There is no shortage of things happening in the real estate industry these days. From consolidation to the debate over private listings and seller choice, there are plenty of issues competing for attention, but for ERA Real Estate president Alex Vidal, the most important issues are those that are capturing the attention of the consumers.
“Right now, there’s a lot happening that, no matter what I say or do, is going to happen anyway,” Vidal told HousingWire. “They [Consumers] are seeing the things pop up on Facebook saying that a homebuying experience turned into a ‘nightmare’ over a buyer representation agreement that was signed. Now the industry has said that buyer representation agreements are one of the best things that have ever happened to real estate, but the consumers aren’t seeing that. I’m trying to focus on what our consumers are reading.”
By focusing on this, Vidal said he is able to tune out the noise and figure out what is most important to consumers so he can better prepare his agents and brokers for any questions or concerns.
“I feel like I should let everyone else focus on all those big headlines and instead I can focus on my clients, the agents, and their clients, the consumers, so I can prepare my agents to deal with what the clients are reading and hearing,” Vidal said.
What is missing from the private listing debate
One rather noisy topic that has jumped from inside the real estate industry to the greater public sphere is that of private listings.
For Vidal, the current debate surrounding private listings is missing something, “nobody is looking at it as if they were truly in the seller’s shoes or the buyer’s shoes.”
In the past three years, Vidal said he personally has been in two situations where the traditional go-to market strategy of immediately listing a property on the MLS did not work. One of these times was during his divorce when his travel schedule combined with his now ex-wife’s work schedule, and all that come with having three teenaged sons, two dogs and a cat made it incredibly difficult to prepare their home for showings.
“For us, that path just didn’t make sense or really even work. We knew that we were in a hot market so if we went to the MLS we could get multiple showings and multiple offers, but there was no way with schedules that we could make it work. We actually could not go live on the market,” he said.
Instead, Vidal said they decided to list the property privately, ultimately accepting a full-price offer.
“I don’t look at this debate from a place of who is trying to control the data,” Vidal said, discussing how his private listing experience has impacted his perspective on this issue. “I am looking at it from the situation I was in where the traditional route didn’t make sense. So, what I think is missing is more people talking about it truly from the consumer’s position.”
While he recognizes that the vast majority of sellers want the most amount of money in the shortest amount of time for their property, there is a segment that this doesn’t apply to. This is what he says is missing in the current debate.
However, he also noted that at least for Compass International Holdings, over 90% of properties that start out as private exclusive listings do ultimately make it on to the open market. But while a private listing strategy may not have led to a sale for these sellers, he believes that the time was not wasted as it allowed sellers to gain a better understanding of what the demand for their property is like and if there are any changes they can make to help them achieve the price they want.
This, in Vidal’s view, is also good for buyers because it makes the seller “malleable.”
“The seller is always hesitant to take that first offer because they are afraid that they priced it too low or they believe another offer is going to come in right behind it that may be better,” Vidal said. “For a buyer, I think it is very beneficial to be interacting with a seller that has already heard feedback and has a sense of the demand. The seller then goes to market with the right strategy and it makes the process easier for the buyer.”
Compass: The ‘God send’
The ability for ERA’s agents to access some of these premarketing tools and strategies comes from Compass International Holdings’ acquisition of ERA’s parent company Anywhere Real Estate, which closed in early January 2026. Nearly eight months into the integration process between the two firms, Vidal said the acquisition has been “an absolute God send,” for a few reasons.
“Right off the bat, at some point in the relatively near future, every single agent under the Compass umbrella is going to have access to the popular Compass technology,” Vidal said. “Second, the deal Compass has with Redfin and Rocket enables ERA agents and consumers to premarket their coming soon listings without the lead on that listing being sold to another agent.”
Additionally, Vidal said, as the only brand under the Compass umbrella that allows independent brokerages to affiliate with ERA while still maintaining their unique brand identity by using a “powered by ERA” tag, ERA has grown drastically over the past few months.
“People see the technology and all the stuff Compass has to offer and they want in. They can do that and keep their brand with ERA,” he said. “As a result of this, in April of this year, we already surpassed our growth goal for the entire year.”
With this goal now in the rearview mirror, Vidal said he is focused on doing all he can to ensure that ERA franchisees continually choose to be with ERA and make them “raving fans” of the brand.
“Anytime we have a new initiative, I look at it and ask, ‘Does it help make our broker or our agents raving fans?’” Vidal said. “And with everything else happening, I just put my head down and focus on what is ahead of me.”
