🪨 The Real Pet Rock? Blind Faith in the MLS.
Why real fiduciary duty means freedom and choice — not following the herd.
Not every shiny object in real estate is a fad — and not every old habit deserves to be worshipped.
Recently, an article compared private listing networks to the “pet rock” craze of the 1970s. The claim? That any agent who markets a home outside the MLS is violating their fiduciary duty.
Cute metaphor. Wrong lesson.
Because the truth is, fiduciary duty goes far beyond typing an address into the MLS and waiting for someone else to bring a buyer.
🔹 Fiduciary Duty Is About Results — Not Rituals
Let’s stop pretending that the MLS is synonymous with “doing the right thing.”
Your duty as an agent isn’t to serve the system — it’s to serve the seller.
Every homeowner has unique goals. Some value speed. Others want discretion. And most? They simply want to net the most money possible — not gross the most before paying out inflated cooperative commissions.
💬 What if bypassing the MLS, driving direct buyer interest, and saving your seller tens of thousands in commissions actually fulfills your fiduciary duty — not violates it?
That’s not a gimmick. That’s good business.
🔹 When “Exposure” Becomes an Expense
Listing a home in the MLS is often presented as a moral imperative — “maximum exposure equals maximum price.” But let’s unpack that.
When you put a property in the MLS, you’re automatically agreeing to offer compensation to other agents, often without negotiation or scrutiny.
That’s not fiduciary. That’s autopilot.
A true fiduciary questions everything that impacts their client’s bottom line. If paying another agent 2.5%–3% isn’t necessary to secure a buyer, then locking into that system without question is hardly “doing right by the seller.”
Sometimes, the smartest fiduciary move is to stay in control — control of the marketing, the inquiries, and the negotiation — and deliver a better net result.
🔹 The “Free Market” That Isn’t
If private listing networks are such a pet rock, why are the MLSs, broker associations, and portals like Zillow working so hard to crush them?
If they were truly useless, the free market would ignore them. Instead, we see restrictive rules, penalties, and policies designed to eliminate any competition that threatens the status quo.
That’s not a free market. That’s a cartel.
⚖️ A market that requires participation and punishes independence isn’t free — it’s controlled.
🔹 Freedom to Serve, Not Just to Conform
Private listing networks and direct-to-buyer strategies aren’t threats — they’re options.
They allow agents to innovate, negotiate differently, and act with agility in a changing marketplace.
And isn’t that what fiduciary duty is all about?
Freedom to act in the seller’s best interest, not in compliance with an industry’s comfort zone.
💡 Final Thought
Real fiduciary duty isn’t about doing what everyone else does. It’s about thinking, negotiating, and representing like your client’s results actually depend on it.
The real “pet rock” isn’t innovation — it’s blind faith in a system that limits choice, silences competition, and disguises control as transparency.
If you believe real estate should reward innovation and consumer choice, not conformity, share this post. Let’s start a conversation about what freedom, choice, and innovation really mean.
