EXp CEO: You can’t champion consumers and gatekeep listings

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Leadership isn’t about saying what’s easy. It’s about doing what’s right, especially when the stakes are high. Throughout my journey from selling nearly 4,000 homes to leading the No. 1 brokerage in the country by transaction count, one truth has always guided me: Silence in moments of chaos is complicity.

That often means speaking up when staying quiet would be easier. But the cost of silence is always greater than the criticism that comes with courage.

Since the NAR settlement first hit our radar in March of last year, I’ve led eXp through one guiding principle: Do what’s best for the consumer. It’s why we decided not to participate in broker-to-broker compensation moving forward.

It’s how we developed a straightforward, consumer-centric buyer agency, listing agency and most recently, seller disclosure documents. All open-sourced and shared freely with the entire industry. At a time when real estate is under a microscope, we’ve chosen to double down on putting the consumer first.

Recently, Compass filed a lawsuit against Zillow. While eXp is not named as a defendant, Compass accused us of being a “co-conspirator.” That’s a serious claim. One we categorically reject.

EXp charts its own course. We collaborate where it benefits consumers. We do not conspire. We do believe that the decision by Compass to forego sharing its listings with local MLSs is bad for consumers, and we will continue to stand against anything that hides listings, limits access or restricts opportunity.

Let’s talk about what this is really about: Compass wants to control inventory. They’re not hiding that motivation.

Take their “Three Phase Marketing” model. On paper, it’s positioned as “consumer choice.” In reality? It’s about controlling listing exposure. In Q1 of 2025, Compass reported that 48.2 percent of its listings entered this funnel. Nearly half of their homes were shielded from the broader market at the outset. No matter what language you wrap it in, that’s steering.

Below is a direct excerpt from an internal Compass email, sent by a managing broker to a former Compass agent (identifying info withheld, originals retained):

Let’s be clear: This isn’t about helping sellers or offering consumers more options. It’s about rigging the game, keeping inventory out of sight to create artificial scarcity, confusing the public and boosting agent commissions. That email doesn’t talk about the seller’s goals. It doesn’t mention fair housing or inclusive access. It’s about funneling deals inside a closed loop.

That’s not a marketing strategy. It’s market manipulation, plain and simple. And the consumer is the one being played.

Last week, Compass went a step further and declared it won’t comply with participation rules. Compass wants full access to display local MLS listings through IDX while keeping their own listings gated behind Compass.com. That’s not consumer advocacy. That’s bait-and-switch.

On a recent podcast with Ricky Carruth, Compass’s President of Growth, Rory Golod, confirmed this entire strategy is designed to win more listings and close more deals. Not once did he mention consumer value. Not once did he talk about transparency. He said the quiet part out loud, on repeat.

And Compass CEO Robert Reffkin? He already spoiled the plot of Compass’s end game when he said in a Q2 2024 earnings call:

“The foundation of every entity’s success in real estate is access to inventory. The source of success for all players in the industry whether MLSs, aggregators, buyer agents or listing agents is access to inventory.”

Access is power. And Compass wants to be the only one holding the keys.

But here’s the twist. They admit that 94 percent of their “exclusive” listings end up on the MLS anyway. If “exclusivity” was really serving the seller, why does nearly every listing eventually go public?

Because the data tells the truth: Exposure sells homes. Shielding listings hurts sellers, limits buyers and undermines trust. Period.

Let’s call this what it is: “Seller choice” is being weaponized, used as a Trojan horse by Compass to fragment the market, reduce transparency and create artificial scarcity that prioritizes agent interests over consumer needs. That’s not leadership; it’s exploitation.

We’re not here to play that game. At eXp, we believe in an open, transparent marketplace. We’ll keep building tools that serve the public, sharing resources that elevate everyone, and calling out the noise when it distracts from what really matters.

Because the future of real estate deserves truth, not spin.