In the same week, REMAX and Redfin named new leaders while two major commission-related lawsuits reached resolutions.
Here’s what’s happening in the real estate industry this week.
Leadership Changes at REMAX & Redfin
REMAX Names Alex Vidal President
REMAX named longtime industry veteran Alex Vidal as its new president, effective September 1, 2026.
Vidal spent nearly three decades in the business, starting at Keyes Real Estate in South Florida at 19 as secretary to the president and working his way through recruiting, sales, coaching and leadership roles, including three years as regional vice president at Coldwell Banker.
He most recently served as president of ERA Real Estate and has personally coached roughly 30,000 agents.
Vidal described his approach to the role in agent-first terms.
“I’m very agent-centric, and I believe agents are the boss. My philosophy has always been, ‘What can I do to make their lives better and help them make more money?’ I’m pairing up with the best of the best to see if we can get to an even better level.”
Real REMAX Group Chairman and CEO Tamir Poleg pointed to Vidal’s background as the reason for the hire.
“Alex understands this business from the ground up and has spent his career helping agents, Broker/Owners and organizations reach the next level of what’s possible. He brings the experience, drive and competitive mindset this moment calls for. We have ambitious plans for REMAX, and Alex will play a central role in turning that ambition into action.”
Redfin Names Alessio Sanfilippo CEO
Rocket Companies, which acquired Redfin in July 2025, announced its promotion of Alessio Sanfilippo to CEO effective August 31, 2026. Sanfilippo spent over 20 years in product, data and analytics roles, most recently leading insights for Reality Labs at Meta, with earlier stops at WhatsApp, Intuit, SAP and United Airlines.
He’s also a longtime Redfin customer, having used the platform through multiple home purchases over the past decade.
Sanfilippo tied his own history as a buyer to how he sees the role.
“I’ve used Redfin for years, including through some of the biggest decisions my family has made. I still remember the pride I felt buying my first home. Redfin has always helped make an intimidating process easier to understand.”
Rocket CEO Varun Krishna credited him with a mix of skills that fit the job.
“I worked with Alessio at Intuit and saw firsthand how he combines deep analytical thinking with a real instinct for the consumer.”
Lawsuit Updates: Compass & Gibson
Compass Settles NWMLS Lawsuit
Compass and Northwest MLS settled the antitrust lawsuit Compass filed in April 2025 after losing MLS data feed access in a dispute over coming-soon listings.
Compass had argued NWMLS was acting as a monopolist by restricting how it could market pre-listed properties. The settlement introduces a phased set of rule changes rolling out between September and November 2026.
Compass CEO Robert Reffkin framed the outcome as a win for seller control over marketing.
“Our original objective in taking legal action against the NWMLS has been fully realized. We brought this lawsuit on a fundamental principle: homeowners deserve the absolute right to control how their properties are marketed, and real estate brokers should never face fines from NWMLS simply for following their client’s lawful instructions which in Washington State is their Statutory Duty.”
NWMLS CEO Justin Haag described the new pre-marketing option as a modernization effort.
“We are giving sellers the flexibility they desire when preparing a home for market, while steadfastly protecting buyers from private networks. Simply put, First Look modernizes the pre-launch preparation process, while ensuring an open marketplace and fair competition, in full compliance with Washington State’s open-market laws.”
The rule changes roll out on this timeline:
- September 4, 2026: “First Look” pre-marketing status launches, giving sellers up to 21 days before public listing with no days-on-market or price history showing.
- October 15, 2026: Portals using NWMLS data must prominently display listing agent name and contact info, and NWMLS watermarks come off listing photos.
- November 15, 2026: Broker platforms gain access to added data fields like legal descriptions and title documents.
Rules will also apply uniformly across all member brokerages, and NWMLS can no longer take disciplinary action under the guise of enforcing state law.
What this means for your business:
- If you work in the Pacific Northwest, mark September 4 on your calendar. That’s when “First Look” pre-marketing status becomes available for coming-soon listings.
- Portal changes taking effect by October 15 mean your name and contact info need to be prominent everywhere your listings appear, so check how NWMLS-fed portals currently display your information.
- The rule against NWMLS disciplining brokerages “under the guise of enforcing state law” could matter if you’ve felt MLS enforcement was applied unevenly in the past.
8th Circuit Upholds $110.6M in Gibson Settlements
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld $110.6 million in settlements from the Gibson commission class action lawsuit on September 1, 2026, rejecting challenges from four objectors.
The case, filed in October 2023 in Missouri federal court, named Compass, Redfin, The Real Brokerage, Realty ONE Group, At World Properties, Douglas Elliman, Engel & Völkers, HomeSmart and United Real Estate as defendants, alleging they used MLS rules to inflate commissions.
The ruling came about two weeks after the same court upheld the related Sitzer-Burnett settlement, bringing combined recovery across commission litigation to roughly $1.018 billion.
The court’s opinion rejected the idea that buyer and seller claims should be treated separately.
“The claims nevertheless arise from the same nucleus: the conspiratorial MLS rules that drove up the prices for all home transactions.”
What this means for your business:
- The $110.6 million is now locked in for eligible claimants, adding to a growing total of settlements tied to commission litigation industry-wide.
- With four objector challenges already rejected, appellate courts are showing little interest in reopening approved commission settlements.
- If your brokerage was named in commission litigation, this outcome is another sign that the practice changes coming out of these cases are here to stay.
We’ll keep an eye on how all four of these develop. Leadership changes take months to show up in day-to-day agent experience, and rule changes like NWMLS’s tend to reveal their real impact only once agents start working with them.
