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Compass on Tuesday announced the debut of a new “reverse prospecting” tool it says can help homesellers better market their properties — and which may help the company in its ongoing campaign against NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy.
The company is calling the tool “Compass Reverse Prospecting” and in a statement explained that it will tell seller’s agents “which of the 33,000+ Compass agents and their millions of buyers have viewed, shared, favorited or commented on their listing.” With insights into who is engaging with a listing, the seller’s agent can then come up with an “informed outreach strategy” for finding buyers and closing a deal, the statement adds.
The tool is powered via the brokerage’s Compass Collections platform, which allows buyers working with Compass agents to create curated groupings of homes they like. Compass agents representing sellers will now be able to see those groupings, along with other engagement data, and make marketing decisions accordingly.
A screenshot showing the interface of Compass Reverse Prospecting. Credit: Compass
The reverse prospecting tool is available for Compass agents to use with all listings appearing on the brokerage’s platform.
Robert Reffkin
“The Compass Reverse Prospecting tool provides homesellers insights to help them negotiate with buyers, make smarter pricing decisions, and access a wider buyer pool,” CEO Robert Reffkin said in the statement. “At Compass, we believe selling your home should be done on your terms, with control over how it’s marketed and how your data is used. Your Home. Your Choice.”
The second half of Reffkin’s quote appears to be an allusion to Clear Cooperation, a rule the National Association of Realtors approved in 2019. The rule requires agents to input their listings into their NAR-affiliated MLS within a day that they begin marketing those listings.
Though the rule has been around for five years, it has recently become the subject of an intense debate within the real estate industry — with Reffkin among the most vocal critics calling to end it. Arguments that Reffkin and others have made include the idea that Clear Cooperation takes control away from consumers, or essentially that it’s the opposite of “your home, your choice.”
Reffkin has also made the case that listings in MLSs and on popular housing portals end up with “negative insights,” such as prolonged days on market, that actually hurt the value of the home. He directly referenced this argument in the statement on Compass Reverse Prospecting, saying that negative insights help buyers “negotiate against home sellers.”
The statement concludes with a pitch for Compass’ “Private Exclusives,” or the listings that are only visible to Compass agents and their clients. The idea, then, appears to be that by going with Compass, homesellers can get unique marketing insights from Reverse Prospecting while also — if they choose to do a Private Exclusive — avoiding the downsides of a traditional public listing on MLSs. Meanwhile, Compass theoretically grows its private listing network, which increases its competitive advantage and which also exists outside the constraints of Clear Cooperation.
Homesellers do not have to list a property as a Private Exclusive for their Compass agent to access Reverse Prospecting data. Listing a home traditionally while using a Compass agent would also give sellers access to insights from the tool. Reffkin framed it as a way for consumers to maximize investments.
“People’s homes are their most valuable financial asset,” he said, “and they deserve the best return when they sell it so they can buy their next home, feel secure in their retirement, or pay for their child’s education.
Update: This story was updated after publication with an screenshot showing the Reverse Prospecting interface.
