by Jeff Tucker | Jun 18, 2025 | Industry, News Feed
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There has been a lot of discussion in recent weeks about the practice of marketing homes through private listing networks before — or instead of — listing them on the multiple listing service (MLS).
As an economist, my job is to strip the emotion out of the equation and simply analyze the data — and the data is clear: Privately marketing homes usually leaves sellers worse off financially. It also creates a fractured, less equitable housing market.
Through a pair of recent studies — one by Bright MLS, the nation’s largest multiple listing service, and another from Zillow — compelling evidence shows that private listing networks and private listings, as a whole, ultimately harm sellers, buyers and the integrity of the real estate industry. (Compass has made contrary claims, but unlike Zillow and Bright MLS, has not made its data available for review.)
The data underscores that homeowners who opt to sell privately are, on average, leaving money on the table and taking longer to close on the sales of their homes.
A comprehensive report by Bright MLS analyzed more than 100,000 home sales and found that residences marketed privately as “office exclusives” took significantly longer to sell. These homes sat on the market for a median of 37 days, compared to just 20 days for homes that started on the MLS.
Furthermore, claims that homes sell for more through private networks are largely a myth. The Bright MLS study found no statistical evidence that office exclusives commanded higher prices. In fact, almost 90 percent of these privately marketed properties eventually ended up on the MLS after failing to secure an acceptable offer, leaving sellers right back where they could have started (on the MLS), and potentially weeks behind schedule.
Although some brokerages may position private listing networks as a premium service, the numbers do not align with such a narrative, and if the numbers are incongruent with the concept, one must concur that, in a majority of cases, sellers are not better off.
At a loss
The financial disadvantage for sellers who do accept an offer before marketing their homes publicly is tallied up in a recent Zillow report.
The research, which analyzed 10 million transactions over the past two years, revealed that homes not listed on the MLS sold for a median of 1.5 percent less than their publicly marketed counterparts, after controlling for all the available property and market-level data impacting expected sale prices. That translates to a significant loss for the typical American homeowner, amounting to an average of nearly $5,000 per seller — or $1 billion collectively.
Advocates for private listing networks base their argument on the principle of “seller’s choice” and assert that such platforms provide greater financial advantages for consumers. However, the data shows that sellers are actually settling for a lower selling price.
What’s more, the loudest cries in support of private listing networks come from the brokerages themselves. When a brokerage is able to keep a listing “in-house,” representing both sides of the transaction, they are, of course, able to secure a more substantial commission.
In a recent article, real estate analyst Mike DelPrete estimated the kind of sizable profits brokerages could extract using private listing networks by double-ending deals and leveraging their control of hidden listings to entice more buyers, essentially profiting by gatekeeping access to those private listings.
A fragmented and inequitable market
Beyond the direct financial harm to sellers, the proliferation of private listing networks creates a host of problems for homebuyers and the overall health of the market. Buyers today expect and deserve a transparent marketplace where all available homes can easily be viewed online without having to sign up to work with a specific agent or give a brokerage their personal information as the price of access.
The practice of agents withholding listings from the open market creates a fragmented and frustrating experience for buyers, who are left to wonder if they are truly seeing all their options, and an equally frustrating transaction for sellers, who, statistically, may be realizing significantly less proceeds than selling in the “open market.”
The breakdown of transparency also leads to a shortage of critical market data. When homes are sold off-market, crucial information about sale prices and Days on Market is not widely available. This information deficit makes it harder for both buyers and sellers to make informed decisions.
A seller won’t have enough data to price their home accurately, and a buyer is, in essence, blindly entering into the transaction. And both may be missing information critical to assessing the skill of a prospective agent, as a private portal can easily obscure trends that may otherwise reveal deficiencies in an agent’s ability to price, market or negotiate the sale of a home.
In other words, as brokerages quietly leach more and more data out of consumers, consumers will get less and less data back.
