ACME Real Estate CEO argues fragmented MLS system has left agents vulnerable as brokerages negotiate independent platform deals
Major brokerages are striking direct partnerships with listing platforms, and Courtney Poulos, founder and CEO of ACME Real Estate in Los Angeles, argues the deals are accelerating a power shift that has been building for years – one that is moving control of listing data away from agents and toward technology companies.
With 20 years of experience building a boutique brokerage that competes against billion-dollar firms, Poulos has watched agents steadily lose ground in their ability to control how their listings are distributed and monetized. She believes the current moment will determine whether that trend becomes permanent.
The Fundamental Problem
The core issue, as Poulos sees it, is that agents bear the costs of creating listing content but have the least say in how it is used. Agents fund professional photography, staging, videos, and marketing materials. Sellers authorize the use of their property information. Brokerages facilitate transactions. MLSs – Multiple Listing Services, the databases where agents share property listings – aggregate the data. Platforms then distribute it. At every step of that chain, agents and sellers carry the financial exposure while platforms and MLSs control distribution.
“Everyone has a claim to the data, but the people who create it and own the properties have the least say in how it’s used,” she says.
The fragmentation of the MLS landscape makes the problem worse. With more than 1,100 separate MLS systems nationwide, each operating under different rules and standards, agents have no unified voice when negotiating with national platforms that operate across all markets. “When you have about 600 different systems with different standards, agents can’t collectively negotiate favorable terms,” Poulos says.
The Revenue Question
The financial arrangement at the center of this dispute is straightforward: MLSs collect fees from platforms in exchange for access to listing data, while agents absorb all the upfront costs of producing that content. When a listing fails to sell, the agent takes a total loss on photography, video, and marketing spend. The MLS has already been paid.
“MLSs are being paid by platforms for our listing data,” Poulos says. “We’re funding the photos, videos, and marketing materials. When a listing doesn’t sell, that’s pure loss for the agent, but the MLS has already profited from syndicating that content.”
For boutique brokerages without the transaction volume to offset those costs, the imbalance is acute. ACME Real Estate closed $155 million in sales in 2024 across 35 agents, a scale where every marketing dollar is consequential. Poulos argues that if platforms are paying MLSs for access to agent-created data, agents should be part of the conversation about how that revenue is distributed.
The Case for Consolidation
Poulos supports consolidating the nation’s MLS systems into a single nationwide platform accessible to all licensed agents regardless of location. A unified system would standardize data across markets and, more importantly, give agents the collective bargaining power they currently lack.
The practical benefits would extend beyond negotiating leverage. Agents who work across state lines now navigate multiple memberships, inconsistent fee structures, and incompatible data standards. Sellers relocating from one state to another see their properties marketed through entirely different systems. “It doesn’t serve anyone well,” Poulos says.
What Recent Deals Mean
The direct partnership agreements now being announced between major brokerages and listing platforms are, in Poulos’s view, setting precedents that will shape how listing distribution works for years. The key question is whether these deals give brokerages genuine control over their data or simply formalize existing arrangements in which platforms retain distribution authority.
“The real test is whether these deals result in agents having more say in how their listings are marketed, or whether they’re just new arrangements that maintain platform control,” she says.
For independent and boutique brokerages, the stakes are concrete. If major national firms lock in exclusive or preferential platform relationships, smaller brokerages will be competing at a structural disadvantage with no equivalent leverage to offset it. “Unless there’s collective action through restructured systems, independent brokerages will continue to have limited leverage,” Poulos warns.
The Path Forward
Consolidating these MLS systems into a single national platform would require cooperation from the organizations that benefit most from the current structure – existing MLS organizations, state associations, and large brokerages all have financial and institutional reasons to resist change. Poulos does not minimize that obstacle.
But she argues the cost of inaction is higher. Without a structural shift, agents will continue absorbing content creation costs while platforms consolidate control over distribution. “We’re at a decision point,” she says. “The industry can build systems that restore agent control over listing data, or we can watch that control become permanently consolidated with technology platforms.”
Her advice to individual agents is direct: pay attention to where leverage is concentrating. Agents and small brokerages operating in isolation have little ability to influence these outcomes. Collective action through a restructured national system is the mechanism that could change that.
Poulos expects the next 12 to 18 months to be decisive. “The deals being negotiated now will set precedents that shape real estate for the next decade,” she says. “Agents need to be paying attention and asking whether these changes serve their interests or undermine them.”
Courtney Poulos is the Founder & CEO of ACME Real Estate in Los Angeles and hosts “The Clean Close” podcast covering real estate industry news and trends.
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