Power Move? Zillow’s New Policy: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
What it is
Whenever Zillow does literally anything, you can bet that real estate agents, homeowners, and buyers alike tend to have a little freak-out, and with good reason: 80% of consumers go directly to Zillow for residential real estate.
As of May 1, any property listing that has been publicly marketed to consumers, but not listed on the local MLS within one business day, will no longer appear on Zillow. So, if you want all those eyes on Zillow to see your listing, you had better take it off of Facebook Marketplace and remove your homemade For Sale signs.
This is controversial, to say the least. Zillow’s reasoning? “Consumers deserve fair access to listings without having to get access behind a velvet rope controlled by any one company."
Their intentions seem pure... but are they? Here’s what buyers and sellers need to know.
Pros of the Policy
Increased Transparency: Ensures all buyers have equal access to listings, promoting fairness in the market.
Broader Exposure: Public MLS listings can attract more potential buyers, possibly leading to better offers.
Promotion of Fair Housing Laws: Reduces practices that could inadvertently exclude certain buyer groups.
Cons of the Policy
Reduced Seller Flexibility: Limits sellers' ability to test the market privately, whether that’s through a for-sale-by-owner strategy or an off-market listing strategy, before a full public listing. If you sell your home without an agent, your home will NOT come up on Zillow.
Loss of Exclusive Marketing Strategies: Agents and sellers lose a tool that was previously used to create buzz or target specific buyer pools.
Less Visibility for Buyers of Private Listings: If you’re buying a home, you’ll need an agent to help you find and access off-market homes through private networks. This policy also makes finding FSBO (for-sale-by-owner) listings more difficult.
My Take
Ultimately, Zillow is out for… Zillow. Utah’s MLS listing access is exclusive to agents and brokerages—you can’t just pop on UtahRealEstate.com and post your home for sale. You need an agent. It costs me $51/month, Real Estate License fees, and a membership to the local National Association of Realtors to access the site and all of its features. Further, Zillow’s platform has always used its own MLS memberships to pull listings directly to its site.
Yes, you heard that correctly, Zillow needs you to have your listing on the MLS so they can continue to dominate the Residential Real Estate search market by ensuring buyers that they are seeing every listing out there. They want buyers to feel confident that they don’t need any other resource to buy a home.
This move, to me, is leveraging fear among sellers and their agents that they will be excluded from the monopoly that is Zillow’s platform during the selling process. It takes away your freedom to sell your home your way. It’s not Zillow’s home, it’s yours. You should be able to maintain your privacy or sell your home without an agent—without the fear of being left out of search platforms if you change your mind.
And I, as a real estate agent, am not afraid of that.
Let’s Talk
Erin Maresko
Call or text: (385) 302-2973
erin.maresko@theperry.group
