Goin' Digital: Real Estate Giants Zillow and Redfin Crack Down on Exclusive Listings
Major real estate conglomerates tighten restrictions on secretive 'off-the-radar' property listings, potentially reshaping the market for homebuyers.
Digital real estate titans Zillow and Redfin are shaking up the market with new listing access standards, aiming to promote transparency and fairness.
In a bid to end the shadowy world of off-market listings accessible only to a chosen few, these industry leaders are targeting properties publicly marketed before being entered into the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
Zillow, a real estate powerhouse with millions of listings, has rolled out new listing access standards that take effect in one business day if the property is not listed on the MLS and widely available to buyers. These standards aim to ensure that a listing discovered by one buyer should be visible to every buyer.
Starting from late May 2025, agents received warnings for listings that do not meet Zillow's standards in large U.S. markets. By the end of June, any agent with three noncompliant listings will see their listings and those of the lifetime of the listing agreement between the listing broker and seller, barred from both Zillow and Trulia.
Slated for a nationwide expansion by summer 2025, this policy affects all for-sale homes with exclusive listing agreements between broker and seller. However, there are some exemptions, including office-exclusive listings with disclosure, "delayed marketing," and "coming soon" listings uploaded to the MLS, as well as rental listings, for-sale-by-owner properties, and newly built homes marketed by the builder.
Redfin, another significant player in the digital real estate market, is also taking a stance against the selective marketing of property listings. In a mid-April post, Redfin's CEO, Glenn Kelman, announced the platform would not publish any listings that have been publicly marketed before being shared with all real estate websites via the MLS. Redfin also calls for the MLS to implement a "coming-soon" designation to preclude search sites from displaying the amount of time a home has been on the market and its price.
While Redfin's policy implementation is set for September 2025, specific details on the policy's scope and exemptions have yet to be fully outlined.
This digital real estate duo's moves toward ensuring fair access to all available property listings could significantly impact the industry, eliminating off-market or exclusive listings marketed to a select few buyers and fostering transparency and competition.
Sources:[1] Zillow Press Release[2] Redfin Corporation Mid-April Post[3] FOX Business Report[4] Clear Cooperation Policy, National Association of REALTORS®[5] Zillow Group Announces New Listing Access Standards, REALTOR® Magazine[6] Redfin to Bar Exclusive Listings on Its Platform, Bloomberg[7] The Impact of Zillow and Redfin's New Listing Access Standards, ConsumerAffairs
The new listing access standards by Zillow and Redfin, two digital real estate giants, could reshape the housing-market as they aim to eradicate exclusive listings and promote transparency. These changes could significantly impact finance and investing in real estate, as all for-sale homes with exclusive listing agreements will be readily available to buyers. By June 2025, Zillow will bar listings from agents with three or more noncompliant listings, and Redfin will refuse to publish listings that have been publicly marketed before being entered into the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The full extent of these policies, particularly with regards to exemptions, is yet to be clarified.
