Sam DeBord, CEO of the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO), will deliver a keynote at the 4th International MLS Forum, taking place November 16-17, 2026, at Raffles Istanbul in Istanbul, Türkiye. His address will focus on the over $1 trillion in real estate purchased annually by buyers who do not live in the country where they are buying, and he will ask MLSs, brokers, and technology providers what role they plan to play in that market.
DeBord highlights a critical challenge: while the inventory exists, access to it is highly fragmented from an information perspective. In the United States, buyers can view nearly every home for sale on a single portal, but in many other countries, buyers must ask one broker after another what is available. “Creating a more factual, comprehensive picture of what international investment looks like can help the professionals represent buyers better,” DeBord says. The keynote will center on whether MLSs should share listings across borders, a decision that could reshape how real estate professionals serve cross-border clients.
“Knowing that this trillion-dollar marketplace exists, what’s your role in it?” DeBord asks. He suggests that organizations with valuable data can participate either as data providers to the network or as partners empowering brokers and consumers with a more transparent and trustworthy experience. RESO supports these data partners’ ability to use standards and create an efficient, interoperable information marketplace, aiming for buyers, sellers, and investors to have access to more accurate, transparent, and efficient transactions across borders.
For local MLSs and agents, DeBord acknowledges that some organizations may see themselves as purely local. “If organizations feel that their only focus needs to be the local marketplace, that’s fine,” he says. “Probably not everyone in Atlanta is interested in buying a second home in Italy, but some people in Atlanta are.” First MLS, which serves the Atlanta area, has already connected with an MLS in Italy, demonstrating that cross-border collaboration is feasible. For agents, such access helps three groups of clients: people moving abroad, buyers relocating to the U.S. who want to see local listings before they arrive, and local clients seeking a second home or investment property overseas. It also provides listings that clients may not find on the sites they already use. “It’s a new reason for a consumer to reach out and talk to you, and something exciting and different to add to your set of tools,” DeBord says.
MLS leaders deciding where their organizations fit in cross-border real estate can hear DeBord’s keynote in person in Istanbul. The forum brings together MLS executives, brokers, and technology providers from a few dozen countries. Tickets are available now.
