Doorify MLS just made a statement and it deserves a round of applause. This week, the MLS serving 15,000 real estate professionals across North Carolina’s Research Triangle became the latest strategic investor in the Broker Public Portal (BPP), locking arms with brokers and fellow MLSs to offer an industry owned consumer property search solution that defines the  future of online home search.

Doorify’s board of directors and leadership team is sending a powerful message about what matters: technology sovereignty. They’re investing directly in a platform owned and governed by brokers and MLSs – the same people who actually serve homebuyers and sellers every day. Instead of surrendering data or brand presence to third-party ad-driven portals, Doorify is doubling down on the idea that the industry should own its tools, protect its broker’s data, and deliver value back to the professionals who built it in the first place.

As a founding partner helping to launch the Broker Public Portal nearly a decade ago, WAV Group has witnessed firsthand how hard-won this spirit of collaboration has been. Back in 2014, the original broker and MLS coalition behind the BPP set out to build something extraordinary: a consumer search experience rooted in transparency, accuracy, and a commitment to the Fair Display Guidelines. The Homesnap joint venture made huge strides in proving that brokers and MLSs could stand shoulder to shoulder to create an industry-owned consumer alternative. At termination, Homesnap.com was the 6th ranked national home search portal in consumer traffic in America, and was growing rapidly. Brokers and MLSs knew that partnering with Homesnap had the risk of the company being sold, and that is exactly what happened. 

Today, with a fresh slate of technology built by and for its owners, the Broker Public Portal is poised for its next chapter – and Doorify MLS is stepping in at exactly the right time. Their investment reflects a shared belief in keeping local market expertise front and center. It’s an endorsement of a home-search experience that respects both consumers and the professionals who represent them. And the best part is that the technology is owned by the Broker Public Portal shareholders. 

This isn’t just a financial deal; it’s a declaration that our industry’s future shouldn’t rest in the hands of ad-funded gatekeepers or third-party vendors. Doorify MLS is showing its members, and frankly the entire industry, that there is a path to protect data integrity, build authentic consumer trust, and create a durable, collaborative network under local and national industry leadership.

As the Broker Public Portal’s reach extends to encompass over 44 brokerages and 48 MLSs that represent more than a million real estate agents, the increasing momentum for industry-owned platforms becomes impossible to ignore. It’s no longer a debate about whether brokers and MLSs are capable of uniting to build the tools they require, but rather how many will actively participate in this crucial mission.

If you’re a brokerage or MLS still watching from the sidelines, Doorify MLS just threw down a challenge: step up, protect your market, and invest in a future that belongs to the people who actually sell real estate.

Marilyn Wilson, co-founder of WAV Group, Dan Troup, CEO of the Broker Public Portal, and Matt Fowler, CEO of Doorify recorded this conversation about the news release.