Since 2015, the U.S. has lost nearly half of its multiple listing services (MLSs). But if there’s one emerging consensus among leaders at some of the largest MLSs in the nation, it’s that half isn’t nearly enough.
While there’s no broad agreement on the right number of MLSs to serve the industry’s roughly 1.86 million participants, there’s an ongoing consolidation wave that many say should and will continue.
From Compass CEO Robert Reffkin’s call for a single national MLS to others calling for consolidation that still accounts for regional variability, MLS mergers are likely to continue this year and beyond.
Amid that changing landscape, Inman set out to create an interactive map of the nearly 500 MLSs, big and small, that shape the backbone of the real estate industry today.
Bookmark this page to use it as an ongoing resource and to track changes in real-time. Below are also comments from MLS and industry leaders about the wave of consolidation.
Art Carter
Art Carter, CRMLS CEO
“I think you’re probably going to settle in that 50 to 60 range. Look at California. Even though we’ve been designated the statewide multiple listing service by CAR, there’s probably going to be two or three MLSs in California when all is said and done, because there literally are some distinct differences in between the way business is done up and down the state. You know, from the listing side, all the way to the closing table, there are some distinct differences even within the state.”
Read more here.
Matt Consalvo, ARMLS CEO
“I see us under 200 MLSs to be efficient for brokers,” Consalvo told Inman in March. “Under 200 is a significant step to efficiency for brokers.”
Matt Consalvo
“Think about it this way: If I’ve logged into nine MLSs, that means I have nine different rule sets — especially with NAR making local discretion on rules — I’ve got all these three or 30 numbers going all over the place in my broker policy manual,” he added. “It gets hard fast.”
Anne Marie DeCatsye
Anne Marie DeCatsye, CanopyMLS CEO
“I do think there should be more consolidation, both on the MLS side and the association side. There shouldn’t be 500 MLSs. There definitely shouldn’t be one, though. I don’t agree with just one. But I do think that there should be maybe 25 MLSs in the country.”
Read more here.
Justin Haag, NWMLS CEO
“What’s the right number? I don’t know. Maybe it’s 100, maybe it’s 50, maybe it’s 20. I don’t think it’s one.”
Justin Haag | Northwest MLS
“The reason I don’t think it’s one is because competition among MLSs is important. It drives innovation. It makes everybody better. And it’s healthy,” he added. “If you only had one, there’d be no competition. And I think that’s problematic.”
“I’d say the same for the brokerage industry: Only having one brokerage across the country would eliminate competition, which ultimately impedes innovation.”
Read more here.
Dionna Hall, BeachesMLS CEO
“It is no secret for a very long time, since I pretty much entered this industry 20 years ago, that there has been a call for more consolidation. One of the great things is that the MLSs have, for the most part, taken that seriously and is a big reason why you’ve seen over the years these MLSs consolidating. We obviously want to make sure that we are making this market work for our brokers.”
Dionna Hall
“Calling for one sounds like a great idea. I think that it is a logistical nightmare probably to run a nationwide MLS. And I understand from a brokerage standpoint, it may sound like a great idea from where that person is standing and maybe the background that they come from. But I don’t think it’s as practical as one may think from the outside looking in.”
Read more here.
Robert Reffkin, Compass CEO
“I believe we shouldn’t have 518 MLSs. I believe the brokerages should come together and create a common MLS that brokerages and agents own, and treats everyone fairly and equally without fines and bans.”
Robert Reffkin | Compass
“If every brokerage came together and created one national MLS … owned by brokerages — and by the way, I’d love it if Brian Donnellan at BrightMLS was CEO of it. Let’s go do this. Let’s create one national MLS that can work across the country, and then they create a new super site. That’s what should happen.”
Read more here.
Methodology: The interactive map was built with assistance from Claude Pro using RESO’s Unique Organization Identifier (UOI) dataset as the canonical source, accessed through RESO’s three public views (the JSON feed, the UOI Google Sheet, and the human‑readable “List of All MLSs”), which RESO updates about weekly. MLSs were included using RESO’s definition of active, U.S.-based organizations: OrganizationStatus=1, OrganizationCountry=USA, OrganizationType=MLS. The map also relies on data from T3 Sixty. Subscriber counts reflect figures MLSs self‑report through RESO’s membership process and may be supplemented by RESO with information from MLS websites and other industry intelligence. RESO distinguishes MLSs from “Pooled Platforms” and may treat some entities as sub‑MLSs, so totals can differ from other trackers (e.g., T3 Sixty or Modern.tech) and may shift as mergers or classifications are updated after the snapshot. Certification references, where shown, are limited to high‑level status labels only, because RESO’s certification terms and conditions do no allow for 3rd party republishing of certification/test metadata.
Data: RESO UOI (snapshot March 30, 2026).
