ACME Real Estate CEO says current fragmented system weakens agent leverage as major brokerages negotiate independent platform deals
Major brokerages are striking direct deals with listing platforms, and the agent who created the listings being traded in those deals has little say in how they are used. Courtney Poulos, founder and CEO of ACME Real Estate in Los Angeles, argues that the fragmented system of more than around 600 local Multiple Listing Services has left agents unable to negotiate from any position of strength – and that the only structural fix is a single nationwide MLS.
“We need one nationwide MLS where we can enter our listing and agents across the country can access it through the same system,” says Poulos, whose brokerage closed $155 million in sales in 2024. “With one MLS, agents would have real leverage.”
The Power Imbalance
Agents fund the content that drives listing platform traffic – professional photography, video, virtual tours, and marketing materials. Sellers authorize the use of their property information. But once that content enters the MLS, individual agents have almost no control over how it is distributed or monetized.
The fragmentation of the MLS landscape makes collective action impossible. With about 600 separate systems, each operating under different rules, agents cannot negotiate as a unified group against national platforms that operate across every market simultaneously. “We’re the ones creating the content and paying for it,” Poulos says, “but we have the least control over how it’s used and distributed.”
Revenue Model Questions
The financial arrangement compounds the problem. MLSs collect fees from platforms in exchange for access to listing data – data that agents paid to produce. When a listing fails to sell, the agent absorbs the full cost of photography, video, and marketing as a loss. The MLS has already been paid for syndicating that content.
“If platforms are paying MLSs for our listing data, and we’re the ones funding the photos, the videos, the marketing materials, why shouldn’t we see some of that revenue?” Poulos asks. For boutique brokerages without high transaction volume to offset those costs, the imbalance is a recurring and concrete financial problem.
The Case for Consolidation
A nationwide MLS would address several of the problems Poulos identifies. Standardized data across all markets would replace the current patchwork of local rules. Agents would negotiate collectively rather than individually or in small regional groups. Multiple MLS memberships and duplicative fees would be replaced by a single system.
For independent and boutique brokerages, the stakes of the current moment are specific. If major national firms lock in exclusive or preferential platform relationships, smaller brokerages will compete at a structural disadvantage with no equivalent leverage to offset it. “Unless there’s collective action through restructured systems, independent brokerages will have limited leverage,” Poulos says.
Individual deals between large brokerages and platforms may benefit those specific firms, but they do not address the systemic issues affecting the rest of the industry.
Training Standards Also Needed
Poulos is also calling for mandatory two-year apprenticeships for new real estate licensees, a separate but related reform aimed at the other end of the industry’s structural problems. Approximately 60% of new agents leave the industry within their first year, many after discovering the demands of the profession bear no resemblance to what passing a licensing exam prepared them for. In the meantime, those agents are representing clients in million-dollar transactions.
“New agents are learning on clients’ dimes, sometimes to the clients’ detriment,” she says.
Industry Resistance Expected
Poulos does not underestimate the opposition either proposal will face. Consolidating these MLS systems into one national platform would require cooperation from the organizations that benefit most from the current structure. Mandatory apprenticeship would require legislative action and would face resistance from individuals who want to work independently as soon as they are licensed.
“We need to ask: who are these systems designed to protect?” she says. “They should be protecting consumers and working agents, and currently they’re not doing that effectively.”
What Happens Next
Without structural reform, Poulos expects fragmentation to continue until either new systems emerge or existing power dynamics solidify in ways that permanently disadvantage independent brokerages and individual agents. The brokerage-platform deals being announced now are setting precedents. Whether those precedents serve agents broadly or consolidate leverage further in the hands of a few large firms is, she argues, still an open question – but not for long.
“The question is whether that shift leads to a system that serves agents and consumers better, or one that consolidates power even further,” she says.
ACME Real Estate, founded in 2011, specializes in residential real estate, luxury properties, and renovation-resale strategy for investors in Los Angeles.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed herein reflect those of the individuals quoted and do not represent its parent company, affiliates, or the writer of this article.