The views expressed in this column are solely those of the author.

 

Earlier this week, four major real estate groups in the United States made an announcement you might have seen. AGNT (eXp Realty), HomeServices of America (BHHS), Keller Williams, and Real Remax Group have come together to launch an initiative called Open Real Estate.

At first glance, it sounds like another technology announcement. Another platform promising to change the industry. But I think there’s a much bigger story here, particularly for Canadian real estate.

Who controls the listing data that powers our industry? Who gets access to it? And who benefits from its value?

And whether we realize it or not, Canada is already having that conversation.

 

What exactly is Open Real Estate?

 

The idea behind Open Real Estate is relatively straightforward.

Create a shared place where participating brokerages can submit listings once, using standardized information, and distribute that information across the real estate industry. MLS systems, portals, and other authorized platforms would have access to the data. (Note: No, you’re not crazy if this sounds familiar to you as a Canadian agent.)

Rather than each brokerage maintaining separate systems and distribution arrangements, participating companies could contribute to a more unified listing database. Keep in mind that in some American cities there are multiple “MLS systems” that an agent or brokerage can choose (or choose not to) subscribe to.

A key point here (one that my mind immediately wondered about) is that Open Real Estate isn’t intended to replace local MLS systems or become a consumer-facing portal. Keep in mind that the platform is still in development, with the important decisions about governance, technology, and monetization yet to be finalized.

But the fact that competing real estate companies are collaborating on this is very significant. These are huge businesses that compete for agents, market share, and transactions every day. Yet they’ve recognized that maintaining a comprehensive marketplace may be more valuable than trying to control portions of it individually.

 

The debate isn’t really about technology

 

Over the past year or so, much of the louder discussion in the United States has centred on private listing networks (Compass vs. Zillow and Compass vs. MLSs).

The argument for private listings is a familiar one. Sellers should have control over how their properties are marketed, including whether they want to test the market privately before exposing their homes publicly.

There’s merit to seller choice. Not every homeowner wants the same marketing strategy.

But there’s also a question we need to ask that’s tied to this. When properties are marketed primarily inside individual brokerage networks, are sellers making a choice that genuinely benefits them, or are they unintentionally limiting the number of potential buyers who can compete for their property?

And then for buyers, the argument is equally important.

Should your ability to discover available properties depend on which brokerage your agent works for, or which tech product they subscribe to?

One of the strongest elements of the co-operative MLS model is that a smaller independent brokerage can compete with a national brand because both have access to the same inventory. Now, competition becomes about service, knowledge, and results rather than just exclusive access to information.

Interestingly, Open Real Estate itself has a contradiction worth watching. Its proposed rules allow listings to be shared privately among participating brokerages without being publicly marketed. That could give those listings more exposure than a single brokerage’s private network, but it still raises the question of who gets access and who doesn’t.

So even a platform built around the idea of openness will have to decide where it draws the line. And that brings us right back to the real issue: control.

 

Here’s where Canada gets interesting

 

While this announcement was making headlines in the United States, something remarkably relevant had already happened here.

On Oct. 15, just 11 days before Open Real Estate was announced, Canada’s Competition Bureau reached an agreement with the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers concerning access to Centris real estate data.

The agreement requires the association to provide its members with automated access to property information, including sales history, pricing and other information needed to develop new tools and services. Simply: The bureau had raised concerns that restrictions on data access were limiting competition and innovation.

Think about that.

In the United States, major brokerage companies are organizing to create a more open distribution of listing information. In Canada, competition authorities are requiring greater access to information already controlled within the industry’s existing systems.

Different approaches, but a similar underlying question.

How do we protect the benefits of a co-operative real estate marketplace without unnecessarily restricting access, competition, or innovation?

 

Canada already has an important advantage

 

There’s another part of this story that we can’t overlook.

Canada already has much of what Open Real Estate is trying to achieve. We have local MLS systems feeding into a national consumer platform through Realtor.ca. Through CREA’s Data Distribution Facility, participating brokerages can authorize listings to be distributed across other websites and technology platforms. (Yes, that sounds like what was described above…)

According to CREA, Realtor.ca recorded more than 633 million visits in 2025 and more than 60 per cent of Canada’s online real estate market share.

That’s a significant asset for Canadian Realtors and consumers. And unlike a national portal controlled by a single private brokerage, Realtor.ca remains owned by us, its members, with its value intended to support the broader Realtor community.

And while a headline announcement isn’t an operating and working product, the collective behind Open Real Estate is demonstrating that the underlying idea of industry-wide co-operation and national listing distribution is the goal, one which is already well established in Canada.

Now the opportunity is to build on what we have.

Co-operation and competition have to coexist

Here’s where this gets complicated.

CREA introduced the Realtor Co-operation Policy in January 2024, generally requiring publicly marketed residential listings to enter an MLS system within a prescribed timeframe. At the same time, the Competition Bureau has been examining whether aspects of that policy may create barriers for alternative listing services or competition.

There has been no finding of wrongdoing in that ongoing investigation. Still, it’s an important reminder.

A co-operative marketplace needs broad participation. But it also needs fair rules, accessible technology and room for new business models. We shouldn’t treat those objectives as mutually exclusive.

Protecting the integrity of MLS data matters. At the same time, so does allowing brokerages, agents, and technology companies to innovate with that information under appropriate safeguards.

And we need to be thoughtful about how the commercial value of underlying listing data is shared. As artificial intelligence becomes more integrated into property searches, valuations and other services, reliable and comprehensive data will only become more important.

What should Canadian Realtors take from this?

It certainly isn’t that we need to copy Open Real Estate. We already have substantial infrastructure built around co-operation. And I certainly don’t think this signals the end of MLS systems or boards.

What I do think is that the industry needs to have a more serious conversation about data access, governance, and modernization for the future.

Who should control the distribution of listing information?

How do we ensure independent brokerages can compete fairly?

How do we protect seller choice without creating unnecessary barriers for buyers?

And how do we ensure that the value created by our collective data benefits the people and consumers who make the marketplace work?

Those aren’t exclusively American questions. They’re questions we should be asking in Canada too.

The value of a real estate professional shouldn’t come from having access to information that someone else can’t see. It should come from our ability to interpret that information, provide advice and help clients make better decisions. That’s what makes co-operation valuable in the first place.

Open Real Estate may be an American initiative. But the conversation it has started is one that Canadian real estate would be wise to pay attention to.