New Directions in Global Real Estate Data Exchange
Saul Klein was recently interviewed on the GDX Talks podcast, hosted by Natalie Ghazalé, Head of Partnerships at GDX – Global Data Exchange.
People First: An Enduring Vision
A vision of collaboration and opportunity on a global scale. Saul Klein discusses trust, mandatory submission, and why standards make federation possible.
About Saul Klein
Natalie introduced Saul:
“Saul Klein has spent nearly five decades at the center of residential real estate technology. He helped launch Realtor.com, built one of the industry’s earliest online professional communities, RealtorTalk, created the e-PRO certification, and championed the data standards work that became RESO. Today, he serves as CEO of San Diego MLS.
In 1979, Saul and a retired Army officer founded San Diego brokerage Pi Realty, named after the mathematical constant that never changes when you cross a border. Nearly fifty years later, he is helping build a global data exchange.
In our conversation, Saul traces the journey from that first company through the rules that made MLS successful, the federation model behind GDX, the governed handshake recently completed between San Diego MLS and Listing+, and what he believes comes next.”
People First, Then Real Estate
When asked whether his original philosophy—”People first, then real estate”—has remained consistent throughout his career, Saul responded:
“Absolutely. Helping people acquire real estate requires trust. You have to get to know people and earn that trust. For us, it was always people first. When you focus on earning trust, the business follows naturally.”
Why Trusted Data Matters More Than More Data
According to Saul, having a large volume of listings is important. The industry once referred to this as achieving “critical mass”—creating enough inventory to make a platform valuable and attractive to users.
But an MLS offers something more valuable than volume alone: trusted data.
“What makes an MLS different is that it operates under rules, and participants are expected to follow them. If they don’t, there are consequences—typically fines or required education.”
MLS participants are required to keep listing information current. When a property’s status changes, brokers must update the MLS so that other brokers and agents have accurate information.
“If I list a property and it sells, I have to report that change. Otherwise, other brokers and agents waste time pursuing properties that are no longer available.”
The result is a self-governing cooperative built on accountability and data quality.
“That’s why the MLS remains one of the cleanest and most reliable property databases anywhere.”
Why GDX — And Why These People
Saul explained that his interest in GDX begins with a belief in property ownership and the opportunities it creates.
“I’m a firm believer in private property rights and what they contribute to civilization. The more people who have an opportunity to own real estate, the better it is for society. GDX looked like a way to help expand that opportunity globally.”
Equally important were the people involved.
“When I saw leaders like John DiMichele in Toronto, Merri Jo Cowen from Stellar MLS, John Kennedy from 4Property in Ireland, Sam DeBord, and the RESO leadership involved, I knew this was something worth paying attention to.”
For Saul, standards are a foundational component of global collaboration.
“Real estate data is complex because of the sheer volume and variety of information involved. But the concept holds. Federation is the best way to describe what GDX is building.”
Are We Giving Away Our Listings?
One common concern about data sharing is whether participants lose control of their information.
Saul’s answer is clear:
“We’re not giving away our data. We’re agreeing to allow certain data to be shared with other parties under defined rules.”
Each participating organization retains control over what information is shared, which fields are available, and whether data is transferred at all.
“This isn’t a centralized database governed by a single authority. Every participant remains independent.”
Each organization functions as a node within the network.
Referencing Metcalfe’s Law, Saul noted:
“The more nodes in the network, the more valuable the network becomes. But each participant maintains control of its own data. That’s a critical part of GDX.”
There is no centralized core database.
The Governed Handshake
Natalie:
San Diego MLS and Listing+ have officially completed a governed global MCP API handshake through GDX. Why is this milestone significant, and what does a governed handshake mean compared to a traditional connection or data feed?
Saul:
“Traditional data feeds typically replicate large amounts of data across multiple servers.
What excites us is bringing data from different countries together and making it accessible through MCP servers and large language models. Eventually, consumers will be able to search across these connected databases in ways that older MLS technologies simply didn’t support.
The real opportunity is making this information available through MCP so people can ask questions and interact with real estate data more naturally.”
Connecting Markets and Raising Standards
Natalie:
Do you see this as simply connecting existing MLS organizations, or as helping raise standards globally?
Saul:
“We already have multiple MLS networks across the United States and Canada. But the ability to connect with property databases around the world—whether or not they’re called MLSs—creates tremendous value.”
He emphasized that global collaboration is not about imposing one model on every market.
“Business practices, listing agreements, customs, and traditions vary from country to country. But all of them benefit from accurate, reliable data.”
That naturally leads to standards.
“RESO has done exceptional work developing standards across the U.S. and Canada. If we can expand that standards-based approach globally, the technological possibilities become much greater.”
Saul added:
“I can’t praise the Real Estate Standards Organization enough for its role in this effort and its commitment to advancing standards worldwide. Everyone benefits when they’re working from the same standards.”
So much more can be accomplished when everyone works from the same standards.
Looking Ahead: The Next Ten Years
When asked what excites him most about the future, Saul reflected on another transformational technology.
“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.”
Today, he sees artificial intelligence as the next major shift.
“Whether you call it artificial intelligence or augmented intelligence, what it’s going to do for the world—and for real estate—is incredibly exciting.”
While acknowledging that important questions remain and that many people are understandably cautious, Saul remains optimistic.
“As I’ve often said, your wildest dreams are not wild enough. It’s difficult to imagine where all of this ultimately leads.”
The next great horizon is AI-driven innovation.
“Your wildest dreams are not wild enough.”
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4 Responses
I want to offer a perspective that is missing from this conversation about who owns the MLS content.
The MLS ecosystem is changing fast, and large companies are driving that change. All of them earn money from content they didn’t pay to create or purchase a license to use it. Individual agents have no say in how that content is licensed or monetized, and all of the content within the MLS and real estate data ecosystem reaches far beyond our MLS and the public portals.
Some background on why this matters to me. I’ve been a licensed agent in Pennsylvania since 1994, and I’ve worked as a real estate photographer for 15 years. I estimate that more than 50,000 of my photographs have been published on Bright MLS. I currently work with a copyright law firm that tracks how my photographs are used, and their reports show them republished around the world without permission. That gives me a clear view of how far this content travels and how much value it carries.
Here’s the core issue. Brokers own the listing agreement. They do not pay to produce the listing content. Agents pay for the photography, video, and marketing materials out of their own pockets, and under copyright law, those agents and the photographers they hire own that work. Yet agents are required to hand over that copyright, or grant a broad license to their broker and the MLS, who then monetize it. Most brokers have neither the ability nor the interest to control where it goes from there. The result is that the entire MLS and real estate data ecosystem gets this content for free.
Brian Donnellan, CEO of Bright MLS, has spoken publicly about the value of Bright’s content and plans to expand how it’s monetized, including roughly $4 million already paid to brokers with the potential to grow several times over. Bright also sells advertising against this content. So brokers receive revenue from content they didn’t pay to create, while the agents who did bear that cost have no voice in the decisions. I’d estimate 99% of agents don’t realize this is happening.
The people who create the underlying asset should have a formal channel for input. Individual agents currently have no organized representation in this industry. NAR and our state and local boards have failed to recognize that what we produce is intellectual property and it’s as valuable as the real estate we own. George Lucas understood the value of the intellectual property he created by producing Star Wars. The current structure is upside down and needs to be reformed to benefit the agent producing the content. The madness that exists needs to end.
Thanks, Drew, for stating the core issue from the perspective of the agent and the photographer.
I appreciate your dedication researching and sharing your insight along with Saul Klein.
Thanks Drew, we appreciate your contribution to the conversation.