Brokerage agents can submit upcoming properties to the portals Homes.com, Realtor.com, and ComeHome.com.
EXp Realty became the latest brokerage to announce a pre-marketing agreement on Wednesday, revealing it has arranged for its properties to be listed on three different portals before becoming more widely available.
The deal will allow eXp agents to submit “coming soon” listings to Homes.com, Realtor.com, and ComeHome.com starting April 15th. Listings are distributed through a third-party listing platform, Zenlist, and are subject to local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) rules and guidelines.
“By bridging the gap between ‘pre-market’ and ‘to the public,’ eXp is redefining how agents can generate early demand and provide unparalleled exposure to their clients,” the statement said.
The statement also notes that listing syndication is not exclusive and any portal may “elect to accept eXp listings on comparable terms, subject to applicable MLS rules and seller permissions.”
Leo Pareja
“Our philosophy is simple,” eXp Realty CEO Leo Pareja said in a written statement. “When a home is for sale to the public, consumers should have the opportunity to see it. Our role as an industry is to create the most open and efficient marketplace possible for buyers and sellers.”
“This is not about limiting where the listings appear,” he added. “It is important to expand awareness and provide sellers with the widest possible audience while maintaining compliance with MLS rules and local regulations.”
Realtor.com CEO Damian Eales said the partnership aligns with the portal’s long-standing commitment to market transparency and MLS systems.
“Sellers want clicks, not cliques, and eXp is providing a service on their behalf,” he said in an emailed statement. “We recognize sellers’ desire to explore pricing before officially putting it on the market, and the ‘coming soon’ status is the ideal solution for buyers, sellers and professionals.”
“By displaying these listings on the open market, sellers can achieve true price discovery,” he added. “This eliminates the need for a restricted private marketplace and provides equal access to all buyers, rather than a select few selected by listing agents.”
Damien Eales
Eales said coming soon listings have proven benefits, giving listing agents and their clients more time to create excitement and attract more homebuyers, which can lead to higher sales prices.
“We appreciate eXp’s leadership and encourage all brokers to prioritize the interests of their customers by making ‘Coming Soon’ listings widely available through the MLS,” he said. “If your MLS does not currently support a ‘coming soon’ status, we encourage your MLS to create one.”
News of eXp’s pre-market syndication deal comes a day after Zillow announced a unique pre-market service launched in partnership with Keller Williams, REMAX, HomeServices of America and Side.
And late last month, Compass announced an upcoming partnership with Redfin, kickstarting a trend in premarketing syndication.
Details of the deal vary slightly, but the intent is to push the listing to consumers on some platforms before it becomes widely available on all platforms. They also come amid a broader movement among brokerages to create their own privately listed networks. Key players in this trend include Compass, which is leaning into what the company calls a “three-phase marketing strategy,” and Howard Hanna, which last week debuted a product called “HannaList.”
Update: This story was updated with additional background after publication.
Email Jim Dalrymple or Marian McPherson
