GREATER BOSTON, MA, UNITED STATES, July 8, 2026 -- Buyers Brokers Only, LLC, a Greater Boston exclusive buyer agent real estate company, is urging homebuyers to understand the risks of “private listings,” “pocket listings,” and reduced access to property information after Realtor.com CEO Damian Eales warned that limiting listing data threatens consumer protections in the housing market.
Eales said the U.S. multiple listing service system helps “end asymmetry of information” and allows consumers to benefit “on equal terms.” He also criticized efforts that limit access to property details, including days on market and price reductions, calling the practice “madness,” according to Real Estate News.
• The issue: Private listings and fragmented listing data may prevent homebuyers from seeing all available homes and key property information.
• The consumer risk: Homebuyers may be asked to make major financial decisions without full access to listing history, price changes, days on market, and other information that can affect value and negotiating strategy.
• The industry warning: Realtor.com CEO Damian Eales said the industry must decide whether it supports cooperation, open markets, transparency, and fair treatment of consumers.
• The local response: Buyers Brokers Only, an exclusive buyer agency serving Greater Boston, says homebuyers should work with agents whose only loyalty is to the homebuyer, real estate professionals who put clients before commissions.
For homebuyers, access to complete and accurate property information is not a technical issue in the industry. It affects what homes homebuyers see, how much they offer, how they negotiate, and whether they understand the risks before signing a purchase contract.
Private listings and reduced data access may limit a buyer’s ability to compare homes in the open market. When information such as price reductions, listing history, or days on market is harder to find, homebuyers may have less context for determining whether a property is fairly priced.
“Homebuyers should not have to make one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives with incomplete information,” said Rich Rosa, co-founder of Buyers Brokers Only. “The more listing information homebuyers can see, the better equipped they are to compare homes, understand value, and make confident decisions. Transparency protects consumers. Private listings, pocket listings, and other schemes to reduce property information are anti-consumer.”
Buyers Brokers Only never represents sellers or takes real estate listings. The company works only for homebuyers, which means its agents do not have listing inventory to protect, promote, or keep private.
That exclusive buyer agency model is designed to eliminate the conflict that can arise when a traditional brokerage represents both buyers and sellers or benefits from controlling access to listings.
“When a brokerage represents sellers, it may have business reasons to control how and where listing information is shared,” Rosa, also a licensed attorney, said. “An exclusive buyer agent looks at the market from the homebuyer’s side only. Our job is to help buyers find relevant information, evaluate the property, and understand the terms before they make an offer.”
Buyers Brokers Only encourages homebuyers to ask direct questions about listing access and property data, including:
• Whether the agent represents homebuyers only or also represents sellers.
• Whether the buyer will be shown homes from the full open market, not just one brokerage’s listings.
• Whether the buyer agent will review listing history, price reductions, days on market, disclosures, and comparable sales.
• Whether the buyer agent has any relationship with the seller, listing agent, or brokerage that could create a conflict of interest.
Eales warned the industry to be careful when reduced consumer protection is rebranded as “seller choice,” according to Real Estate News. Buyers Brokers Only agrees that home sellers and buyers both benefit from an open, transparent marketplace where information is shared broadly and fairly.
“Transparency is not just good for buyers,” said Buyers Brokers Only co-founder David Kres, who is a licensed real estate broker in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. “An open market helps buyers and sellers understand value. It helps reduce confusion and gives consumers more confidence in the process.”
Buyers Brokers Only, LLC is an exclusive buyer agent real estate company serving homebuyers throughout Greater Boston, including Southern New Hampshire and Rhode Island. The company never represents sellers and never takes real estate listings, helping homebuyers avoid conflicts of interest in residential real estate transactions.
Since 2005, Buyers Brokers Only has helped more than 2,000 home-buying clients purchase more than $1 billion in real estate. The company provides buyer representation, property evaluation, negotiation guidance, and consumer-focused advice for homebuyers.