Most troubling, however, are the fair housing implications of private listings. By limiting the marketing of a home to a select network of agents and their clients, the practice can (even if inadvertently) result in excluding buyers from underrepresented communities from learning about all available homes for sale.
Publicly accessible real estate portals and websites, by contrast, ensure that every potential buyer has an equal opportunity to see a new listing and submit an offer, fostering a more equitable and inclusive housing market.
Another recent Zillow study furthers this point, finding that the negative financial impact of off-MLS sales is more than double for sellers in communities of color compared to those in predominantly white neighborhoods.
Facts over assumptions
The evidence is overwhelming: For the vast majority of sellers, the most effective and profitable way to sell a home is to list it publicly on the MLS, ensuring maximum exposure to the widest possible pool of potential buyers. This tried-and-true method not only benefits individual sellers, but also contributes to a more transparent, efficient and balanced housing market for all.
Jeff Tucker is the Principal Economist for Windermere Real Estate in Seattle, Washington. Connect with him on X or Facebook.
by Taylor Anderson | Jun 17, 2025 | Industry, News Feed
A New York homeowner claims text messages sent by an associate broker at Keller Williams amounted to an “invasion of her privacy” and a violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
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A New York homeowner is suing Keller Williams after one of its agents sent unsolicited text messages advertising her services, according to a new lawsuit filed last week.
Sydney Thayer filed her class action lawsuit against the franchiser in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York on June 12, saying the texts were a violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
Thayer, who lives in Rochester, New York, said she received texts on her phone between April 2024 and March despite her number being on the National Do Not Call Registry.
Screenshots included in the complaint show that an associate broker told Thayer she received her information from Zillow and asked if Thayer was interested in her real estate services.
“Defendant’s unsolicited text messages caused Plaintiff actual harm, including invasion of her privacy, aggravation, annoyance, intrusion on seclusion, trespass, and conversion,” Thayer wrote in her complaint. “Defendant’s text messages also inconvenienced Plaintiff and caused disruption to her daily life.”
The New York resident is seeking $1,500 in damages for each call that is found to have violated the TCPA, as well as an injunction preventing the practice.
A spokesman for Keller Williams acknowledged the lawsuit and said it was looking into the matter.
“We’re aware of the lawsuit alleging a TCPA violation by a real estate agent affiliated with one of our independently owned franchisees, and we are reviewing the matter,” said Darryl Frost, a Keller Williams spokesperson.
The new lawsuit is only the latest in a series of complaints targeting the company’s telemarketing tactics.
In January 2023, Keller Williams Realty agreed to pay $40 million to settle a class action lawsuit that alleged the franchisor’s agents made unsolicited, pre-recorded calls to consumers without their consent, including calls to consumers on the National Do Not Call Registry.
Months after that settlement, Keller Williams was hit with another, similar class action suit filed by a Las Vegas resident.
A slate of attorneys sued the company in 2019 for similar conduct.
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by Taylor Anderson | Jun 17, 2025 | Industry, News Feed
The company now expects to earn as much as 10 percent less this quarter than it expected in April, according to a new SEC filing. The company’s stock price fell sharply in early trading hours.
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The slow real estate market is weighing on Anywhere Real Estate.
The company told investors in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday that it projects earnings to be as much as 10 percent lower in the second quarter than it expected in late April.
Six weeks ago, Anywhere told investors it expected its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to be approximately the same as it was a year ago.
This week, however, the company revised that estimate downward and said it expected earnings from its brokerage and franchise businesses to fall between 3-10 percent.
The company said the downward revision was “largely due to softer homesale transaction volume than expected in the second quarter of 2025, driven by market and macroeconomic volatility,” according to the filing from Chief Financial Officer Charlotte Simonelli.
Anywhere Real Estate includes Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Corcoran, ERA Real Estate and Sotheby’s International Realty.
According to the National Association of Realtors, home sales in April were on pace for an annualized rate of 4 million homes sold this year.
