The Long Road to Anywhere Requires a Compass
The Long Road to Anywhere Requires a Compass. How a 1971 Franchise Idea Outlived Every Corporation That Bought It
September 6, 2026
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The Long Road to Anywhere Requires a Compass. How a 1971 Franchise Idea Outlived Every Corporation That Bought It
Guard Rails: Why the MLS Must Become the Governance Layer for Artificial Intelligence By Saul Klein Artificial Intelligence is rapidly becoming the next interface to
“Believe it or not, there was a time when people needed to be convinced that the internet would matter. In 1995, when web browsers were first becoming commercialized, I had the opportunity to tell the real estate industry that the internet was going to change the way business was done. That turned out to be true.”
The challenge is no longer simply deciding how listings should be shared.
It is preserving consumer trust while the rules of cooperation, competition, and innovation continue to evolve.
That broker responsibility formula is the pressure point, and it is about to be tested by the largest brokerage in the country. If a company with tens of thousands of agents concludes that it is paying association dues for licensees who have chosen not to be members, and can point to a $20 alternative it already funds, the conversation with local leadership changes character quickly. The association is no longer selling a benefit. It is defending an invoice.
Private marketing probably does help when a home is unusual, expensive, and hard to price, and when the likely buyers are few and reachable through agents. Broad public exposure probably does help when the home is ordinary and there are many possible buyers, because competition is what drives the price up.
The fear most frequently expressed is that AI will replace real estate agents. Yet the evidence suggests otherwise. Buyers and sellers continue to rely on professional representation in overwhelming numbers. AI has proven highly effective at automating repetitive tasks but it has not replaced the judgment required to negotiate, advise, and successfully close a transaction. The more revealing question is not whether AI replaces agents. It is whether AI changes the position where value is created within the real estate ecosystem.
A vendor seeking a site license must have a program that takes the MLS or association through these steps and be ready to fund the necessary efforts to ensure high usage and value for the fee paid.
Whatever the resolution, the case is poised to reshape how online real estate platforms compete—and cooperate—in the years ahead.
The Compass acquisition of Anywhere could be a “Big Deal” for Associations, MLSs, and other brokerage models.
The proposals now competing disagree about almost everything except the starting point. The listing database is valuable because working brokers build it, one listing and one represented client at a time. Every proposal on the table is, at bottom, an argument about how to honor that fact
Latest Resources to help members understand the recent lawsuits NAR Top KMs_15Dec23 NAR Top FAQS_8Jan24 NAR Top FAQS_8Jan24 NAR Sugg in Support of Rule 50(b)
Alireza Memar is a super power when it comes to vision and leadership for global collaboration in real estate.
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