KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Oct. 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — It is with disappointment and frustration that REcore Solutions LLC, the vendor providing licensing services for the California Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. has been forced to file a claim against Homes.com and its parent company, CoStar, for breach of contract.
REcore operates licensing systems for multiple listing services (MLSs) specifically designed to expand access and opportunity for the use of MLS data.
The fees established by REcore recognize the vital contributions of MLS participants including buyer’s agents who represent clients touring homes and making offers on properties in the MLS, and listing brokers who represent sellers placing their homes in the MLS.
Following the principals approved by the U.S. Department of Justice and implemented by National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) in their 2008 Consent Decree, REcore charges no fees to these MLS participants who directly contribute to the network effect of the MLS.
Instead, the REcore fee structure requires entities that use MLS data to generate revenue, without representing buyers or sellers, to pay for those usage rights. CRMLS then requires REcore to distribute profits from such use back to the listing brokers who provided the original MLS content.
This system ensures brokers contributing valuable information and data to the MLS are fairly compensated for any monetization of those contributions.
For two years following the CoStar acquisition of Homes.com, the company representatives verbally committed to paying for access to the MLS listing data, acknowledging the significant value provided by listing brokers and MLSs. In these same conversations, Homes.com criticized competitors in the portal space who used IDX data feeds to monetize listings without returning any of those proceeds going back to listing brokers.
Homes.com also represented that they would not become a participating broker and would not use an IDX data feed to provide listings to their website.
Contrary to these two years’ worth of representations, Homes.com later applied for an IDX data feed, claiming to qualify as a participant broker. Homes.com and CoStar subsequently signed the REcore license agreement, effective January 2024, which included a fee structure requiring licensees who monetized the MLS data, rather than using it to obtain buyer and seller clients – to pay for those usage rights. Under this agreement, Homes.com agreed to pay approximately $2 per MLS listing record displayed on their site.
However, Homes.com failed to pay the full amount they agreed to. After more than a year of REcore’s efforts to negotiate a resolution, the company was left with no choice but to protect MLS data and the listing brokers who supplied it by filing a lawsuit against Homes.com and CoStar.
As part of this action, REcore will terminate the Homes.com and HomesPro data feeds containing CRMLS listing records as of November 1, 2025. REcore and CRMLS remain committed to ensuring that listing brokers retain access and control over their own MLS listing contributions. Any listing broker that wishes to have their CRMLS listing record sent to Homes.com may contact REcore to establish a Participant’s Data Return feed. The service provided will be at no cost and without restrictions on Homes.com monetization of that data.
Both CRMLS and REcore are deeply disappointed by the reversal in position from Homes.com and CoStar. Despite CoStar spending millions on parties at REALTOR® events and over a billion dollars on the marketing of their services, they have refused to honor their financial commitment to REcore in which funds were intended to be shared with the listing brokers who contribute the very data powering Homes.com.
REcore had planned to issue its first round of payments to CRMLS listing brokers in 2025, but due to Homes.com breach of contract, those payments must now be delayed until 2026. Furthermore, every dollar spent by REcore and CRMLS to defend these rights is a dollar taken from the listing brokers who deserve to be compensated for their contributions.
CRMLS and REcore stand united in protecting the rights of listing brokers to receive fair compensation for their significant contributions to the MLS data. While CoStar generates more revenue in two weeks than the combined annual budgets of CRMLS and REcore, we remain steadfast in our commitment to defend the MLS data integrity and to ensure justice through the courts.
About REcore
REcore
is a leading provider of MLS SaaS and data licensing solutions, offering customizable technologies built specifically for MLSs and Associations. Their products—developed in collaboration with MLS leaders—include REcore (a powerful SSO dashboard), REdatacore (a next-gen MLS data management platform), and robust data licensing tools. Built by seasoned MLS professionals, REcore’s solutions simplify workflows, improve data security, and give MLSs more ownership and control over their technology ecosystem.
About California Regional Multiple Listing Service (CRMLS)
California Regional MLS is the nation’s most recognized subscriber-based MLS, dedicated to servicing real estate professionals from dozens of Associations, Boards, and MLS organizations. CRMLS is the industry powerhouse and thrives on providing the most relevant products and services to its users. For more information on CRMLS, visit go.crmls.org.
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SOURCE REcore
