Confused by the CCP debate? Here’s what to know

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP), implemented in 2020, is the source of much debate within the real estate industry. 

The policy was a response to a proliferation of pocket listings and a rapid decline in housing inventory on the MLS, despite a large number of transactions still occurring. 

“It got so bad that I could be walking through the grocery store and whisper that I had a listing coming up and all of a sudden five people would run over because they knew someone looking for a home,” Paul Carlson, the president of Michigan-based Five Star Real Estate, said. “People just started holding back inventory. There would be signs out for weeks before the listing went into the MLS, if it even went into the MLS, and it was killing the cooperative spirit of the industry, which NAR felt was a fundamental threat to the organization it had built.” 

It was out of this that CCP was born.

While its existence was a quiet one for the first four years of it being in effect, the policy began gaining attention last year, garnering both harsh critics and staunch supporters. The stakes are high for NAR and the real estate brokerages trying to determine the best way to proceed — no one wants more litigation from class action plaintiff attorneys or renewed interest from the Department of Justice.

What is CCP?

The CCP requires listing brokers to share a listing to the MLS within 24 hours of publicly marketing the property. However, the policy allows for “office exclusives” which can be marketed to other agents in the same brokerage and in one-on-one communication with agents at other firms. 

In late March, NAR announced its Multiple Listing Options of Sellers (MLOS) policy, which created delayed marketing exempt listings. These listings must be input into the MLS, but they are not allowed to be included in internet data exchange (IDX) feeds or syndicated to other sites. Despite these restrictions, sellers and their agents are allowed to market the listing however they see fit. It is up to each individual MLS to decide how long a listing may be delayed for. 

As the policy has evolved, some industry players have enacted new policies or adopted new practices as a result. 

The debate

Critics of CCP, namely Compass, believe the policy limits a seller’s ability to choose how to market their property, while those who support it feel like a repeal of the policy would reduce transparency, lead to a fragmentation of listings and potentially even raise fair housing concerns. 

Both sides are claiming that the policy, whether you are abiding by it or going against it, creates legal exposure for industry players.

The critics

Compass is the most vocal critic of the CCP and it has been loudly advocating for its “three-phase marketing plan,” which it claims is “designed to maximize demand and fine-tune [the seller’s] positioning for the best possible sale outcome.”

When a listing is a private exclusive, Compass privately markets the property to all Compass agents, which it claims allows the seller to test the market to gain insight on the property and its pricing without accumulating days on market or price drops. If the listing does not get any offers in this phase, it becomes a “Compass Coming Soon,” which means the property is searchable by anyone on the internet, but it again will not accumulate days on market or price drop history. If the property does not sell as a “coming soon,” it then goes into the MLS.

Compass has also sent  a letter to MLS executives asking them to remove delayed listings from VOW feeds, which goes against a 2008 settlement between NAR and the Department of Justice (DOJ), which created NAR’s VOW policy. According to this policy, brokerages are not allowed to prevent competitor firms from sharing their listings on their VOW websites. 

In addition to this letter, Compass has also told MLSs that they will face legal exposure if they do not change CCP. Compass and CEO Robert Reffkin have been doubling down extra hard on one MLS in particular: Washington state-based Northwest MLS (NWMLS).

MLSs get caught in the fray

As a non-Realtor owned MLS, NWMLS is not subject to NAR’s rules, and as such NWMLS does not allow agents to withhold listings from the MLS as privately marketed office exclusives. In contrast, NAR’s policy allows listing agents to privately market an office exclusive listing to other agents within its firm or to agents and brokers at other firms provided that the listing is shared one-to-one. 

The tiff between Compass and NWMLS began in late March when Reffkin called out NWMLS and its CEO Justin Haag for this policy on social media. 

Compass has also backed a website, called Washington Homeowner Rights, which is soliciting NWMLS home sellers for a potential class action lawsuit. The site is looking for homesellers who have been “harmed” by NWMLS’ policies and who have experienced a price drop or significant days on market.

On April 15, 2025, NWMLS revoked Compass’s license for the NWMLS IDX feed. According to an NWMLS spokesperson, this action was taken as the “result of Compass’ failure to input numerous of its own listings and share those listings with other member real estate firms and their clients in accordance with Northwest MLS’s rules.” Compass’ data feed from NWMLS was restored on April 17, 2025.

In contrast to portals Zillow and Redfin, Homes.com, is not against publicly marketed private listings. In a letter sent to agents, CoStar CEO Andy Florance called Zillow’s move “a pure power play of epic proportions.” Florance also reassured agents that “if Zillow does block your listing it will still be seen on Homes.com and the other sites.”

The supporters

If Compass is the main brokerage on the “con side” of the CCP argument, eXp Realty is the main brokerage on the “pro side.” The firm and its CEO Leo Pareja have been vocal supporters of CCP since the debate began. The company has even gone so far as to announce in an industry-wide call in mid-April that it would not be doing delayed marketing listings, despite NAR allowing for them. 

Other supporters of CCP include both Zillow and Redfin, who announced in early April that they would be banning exclusive listings that were not entered into the MLS and available via virtual office website (VOW) data feed to be shared on MLS members’ websites. Due to this, both firms are allowing for delayed marketing listings, but not publicly marketed exclusive listings. 

eXp Realty was the first brokerage to sign on to Zillow’s listing standards. NextHome, has also pledged to abide by Zillow’s listing standards.

Donny Samson, the CEO of Samson Properties has also come out in support of Zillow’s and Redfin’s policies, as well as CCP in general.

“Let’s be honest about what’s happening,” Samson said in a statement. “Private listings aren’t about protecting clients — they’re about giving brokerages more control, more commissions, and more opportunities to double-end deals. It’s not in the best interest of the seller or the buyer — it’s a profit strategy, plain and simple.”

Samson feels that a move to private listing networks would be a regression for the industry, going back to the pre-MLS days “when listings were hoarded, buyers were kept in the dark, and deals were made behind closed doors.” Like other CCP supporters he feels the guiding principals of the modern real estate industry should be inclusion, access and transparency.

Neutral territory

Realtor.com, the only major listing portal yet to announce a stance on this issue, told HousingWire in mid-April that it is “giving the topic thoughtful consideration.”

Other large nationwide companies that have yet to come out strongly in support or against CCP, as well as the policies put forth by Zillow and Redfin, including Keller Williams, RE/MAX and Anywhere Real Estate. In emailed statements, reps at all three firms noted that while they support transparency and believe broad access to listings should be preserved, they also support providing their sellers with options as to how they want to market their home, and they believe that their agents will help their clients to decide what is best for them.

Prior to NAR unveiling its MLOS policy, Anywhere Brands and Advisors president and CEO Sue Yannaccone was advocating for a “middle road,” which she saw as “a thoughtful revision of the policy that serves the best interests of consumers and real estate agents.”

It is unknown if the MLOS is close to what Yannaccone had in mind, but the firm and its leaders have not made any other major statements about the issue.