Zillow Exec Clarifies and Defends New Listing Access Standards Policy

Zillow's Chief Industry Development Officer, Errol Samuelson, has taken to LinkedIn to clarify the company's updated listings access standards policy.

Last month, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) rolled back its Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP)in a move that threatened Zillow's access to listings.

In response, Zillow enacted a new listing access standards policy that states, "a listing marketed to any buyer should be marketed to every buyer."

Under the new listing access standards, Zillow's hard-line approach said:

If a listing is marketed directly to consumers without being listed on the MLS and made widely available where buyers search for homes, it will not be published on Zillow.

Samuelson's blog on LinkedIn said:

Since we announced our standards on April 10, there have been many reactions across the industry and beyond. We knew there would be.

Most have been supportive, including from some surprising voices who aren’t always ‘pro-Zillow’ but are, in fact, pro-consumer like we are. Some other notable consumer advocates have also weighed in including the Consumer Policy Center (CPC), which called our standards a “consumer-first” step.

There are also some voices spreading misinformation and looking for loopholes as they try to undermine our consumer-first position and capitalize on a moment to lean into the microphone. These “what ifs” are intended to distract from the core of this pro-consumer stance.

What isn’t okay is a listing publicly marketed to some buyers but hidden from others. That’s the line, and we will share more details about implementation of these standards in the coming weeks.

All of the below examples are permitted under our standards: True private listings on MLS for sellers who need privacy throughout the life of the listing and never intend to market it online; Office exclusives that are within a brokerage company but not publicly marketed or available to consumers directly; Coming soon and all other pre-marketed listings put into the MLS and distributed to all participants for display; Delayed marketing listings put into the MLS and distributed to all participants for display; For sale by owner listings; Rental listings; New construction listings sold by the builder.

We will continue to advocate on behalf of the consumer. It’s the right path for the industry, and we know the companies that will succeed are those that deliver for consumers, not those that put their own interests ahead of the needs of the home buyers and sellers they purport to represent.