Zillow stopped showing certain home listings in May under new listing policy
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Starting earlier this month, any property listing that was publicly marketed to consumers but not listed on the local MLS within one business day no longer appears on Zillow.
This step is in line with the National Association of Realtors' Clear Cooperation Policy, which aims to prevent exclusive real estate listings and increase fairness among buyers.
Real estate giant Zillow is shaking up the housing industry with new standards that the company says fall in line with new regulations aimed at transparency, but others believe they represent a power play by the nation's largest residential real estate listing service.
The company announced that any property listing that has been publicly marketed to consumers — whether through yard signs, in social media posts or on a brokerage website — but not listed on the local MLS within one business day, will no longer appear on Zillow or its daughter company, Trulia.
Sometimes agents will make an agreement with a seller that says they'll list the property only on their brokerage website, rather than also on the MLS. The new standards Zillow is following say it won't show those listings. Similar listings that were posted on the platform before these new standards will remain on the website.
In case you missed it: As real estate listings become more private, Zillow fights back
This step is in line with the National Association of Realtors' Clear Cooperation Policy, which aims to prevent property listings from being selectively marketed to certain people and to create an even playing field for all buyers.
"At the core of these standards is one simple principle: A listing publicly marketed to any buyer should be marketed to every buyer. This means in the MLS, on Zillow and even on non-Zillow portals or brokerage sites," Zillow's April announcement reads. "Why is this important? Because consumers deserve fair access to listings without having to get access behind a velvet rope controlled by any one company."
Several real estate brokerages, including West USA Realty, eXp Realty and NextHome, have already vowed to follow Zillow's new standards.
But Homes.com, another prominent real estate company, criticized Zillow's new standards in an email to agent subscribers, saying listing platforms should remain neutral and that this is a "power play of epic proportion."
"Zillow is asserting that they, not NAR, not your brokerage, not you the listing agent — and not even the homeowner whose house it is and is paying the commission — should decide how a listing is marketed," said Andrew Florance, founder and CEO of CoStar, the parent company of Homes.com. "This is not about protecting consumers — it's about protecting Zillow's ability to profit from listings by selling leads to competing agents."
According to a February Zillow investor presentation, 80% of consumers go directly to Zillow for residential real estate. Zillow also attracts 64% of all traffic among users of listing apps, which is more than four times that of Realtor.com, its closest competitor.
Because of that, Zillow said this is a step in the right direction to minimize confusion among consumers and ensure fair access to real estate information for all buyers.
"By requiring timely listings in the MLS and on other sites that receive MLS feeds, Zillow aims to prevent the disadvantages that arise from private listing networks and restricted inventory, which limit visibility and have an added impact for first-time buyers, lower-income groups and communities of color," the announcement reads.
Maddie McGay is the real estate reporter for NorthJersey.com and The Record, covering all things worth celebrating about living in North Jersey. Find her on Instagram @maddiemcgay, on X @maddiemcgayy, and sign up for her North Jersey Living newsletter. Do you have a tip, trend or terrific house she should know about? Email her at MMcGay@gannett.com.
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