Major real estate companies are increasingly restricting access to their proprietary databases. Data ownership now outweighs transaction volume or brand recognition as the primary source of competitive advantage. James Huang, Managing Director of Commercial Real Estate at RESAAS Services Inc., says the shift is dividing the industry between firms with extensive private data assets and those still reliant on open information sources.
“Everyone is closing their databases. They’re putting a wall around their data. The bigger the company, the bigger the tech, the more you control your data,” Huang says.
Huang, a longtime investor in real estate technology and current head of RESAAS, argues that data control now determines a company’s market position more than brand recognition or agent count. RESAAS doubled its user base to nearly 1 million agents following recent rule changes by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Real estate companies are increasingly adding legal disclosures to assert ownership over their data and restricting outside access without explicit permission.
The shift highlights the growing value of proprietary information in a market where AI and analytics tools are rapidly advancing. As these tools become more sophisticated, the quality and exclusivity of a company’s data determine the insights they can generate. Firms with large, closed databases can train AI systems on proprietary information that competitors cannot access, building a compounding analytical advantage.
“Data is the most powerful information to help you understand yourself, your client, and everyone else,” Huang says.
The move toward closed databases marks a reversal from the earlier era of data sharing and open platforms. In the residential market, multiple listing service (MLS) systems were built on cooperation and the sharing of information among brokers. Huang notes that recent regulatory changes, particularly NAR’s new commission rules, have accelerated the shift to proprietary systems.
After NAR prohibited displaying commission information on MLS listings and restricted pre-marketing of properties, the RESAAS agent network grew from approximately 500,000 to nearly one million users. The regulatory change led agents to seek alternative platforms to exchange information outside traditional MLS constraints.
Huang points out that there is significant overlap between residential and commercial agents. Roughly one-third of NAR’s 1.2 million members have completed at least one commercial transaction, representing a large pool of users with needs across both sectors. Platforms that can serve both residential and commercial markets are now especially attractive. Still, the dual-market opportunity also intensifies competition for data as firms try to capture and retain high-value agents.
While large firms are locking down their databases, some companies are responding by building integration strategies through APIs and partnerships. Instead of developing comprehensive proprietary systems from scratch, these firms integrate multiple data sources while retaining control over their core information.
“Those that are smart are learning integration and APIs to help everyone form teams, because it’s changing so fast,” Huang says.
The integration approach allows smaller firms to assemble best-in-class tools and compete with larger players. Still, it also increases reliance on external technology partners and raises questions about data ownership. Ownership of data that flows through integrated systems can remain contested, especially as more firms move to protect their proprietary information.
RESAAS and its partners focus on providing infrastructure that enables controlled data sharing. Agents can send leads, referrals, and introductions globally while tracking attribution and compensation. This model tries to balance the benefits of network effects with the need for strong data protection.
Huang notes that as AI tools become more powerful, the value of exclusive data rises while the value added by analysis alone diminishes. Firms with unique access to transaction, property, and client data can generate insights that competitors cannot replicate, regardless of how sophisticated their analytical tools are.
Huang says the trend toward data control is even more pronounced in international markets, where many countries lack established MLS systems or standardized data-sharing protocols. RESAAS is in talks with organizations representing 30,000 to 40,000 agents in international markets, providing technology platforms to create data infrastructure where none previously existed.
“In certain countries, commercial runs the development, the office, the retail, the mixed use. Infrastructure built. We’re doing it,” Huang says.
In these markets, the first company to establish a comprehensive, closed database gains significant long-term advantages. Without legacy systems or regulatory mandates for data sharing, firms can build closed platforms from the outset. The absence of legacy constraints creates opportunities for technology providers that can quickly and affordably establish data infrastructure. RESAAS is working with partners such as Simon Baker’s group in Thailand and other technology firms to deploy systems across multiple countries, focusing first on commercial real estate, which Huang says is often simpler to organize than residential and drives broader development.
The shift toward closed databases is reshaping the competitive landscape, creating clear winners and losers. Firms that have spent years or decades accumulating large proprietary datasets can maintain a lasting information advantage. New entrants face steep barriers to assembling comparable databases, especially as data sharing becomes less common.
The largest firms can invest in both proprietary data collection and the AI tools needed to extract value from that information, widening the gap between industry leaders and smaller competitors. Smaller firms must either adopt integration strategies to access the data they need or accept operating with incomplete information in a market where data-driven insights are becoming essential.
Real estate’s focus on data control is accelerating as AI and analytics become more central to business strategy. Firms that secure and protect their proprietary databases will enjoy a lasting advantage, generating insights that competitors cannot match.
For smaller firms and new entrants, the path forward is to integrate with larger data ecosystems or risk falling behind in an increasingly closed, data-driven industry.
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