
The pre-market listings environment in the United States has undergone significant change this week, with two major announcements from leading portals granting higher access to pre- and off-market listings.
Realtor.com has agreed a non-exclusive syndication deal with eXp Realty for the brokerage's "Coming Soon" listings to its portal from April, while CoStar Group's residential portal Homes.com will also participate.
Leo Pareja, CEO at eXp Realty, said:
"Our philosophy is simple. If a home is being marketed to the public, consumers deserve the opportunity to see it. Our role as an industry is to create the most open and efficient marketplace possible for buyers and sellers. This is not about limiting where listings appear. It is about expanding visibility and giving sellers the widest possible audience while maintaining compliance with MLS rules and local regulations."
Damian Eales, CEO of Realtor.com, said:
"Our new agreement with eXp marks an important step forward in support of MLS’s and our aligned mission to ensure a fair marketplace driven by MLS transparency. Sellers want clicks, not cliques and eXp is delivering for them.
"We recognize a seller’s desire for price exploration before officially going to market, and a 'Coming Soon' status is the ideal solution for buyers, sellers and professionals. By displaying these listings on the open market, sellers can achieve true price discovery. It eliminates the need for restrictive private marketplaces and ensures equal access for all buyers, not a subset selected by the listing agent. Ultimately, a public 'Coming Soon' status drives more engagement and more bidders, often resulting in a higher final sale price.
"We thank eXp for their leadership and encourage all brokers to prioritize the interests of their clients by making ‘Coming Soon’ listings widely available through their MLS. If an MLS doesn’t support ‘Coming Soon’ status today, we encourage the MLS to create it.”
Andy Florance, CEO at CoStar Group, which operates Homes.com, said:
"Consumers want greater transparency into what’s coming to market, and agents want better ways to build interest before a listing officially launches. By giving buyers an early look while protecting seller choice, Homes.com is helping agents and sellers create stronger listing launches and better outcomes."
The announcement follows swiftly on the heels of Zillow's surprising launch of a new 'Preview' tool, described as "a public way to bring pre-market listings into the open and get them in front of the largest real estate audience online."