The company reported a net loss of $78 million during the first quarter of the year.
Anywhere stock after the markets closed.
The revision led to a 7 percent drop in Anywhere’s stock value during early trading hours on Tuesday despite the company expressing a hint of optimism for a sales rebound.
While revenue is lagging in the second quarter, Anywhere said in the filing that it expects its earnings for the full year to be the same as it reported earlier this year.
That’s “based primarily upon our expectations for improving homesale transaction volume in the second half of 2025,” the company said.
Some of that second half performance is due to ongoing cost-cutting measures, which the company said were more heavily weighted toward the second half of the year.
The company said that it had cut costs by $14 million in the first quarter, and that it expected to cut costs by $100 million throughout the year.
Other savings would come from “additional cost management actions we intend to take.”
“Despite a historically challenging housing market, we continue to demonstrate strong financial performance and strategically invest in the business to propel us for future success faster,” CEO Ryan Schneider said at the time.
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by Richelle Hammiel | Jun 17, 2025 | Industry, News Feed
Bedroom: Navy Blue
This “moody hue” is set to bring peace, serenity, depth and elegance to the bedroom. Deep navy blue is rated the top choice for bedroom paint colors, and could net your client $1,815 more.
Living Room: Charcoal Gray
Charcoal is emerging as a power color for living rooms, with homes painted in this shade earning $2,593 more on average. It also works well in kitchen and bedrooms.
Colors That Cost Sellers
Bright or outdated shades could work against your seller. Daisy yellow kitchens or living rooms dropped perceived value by nearly $4,000, while fire engine red cost sellers around $2,000 in main areas of the house.
What This Means for Agents
Zillow’s findings challenge the long-held belief that light neutrals are always best for resale.
Before listing, it’s worth advising clients on their color strategy. If the home needs a refresh, steer them toward modern hues and away from overly bright or dated colors. And of course, what sells in one zip code may not work in another, so check the pulse of your market.
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by Lillian Dickerson | Jun 17, 2025 | Industry, News Feed
Nearly 40 percent of homebuilders cut prices in June, the highest portion since the National Association of Home Builders began tracking the cuts. A decline in single-family starts is projected this year.
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Homebuilder sentiment wavered in June as the industry responded to elevated mortgage rates and economic uncertainty impacting consumers today.
Builder sentiment dropped 2 points between May 2025 and June 2025 to 32 on the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) / Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), according to a report released on Tuesday. In June 2024, the index was at 43. An index below 50 is considered negative.
June’s HMI marked the third-lowest reading of builder sentiment since 2012. In December 2022, the index hit 31 after a spike in mortgage rates post-pandemic, and in April 2020 at the start of the pandemic, when the index tanked by more than 40 points to 30.
“Buyers are increasingly moving to the sidelines due to elevated mortgage rates and tariff and economic uncertainty,” NAHB Chairman Buddy Hughes said in a statement on Tuesday. “To help address affordability concerns and bring hesitant buyers off the fence, a growing number of builders are moving to cut prices.”
Thirty-seven percent of builders cut prices in June, the highest portion since the NAHB started tracking price cuts in 2022. In May, 34 percent of builders reported cutting prices, and 29 percent reported doing so in April. The average price reduction remained consistent at 5 percent, which is about what is has been since November, the NAHB reported. Sales incentives were used by 62 percent of builders, up one percentage point from the previous month.
Because of recent tariff negotiations and pullbacks from the Trump administration, many analysts expected a small improvement in builder sentiment, but growing inventory and little enthusiasm for buyers to enter the market right now has continued to weigh on builders.
The HMI index for current sales conditions dropped 2 points in June to 35, the component relating to sales expectations in the next six months dropped 2 points to 40 and the component tracking prospective buyer traffic slid 2 points to 21, its lowest level since November 2023.
“Rising inventory levels and prospective homebuyers who are on hold waiting for affordability conditions to improve are resulting in weakening price growth in most markets and generating price declines for resales in a growing number of markets,” NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz said in a statement. “Given current market conditions, NAHB is forecasting a decline in single-family starts for 2025.”
