by Marian McPherson | Apr 24, 2025 | Industry, News Feed
From 2020 to 2025, the number of cities with million-dollar starter homes has grown from 85 to 233. Twenty five states had these cities, with California and New York having the highest concentration.
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!
Although the pandemic buying boom is over, it continues to impact consumer expectations and pricing trends throughout the country. Although the typical starter home is still below $200,000, there are a growing number of cities with starter homes priced at $1 million or more — a steep price for a first-time buyer.
TAKE THE INMAN INTEL SURVEY FOR APRIL
According to Zillow’s latest market report, the number of cities with $1 million starter homes has grown from 85 in 2020 to 233 in 2025, representing a 174 percent increase. California (113), New York (32), New Jersey (20), Massachusetts (11) and Florida (11) lead the way in the number of cities with seven-figure starter homes, with the remaining 20 states having at least one city where the median starter home clocks in at $1 million.
Kara Ng | Credit: LinkedIn
On a metro level, the New York City metro area, which includes parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, has 48 cities with $1 million starter homes. The San Francisco metro has the next-highest count at 43, Zillow said, followed by Los Angeles (34), San Jose (16), Miami (8) and Seattle (8).
Zillow Senior Economist Kara Ng said the report underpins the volatility of today’s market, which has led would-be homebuyers to delay their homeownership dreams. First-time homebuyer activity dropped to a new low in 2024, with the National Association of Realtors reporting this demographic only accounted for 24 percent of sales. The median age for first-time buyers also increased from 25 to 38, a new high since NAR began tracking sales.
“First-time buyers are facing a market where prices that once seemed unimaginable have become reality,” Ng said in a prepared statement.
Despite the growth in $1 million starter homes, Ng said there’s still plenty of opportunities for buyers to thrive.
The latest slate of existing-home and new-home sales data shows increasing inventory levels, which led to softening home price growth for existing stock and price declines for new builds.
“The encouraging news for buyers is that starter homes remain well below $1 million in most of the country,” Ng said. “With more homes hitting the market, listings lingering longer, and sellers cutting prices at record rates, buyers are starting to regain some negotiating power.”
Email Marian McPherson
This post was originally published on this site
by Marian McPherson | Apr 21, 2025 | Industry, News Feed
Nearly 70 percent of agents who have purchased portal leads in the past say they no longer buy them, citing “time and money” needed for maximum ROI, according to the latest Intel Index polling data.
This report is available exclusively to subscribers of Inman Intel, the data and research arm of Inman offering deep insights and market intelligence on the business of residential real estate and proptech. Subscribe today.
Since Realtor.com’s debut in 1995, real estate portals have become a key player in the transaction process, with brokers leveraging the platforms to broadly advertise their listings and consumers using the sites as a launchpad for their buying and selling needs.
However, the relationship between portals, brokers, and consumers has become more complicated over the years, with industry members bemoaning portals’ increasing influence on consumers and power within the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system.
TAKE THE INMAN INTEL SURVEY FOR APRIL
The latest example is Zillow Group and Redfin’s decision to ban listings that aren’t added to the MLS within 24 hours of public marketing, per the National Association of Realtors’ Clear Cooperation Policy.
The decisions, which were announced after Inman Intel’s March survey closed, have heightened the debate over who portals benefit, with brokers either seeing Zillow Group and Redfin’s moves as a win for consumer transparency or another example of portal overreach.
The respondents for this month’s survey, which largely include real estate agents and executives, like broker-owners, shared with Intel their mixed sentiments on real estate search portals and their wide array of lead generation options below.
Agents are split on using portal leads
Perhaps reflecting the tenuous relationship between portals and agents, the number of respondents who have and haven’t purchased portal leads is nearly split down the middle.
- 412 respondents participated in this month’s Intel survey. Of the 200 respondents who answered Inman Intel’s questions about portals, 46 percent said they’ve purchased a lead from Zillow, Realtor.com, Homes.com, Redfin or Trulia.
- Among those who acknowledged purchasing leads from portals, 80 percent reported buying them from Zillow, 50 percent from Realtor.com, and 19 percent from Homes.com. Trulia and Redfin tied with 18 percent each.
- Meanwhile, 53 percent have never purchased a lead from any portal.
Portal leads fall flat for most
Although a strong share of Inman Intel respondents have tested portal leads, the majority have since abandoned this lead generation source.
- 69 percent of respondents who’ve bought a portal lead in the past aren’t actively purchasing leads now.
- 50 percent of respondents said portal leads were a waste of their time and money.
