The mismatch between how MLS systems were built and how new construction actually works has created challenges for builders, agents, and buyers for years, and the industry has only recently begun to address it.

For as long as multiple listing services have existed, new construction has been an awkward fit, according to Bill Gaul, CEO of Builders Update, who chairs the RESO Data Dictionary New Construction Subcommittee. MLS data infrastructure was designed around resale transactions and was not originally built to reflect how builders manage and sell inventory. “It’s been a round peg trying to fit into a square hole in the MLS,” Gaul says.

The consequences are concrete. Agents routinely show buyers a listing they found in the MLS, only to arrive at a development and discover not one home but fifteen nearly identical models. The listing represented a single unit; the reality is a sales operation with its own pricing strategy, customization options, and construction timeline. Agents who haven’t specialized in new construction can find that environment harder to navigate, and buyers end up confused through no one’s deliberate fault.

Gaul spent roughly a year working through RESO’s subcommittee process to address basic terminology problems: the fact that “under construction,” “to be built,” and “quick move-in” were being used inconsistently across systems, or not recognized at all. “It took me about a year of developing consensus among the group,” Gaul says. “We finally got it to where it’s usable for builders.”

One of the less-discussed reasons new construction is underrepresented in MLS data is that builders often have good business reasons to list selectively. When a builder lists a home in the MLS, they are typically required to report the sale price once it closes, and that disclosure can complicate pricing across a development with multiple similar units.

Gaul compares it to a car dealership: if buyers could see exactly what the last customer paid for the same vehicle, every subsequent negotiation would start from that number. Builders manage pricing the same way, keeping each transaction confidential so the next buyer starts from the asking price rather than a disclosed comparable. “Builders will only put their model home in, maybe a couple of other models,” Gaul says. “They’re not going to put everything in.”

The result is that MLS systems tend to underrepresent new construction inventory, not because builders are unaware of the MLS, but because full participation can work against their pricing strategy. Agents searching for new construction find an incomplete picture, buyers who rely on MLS-based searches miss available inventory, and builders who participate partially end up with listings that don’t fully reflect what they’re selling, because the data standards weren’t built to handle construction stages, customization options, or phased releases.

The data-standards problem is compounded by a limited amount of agent training specific to new construction, according to Gaul. Licensing programs teach agents how to handle resale transactions. The skills required to represent a buyer at a new construction development are not typically part of standard training: understanding construction timelines, interpreting floor plans, navigating builder contracts, and knowing how to sequence visits. “They don’t teach agents how to sell new construction,” Gaul says. “They teach how to resell, but not new construction.”

The effects show up in how agents handle buyer visits. Gaul describes a common misstep: showing buyers developments in a less effective order, starting with weaker options and working toward the best. By the time the buyer sees the right fit, they may be fatigued or second-guessing whether something better exists. The stronger approach, Gaul argues, is to identify the best match first, based on a thorough pre-visit assessment, and present it early. He recommends agents visit every builder in their market before working with a single buyer, learning prices, construction quality, community demographics, and selling points, so they can match buyers efficiently.

Gaul’s company, Builders Update, has developed a training program for agents selling new construction, structured as a self-paced course with six modules. The first module is available at no cost; agents affiliated with participating MLS organizations can access the remaining five for $129.

The platform takes inventory data directly from builders rather than through third-party aggregators, time-stamps every listing, and performs quality-control checks before publishing. Gaul describes catching errors including listings priced at $1,500 instead of $1.5 million and GPS coordinates placing properties far offshore.

Because construction status and pricing can change within weeks, data that passes through multiple intermediaries before reaching a consumer portal can be out of date by the time a buyer sees it. That is one reason Gaul emphasizes a direct relationship with the source. “We want to become the pure source for new construction data,” he says.

The platform currently serves approximately 858,000 agents nationwide and is expanding internationally, with the site now available in nine languages and nine currencies. Gaul’s recent ambassadorship with the GDX global MLS network is intended to extend that reach, connecting US new construction inventory with buyers in Latin America, Europe, and beyond. Builders Update is one platform addressing the gap; it operates alongside MLS systems and third-party portals rather than replacing them, and its effectiveness depends on builder participation in any given market.

The RESO data dictionary changes Gaul has pushed through have moved from the subcommittee to a broader vote, where organizations less focused on new construction may be more cautious about change. As builders represent a growing share of available inventory in many markets, buyers searching through MLS-based tools will continue to see an incomplete picture of what is actually for sale until those standards catch up.

About the Expert: Bill Gaul is CEO of Builders Update and chair of the RESO Data Dictionary New Construction Subcommittee. Based in Austin, Texas, he specializes in new construction data and MLS interoperability.

Disclosure: Individuals or companies mentioned may have a commercial relationship with KeyCrew.

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