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025 was a year of seismic mergers, relentless litigation, and a fractured industry. While lawyers in late 2024 promised a $700 million settlement that would silence commission disputes, the reality was far from calm. New lawsuits surfaced, the Moehrl team targeted another major player, and battles over mandatory Realtor membership, Clear Cooperation, and private listings raged.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) struggled to maintain unity. Kevin Sears, the outgoing president, pushed for accountability, yet the association’s delegate body narrowly rejected referral‑transparency rules. Powerful brokerages openly challenged NAR’s practices, deepening the split.
Amid this turbulence, a handful of individuals and themes emerged as the year’s defining forces—“The Ten.” Real Estate News will profile them in the coming month, but first we recap the year’s key moments and look ahead.
Conflict had already been brewing before 2025. At the 2024 NAR NXT conference, Compass CEO Robert Reffkin and Zillow’s Errol Samuelson debated the future of MLSs. Reffkin declared Zillow would become the dominant MLS, sparking murmurs. Samuelson echoed Zillow’s pro‑consumer stance. Reffkin, still refining his “seller choice” mantra, argued that sellers should know more about buyers—search duration, number of offers—if metrics like days on market and price drops are to be highlighted. This clashed with other speakers who favored transparency, especially as litigation over MLS practices intensified, prompting NAR’s new MLS Handbook to emphasize risk mitigation.
Private‑listing disputes intensified. Compass escalated tensions from the conference by suing Zillow over its listing‑transparency rules, which bar listings that are public but not widely available via MLS or IDX feeds. Compass also sued Northwest MLS, accusing it of limiting seller choice and hindering its three‑phase marketing strategy that relies heavily on private listings. Seattle brokerage Windermere joined the fray, with its co‑president claiming private listings benefit only large brokerages.
In November, Zillow delayed its new listing standards in Chicagoland because of MRED’s long‑standing private‑listing network. The MLS CEO defended the PLN to its 50,000 members, but Zillow’s analysis suggested the network amplified racial segregation, triggering another heated response from the MLS. The outcome remains uncertain, and more court battles may follow.
The lawyer who once spoke at the Sitzer/Burnett hearing about “certainty” for the industry—Ethan Glass—has since moved from NAR’s lead counsel to Compass’s chief legal officer.
In short, 2025 was a year of ambitious mergers, persistent lawsuits, and deep industry divisions. The Ten newsmakers will be spotlighted next month, but the story of how the sector navigated these challenges—and what lies ahead—begins here.
