CoStar Boss Urges Agents: "Stand Up to Zillow's Outrageous Bullying"

CoStar Group CEO Andy Florance has weighed in on Zillow's controversial listings ban, which will see the real estate giant ban agents from publishing listings on its portal if they do not upload them to the MLS in a timely manner.

Commenting on LinkedIn, Florance said, "Every real estate agent in America should stand up to Zillow’s bullying," amid other incendiary comments against the incumbent.

Zillow announced its listings ban as a response to a rollback of the National Association of Realtors' (NAR) Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP) in March, which loosened its rules around how soon a property listing must be uploaded to the MLS once an agent started marketing a property for sale.

The previous rules asserted that agents needed to upload a listing within 24 hours. However, March's update added several caveats that gave agents more freedom in how and, importantly for Zillow, when they upload their listings to the MLS.

But Zillow announced it will no longer display any property that has been publicly marketed—whether via social media, brokerage websites, or even yard signs—unless it has also been submitted to a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) within 24 hours.

After a short grace period for agents, Zillow has now activated its renewed listings standards policy.

CoStar operates Homes.com, one of Zillow's main rivals in the residential real estate market, and professes an agent-friendly approach under the 'Your Listing, Your Lead' tagline.

Florance said:

"Last week, Zillow banned the first agent's listing who hadn’t submitted their listing to Zillow within 24 hours of marketing it. Zillow demands all your listings immediately and then takes the leads generated, selling them to other agents.

"Zillow is consolidating power over listings, buyer-agent commissions, and now, listing-agent commissions. How is this even legal?

"Every real estate agent in America should stand up to Zillow’s bullying. Please refer your buyers and sellers to Homes.com where we respect and protect your relationship with your clients."

The ban has already caused plenty of controversy in North America, with brokerage Compass suing Zillow for anticompetitive behaviour and restricting agent choice in how to market their listings.

Florance also used the term 'anticompetitive' to describe Zillow's relationship with Realtor.com (the industry-backed portal with close ties to the NAR) and Redfin.

But not content with using the same language as Compass, Florance upped the ante by suggesting their behaviour is reminiscent of a 'cartel', given a similar policy from Redfin that came mere days after Zillow's listing ban announcement.

"Zillow’s former CEO Rich Barton stated at Inman Connect that Zillow has 'close partnerships' with Redfin and Realtor.com, calling them 'great partners.' That sounds to me like an anticompetitive cartel.

"Immediately after Zillow announced they would ban listings marketed outside Zillow, Redfin quickly announced they too would obediently follow suit. How do agents and brokers keep earning commissions when Zillow aggressively holds the reins over four major real estate portals?"

A further comment from CoStar stated:

Every real estate agent in America should actively challenge Zillow's anti-competitive practices. Homeowners deserve the assurance that their trusted agent is at the forefront of one of the most significant financial decisions of their lives when their home is listed on Zillow, not that their leads are being sold to other agents without their consent.

Homes.com has already offered a free advertising boost for banned listings as a palate-cleanser for disgruntled agents, with Florance saying that one "Z banned" listing generated over 10,000 views last weekend after its boost.

Florance said:

"Homes.com is going to support any agent who gets blackballed or blacklisted on Zillow, and boost their listing. We don’t think it’s right to ban people’s listings for your economic interest."

The initiative is timely as Homes.com seeks to close the revenue gap between itself and Zillow and Realtor.com, with Homes.com one of several units under strategic review by CoStar.