Errol Samuelson said the pre-marketing announcement on the platform does not replace the policy of private listings being sold publicly.
When Zillow announced a new pre-marketing option known as Zillow Preview on Tuesday, the portal was not abandoning its policy aimed at eradicating private listings for public sale, a company executive told Inman.
The portal’s new options will allow affiliated brokerages and franchise agents to upload listings directly to Zillow and Trulia without having to share them widely with multiple listing services or other portals.
But Chief Industrial Development Officer Errol Samuelson confirmed to Inman this week that the company has not changed its stance on listing access standards, an ongoing attempt to prevent brokerages and MLSs from building and promoting private listing networks.
“The principle behind it is that [the Listing Access Standards] “Some brokers go on the website and search and say, ‘There are 37 more properties that aren’t showing up in your search results,'” Samuelson said. But if you click here, I’ll show it to you. ”
“If you click here, you will be asked to work with one of our agents,” Samuelson said. “Essentially what they’re saying is we’re going to hide these listings and the only way you can see them is if you work with us.”
Zillow is in a battle with brokerage giant Compass over the company’s three-tier marketing strategy. The strategy also includes a stage where the company can only be listed through a Compass agent.
These listings are published on Compass’ website, which Zillow calls a “black box” that lets consumers know there are other listings available only through Compass. Doing so violates Zillow’s policies, and these listings are at risk of being banned from Zillow.
Samuelson said the strategy means brokerages are poised to collect fees from both sides of a trade, a practice known as “double ending.”
“It’s bad for sellers because they’re reducing sellers’ exposure in order to attract buyers and recruit agents to these hidden listings,” Samuelson added. “These hidden listings will still violate our Listing Access Standards. People have a fair shot at widely visible listings, whether it’s on Zillow or other national sites. So those listings will no longer violate our Listing Access Standards.”
Zillow also indicated that pre-sold listings will be allowed as long as they appear on national consumer search websites like Redfin and Realtor.com.
Redfin agents post upcoming listings on the portal as part of their marketing strategy, alongside upcoming listings from Compass-branded agents.
Samuelson said these listings do not violate Zillow’s policies and would appear on Zillow once they are active and widely distributed through the MLS, adding that other portals receive fewer monthly visitors than Zillow.
“While Redfin traffic is only a portion of our business, there are still ways for people to find these listings,” Samuelson said.
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