Home.
Family. Safety. Happiness. Community and a sense of belonging. Home is a word that holds deep meaning for every single one of us; in fact, the idea of “home” is something that is foundational to us as a species.
For the real estate industry, the open marketplace provided by the MLS helps make home happen for MILLIONS of Americans every single year—many of whom would not be able to participate in the housing market without the MLS. This is because MLSs operate local listing marketplaces that gather property information—on an impartial basis—from all brokers and then disseminate that information—on an impartial basis—to every other area broker.
This point is critically important.
Without the MLS, information about properties available for sale and rent would be fragmented, and available primarily based on who you are and who you know.
What’s also critically important is the role that homeownership plays in long-term, generational wealth creation.
These two points are inextricably linked.
Earlier in May 2023, the Rand Corporation authored an essay: “What Would It Take to Close America’s Black-White Wealth Gap?” As part of that, Rand conducted a study that concluded without TRILLIONS of dollars of investment, there would be no reason to think the white/black wealth gap would ever close.
Furthermore, as evidenced by numerous incidents over the past few years, there are still communities and neighborhoods across the nation where Black families are not welcome, and where buying a home—the single most important source of wealth in America—is just not possible.
This is a real problem, and an issue that is felt viscerally by millions of Americans, every day, even in 2023:
- White Americans hold 10X the amount of wealth as Black Americans
- White Americans are 28X more likely to become a millionaire than Black Americans
Unfortunately, this inequality in housing extends to every racial minority in the United States. According to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), the rate of homeownership for white Americans far exceeds those of any other ethnic group in the United States:
To me, that’s why the MLS is so critically important to the health of the United States’ housing ecosystem.
Without the MLS, millions of people will once again be excluded from housing and homeownership.
Without the MLS, millions of Americans will not be able to participate in the generational wealth building provided through owning real estate.
Without the MLS, people like me—a person of color, a 1st generation immigrant—would never have had a real chance to participate in the United States housing market.
That’s a sobering thought.
As we are all aware, there’s a lot of interest in the MLS at the moment—from third-party technology companies, to the DOJ, to legislators at the local, state and federal level.
While I personally think that the questions being asked aren’t necessarily the right questions, I think the onus is on us as an industry to educate consumers, policymakers and legislators—at every level—that without the MLS, fair and equitable access to housing in the United States simply doesn’t exist.
That’s why this July, Bright is launching a new campaign highlighting the importance of the open, equitable access to housing that’s provided by the MLS.
Working with agents across Bright’s six-state footprint, we shared real stories—from real people—about how the MLS, combined with guidance from their agent—helped facilitate a successful real estate experience for all.
The campaign will launch with a two-pronged, multi-channel strategy that utilizes digital, social and OTT placements, along with geo-fencing technology that delivers relevant messages—at the right time—to our target audiences:
- We want to help educate the general home-buying and -selling public about how the MLS provides Open, equitable access to housing, and
- We are reaching legislators, government officials and policymakers on Capitol Hill with a critical message highlighting how the MLS is foundational to the notion of fair housing
We plan on running this campaign throughout the remainder of 2023, and our hope is that other folks in this industry will also get behind this message.
Ultimately, home is a basic human need, and also the most important financial vehicle for long-term, generation wealth. So it’s up to all of us in this industry to help educate the buying and selling public about the real value of the MLS—and how without the MLS, home simply doesn’t happen for millions of Americans.
You can view our content and assets for the campaign here: www.brightmls.com/open.
