Zillow’s listing standards policy may have only been in effect for one day, but Eric Johnson, a Boston-based Compass agent and team leader, said he has already seen an impact.
“Our team has only received a warning so far, but I personally know several agents whose listings have already been banned,” Johnson, who leads Mission Realty Advisors at Compass, told HousingWire via email.
“Before Zillow’s new policy took effect, we pre-marketed a listing using Compass Coming Soon. To align with the policy change, we temporarily shifted it to Private Exclusive. Once the seller was ready, we moved it back to Coming Soon on both Compass and the MLS, where it was fully compliant and visible to agents, across all brokerages, and consumers.
“It was live for just 24 hours when Zillow issued a strike, likely based on the property’s listing history.”
Why are listings being banned?
According to Johnson, the listings he knows of that are being impacted by the policy are Compass’s Coming Soon properties, which are listings in the second stage of the firm’s three-phase marketing plan.
Johnson said these listings are fully compliant with the National Association of Realtors‘ (NAR) Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP) — and they are publicly visible and searchable by anyone via Compass’s website.
“The only platform removing these listings is Zillow, and that is because of Zillow’s own internal policy,” Johnson wrote. “Zillow isn’t banning listings because they are marketed before going live on the MLS.
“These listings are already in the MLS and fully CCP-compliant. Zillow is banning them from Zillow because they don’t feed its lead funnel. They are suppressing homes they can’t monetize to increase shareholder returns.”
Under Zillow’s policy, listings that are not entered into the MLS and available for display on sites using IDX or VOW data feeds within 24 hours of public marketing are banned from the site.
Zillow has clarified that delayed marketing exempt listings — which were created by NAR’s Multiple Listing Options for Sellers (MLOS) policy and are withheld from IDX feeds and syndication for a given period of time — are allowed and will not be banned.
But listings displayed on a brokerage’s private listing network would be prohibited if the private listing network itself is marketed to consumers on the firm’s public-facing website.
Minimal impact — so far
Zillow began rolling out enforcement of the policy in late May, roughly six weeks after it was first announced. An agent will receive three warnings about non-compliant listings. After they reach three warnings, all subsequent non-compliant listings the agent has will be banned from the site for the life of the listing.
While Johnson has seen an impact from the policy, other agents and brokers say differently. Most of the agents and brokers who spoke with HousingWire said they have not received any warnings or have heard of listings being banned.
Even in the Greater Boston area, brokers at other firms say they are not aware of any warnings being issued or listings being banned.
Anthony Lamacchia, the broker-owner of Massachusetts-based Lamacchia Realty, said that so far he and his team have yet to see any enforcement of the policy or even any warnings. But he expects to hear of some in the coming weeks.
“I’m with Zillow on this topic,” Lamacchia wrote. “I think they are doing the industry and more importantly home buyers and home sellers a great service by essentially becoming the enforcer of clear cooperation policy which forces everyone to list homes publicly once they’re marketed for 24 hours.”
While Zillow would not say exactly how many listings have been impacted by its policy, it said the number was “small” and that the company expects that number to “shrink even further as awareness continues to grow.”
“Most agents already align with these standards because the reality is, most agents — and their clients — want to maximize visibility to drive strong offers. These guidelines reinforce what’s already working for the majority — and what’s fair to consumers,” a Zillow spokesperson wrote in an email.
“Most agents across the U.S. already ensure their listings meet the standards, and we expect these guidelines to reinforce that momentum and encourage more listings to be widely available to all buyers from the start. When everyone plays by the same rules the entire market benefits.”
Chip Stella, another Massachusetts-based broker, also said he has yet to see any changes. But he added that the discussion around private listings has caused him and his agents to make some changes in their listing presentations.
Stella’s firm, Rutledge Properties, is no stranger to listing high-end properties that often hit the market for millions of dollars. He said his agents often find themselves competing with Compass agents for these listings.
“I have communicated to my agents the importance of communicating with their seller clients. One point is around the sellers right to choose how they market their home and the benefits and consequences of their decision,” Stella wrote.
“The second point is when we are competing against Compass for listings that the potential seller should know the consequences of using their 3 phase approach. Being banned from Zillow permanently is a VERY big deal and the seller should know how they could be affected. Many buyers use Zillow everyday.”
‘Careful to stay inbounds’
Brian Huskey is the broker-owner of Billings, Montana-based ERA American Real Estate, an Anywhere Real Estate franchise. Huskey also said he has yet to see an impact but noted that the policy is still in its early days.
“Billings is a bit unique — our MLS doesn’t offer a ‘Coming Soon’ status, and we’re already required to input listings within 24 hours of marketing, which lines up with Zillow’s new rule,” he wrote. “I imagine we’ll start to see more measurable impact in the next couple of weeks.”
Even with the pushback and the lawsuit that Compass filed over the policy, Huskey said that brokers in his market seem hesitant to push the envelope with different marketing strategies.
“Billings tends to be a bit more conservative with this kind of stuff, and with our MLS already enforcing a 24-hour input rule, most folks have been pretty careful to stay in bounds,” he wrote. “That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if we start to see more creative workarounds emerge once the dust settles and people see how Zillow enforces the policy.”
Johnson noted that 94% of Compass listings that use the three-phase marketing strategy end up on the MLS. He said this proves that reaching the MLS and the open market “is still the goal.”
Ultimately, Johnson said, Compass’s strategy “is about a seller’s right to test pricing, protect value, safeguard privacy, and refine their narrative.”
“It’s about gathering real-time data, who is viewing the listing, how often, from what locations, so that when a property does hit the MLS, it launches with optimized pricing, positioning, and marketing,” he wrote. “Leverage is created before going on the MLS, not after.”
While Compass has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction that asks the court to enjoin Zillow from enforcing its policy, a ruling on the motion may not arrive until early August due to the legal process timeline. This means that Zillow’s policy will be in full effect for at least the next month.
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