According to the National Association of Realtors’ 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 43 percent of consumers start their homebuying or homeselling journey online.
Portals get the lion’s share of consumer attention, with Zillow reporting 204 million average monthly unique visitors during the fourth quarter of 2024. During the same quarter, Realtor.com pulled in 62 million average monthly unique visitors while Redfin tallied 43 million. Meanwhile, CoStar logged 110 million average monthly unique visitors for its Homes.com Residential Network, which includes Homes.com, Apartments.com and Land.com.
Yet, some agents feel portals’ expansive consumer bases don’t necessarily translate to a robust funnel of high-intent homebuyers, or if they do, the cost is too high to justify the benefit.
Last year, eight real estate agents slapped Realtor.com parent company, Move Inc., with a class action lawsuit for allegedly selling unvetted leads through its network of sites. Zillow has gotten its share of complaints over the years, with agents questioning whether the portal’s flagship lead generation offering, Premier Agent, is worth the rising cost despite strong conversion rates.
Redfin and Homes.com have also faced criticisms on value and price, as Redfin raised its Redfin Partner Program referral fees and Homes.com is still in the beginning stages of creating a dedicated sales and support team to back its ‘Your Listing, Your Lead’ promise.
However, the drop off isn’t all negative. Some respondents said portal leads were worth the effort, but have simply become less relevant in their strategy.
- 13 percent said leads helped build their business, but they no longer rely on them.
- 20 percent said it was worth the time and money, but it was never a significant part of their business.
- 5 percent said they haven’t purchased enough leads to have a strong opinion.
… But still works for a select group
Although many Inman Intel respondents have written off portal leads, a solid contingent still uses them.
- 42 percent of respondents still purchase portal leads.
- 12 percent said it’s a significant part of their business.
Of the respondents who still purchase leads, Zillow and Realtor.com are the clear favorites, while Homes.com, Redfin and Trulia trailed behind.
- 18 percent of respondents purchase leads from Zillow, while 14 percent purchase leads from Realtor.com.
- 4 percent of respondents purchase leads from Homes.com, 3 percent purchase leads from Redfin, and 2 percent purchase leads from Trulia.
In a previous deep dive on portal leads, Robert Slack Chief Operating Officer Lauren Bowen, and Washington D.C.-based Compass team leader Sina Mollaan shared their playbook on getting the most from portal lead gen. Both leaders said they have a hefty monthly budget for portal leads and have an extensive process for engaging high-intent leads and nurturing low-intent leads as they inch closer to making a purchase.
Bowen said paid portal lead generation is a volume game, with the best agents usually maxing out at a 10 percent conversion rate. With that in mind, it takes at least 100 leads to get 10 sales.
“Let’s say if you’re even a great agent converting at 10 percent, then you have to have a hundred leads that month to close 10,” she said. “So if you’re only spending $200 a month for let’s say, six leads, you’re going to need quite a substantial pipeline to be able to build that up to start closing them.”
“It’s probably not going to be enough, so you very well may get frustrated,” she added.
Email Marian McPherson
Methodology notes: This month’s Inman Intel Index survey was conducted March 18-April 7, and received 412 responses. The entire Inman reader community was invited to participate, and a rotating, randomized selection of community members was prompted to participate by email. Users responded to a series of questions related to their self-identified corner of the real estate industry — including real estate agents, brokerage leaders, lenders and proptech entrepreneurs. Results reflect the opinions of the engaged Inman community, which may not always match those of the broader real estate industry. This survey is conducted monthly.
This post was originally published on this site
by Marian McPherson | Apr 18, 2025 | Industry, News Feed
Zillow Group Chief Industry Development Officer Errol Samuelson took to LinkedIn on Friday to clarify how the company’s listing ban applies to Delayed Marketing Exempt Listings and chastise those who spread “misinformation” about the policy.
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!
A week after Zillow Group announced its controversial listing access standard that bans privately marketed listings on Zillow and Trulia, Zillow Group Chief Industry Development Officer Errol Samuelson penned an op-ed defending the company’s decision and clarifying points of confusion, primarily around Delayed Marketing Exempt Listings (DMEL).
TAKE THE INMAN INTEL SURVEY FOR APRIL
Errol Samuelson
“At Zillow, we believe that every buyer, seller and agent deserves equal access to information,” he said. “Our new listing access standards — requiring that a listing marketed to some buyers should be available to all buyers — reinforce this belief.”