According to the three-month moving averages of regional HMI scores, the West saw the greatest decline, by 4 points, to 28. Meanwhile, the South fell by 3 points to 33, the Northeast fell by 1 point to 43 and the Midwest actually gained 1 point to hit 41.
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by Lillian Dickerson | Jun 17, 2025 | Industry, News Feed
The new policy was signed into law by Governor Maura Healey during the first week in June and is included in the state’s larger Affordable Homes Act. The law will apply to sales after Oct. 15, 2025.
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Officials in Massachusetts have passed a new state policy prohibiting homesellers and their agents from pressuring or requiring buyers to waive a home inspection as a contingency of buying their property.
The new policy was signed into law by Governor Maura Healey during the first week in June and is included in the state’s larger Affordable Homes Act, the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) announced on June 6. The law will apply to home sales after Oct. 15, 2025.
The policy also stipulates that sellers may not accept an offer if they are informed in advance that the buyer plans to waive their right to an inspection. Still, buyers may choose to not get a home inspection if they wish, but sellers must provide a written disclosure affirming the buyer’s right to an inspection.
“A home inspection is an important step in buying a property,” Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus said in a statement.
“Homebuyers must have the ability to make informed financial decisions and be given a clear picture of needed repairs or safety issues that could arise,” he added. “This new regulation creates a fairer, more even playing field for buyers and sellers, and HLC is proud to implement yet another smart policy from the historic Affordable Homes Act.”
The new regulation is a sharp rebuke to the pandemic-era days of buyers waiving their right to a home inspection all too readily, simply for the chance to have their offer considered by a seller.
Bidding wars and waived contingencies that hit a peak around 2020-2021 as buyers were fighting for a chance at scant inventory amidst record-low mortgage rates had some taking measures like “walk-through” or “walk-and-talk inspections” rather than no inspection at all. Although such inspections cannot replace a full home inspection, these abbreviated inspections could at least help buyers uncover major issues in a home before they purchase it.
Errors and omissions lawsuits against real estate professionals saw a substantial increase in 2022, according to a report from underwriting firm Victor Insurance Managers, and likely correlated with increased waived inspection contingencies. The amount in damages that losing agents in these lawsuits were liable for also ballooned 13 percent higher than the previous year to an average of $39,000.
After a draft home inspection regulation was published by the EOHLC, the office welcomed public comments on the policy in May, and received more than 100 submissions.
In response to feedback, the EOHLC pushed the implementation date to October so that real estate industry professionals would have time to create new forms, trainings and educational materials in compliance with the regulation. The extended timeline also allows consumers and the public more time to become aware of the law.
Any contract terms that impede on the effectiveness of an inspection will also be prohibited. Limits on repair costs or deposit returns that are negotiated between buyer and seller will still be allowed.
The EOHLC is also providing a standard disclosure form, and those individuals facilitating the transaction in a business capacity will be required to provide the disclosure, or risk violating consumer protection law. Other violations will be addressed on a case-by-case basis.
Pre-sales of new construction homes will have a limited exemption from the regulation to support new construction in the state, as long as a purchase contract is signed before “substantial completion” and the seller offers a one-year written warranty, at a minimum. Exemptions will also be applied to domestic partners, extended family members and estate planning, the EOHLC said.
The Greater Boston Real Estate Board, Massachusetts Association of Realtors, Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association and the Commercial Real Estate Development Association all opposed the regulation in a joint statement published during the May feedback period.
Concerns about the policy included an earlier timeline (which the EOHLC responded to by pushing the implementation date to October), profession-based exemptions (a previous version of the legislation also exempt licensed home inspectors from the prohibition on waiving inspections) and a need for more clarity and consistent guidance within the regulations. The organizations also questioned whether the state would have the capacity to meet a resulting surge in home inspection demand.
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