Pay to Play Prevails

Court sides with NAR, says MLS access rules can stay as-is

Splits and Caps Daily: Action for Agents

July 24, 2025

📈 Market Move:

Dues or Don’ts?

A federal judge tossed out a lawsuit from broker Lou Eytalis, who challenged the rule that agents must pay multiple Realtor association dues just to access the MLS. She called it monopolistic and discriminatory, but the court disagreed.

The case, dismissed without fanfare, is one of several NAR’s faced lately from brokers frustrated by what they call overreach. But this win reinforces NAR’s stance: Local MLSs set their own rules, and the national structure provides standardization, ethics codes, and tools that (in theory) help agents close deals faster.

Translation? For now, if you want the MLS, you’re still paying to play—multiple times in some places.

Bottom Line:
This isn’t just a court win—it’s a power flex. NAR’s structure is like Costco membership meets real estate. Annoying? Maybe. But efficient and deeply embedded? Absolutely.

🌟Quote of the Day:

“Don’t bunt. Aim out of the ballpark.” — David Ogilvy

Quick Win:

The 5-Minute Market Email:

Send a super short email blast to your list:
Subject: “Quick market hit 💥”
Body: “Rates are [X]. Inventory’s doing [Y]. Here’s what that means for buyers/sellers this week → [1–2 sentences]. Want a custom game plan? Hit reply.”
You stay top of mind without writing a novel.

🎉 Fun Fact of the Day: 

Ample Agents: There Are More Real Estate Agents Than Homes for Sale (Sometimes). Yep. In hot markets, agent-to-listing ratios get so tight it’s like 10 people racing for the same avocado toast. Competition isn’t just fierce — it’s mathematically ridiculous.

📚 Book Recommendation:

“The Innovation Stack” by Jim McKelvey—Look—if you’re building something (a business, a team, a personal brand), you’re probably tempted to copy what’s already working. That’s fine… until it isn’t. Enter Jim McKelvey, co-founder of Square, who basically said, “Screw best practices—we’ll make our own rules.” And it worked.

This book is a masterclass in solving problems no one else has solved before—not by being smarter, but by stacking a bunch of small, weird, original solutions until the competition can't even figure out what you're doing. That’s the Innovation Stack.

If you feel like an underdog? Perfect. This book turns that into your biggest advantage.

👉 Read it if: You’re tired of playing catch-up and want to build something nobody else can copy.

You're not stuck — you're building. Let it stack.

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