“While a few argue that buyers and sellers might benefit from exclusive private listings, the reality is that they create an uneven playing field,” he added. “Buyers who are not able to access these hidden listings are at a significant disadvantage, missing out on potential opportunities simply because they aren’t aware of the listings or were already working with an agent who also didn’t have access to these listings. A healthy housing market thrives on competition and transparency.”
READ INMAN’S PORTAL LISTING BAN FAQ
Samuelson said Zillow Group’s listing access standard, which bans listings that aren’t added to the multiple listing service (MLS) within 24 hours of public marketing, doesn’t apply to these categories of listings:
- 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
“What isn’t okay is a listing publicly marketed to some buyers but hidden from others,” he said. “That’s the line … The goal isn’t to catch anyone unaware; the goal is to encourage consumer transparency.”
The Zillow leader chastized industry members who spread “misinformation” about the company’s motivations and sought to discover “loopholes” to circumvent the ban.
“Since we announced our standards on April 10, there have been many reactions across the industry and beyond,” he said. “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.”
“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,” he added. “These ‘what ifs’ are intended to distract from the core of this pro-consumer stance.”
Samuelson said Zillow Group will explain the logistics of the ban before it goes into effect in May.
“Zillow was founded to empower consumers with real estate information and to help them make thoughtful, informed decisions. And we know great agents and brokers are experts at informing, educating and advising their clients,” he said. “No matter the tools or the technology, agents cannot do their best work when they are unable to compete freely and fairly, earning business based on the value they offer, not because they are members of a private listing club.”
Zillow Group’s listing access standards marked a new chapter in the fight over the National Association of Realtors’ Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP), which NAR leaders amended on March 25 to include a new delayed marketing exemption under a new Multiple Listing Options for Sellers (MLOS) policy. The exemption allows listing brokers, at the informed request of homesellers, to delay the syndication of their listing to sites like Zillow through an Internet Data Exchange (IDX) feed.
Proponents and opponents of the CCP each took the addition of Delayed Marketing Exempt Listings as a win, with proponents praising NAR for standing against pressure to axe the rule under lingering antitrust fears and opponents largely taking such listings as another step toward full seller choice.
However, Zillow Group’s ban added fuel to longstanding debates over CCP, PLNs and antitrust litigation, with major industry players quickly — and passionately — choosing sides.
EXp Realty and NextHome immediately pledged to follow Zillow Group’s listing access standard, with eXp launching advisory forms that educate homesellers about the potential downsides associated with private listings. Redfin also announced a listing ban, noting the importance of maintaining a transparent marketplace for buyers, sellers and agents.
Meanwhile, Compass CEO Robert Reffkin and CoStar founder and CEO Andy Florance cast Zillow’s move as an anticompetitive “power play” rooted in fear that agents and consumers may abandon the platform if PLNs are allowed to thrive.
Both sides have called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to adjudicate the matter, but the department has yet to comment.
Email Marian McPherson
This post was originally published on this site
by Marian McPherson | Apr 17, 2025 | Industry, News Feed
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!
This month, Zillow and Redfin rocked the industry by banning listings that aren’t added to the multiple listing service within 24 hours of public marketing.
The similar portal policies, which came two weeks after the National Association of Realtors announced a new Delayed Marketing Exempt Listings option for its Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP), have led to mounting questions from agents and brokers over the legality of and logistics behind the ban.
Here are answers to the most frequent questions about Zillow and Redfin’s rules:
What is Zillow Group’s policy?
On April 10, Zillow Group announced its new listing access standard for Zillow and Trulia, which bans listings that aren’t added to the MLS within 24 hours of being publicly marketed. Zillow said public marketing includes yard signs, social media posts and brokerage private listing networks (PLN) where consumers must log into a site to see listings.
The ban, which goes into effect in May, is based on NAR’s CCP, which states listings must be entered into the MLS within one business day of public marketing. Zillow said “coming soon,” office exclusives, and Delayed Marketing Exempt Listings are A-OK within its listing access standard, as long as listing brokers are adhering to NAR’s guidance for each listing status.
The Coming Soon status is for sellers and brokers who’ve signed a listing agreement and need time to prepare a home for sale. The broker will put the home in the MLS under a Coming Soon status, which may allow a broker to share the listing on social media or create a yard sign with a Coming Soon rider. However, MLS regulations prohibit sellers and their brokers from showing the home to prospective buyers or accepting offers from brokers until the home becomes active.
