Zillow is following Rocket Companies and Compass’ lead with a new product that makes pre-market home listings visible on its site.
Pre-market listings will soon appear on both Zillow and Trulia, a reaction to “some” brokerages “harming consumers by hiding listings in private networks,” according to a press release.
During the preview period, consumers can find the listings as search results, save them, share them, speak with the listing agent, or pre-schedule tours with a Zillow partner agent.
“No one should have to obligate themselves to an agent from a specific brokerage just to know the full breadth of inventory available,” said Zillow Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Wacksman. “Zillow Preview shines a light on listings that might otherwise stay hidden, giving buyers open access to their options and sellers the broad exposure they deserve.”
Industry pros benefit, too, according to company leaders. If a qualified Zillow Preview connection results in a closed transaction through Zillow’s Preferred agent network, the listing agent may receive a share of the revenue Zillow earns from that transaction, paid by Zillow.
Partnering with Zillow are Keller Williams, REMAX, HomeServices of America, Side, and United Real Estate, among other “pro-transparency, pro-consumer” brokerages.
“We believe in transparency and accessibility in real estate,” said Side CEO Guy Gal. “If a seller wants to pre-market, this is the best way to do that while still protecting buyers’ access to available homes.”
Listings will be available next month exclusively on Zillow, Trulia, and their own listing brokerage and agent sites.
Zillow is the most visited real estate marketplace in America, with an average of 235 million unique visitors each month. More than 70% of homebuyers and sellers use Zillow, according to company leaders.
But the monolith is being forced to change direction by the recent deal between Rocket and Compass, which brings “Coming Soon” listings to Redfin.com and the Redfin app, with “Private Exclusive” properties to follow.
Rocket estimates that this has the potential to bring more than 500,000 additional listings to the Redfin platform through the combined reach of Compass’ global network of real estate professionals, including @properties, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, CENTURY 21, Christie’s International Real Estate, Coldwell Banker, Compass, Corcoran, ERA, and Sotheby’s International Realty.
“Our goal is simple and unifying: expand inventory and create a more streamlined, affordable home buying and selling experience for American families,” Varun Krishna, CEO of Rocket Companies, said when the three-year strategic alliance was announced.
Robert Reffkin, chairman and CEO of Compass International Holdings, wrote about the most recent Zillow news in a LinkedIn post.
“A sincere thank you to Zillow for offering homeowners more choice. Sellers deserve the choice to decide when, where, and how they market their homes,” Reffkin said.
Leaders at Zillow are working to shape its brand identity as questions about the company’s practices continue to tarnish its image.
Zillow attracted media attention last year when it was sued by Compass over its decision to ban home listings that appear on any other site for more than 24 hours before being displayed on its website. It also attracted attention when the Federal Trade Commission accused the company and Redfin of violating antitrust laws.
A class action lawsuit turned heads when it was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in September. The original plaintiff, Alucard Taylor, a homeowner in Portland, Oregon, has been joined by 10 other plaintiffs from throughout the country. They claim Zillow’s policies and conduct increase the purchase price of homes.
Zillow was also accused of steering borrowers toward some of the most expensive mortgages on the market after an analysis by Steven Salop was released in December.
Salop’s analysis suggests that Zillow Home Loans borrowers pay significantly higher mortgage costs than they would pay other lenders. These costs are referred to as “overcharges.”
“The estimate of these overcharges on 30-year conventional loans for ZHL borrowers is a higher mortgage APR of approximately 10 basis points for the period 2022-2024, which amounts to a net present value overcharge over the 30-year life of the loan of about $2,900 on an average loan size of about $321,000, and a higher mortgage APR of approximately 15 basis points for the year 2024, which amounts to a NPV overcharge of about $4,600 on an average loan size of about $337,000, as compared to borrowers with similar characteristics originating similar types of loans at other lenders,” the study’s abstract says.
The analysis also suggests that the overcharges paid by black borrowers are substantially larger than the overcharges paid by white borrowers. Hispanic/Latino borrowers had an undercharge relative to other lenders in 2022 and 2023, but an overcharge in 2024, according to the study’s abstract.
Editor Kimberley Haas contributed to this report.
