers agents and sellers to tailor their approaches, free from restrictive association rules. Its transparent pricing model ensures that agents only pay for the services they use, while the platform focuses on data integrity and high-quality software tools at competitive rates. This innovative structure minimizes agent liability by separating listing services from the influence of competitive associations, allowing brokers and agents to focus on selling properties without unnecessary legal exposure. Ultimately, RELS advocates for voluntary association membership, freeing agents to choose affiliations that genuinely align with their values while fostering a healthier, more competitive real estate market.

Member-owned MLSs are anti-competitive and collusive by definition.

By choosing a private listing service Brokers and agents will have a place where they can safely "LIST" their exclusively listed properties without worrying about being anti-competitive or being accused of conspiracy.

• Brokers and agents will have limited input into how RELS is run and operated.

• Brokers and agents will have limited input into what data rules are instituted.

• Therefore brokers and agents will have no liability or responsibility for the way the service is run.

• Only sellers will be allowed to voluntarily offer other-agent compensation

• Only sellers will be allowed to expose an offer to other agents within the listing system.

  • Sellers will sign a separate agreement with RELS if they want to offer and advertise compensation

  • It will be voluntary and by default, compensation will NOT be displayed.

  • Compensation will NOT be advertised for representation, but rather for marketing, transportation, and transaction facilitation.

• Agents will NOT but Prospective buyers will be able to set up searches that include whether or not a seller is willing to pay the other agents' fees.

• Prospective buyers will be able to tour homes without being forced to sign any agreements with an agent. Since the listings are not in a NAR associated MLS, there will be no requirement for mandated agreements, only voluntary agreements.

• Everything will be voluntary except for data integrity.

Member-owned MLSs cost too much. $1,200-$1,600 for NAR-related costs is just too high.

• NAR dues may not go up for two years. But, Who is going to pay the $418 million? You are.

• Without the overhead of the association, better services can be delivered for much less.

• Agents can pay for the services they want or need, instead of memberships they don't want or need.

• Base Listing Subscriptions will start at only $20 per month.

• Pro-level software services provided by third parties will be negotiated based on scale and adoption.

Should we abandon associations?

• We encourage agents to belong to an industry association on a voluntary basis.

  • We believe in legislative advocacy at the National, State, and Local level.

  • We do NOT believe that membership in NAR or any other association should be mandatory to do business as it is in many areas of the country.

  • We do NOT believe that access to the listing system should be tied to an association membership which by definition makes it a collusive anti-competitive organization.

  • By separating the listing system from an association of competitors, where the association has control over the "means of doing business", and set the de-facto industry rules of business, it will free up the associations to do the kind of work they were founded to do:

    • Legislative Advocacy

    • Enforcing code of ethics violations

    • Education

    • Other activities for the betterment of the industry