Individual MLSs have different rules for how long a listing can be labeled as coming soon, with some MLSs giving sellers and listing brokers up to 30 days and others giving as little as 10 days. MLSs also handle the distribution of coming soon listings through an Internet Data Exchange (IDX) feed differently, with some MLSs allowing coming soon listings to appear on sites like Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin and Homes.com, and others only distributing listings once they’ve gone active.
Meanwhile, office exclusives are listings where the seller has stated they don’t want their home to be publicly marketed or shared through the MLS. In this case, listing brokers will file the listing as an office exclusive with the MLS, which will make sure the listing isn’t shared with other MLS participants and subscribers.
Lastly, Delayed Marketing Exempt Listings are an option where the seller has asked their broker to delay the public marketing of their listing through an IDX feed. As with office exclusives, brokers will still file delayed marketing listings with the MLS and do not stop brokers from marketing the listing in other manners the seller has requested. MLSs have until Sept. 30 to implement the terms of Delayed Marketing Exempt Listings under NAR’s Multiple Listing Options for Sellers (MLOS) policy.
With office exclusives and delayed marketing, sellers must sign an exempt listing disclosure that outlines the relationship between the seller and broker and clearly outlines what they’re agreeing to alongside the potential downsides.
“Our standards say it’s okay to share office exclusives among agents within the same brokerage, or to have delayed marketing or coming soon listings that are entered into the MLS and available to all MLS participants,” Zillow Group’s listing standard reads. “And, of course, it’s okay to maintain a seller’s privacy when necessary by keeping a listing off the internet entirely. But when it’s time to market to buyers, that means all buyers.”
How does Zillow’s policy specifically impact Delayed Marketing Exempt Listings?
A main point of confusion with Zillow Group’s policy is how it might impact Delayed Marketing Exempt Listings.
Zillow Group said the ban does not apply to listings in this category; as long as they’re submitted to an MLS within one day of public marketing, they can be published on Zillow, Trulia and other sites that receive listing feeds.
What does Zillow Group mean when it says the ban applies to ‘the life of the listing?’
The “life of the listing” refers to the time a home is being sold by a broker who is not following 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 is Redfin’s policy?
On April 14, Redfin joined Zillow Group and created a policy that bans listings if they aren’t added to the multiple listing service (MLS) within 24 hours of being publicly marketed.
Also like Zillow, Redfin said its ban won’t impact Delayed Marketing Exempt Listings.
The Seattle-based firm told Inman in an email that these listings are safe: “If they’re shared in the MLS and disseminated to sites like Redfin through a Virtual Office Website (VOW), where buyers can access them, those listings can be included on Redfin.”
Unlike Internet Data Exchange (IDX) sites, where visitors can view listings without a login, VOWs require visitors to create an account to view listings. NAR’s FAQ on Multiple Listing Options for Sellers (MLOS) notes that Delayed Marketing Exempt Listings can be displayed on VOWs as the sites are “not for advertisement but rather to help with the provision of brokerage services to consumers with whom there is an established broker-consumer relationship.” NAR also states that MLSs cannot exclude Delayed Marketing Exempt Listings from appearing on VOW feeds.
Alongside the listing ban, Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman called on MLSs to create a new Coming Soon designation that bans portals from displaying how long a home has been for sale and at what prices.
Redfin hasn’t said when it would implement the new policy, and leaders are still working on the technical logistics of the ban.
Do Zillow Group and Redfin have the right to ban listings?
Although some industry members have argued that Zillow doesn’t have the right to ban listings as an IDX-displaying broker, current NAR and MLS rules are on the portal’s side.
In a previous Inman article, California Regional MLS VP and General Counsel Ed Zorn said Zillow Group —and now Redfin — is within its rights to ban listings on Zillow and Trulia that don’t follow its listing access standard.
“There seems to be a misunderstanding that if you take an [Internet Data Exchange] data feed, that you are required to display all the listings,” he said. “And in fact, NAR’s [Handbook on Multiple Listing Policy] Statement 7.58 states the exact opposite principle.”
“What it says is participants may select the IDX listings they choose to display based on only objective criteria, including but not limited to factors such as geography or location, list price, type of property, or type of listing,” he added. “So type of listing is even included as one of the few types of objective examples that NAR provides.”
Will the DOJ get involved?
Industry members on both sides of the spectrum have called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the opposing side.
CoStar Group CEO Andy Florance urged agents to report Zillow Group to the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, while two consumer watchdogs said the department should be stopping the industry’s largest brokerages from creating expansive PLNs.
