BECKLEY, W.Va. — A longtime West Virginia real estate broker is challenging the way property listings are shared across the state, arguing that agents no longer need to belong to multiple regional organizations to market properties effectively in an increasingly digital industry.
David Chinn is among the brokers behind All-West Virginia Multiple Listing Service, or AWVMLS, a broker-owned database that lets participating real estate professionals share property listings throughout West Virginia rather than relying exclusively on regional systems.
The venture is developing as the real estate industry adjusts to new national rules governing broker compensation and as consumers increasingly rely on online platforms to search for property.
Chinn says West Virginia’s comparatively small population makes the number of organizations serving its real estate professionals difficult to justify. He argues that a statewide system could reduce duplication while giving participating brokers more control over the service they use.
“In my opinion, we don’t need 16, we just need one,” Chinn said.
Rethinking the local multiple listing service
Listing services have long provided the infrastructure through which competing real estate brokers share information about properties available for sale. In West Virginia, numerous local and regional Realtor organizations and listing services serve different areas, a system that can require agents working across traditional market boundaries to participate in more than one organization or service.
The All-West Virginia MLS describes itself as a broker-owned statewide multiple listing service. Under its current membership structure, brokers may join for a one-time $500 fee, while agent access costs $37.50 per month. Participating brokers can acquire stock in the organization and have a role in its governance.
Chinn says separating multiple listing service access from membership in a Realtor association is central to the model. He believes real estate professionals should be able to choose which professional organizations provide value without unnecessarily limiting their ability to market property.
“Membership is somewhere you want to be, not have to be forced to be,” he said.
Industry changes provide backdrop
The venture comes during one of the most consequential periods of change in residential real estate in decades. The National Association of Realtors reached a proposed settlement in March 2024 of class-action litigation involving broker commissions, and a federal judge granted final approval later that year.
Practice changes associated with the settlement took effect Aug. 17, 2024. Buyer brokers can no longer display compensation offers on a multiple listing service, and participants working with buyers generally must enter into written agreements with those buyers before touring homes.
The changes did not eliminate multiple listing services, which continue to play an important role in sharing structured property information among competing brokers. They have, however, contributed to a broader industry discussion about the relationship among MLS participation, Realtor association membership and the services agents purchase.
National Association of Realtors policy provides a framework for association-owned MLSs that choose, or are required by law, to allow participation by qualifying nonmembers. Chinn argues that technology and changes in consumer behavior provide additional reasons to reconsider how listing services are organized.
Buyers increasingly find property online
For consumers, the debate ultimately concerns how widely and efficiently information about properties for sale moves among the professionals and websites they use.
Chinn points to his experience marketing a Huntington-area property as evidence that traditional listing service boundaries may matter less to consumers than they once did. He said the listing received 38 showings even though he was not a member of the Huntington-area MLS.
The experience, he said, demonstrated the reach of online real estate distribution. Buyers using national property-search websites can discover listings across regional boundaries without necessarily knowing which listing service originated the information.
That does not make multiple listing services obsolete. Listing service systems maintain detailed property information, facilitate cooperation among real estate professionals, and distribute listing data through internet data exchange systems and other channels. Chinn argues that many of those functions can be provided statewide rather than duplicated across numerous smaller markets.
Brokers have ownership stake
Broker ownership is another distinction Chinn emphasizes. Participating brokers can acquire stock in the All-West Virginia MLS, giving real estate firms a financial and governance interest in the service. The organization says participating brokers help guide its leadership and policies, while Rapattoni, a California-based company that provides listing services software and related technology, powers its listing platform.
The organization also operates WV Real Estate Hub, a subsidiary designed as a one-stop resource where buyers and sellers can find third-party businesses that provide real-estate-related services.
Chinn said nine brokerages were participating in the venture when interviewed about its development. He says the statewide approach can also reduce costs when agents expand beyond their traditional markets and need access to listing services elsewhere in West Virginia.
The organization faces a challenge common to any new listing network: its usefulness depends largely on participation. Established regional services already have longstanding relationships with brokers, agents, and Realtor associations and contain substantial inventories of local listings.
The All-West Virginia MLS is also not the only service offering statewide listing capability in West Virginia. West Virginia State MLS, associated with the national My State MLS system, also markets statewide coverage to real estate professionals.
Challenging longstanding boundaries
Chinn believes there is room for a West Virginia-based, broker-owned alternative. His effort raises a larger question in an industry where consumers routinely search for homes across county and regional boundaries using websites with national reach: whether the professional infrastructure behind those listings needs to remain divided along boundaries established before online property searches became commonplace.
For Chinn, the issue is particularly relevant in a small, largely rural state where real estate professionals may routinely conduct business across multiple counties and markets. He contends that a statewide system can preserve the cooperative function of an MLS while reducing the geographic and organizational divisions that have traditionally characterized the industry.
Disclosure: David Chinn is the father of Davie Chinn, the director of technology for West Virginia Explorer. Davie Chinn has performed technology work for All-West Virginia MLS. West Virginia Explorer has no ownership interest in AWVMLS.