Bigger. Better. Bolder. Inman Connect is heading to San Diego. Join thousands of real estate pros, connect with the Inman Community, and gain insights from hundreds of leading minds shaping the industry. If you’re ready to grow your business and invest in yourself, this is where you need to be. Go BIG in San Diego!
Zillow on Tuesday published additional details for agents and brokers regarding how its new listing standards will play out once they go into effect in June.
In April, Zillow said it would begin enforcing the National Association of Realtors’ Clear Cooperation Policy with a ban on real estate listings that fail to make it on a multiple listing service or IDX feed of a portal within one business day of being marketed privately. The company also noted that listings that violated these new standards would be banned from the portal for the life of the listing agreement between that specific listing broker and homeseller.
TAKE THE INMAN INTEL SURVEY FOR MAY
The announcement spurred questions about what qualified as public marketing and which types of listings would violate Zillow’s new terms. With the more detailed guidance directed at industry professionals published on Tuesday, Zillow sought to bring more clarity to the standards as they are rolled out later this month.
“These listing access standards are how we’re implementing NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy on Zillow sites and reflect our belief in fair access for all,” Zillow’s post states. “The standards apply to listings regardless of any applicable MLS rule. They apply to all listings subject to an exclusive for-sale listing agreement between a broker and a seller and therefore do not apply to builder inventory represented directly by the builder, rental listings or for sale by owner listings.”
The full listing access standards are now available for reference within Zillow’s Terms of Use.
Zillow clarified that it would be rolling the new standards out in phases, beginning in large markets in the U.S. and then nationally over the summer.
Agents will begin receiving notifications about non-compliant listings on May 28. However, the portal won’t begin blocking listings until June 30.
Zillow also noted that it will be adopting a type of ‘three-strikes, you’re out’ policy, where agents will only receive warnings about a listing violation for their first two non-compliant listings, and then their third non-compliant listing will be blocked from Zillow and Trulia starting on June 30, without warning. Still, those listings that meet Zillow’s standards — even if held by an agent who has received past violations — will remain visible on the platform.
“This notification period is designed to give agents ample time to understand and ensure they’re complying with the new listing access standards so all publicly marketed listings can reach the broadest audience of home shoppers online,” Zillow said.
In the guidance published on Tuesday Zillow addressed specific types of listings that agents had doubts about following their initial announcement in April, including office exclusives, coming soon listings and “sneak peeks” of listings. Under Zillow’s standards, office exclusives are permitted if a homeowner signs a seller disclosure and a listing is only shared within a single brokerage or during a one-on-one with clients, and not marketed publicly. Coming soon listings that are entered into the MLS within one business day and made available via IDX or VOW are also allowed. Likewise, sneak peeks on social media or in newsletters are also considered ok if they don’t include details that would liken it to a listing, including price and address or any call to action.
Zillow also specified that for sale by owner listings will not be impacted by the new standards, nor will new construction listings, unless they are listed with an agent under an exclusive listing agreement — in which case, those listings will be held to the new standards.
Zillow also said that delayed marketing listings, a new designation recently established by NAR, will also be allowed under the new standards as long as they are entered into the MLS and available to all MLS participants, including in an IDX or VOW listing feed.
The portal pointed out that sellers who want to sell their home privately still have multiple options available to them, including posting their property on the MLS for all participants to see but opting out of internet display, and hiding their address while still publishing a home on the MLS and to other websites that receive MLS feeds. If sellers wish their listing to remain completely private, Zillow said, they should be informed of the tradeoffs and sign a written agreement with their agent not to distribute the listing in the MLS or elsewhere online.