It’s unclear whether the DOJ will answer either side’s clarion call, as the law enforcement agency has signaled that it’s less interested in the CCP now that NAR has scrapped the Participation Rule, which previously mandated that listing brokers include an offer of compensation as small as $1 to buyer brokers participating in a transaction.
The DOJ signaled in a March 18 Nosalek vs MLS PIN court filing that Clear Cooperation — on its own — is not anticompetitive. However, in situations where non-NAR-governed MLSs, like MLS PIN, enforce CCP while still allowing cooperative compensation, the DOJ might look at CCP with more scrutiny.
Consumer Policy Center senior fellow Stephen Brobeck said the DOJ isn’t fond of giving a heads-up on investigations, so the industry will just have to wait.
“I don’t have evidence they’re looking at it, but I’m sure they are,” he told Inman in a previous article. “… But, you know, the DOJ doesn’t tell anybody what they’re thinking or what they’re going to do until they actually do it.”
Are Realtor.com and Homes.com banning listings as well?
CoStar Group founder and CEO Andy Florance said Homes.com won’t ban listings that aren’t added to the MLS within 24 hours of being publicly marketed.
Florance characterized Zillow Group’s move as “anti-competitive” and “a pure power play of epic proportion” to quash consumer choice amid private listing networks’ growing prominence.
Realtor.com hasn’t revealed any plans for a ban, with a company spokesperson only revealing that the portal is giving “thoughtful consideration” on how to handle DMEL.
Hey, my question wasn’t listed. What gives?
With 167 days until the MLS deadline for implementing NAR’s MLOS policy, there’s still much more to understand about how MLSs will handle delayed marketing, which brokers will latch onto private listing networks or eschew them, and how portals will put their policies into action.
Keep an eye on Inman’s coverage as we continue to dig into what the next chapter of the CCP debate means for you and your clients, and let us know your questions in the comments below.
Email Marian McPherson
This post was originally published on this site
by Marian McPherson | Apr 14, 2025 | Industry, News Feed
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!
As the debate over the National Association of Realtors’ Clear Cooperation Policy takes a new turn, an industry watchdog has now called on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate private listing networks.
Stephen Brobeck, a senior fellow at the Consumer Policy Center, penned a blog post on Monday lauding Zillow for refusing to display listings that aren’t added to the multiple listing service (MLS) within 24 hours of being publicly marketed. Zillow said public marketing includes yard signs, social media posts and brokerage private listing networks.
The ban, which goes into effect in May on Zillow and Trulia, does not apply to delayed marketing exempt listings as long as they’re submitted to a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) within one day and published on Zillow and other sites that receive listing feeds.
Hours after the blog post went live, Redfin joined Zillow in banning listings that have been publicly marketed before “being shared with all real estate websites via the MLS.” Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman also called on MLS leaders to adopt a “coming-soon” designation that would conceal Days on Market and historical price points data to alleviate homesellers’ concerns about placing their homes on the MLS.
Steve Brobeck
“We encourage all brokers to support Zillow’s efforts to maintain the transparency of real estate markets and prevent their balkanization,” he said. “The efforts of some big brokers are likely to not only disadvantage buyers and sellers but also reduce competition. The U.S. Department of Justice should take a close look at potential antitrust violations by those brokers who use deceptive practices to try to dominate markets.”
Brobeck, alongside CPC fellow Wendy Gilch, argued that private listing networks are anti-competitive and disadvantage most homesellers, homebuyers and small brokerages without connections to larger brokerages with these networks. Brobeck and Glich said private listing networks prevent homesellers from getting the maximum offer for their home and minimize homebuyers’ choices as they’re unable to access all available listings in the market.
The lack of transparency, the duo said, will enable brokers with private listing networks to boost commissions by “double-ending” a greater share of sales, have an unfair recruiting advantage in attracting the best agents, and have more influence over the market, industry associations, and state regulators. Brobeck and Glich said Compass is the perfect example of what they fear the market will look like if the DOJ doesn’t step in.
Compass co-founder and CEO Robert Reffkin has been one of the CCP’s biggest opponents, arguing that the policy prevents listing agents from meeting their fiduciary duty to clients who don’t want their homes on the MLS. Reffkin lobbied to have the rule fully repealed; however, he was pleased with NAR’s decision to add the delayed marketing exemption alongside a longstanding office exclusive exemption.
Reffkin said the new exemption, which allows MLSs to determine how long listings can be seen by other MLS participants without being publicly listed, was “a small step in the right direction” to “expand consumer choice.”
