Real Estate Companies Are Fighting Over Your Equity. Here’s Why.

The Wall Street Journal just published an article titled, “The Fierce Battle to Control How Americans Buy and Sell Their Homes.” It’s about Compass, Zillow, and the real estate industry’s growing battle over who controls property listings.
But if you’re a homeowner, I want you to understand what this battle is really about.
They’re fighting over your equity.
Not because these companies own your house. They don’t. But because every time a homeowner decides to sell, that property creates an opportunity for the real estate industry to make money.
Your home becomes a listing. That listing attracts buyers. Those buyers generate opportunities for commissions, advertising, referrals, financing, closing services, and other businesses built around real estate transactions.
And the industry has developed an enormous amount of machinery around something that should have a relatively simple objective.
Sell the house.
Now, I want to be clear. Real estate professionals provide valuable services. Agents can help with pricing, marketing, negotiations, contracts, and getting a transaction to closing. Those services deserve compensation.
But there’s a difference between paying for services that help you sell your property and supporting an entire industry of companies competing to profit from the business surrounding your transaction.
And that distinction is becoming more important.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Compass, Zillow, and other major real estate organizations are fighting over how homes are marketed and who gets access to them.
Compass has grown into an enormous brokerage company following its merger with Anywhere Real Estate. It’s developing a large distribution network and promoting private listings that can be shown to participating agents and buyers before reaching the broader marketplace.
Compass says its strategy gives sellers more choices and can help achieve better results.
And there can be good reasons for a homeowner to want privacy or a carefully managed launch.
But I want you to consider something.
Compass advertises exclusive listings that buyers can browse before they hit the market.
Before they hit the market?
If you own a home, you’ve decided to sell it, and a company is marketing it to prospective buyers, isn’t it already on the market?
What they’re talking about is when the property becomes available to the broader public.
And that raises an important question.
Why should the company marketing your property have so much influence over which buyers can discover it and when?
There may be good reasons to limit exposure temporarily. Privacy might matter to you. You might want time to prepare the property. You might even receive an offer that meets all your needs without broader marketing.
But there can also be a cost to limiting exposure.
If fewer buyers know your property is for sale, fewer buyers may have an opportunity to compete for it.
And if your house sells inside a limited network, how do you know whether another buyer would have offered more?
Compass has published research claiming better average outcomes for properties that begin with its private or coming-soon marketing programs. That’s worth examining. But the comparison doesn’t mean every seller will achieve a higher price by limiting initial exposure.
The right answer depends on the property, the market, and your priorities.
But I think there’s an even bigger question.
Why has selling a house become the foundation for so many businesses that have relatively little to do with the actual property?
Think about the traditional process.
You hire an agent. Your property goes into the MLS. That information is distributed through other websites. Those websites attract consumers. Some sell advertising and leads to agents who want to reach those consumers. Other companies offer referral programs, technology, financing, and services connected to the transaction.
Some of those services are useful. Some may be unnecessary for your particular sale.
But how often does anyone sit down with the homeowner and explain the economics of the entire system?
How often do we start with the most important question?
What do you, the property owner, actually need to sell this house, and what should those services cost?
Instead, much of the industry is organized around the established way business has always been conducted.
And now the largest companies are competing to control more of it.
Here’s what I believe homeowners need to recognize.
You created the inventory.
Before there was an MLS listing, a portal advertisement, a brokerage network, or a commission, there was your decision to sell a property you own.
That decision creates the opportunity for everyone else.
So why shouldn’t you have more say in how your property is marketed, who participates, and what you’re paying for?
That’s why I created Rethink Open House.
Rethink Open House begins with the property and the owner. Not with a referral business. Not with a lead-generation business. And not with a requirement that you enter an enormous brokerage network simply to market your home.
We believe the first meaningful showing of a house should happen online.
Professional photographs, a real walkthrough video, and useful property information give prospective buyers an opportunity to understand the home before requesting a physical showing.
We call it the First Showing Online.
That can mean fewer unnecessary visits from people who haven’t really evaluated the property. And more meaningful conversations with buyers who understand what they’re coming to see.
More money in your pocket. Less people in your house.
And there’s another important difference.
Rethink Open House can connect interested buyers directly with the participating professional or property owner, according to how the listing is set up.
We’re not selling those inquiries to other real estate agents. We’re not taking a referral fee simply because somebody wants to contact the people selling the property.
And we’re not telling homeowners they must purchase every professional service associated with a traditional full-service transaction.
You may want a great real estate agent. You may want a media professional to produce outstanding photography and video. You may want help with pricing, contracts, negotiations, or closing.
Those services can be extremely valuable.
But shouldn’t you be able to decide which services you need and how much you’re willing to pay for them?
Now, I am not promising that every house marketed through Rethink Open House will sell for more money or leave the seller with higher net proceeds. Results depend on the market, the buyers reached, the professional services used, and the terms of the transaction.
And today, the MLS has far more inventory and established buyer reach than Rethink Open House.
But that doesn’t mean homeowners should be limited to one model.
The purpose of Rethink Open House is to give owners and professionals another way to bring property to market, communicate directly, and make informed choices about the services surrounding the sale.
And the more people who participate, the more useful that marketplace can become.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting on a battle over control of the American housing marketplace.
But there’s one participant who should have a much bigger voice in that battle.
You. The homeowner.
You own the property. You’ve worked to build the equity. And when the house sells, what matters isn’t simply the headline sale price. It’s what you ultimately keep, along with the timing, convenience, and certainty you need.
So before you decide how to sell your house, ask yourself something.
How much of the machinery surrounding this transaction do I actually need?
And if you’re working with a real estate agent, ask them another question.
Can we use Rethink Open House?
The industry is fighting over your inventory. You should be deciding how it serves you.
More money in your pocket. Less people in your house.
RethinkOpenHouse.com.

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