Give Agents a Voice in WPMLS: Create an Agent & Broker Advisory Council
The Issue
An Open Letter to West Penn Multi-List Leadership
We, the undersigned, respectfully request that West Penn Multi-List (WPMLS) establish a formal Agent and Broker Advisory Council to give the real estate professionals who use and support the MLS a meaningful voice in its future.
Our goal is simple: create a direct, ongoing relationship between MLS users and WPMLS leadership that encourages collaboration, transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement.
We want to work WITH WPMLS to make the system better for everyone, especially the homebuyers and sellers who depend on accurate, accessible real estate information.
Why Is This Needed?
Real estate agents and brokers use the MLS every day. We understand firsthand what works, what creates challenges, and where improvements could make a meaningful difference.
We believe there should be a clear, accessible, and ongoing process for individual agents and brokers to participate in discussions about the technology and services they rely on.
Some concerns we'd like to address include:
- Technology and Data Accuracy: Agents enter property addresses and tax IDs but still navigate manual geographic dropdowns that can contribute to preventable errors. We believe modern technology should help ensure accuracy before mistakes occur, alongside appropriate compliance enforcement.
- Training and Communication: While WPMLS provides live and prerecorded training, agents would benefit from regularly updated, comprehensive, and easily accessible on-demand resources, along with a clearer process for submitting suggestions, discussing concerns, and receiving feedback.
- Transparency and Representation: Agents and brokers contribute substantial recurring fees to support the MLS. We believe subscribers should have greater visibility into technology investments, planned improvements, governance, and how their feedback influences decisions.
- Regional Cooperation: Pennsylvania's overlapping MLS markets create challenges for agents and consumers. Greater interoperability and cooperation between MLS organizations should be part of ongoing discussions.
These concerns aren't unique to WPMLS, and we recognize that managing an MLS across numerous counties presents significant challenges.
That's precisely why we believe collaboration is so important.
Our Proposal: An Agent and Broker Advisory Council
Rather than simply identifying problems, we want to propose a practical solution.
We respectfully request that WPMLS establish, or formalize an equivalent existing process into, an Agent and Broker Advisory Council.
Similar approaches are being used or developed by other MLS organizations. Stellar MLS operates established advisory councils, while Heartland MLS announced plans in 2026 to create councils for brokers and experienced MLS users.
We envision a council that would:
- Include working agents and brokers from different geographic areas, brokerage sizes, and professional backgrounds, with direct representation for individual agents.
- Meet regularly, primarily through virtual meetings, with WPMLS leadership to identify challenges, evaluate proposed improvements, and discuss future priorities.
- Establish a straightforward process for agents to submit ideas, report recurring issues, and receive meaningful responses.
- Review technology enhancements, training opportunities, data accuracy concerns, and other issues affecting MLS users.
- Present recommendations directly to WPMLS leadership and the Board of Directors.
- Provide periodic updates to subscribers outlining feedback received, recommendations considered, decisions made, and progress achieved.
The council would serve in an advisory capacity, complementing WPMLS's existing governance structure rather than replacing it.
We aren't asking for control of WPMLS. We're asking for meaningful participation in improving it.
Most importantly, the council would establish a continuous, two-way relationship between the professionals using the MLS and those responsible for managing it.
Our Request to WPMLS Leadership
We respectfully ask the WPMLS Board of Directors and executive leadership to meet with representatives of the professionals supporting this petition to discuss establishing the advisory council and developing a practical path forward.
We recognize the responsibilities and complexities involved in operating an MLS. We want to be part of finding solutions, not simply identifying problems.
This is not a campaign against WPMLS, its leadership, or its employees.
It's an invitation to build a stronger partnership.
We contribute the listings. We pay the fees. We depend on this system to represent our clients effectively.
We believe the professionals using it every day should have a meaningful voice in its continued improvement.
And ultimately, Western Pennsylvania's buyers and sellers deserve the best possible technology, information, and service.
If you believe agents, brokers, and WPMLS leadership can accomplish more by working together, please sign this open letter.
