The co-president of Windermere wrote that consumers are best served by being open and not being made into guinea pigs for strategies that may or may not be profitable.
The announcement of a strategic partnership by Rocket, Redfin, and Compass takes efforts to disrupt transparency in the industry to a new level.
According to the announcement, Compass will begin syndicating “coming soon” listings to the Redfin portal with seller permission and limited information. In particular, Compass doesn’t want listing dates or price reductions to be visible on listings.
There are serious problems with restricting information in this way. First, this concept runs counter to the Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP) that many MLSs have adopted. Compass’ stated position suggests that the sheer size of the list will make enforcement difficult for the Chinese Communist Party.
This announcement may be a win for the companies involved, but no matter how it is framed, it is a loss for consumers.
Starting last summer, Zillow completely banned private listings from its portal. Properties that are publicly listed for sale but not listed on the MLS within 24 hours are excluded. This is important. Redfin reportedly has around 50 million average monthly users, while Zillow has nearly 230 million viewers. This represents a significant number of buyers who would never see their listings restricted in this way.
At the same time, legislative momentum is building in several states to curb or even ban private listings. In Washington state, SB 6091 just passed the House of Representatives, and other states are considering similar measures. The objective is clear: to maintain transparency and protect consumers.
A Rocket-Redfin-Compass press release positions the partnership as consumer-friendly, suggesting sellers can “test” the market without price history or valuation estimates. This means that withholding information can be advantageous, even though in reality it is not in the interests of buyers or sellers to restrict information on a large scale.
For decades, our industry has had a reputation, sometimes deservedly so, for being opaque. Since then, we have learned that full transparency is the most powerful mechanism for serving both buyers and sellers. Is it perfect? No. Are there sometimes situations where a private listing is appropriate? Sure. But broadly speaking, it is clear that transparent access to data is in the best interest of consumers and markets.
Windermere’s commitment as a company is clear. We provide our clients with expert, data-driven guidance at every stage of the transaction. This means strong marketing based on concrete metrics and ensuring the broadest possible visibility to the largest group of potential customers.
Consumers are best served by being open rather than being made into guinea pigs for strategies that may or may not benefit them. If we truly want to prioritize homebuyers and sellers, the way forward is transparency, not data segregation.
Jacobi, alumnus, is co-president of Windermere Real Estate.
[Editor’s note: Windermere and Compass are not directly engaged in litigation, but Windermere is mentioned in Compass’ complaint against the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.]
