"By the way, MLSs get most of their data from the public sources too.
Whatever noises dumb realtors and appraisers make from time to time
about ownership of the data, these go away fairly fast. The reason is
that you can't copyright facts! "

I don't know where you're living, but here in NJ, the MLS is the most
tightly controlled guarded possession of the realtors. It's the
listing of properties for sale in the area that is shared by the
realtors and is extremely important to be in if you want to sell your
house. You can't get your property into it without listing it with a
realtor and that is the lock that they use to get their 6% commission,
which is what most are still paying here.

What this amounts to is price fixing, and anything the FTC can do to
open this up will be a big plus.