A pair of real estate veterans launched a new initiative on Wednesday aimed at creating new pathways to MLS access for agents and brokers who may not want to join a Realtor organization, Inman has learned exclusively.
The move follows a November change by the National Association of Realtors, which voted to allow local multiple listing services to decide what kind of access they want to grant to non-Realtors. It also comes amid an industry trend of providing choice at every turn after years of grueling legal battles.
The initiative is called the “Playbook for MLS Access in the Post NAR Policy Era.” It seeks to offer a full-service solution to the scores of MLSs rumored to be considering giving non-Realtors access to listings, state-approved forms, lockbox access and other tools that are a necessity for brokers and agents to operate their businesses.
Russ Cofano and Amit Kulkarni, two industry veterans who recently teamed up to create Alloy Advisors, are spearheading the effort. Cofano pointed out in an interview with Inman that MLSs making a switch and providing access to non-Realtors can face political, legal and financial challenges. Phoenix Realtors CEO Andy Fegley is also working on the initiative.
Russ Cofano
“There are a lot of business, legal and political landmines for any association to work through,” Cofano said. “Between the three of us and our outside lawyers, we’ve got all the experience necessary to help them sort of walk through that.”
“We’re not saying that every association should go down this path,” Cofano added. “What we are saying is every association should have a dialogue at the leadership level to determine whether this path is right for them. And the playbook essentially allows that.”
Alloy Advisors is offering interested parties a free briefing to discuss the situation. Clients would then move on to a review of alternative models, revenue and product modeling and more.
NAR repealed Policy Statement 7.7 — which dealt with multiple listing service access — from the MLS Handbook during its annual NAR NXT meeting in Houston last year. It said at the time that requiring three-way Realtor membership was “a matter of local discretion.”
An Inman review of dozens of the largest MLSs later that month found that there was a growing interest among some multiple listing services to separate Realtor membership from access to MLS resources.
Several of the largest MLSs in the nation already provide a membership option for non-Realtors. The new effort by Alloy Advisors would capitalize on interest among others who have yet to explore or carry out such a change.
In late 2024, the Phoenix Realtors made waves when it unveiled a membership option known as MLS Choice, which gave brokers access to state-compliant forms, legal aid and continuing education for a $249 membership fee. Agents taking advantage of MLS Choice were not required to be members of NAR.
In response, NAR issued a cease-and-desist letter, threatening legal action if the changes went forward. The two later reached a settlement agreement after Phoenix Realtors altered the plan to clarify that subscribers to the new membership offering were not Realtors and couldn’t use such branding.
The Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service has long offered MLS-only access to non-Realtors, Fegley told Inman this week.
“But that was strictly just MLS. It wasn’t really a choice,” Fegley said. “By enhancing the services and the products of the MLS-only program, we created a choice for brokers to consider and to consider giving that choice to their agents.”
“If anything, we’ve learned from the last, what, three, four years: choice is important to consumers,” Fegley added. “That was really the impetus for that, was creating a choice for brokers to consider.”
The group that formed Alloy Advisors pointed out that after NAR shifted its policy in November, organizations will have to make some kind of a choice, whether that involves offering widespread tools to non-members or continuing to require membership for access.
Amit Kulkarni
“Associations really have to be doing that right now to really protect themselves,” said Kulkarni, who previously served as chief marketing officer for BrightMLS, the largest MLS in the nation. “With whatever decision you make, there is some amount of risk and liability that might come with that.”