Let's build a better MLS together.
95
The Issue
An Open Letter to West Penn Multi-List Leadership
We, the undersigned, respectfully request that West Penn Multi-List (WPMLS) establish a formal Agent and Broker Advisory Council to give the real estate professionals who use and support the MLS a meaningful voice in its future.
Our goal is simple: create a direct, ongoing relationship between MLS users and WPMLS leadership that encourages collaboration, transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement.
We want to work WITH WPMLS to make the system better for everyone, especially the homebuyers and sellers who depend on accurate, accessible real estate information.
Why Is This Needed?
Real estate agents and brokers use the MLS every day. We understand firsthand what works, what creates challenges, and where improvements could make a meaningful difference.
We believe there should be a clear, accessible, and ongoing process for individual agents and brokers to participate in discussions about the technology and services they rely on.
Some concerns we'd like to address include:
- Technology and Data Accuracy: Agents enter property addresses and tax IDs but still navigate manual geographic dropdowns that can contribute to preventable errors. We believe modern technology should help ensure accuracy before mistakes occur, alongside appropriate compliance enforcement.
- Training and Communication: While WPMLS provides live and prerecorded training, agents would benefit from regularly updated, comprehensive, and easily accessible on-demand resources, along with a clearer process for submitting suggestions, discussing concerns, and receiving feedback.
- Transparency and Representation: Agents and brokers contribute substantial recurring fees to support the MLS. We believe subscribers should have greater visibility into technology investments, planned improvements, governance, and how their feedback influences decisions.
- Regional Cooperation: Pennsylvania's overlapping MLS markets create challenges for agents and consumers. Greater interoperability and cooperation between MLS organizations should be part of ongoing discussions.
These concerns aren't unique to WPMLS, and we recognize that managing an MLS across numerous counties presents significant challenges.
That's precisely why we believe collaboration is so important.
Our Proposal: An Agent and Broker Advisory Council
Rather than simply identifying problems, we want to propose a practical solution.
We respectfully request that WPMLS establish, or formalize an equivalent existing process into, an Agent and Broker Advisory Council.
Similar approaches are being used or developed by other MLS organizations. Stellar MLS operates established advisory councils, while Heartland MLS announced plans in 2026 to create councils for brokers and experienced MLS users.
We envision a council that would:
- Include working agents and brokers from different geographic areas, brokerage sizes, and professional backgrounds, with direct representation for individual agents.
- Meet regularly, primarily through virtual meetings, with WPMLS leadership to identify challenges, evaluate proposed improvements, and discuss future priorities.
- Establish a straightforward process for agents to submit ideas, report recurring issues, and receive meaningful responses.
- Review technology enhancements, training opportunities, data accuracy concerns, and other issues affecting MLS users.
- Present recommendations directly to WPMLS leadership and the Board of Directors.
- Provide periodic updates to subscribers outlining feedback received, recommendations considered, decisions made, and progress achieved.
The council would serve in an advisory capacity, complementing WPMLS's existing governance structure rather than replacing it.
We aren't asking for control of WPMLS. We're asking for meaningful participation in improving it.
Most importantly, the council would establish a continuous, two-way relationship between the professionals using the MLS and those responsible for managing it.
Our Request to WPMLS Leadership
We respectfully ask the WPMLS Board of Directors and executive leadership to meet with representatives of the professionals supporting this petition to discuss establishing the advisory council and developing a practical path forward.
We recognize the responsibilities and complexities involved in operating an MLS. We want to be part of finding solutions, not simply identifying problems.
This is not a campaign against WPMLS, its leadership, or its employees.
It's an invitation to build a stronger partnership.
We contribute the listings. We pay the fees. We depend on this system to represent our clients effectively.
We believe the professionals using it every day should have a meaningful voice in its continued improvement.
And ultimately, Western Pennsylvania's buyers and sellers deserve the best possible technology, information, and service.
If you believe agents, brokers, and WPMLS leadership can accomplish more by working together, please sign this open letter.
Let's build a better MLS together.
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Petition created on October 12, 2026