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A key online marketplace whose listings were previously hidden by default on Zillow and other real estate portals says its listings are getting more views after Zillow updated its policy.
Auction.com, which claims to be the biggest online marketplace for homes sold at auction, said it has seen views on its listings grow.
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“We have seen views of our Auction.com listings increase substantially after this change was made,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president of market economics at Auction.com. “Even before the change, we were observing broader interest in auctions as a way of buying and selling properties, indicating that buyers and sellers in this market are more open to innovative and outside-the-box ways of transacting.”
Daren Blomquist | Auction.com
The anecdotal evidence is an early indicator that Zillow’s recent policy shift to display for sale by owner, auction and other listings for users by default for the first time in four years has already been noticed by buyers. The change also served to set the portal apart from some of its competitors.
Auction.com’s stated increase came in the four months after Zillow began rolling out its new single-search display experience, which shows non-MLS listings like FSBO and auction homes by default without requiring users to know about, find and change a filter.
The update ended four years of Zillow’s compliance with a policy by the National Association of Realtors known as the no-commingling rule. The rule barred non-MLS listings from being displayed alongside listings generated by an MLS.
The rule meant that most FSBOs, buildable home plans, auction homes and others were hidden behind a filter that many users didn’t know existed.
But in recent months, the MLSs for most major metropolitan areas have quietly rescinded the policy, which opened up the door for Zillow to update its own policy and offer a default search that hasn’t been available since January 2021.
It’s difficult to quantify the impact the change has made on for sale by owner listings, given each involves an individual seller.
Zillow declined to provide data or anecdotal information to shed light on any potential widespread increase in the number of views on FSBO listings since it began rolling out the change. But there are now FSBO listings that users see by default on Zillow that they don’t see on any competing site.
What about the other portals?
The policy change, which Zillow began rolling out in December, also set the company apart from some of its real estate portal competitors.
For example, this FSBO in Salt Lake City is currently available and shown by default on Zillow, but not on Realtor.com, Homes.com, or Redfin.
Realtor.com and Homes.com don’t give users the ability to find FSBO listings on their portals. Neither company commented for this article.
Homes.com allows users to change their filters to view auction homes. It’s not immediately clear if that feature is available on Realtor.com.
Redfin says it offers users a similar type of experience Zillow users had under the two-tabbed search experience.
“Redfin follows MLS rules and displays FSBO and other non-MLS listings by default where it is allowed,” a Redfin spokesperson said. “In places where commingling is not allowed, non-MLS listings are behind a filter.”
Redfin displays listings that are generated by Fizber, which is a service that offers FSBO sellers a way to get their listings into the MLS and display them on a default search. The company has also advocated for ending the no-commingling rule, which itself has drawn scrutiny from regulators who say it might be anticompetitive.
Redfin said it would continue to advocate for an end to the rule.
“Most MLSs allow commingling,” the spokesperson said, “and we’ll continue to advocate for remaining MLSs to adopt this consumer-friendly policy.”
