The Council of Multiple Listing Services (CMLS) has created a new Brokerage Membership category intended to bring MLS and brokerage leaders into more structured and regular dialogue on the future of the MLS marketplace, the trade group announced at its Open House conference this week.
The organization said the new membership is built around a straightforward premise: MLS executives and brokerage leaders need more direct, ongoing opportunities to work together on shared challenges.
CMLS will roll out the initiative this fall with a founding group of brokerage leaders, who will help test and refine the membership experience, identify opportunities for tighter MLS-broker collaboration and lay the groundwork for a permanent Broker Advisory Committee.
The founding group is designed as a closed forum for candid discussion rather than a broad marketing program, giving brokerage executives a defined role in shaping how the membership operates and how CMLS incorporates broker input into its work.
“MLSs and brokerages are both essential to a transparent, efficient and competitive real estate marketplace, but too often we are having conversations in separate rooms,” CMLS CEO Jessica Edgerton said in the announcement. “This new membership creates a place to have those conversations together. If we want to build the MLS of the future, we need to better understand one another, challenge assumptions and identify where we can create more value together.”
HomeServices of America and eXp Realty are among the early adopters of the new category, according to CMLS. Their role includes helping the organization build a more consistent connection between brokerage and MLS leadership at a time when the traditional MLS model is under intense regulatory, legal and competitive scrutiny.
Longstanding tension over who sets MLS Policy
Real estate brokers and MLSs are navigating ongoing fallout from industry commission litigation, shifting buyer-broker compensation practices and heightened regulatory attention on data access and transparency. Those pressures have sharpened longstanding tensions over who sets MLS policy, how listing data is shared and how quickly MLSs adapt to brokerage needs.
“Brokerages and MLSs are looking at many of the same industry challenges, but we don’t always see them from the same vantage point,” said Gretchen Rosenberg, vice president of industry affairs and engagement for HomeServices of America. “Creating a more direct and ongoing dialogue gives us the opportunity to better understand those perspectives, challenge some of our own assumptions and work together on solutions that serve brokers, agents and consumers.”
Through Brokerage Membership, participating organizations will gain access to CMLS research, educational resources and industry materials, including the association’s Value of MLS campaign. Broker members will also have expanded opportunities to engage with initiatives such as Champions of MLS and to provide input on CMLS research, education, programming and broader conversations about how MLSs evolve.
CMLS emphasized that the program is structured to give brokerages a more consistent channel for contributing perspectives, not only consuming content. The group said that ongoing broker input is a central objective of the new category.
“Accessible. Efficient. Transparent. That is the market the MLS makes possible,” said Holly Mabery, chief brokerage officer for eXp Realty. “At eXp, we want as many people as possible to see our listings. More eyes. More buyers. Better results for sellers. The MLS is at the center of that. When the MLS is strong, consumers win. That is why eXp Realty is joining CMLS as a broker member and as a Founding Broker Champion of MLS.”
Needs, opportunities and friction points
The founding Brokerage Task Force will focus on identifying needs, opportunities and friction points in the MLS-broker relationship; refining membership benefits; and exploring ways brokers can plug into CMLS research, education, events and Value of MLS efforts. The task force will also help define the structure and priorities of a future Broker Advisory Committee, which is envisioned as an ongoing strategic sounding board.
“This is not about asking brokers to simply join another association,” Edgerton said. “We want them at the table. We want to hear what is working, what is not and where MLSs and brokerages can work differently together. The value of this initiative will come from the conversations it makes possible.”
CMLS plans to use the remainder of 2026 as a listening and design phase, then expand programming and participation throughout 2027. The long-term goal is a standing Broker Advisory Committee that creates a repeatable, structured channel for brokerage engagement in CMLS governance and strategic discussions.
The new category is intended to complement, not replace, CMLS’s focus on its MLS members. The organization said it will continue to advocate for and serve the MLS ecosystem while creating a stronger pathway for brokerage perspectives in debates that directly affect MLS rules, operations and value propositions.
This article was generated using HousingWire Automation and reviewed by a HousingWire editor before publication.
