No More Status Quo: Inside the Central Ohio Real Estate and Development Summit

Columbus REALTORS® hosted a sold-out crowd at the Hilton Columbus at Easton on August 18 for the Central Ohio Real Estate and Development Summit, a program that broke the mold for how a local REALTOR® association can educate and inform its membership.

After a private morning Broker Breakfast, the day brought together a defense-manufacturing executive, a local economic development expert, the CEO of one of the nation's largest real estate portals, the leaders of the country's biggest MLS and broker organizations, and the always outspoken real estate provocateur, Rob Hahn. It was a day full of different perspectives, and that was the point.

The event opened with a look outside the real estate industry entirely. Kristin Easterday of defense contractor Anduril walked the room through a virtual tour of Arsenal One, the company's $900 million, self-funded manufacturing campus taking shape in Pickaway County. With more than 4,000 jobs planned over the next decade and a digitally driven production system built around the company's drone defense technology, the project is reshaping how the region thinks about workforce, infrastructure, and growth.

From there, the conversation shifted to the heart of the real estate industry itself. Realtor.com CEO Damian Eales and Columbus REALTORS® CEO Brent Swander traced the company's three-decade relationship with NAR and the MLS system, framing it as a model that has kept agents central to transactions while giving consumers a level of transparency few other countries can match. Eales was also quick to speak to why the MLS model in the United States is far superior to less cooperative markets in Europe and Australia.

That theme carried through a panel featuring Dan Troup, CEO of Broker Public Portal, and Jessica Edgerton, CEO of CMLS, alongside MLS Board of Directors Chair Molly Morgan, followed by a one-on-one chat with NAR First Vice President Colin Mullane, moderated by Columbus REALTORS® President Gloria Alonso Cannon.

Each, in their own way, made the case that an open, cooperative MLS system remains the best available structure for protecting both agents and the consumers they serve.

The program shifted back to the development side when it welcomed a familiar face, Matt McCollister, formerly of One Columbus and now Senior Director of Development at The Montrose Group. Columbus REALTORS® Treasurer Kristy Daniel and McCollister unpacked the region's rapid growth in data centers, logistics, and advanced manufacturing, along with the infrastructure and public sentiment challenges that come with it. One point landed with particular weight for REALTORS® in the room: Central Ohio needs roughly 20,000 new housing units a year to keep pace with its growth, and current production isn't meeting that number.

The program closed with a keynote conversation between Industry Relations podcast co-host Rob Hahn and FBS/Flexmls CEO Michael Wurzer, digging into where the MLS itself is headed next, structurally, technologically, and competitively.

The discussions were tense at times but always respectful, with debate over fragmentation, private listings, and the sheer volume of MLSs around the country. Hahn and Wurzer jumped right in as moderator Jeremy Pape cheekily asked the pair, "Is the MLS doomed?" to kick off the conversation.

"We didn't build this program to give our members easy answers," said Columbus REALTORS® President Gloria Alonso Cannon. "We built it to make sure they're in the room when the hard questions get asked, because the future of this industry is being shaped right now, and our members deserve a seat at that table."