Compass-NWMLS Settlement Gives Washington State Homeowners Phased Marketing Choices for the First Time Ever

SEATTLE, WA - August 31, 2026 - Compass, Inc. announced that it has reached a settlement with the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) that will expand homeowner choice and enable real estate professionals and their homesellers in Washington state to market their homes as they choose, as allowed by state law. It means that real estate professionals can now compete by offering new, pro-consumer strategies like Coming Soons for marketing homes without being fined by NWMLS.The agreement marks an important step away from restrictive NWMLS listing rules that limited how homesellers and their brokers could market homes, and moves toward giving consumers more control, flexibility and choice. "Our original objective in taking legal action against the NWMLS has been fully realized," said Robert Reffkin, Chairman and CEO of Compass International Holdings. "We brought this lawsuit on a fundamental principle: homeowners deserve the absolute right to control how their properties are marketed, and real estate brokers should never face fines from NWMLS simply for following their client's lawful instructions which in Washington State is their Statutory Duty. Ultimately, we achieved what we set out to accomplish, securing vital protections for both homesellers and their real estate brokers.

"Effective September 4, 2026, NWMLS will offer a new "First Look" status that allows homeowners to market their properties as a Coming Soon listing without the risk of public price drops or days on market and without portals diverting buyer inquiries away from the listing broker that the homeowner hired. At the option of the seller, showings for brokers and their clients, open houses, and offers are allowed during the First Look status. As a Coming Soon listing, homesellers can generate early demand, gather buyer feedback and test pricing without being forced to have negative commentary like public price changes or public days on market in their own marketing materials.

The new "First Look" status gives Washington State real estate professionals another tool to help homesellers think more strategically about how their home is marketed, rather than a one-size-fits-all model. It also creates greater opportunity for brokers to compete based on the marketing services and strategies they can offer their clients. "Compass proudly invested millions in the case against NWMLS for our real estate professionals and clients, and it was worth it," said Reffkin. "MLSs are a group of direct competitors that are telling their competitors how they can and can not compete, which is the textbook definition of an antitrust violation. MLSs exist to distribute listings, when the homeseller wants to use it, not to let brokerage competitors collectively dictate how other brokers compete in marketing services or how homesellers market their homes." In addition to Compass Coming Soons now being allowed by NWMLS, the settlement succeeds in providing more value to brokers and their clients:

• By October 15, 2026, NWMLS will require all portals and real estate websites that use NWMLS data to clearly and prominently display the name and contact information of our real estate professionals, using font size and color that are as prominent as any call to action, contact broker buttons or schedule tour buttons, and directly next to any contact broker button. This ensures buyers get clear, direct access to the actual listing broker without the buyer being confused and diverted away from the broker that they intended to contact.

• By October 15, 2026,

  NWMLS will stop applying its watermarks to listing photographs, preserving photo quality and ensuring that NWMLS does not take credit for the work of real estate professionals.

• NWMLS will apply its rules uniformly across all brokerages in Washington, ensuring Compass brokers and their clients receive the same benefits and treatment from NWMLS as its other members and will not be unfairly treated compared to other brokerages.

• NWMLS is prohibited from taking any action against

  Compass or its real estate professionals under the guise of "enforcing state law." NWMLS is not the government and will not be able to use its interpretation of the law to fine real estate professionals.

• Sellers who have privacy, security, health, or safety concerns can market their homes the way they choose, as allowed by State law.

  NWMLS "will not micromanage, investigate, or otherwise challenge a seller's choice" to use this flexibility.

• By November 15, NWMLS will give broker platforms the data fields and supplements that are relevant for brokers to do their jobs

  (eg,

  Legal, Firpta, 22k, 22j, Prelim, Surveys/maps, Resale cert), unless legally prohibited. That means brokers will no longer need to access multiple systems to do their jobs.