In the weeks since the exemption announcement, Compass has doubled down on advertising its private listing network, which includes nearly 10,000 private exclusive and coming-soon listings. Luxury stalwarts Douglas Elliman and Corcoran rolled out private listing networks on April 8, and Redfin, despite disagreeing with the practice, said it will become more “aggressive about pocketing listings” if the industry continues its push toward off-market options.
Wendy Gilch
“It will be both predictable and telling to watch brokerage CEOs who denounce private exclusives today quietly adopt them tomorrow,” Reffkin said on LinkedIn several weeks ago. “The same leaders insisting these strategies are harmful to sellers will, within a year, be packaging and promoting their own ‘exclusive off-market solutions.’ It’s not a question of if — it’s a question of when. Consumer demand drives industry evolution…”
While Gilch and Brobeck said off-market sales are necessary in limited circumstances, the duo said they offer little value to the typical homseller. That’s why, Gilch said, homesellers should “think twice” before selling their home through a private listing network.
“Sellers will attract the most buyer interest when their home is visible across as many major real estate websites as possible — some, like Zillow, draw over a billion visits a year, far surpassing any other platform in reach,” she said. “And buyers should be skeptical of private listers who try to sign buyers to contracts by claiming to have access to off-market properties.”
While Brobeck and Gilch call on the DOJ to quash private listing networks, CoStar founder and CEO Andy Florance is hoping the DOJ will force Zillow to drop its ban.
Florance said Zillow’s ban is “anti-competitive” and “a pure power play of epic proportion.” The ban, he surmised, is a reflection of the behemoth’s fears that agents will lean into private listing networks and abandon Zillow’s platform. He urged agents to report Zillow to the DOJ’s antitrust division while reminding agents they “deserve control” over how to market clients’ listings.
“Zillow has overplayed its hand. I believe they panicked at the thought that agents might have real choice in how they market their listings.
And when agents have a choice, many won’t rush to publish listings
on a site that siphons off their leads,” he said in an op-ed on Monday. “Even if just a few agents hold back from listing on Zillow, buyers will quickly follow suit — and stop searching there. Zillow’s lead diversion business model is coming under threat.”
Reffkin sided with Florance on social media, saying, “Andy and Homes.com support agents. So, I support Andy and Homes.com.”
It’s unclear whether the DOJ will answer either side’s clarion call, as the department hinted that it’s less interested in CCP now that NAR has scrapped the Participation Rule.
In a Supplemental Statement of Interest filed in the class-action commission lawsuit Nosalek v. MLS PIN on March 18, the DOJ signaled that Clear Cooperation — on its own — is not anticompetitive. However, in situations where non-NAR governed MLSs, like MLS PIN, enforce CCP while still allowing cooperative compensation, the DOJ might look at CCP with more scrutiny.
“Of note, industry participants have made public statements about the Division’s purported position on Clear Cooperation policies that are misleading and out of context,” the DOJ filing said, according to a previous Inman article. “The Division has not taken a position that such policies standing alone (i.e., without mandated MLS publication of offers of compensation or exceptions benefitting primarily large brokerages) are anticompetitive.”
Ed Zorn
California Regional MLS VP and General Counsel Ed Zorn told Inman on Friday that Zillow’s policy was likely safe from DOJ scrutiny.
“Zillow is an independent company with their own board of directors, right? Their board of directors is not made up entirely of horizontal competitors like an MLS or an association board,” he said.
“So, they don’t have that automatic challenge that any action taken by an association or an MLS instantaneously is a decision of horizontal competitors, right? It’s [the] chairs on our board of directors that make decisions. I don’t see how that’s relevant to an independent company like Zillow deciding what they want to do for the benefit of their business. I don’t see any kind of anti-trust or DOJ type of issue.”
As for private listing networks, the outcome might not be as favorable. Despite the DOJ’s comments in the Nosalek lawsuit, Brobeck said he believes the addition of the delayed marketing exemption will attract the department’s ire.
“I think that DOJ will be particularly concerned about the anti-competitive implications of extensive private listings by some of the big national brokerages,” Brobeck told Inman on a phone call. “Those listings would deprive small and local firms of important information about available properties, and would lead, over time, to increasing dominance by the large firms. I think that the DOJ will be particularly concerned about that.”
“I don’t have evidence they’re looking at it, but I’m sure they are,” he added. “We sent them our news release, and they thanked us. But, you know, the DOJ doesn’t tell anybody what they’re thinking or what they’re going to do until they actually do it.”
Email Marian McPherson
This post was originally published on this site
