The industry’s push for pocket listings is putting pressure on first-time buyers, according to a new report.
More than a year and a half after the rule changes from the National Association of Realtors settlement went into effect, fees have remained largely unchanged. Meanwhile, similar changes are occurring in the way homes are sold, creating new pressures for first-time buyers.
Those are two of the key takeaways from a new report from the Consumer Federation of America and the National League of Cities.
The findings, based on a survey of 223 housing counselors (independent HUD-certified advisors who help buyers evaluate their finances and navigate the homebuying process without taking a financial stake in the transaction) across 37 states, confirmed a pattern that suggests that while the rules have changed, much of the market behavior remains the same.
Fees remain almost the same
The headline finding is straightforward. Fees have not changed significantly since the NAR payment rule changes took effect in August 2024. Just 7% of housing counselors say first-time buyers are paying lower fees than they did a year ago, while a larger share say costs are flat or rising.
According to the report, this is largely due to buyers not negotiating agent fees. About two-thirds of counselors said their clients never, rarely or only occasionally push back on agent fees, limiting the price competition the rule changes aim to introduce. Some counselors noted that attempts to negotiate can backfire, leaving buyers informally flagged as difficult and facing resistance from agents.
This dynamic reflects what the agents themselves are reporting. Two-thirds of agents are reporting similar persistence, with buyer-agent commissions rebounding after an initial post-settlement dip. The worst-case scenario of a deal falling apart over fee costs remains rare. Only 9 percent of counselors said this happens often. One Oregon counselor surveyed by the researchers suggested that the 3% fee is “an accepted practice that no one disputes.”
Affordability, not fees, remains the real constraint
For first-time buyers, the biggest barriers remain well-known. Saving for a down payment (88 percent of counselors) and finding suitable housing (73 percent) were ranked as top challenges, far ahead of agent-related concerns. Only 7% said finding an agent was a significant barrier.
Advisors instead pointed to a variety of common pressures buyers face, primarily high home prices, limited inventory, competition from investors and cash buyers, and credit constraints. Even with assistance programs available, many buyers still struggle to bridge the gap between what they qualify for and what’s on the market. The report found that while fees remain a cost, they are not keeping most first-time buyers on the sidelines.
Pre-market listings reshape consumer access
What the report suggests is a meaningful change is an increase in private or “pocket” properties, or homes sold outside the MLS or within a limited brokerage network. Almost half of counselors said their clients sometimes, often, or always have trouble finding a home because of these properties.
This trend has been shaped by a steady chain of industry moves over a period of about 18 months.
Compass announced a three-tier marketing strategy in late 2024 that will feature “private exclusives” available only to buyers working with Compass agents. NAR updated its policy in March 2025 to introduce a companion framework that formally created the “Delayed Marketing Exempt Listings” category, giving agents new flexibility to withhold properties from public IDX feeds, while maintaining clear cooperation policies.
This year, Compass has expanded dramatically with the acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate and partnerships with Rocket and Redfin, which allow us to display upcoming private listings on Redfin’s platform.
According to a recent Consumer Policy Center report, Compass accounts for 30 to 39.5 percent of sales in five major markets, with double-end rates reaching 41 percent in Washington, D.C., well above the historical norm of 3 to 12 percent.
This dynamic now extends far beyond the compass. In March, Zillow launched Zillow Preview, a pre-market listing product designed as a transparent alternative to private networks, with initial partners Keller Williams, REMAX and HomeServices of America. Within a week, 24 more intermediaries signed on. Zillow positioned the product as an antidote to private listings, but its rapid adoption underscores how pervasively entrenched the pre-market marketing strategy has become across the industry.
Consumer advocacy groups have warned that this trend could limit access, especially for first-time buyers who rely on open market inventory and don’t have connections to strong local intermediaries. The CFA/NUL report also raises concerns about fair housing. Private listings have historically been associated with racism and segregation, and their increase could reintroduce barriers that the MLS system was built to alleviate.
The report calls on state attorneys general and the Center for Fair Housing to monitor this practice, and calls on FHFA to begin collecting and publishing agency fee data so that the impact of rule changes can be more systematically tracked.
slow reset
The broader point is not that the rule change has failed, but that its impact is unfolding more slowly and unevenly than most expected. Fees remain steep, negotiations remain limited, and the biggest obstacles to homeownership remain affordability and supply.
At the same time, the rise of pre-market listing strategies, enabled by evolving MLS policies and accelerated by consolidation among large brokerage firms, is emerging as a new frontier in the industry’s ongoing transformation. The market looks more like a readjustment than a reset, with the most meaningful changes occurring not in how agents are paid, but in how homes get to buyers in the first place.
Email AJ LaTrace
