REcore Solutions LLC, a licensing services vendor working with multiple listing services and an offshoot of the California Regional Multiple Listing Service Inc. (CRMLS), announced that it filed a lawsuit against Homes.com and its parent company, CoStar Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP), for alleged breach of contract over unpaid licensing fees.
REcore explained that it does not charge fees to MLS participants who directly contribute to the network effect of the MLS. Instead, it has a fee structure where entities that use MLS data to generate revenue without representing buyers or sellers must pay for usage rights. The company noted the CRMLS requires REcore to distribute profits from such use back to the listing brokers who provided the original MLS content.
According to its lawsuit, REcore Solutions claimed that Homes.com and CoStar signed a 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.
But the company claimed Homes.com did not pay the full amount cited in the agreement. REcore added that after more than a year of negotiations, it announced that it would terminate the Homes.com and HomesPro data feeds containing listing records for the CRMLS as of Nov. 1.
REcore added the scheduled first round of payments to CRMLS listing brokers for 2025 will be delayed until 2026 due to Homes.com’s action.
“REcore and CRMLS remain committed to ensuring that listing brokers retain access and control over their own MLS listing contributions,” said the company in a statement. “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.”
Homes.com and CoStar Group did not offer an immediate comment on the lawsuit.
