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Zillow’s ban on private listings took effect on Monday, the latest development in an ongoing battle that will determine the future landscape for marketing and home search in the U.S.
The ban set up a test for sellers: You can market your home off the multiple listing service as long as you’re comfortable with your listing also not showing up on the biggest real estate portal in the country.
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Zillow Group — which, along with subsidiaries like Trulia — collectively attracts 227 million users each month, took the latest step toward its stated goal of providing consumers with broad and transparent access to as many listings as possible.
The months leading up to the day of reckoning were filled with legal battles and questions about the definition of private listings themselves as agents, brokers and their clients continued to navigate a tumultuous time in the industry.
Here’s what you need to know about the new state of affairs on Zillow.
What listings are impacted?
The updated policy bans listings that aren’t added to the MLS within 24 hours of being publicly marketed.
“What’s not allowed under the listing access standards,” Zillow wrote, is “publicly marketing that off-MLS listings are available if a buyer is willing to work with an agent or brokerage.”
The portal also clarified that listings within a brokerage’s private listing network would be prohibited if the network itself is marketed to consumers on a public-facing website.
Zillow Group said the ban does not apply to Delayed Marketing Exempt Listings — a type of listing status created via recent changes to the National Association of Realtors’ Clear Cooperation Policy — as long as they’re submitted to an MLS within one day of public marketing.
“Coming soon” and office exclusives also comply with Zillow’s listing access standard as long as listing brokers are adhering to NAR’s guidance for each listing status. That guidance says that office exclusives are required to be submitted to the MLS, but aren’t widely distributed to other subscribers.
Zillow said that for sale by owner (FSBO) listings, rental listings and new construction listings sold by the builder are also permitted.
The ban arrives amid growing industry focus on private listings, with Compass leading the charge in creating a network of such properties.
Though different industry players have debated just exactly which listings might ultimately fall under the terms of the ban, Zillow has already begun warning agents that their listings are not in compliance.
Compass Private Exclusives
Zillow and Compass are also currently locked in a lawsuit over the nature of the ban. In its complaint that initiated the suit, Compass argues that Private Exclusives — or listings marketed exclusively via Compass’ platform — “that are referenced in advertisements on Compass.com mentioning the number of Private Exclusive listings available in a city or specific geography, or similarly returned in response to a search result on Compass.com, will trigger the Zillow Ban.”
“Put plainly,” the complaint adds, “Zillow has granted itself the power to ban every Compass Private Exclusive listing from going to Zillow because of the way in which Compass markets and executes its Private Exclusive listing strategy internally and externally.”
Zillow didn’t respond to a request for comment about whether Compass’ Private Exclusive network is specifically banned by its updated policy.
How many listings are impacted?
Compass notes on its website and seller disclosure form that Private Exclusives aren’t initially listed on the MLS, which it says could reduce the number of potential buyers who see the listing, reduce the number of showings, reduce the number of offers and reduce the final sale price for the property.
Still, the company says, nearly half of its clients in the first three months of this year chose to start with a private listing. Most of them, 94 percent, ultimately moved on to list the home on the MLS, the company says.
For Compass, the first three months of 2025 included 19,393 listings that started as Private Exclusives.
Compass’ Private Exclusives network was an expansion of existing options for more tailored private home sales for celebrities, judges or politicians, for example.
That was before Zillow announced the update to its listing access policy.
It’s difficult to say how many listings throughout the country would be in violation of Zillow’s updated policy, though the number would likely represent only a small percentage of all listings.
‘The life of the listing’
Zillow said that listings that violate its policy are banned for the “life of the listing.” That refers to the time a home is being sold by a broker who did not follow Zillow Group’s listing access standard, resulting in that listing being banned from Zillow and Trulia’s sites.
However, if the seller terminates the listing agreement with that broker and signs a new agreement with a broker who follows the listing access standard, Zillow and Trulia will lift the ban and display the listing.
What else?
As part of its lawsuit, Compass last week asked the judge to stop Zillow from enforcing its updated policy.
A ruling on that latter request isn’t expected until later this summer or in the fall, putting in place a question about how many sellers will ultimately decide to go with a private listing.
Meanwhile, Homes.com has said it would continue to show all listings despite the moves by Redfin and Zillow. Realtor.com’s CEO has criticized the concept of private listings, but has also noted that the company’s relationships with MLSs require it to show all listings — meaning the site will not follow Zillow and Redfin’s lead in banning privately marketed homes.
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