Zillow, the leading platform for home listings, announced it will prohibit homes that are marketed exclusively to a select group of buyers from appearing on its site. This move is part of an ongoing dispute in the real estate sector concerning private listings.
“Any listing that is promoted directly to consumers without being displayed on the MLS and made accessible on platforms where buyers look for homes will not be featured on Zillow,” the company stated on its website on Thursday.
Zillow’s action follows a recent announcement from the National Association of Realtors, which introduced a new regulation aimed at addressing an industry conflict regarding a rule meant to minimize less publicized listings referred to as “pocket” or “off-market” listings. This rule allows sellers to postpone the broad online marketing of their homes while maintaining a policy that mandates agents to list properties on collective databases known as multiple listing services (MLS) within one day of starting public marketing.
Set to be implemented next month, Zillow’s regulations will focus on homes that have limited public promotion, such as posts on Instagram or exclusive inventory status on a specific brokerage’s website without MLS visibility. These properties would be barred from being posted on Zillow’s platform “for the duration of the listing,” as stated in a separate announcement from the company.
The MLS listing requirement, known as the Clear Cooperation Policy, has ignited intense discussions within the real estate community. Supporters, including fair housing advocates and platforms such as Zillow (Z) and Redfin (RDFN), argue that it promotes transparency and aids sellers in achieving better sale prices. Conversely, some agents and brokerage leaders oppose this strict listing rule, contending it restricts sellers’ options.
While the majority of home sellers aim to reach the largest possible audience, a smaller percentage, especially in luxury markets, prefer off-market listings to preserve privacy or to test their pricing strategies without making information on price reductions or market duration publicly visible.
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Compass, a brokerage known for its access to off-market listings and whose CEO, Robert Reffkin, has opposed the Clear Cooperation Policy, suggests that sellers adopt a “3 Phased Marketing Strategy.” This approach first makes the property available exclusively to Compass agents, then promotes it on Compass’s website as a “Coming Soon” listing, followed by launching it on the MLS and other third-party listing services.
According to Zillow’s new guidelines, any property that undergoes sustained marketing toward consumers without MLS distribution will not qualify for listing on their site.
