Redfin will ban home listings that receive delayed public marketing from appearing on its portal, following Zillow’s lead in an ongoing real estate fight over so-called pocket listings.
“Because we believe that all buyers should be able to see all listings, Redfin.com will not publish any listings that have been publicly marketed before being shared with all real estate websites via the MLS,” Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman wrote in a blog post on Monday.
Learn more: What are pocket listings, and how do they affect buyers and sellers?
Redfin’s decision follows a similar move by Zillow in response to a new rule from the National Association of Realtors meant to settle an industry fight over semi-secret listings known as “pocket” or “off-market” listings. The NAR kept in place a policy requiring homes to be listed on shared databases known as multiple listing services within a day of beginning public marketing, but added a provision that gives sellers the option to delay advertising their homes online.
The public marketing rule, known as Clear Cooperation, and the delayed marketing compromise have sparked fierce debate within the industry. Fair housing advocates and listings aggregators including Zillow and Redfin have long supported Clear Cooperation, saying it aids market transparency. Other brokerages have opposed it, arguing it limits seller choice and risks leaving them stuck with the stigma of price cuts and growing days on market.
Read more: Is it a good time to buy a house?
Kelman urged MLSs to create a “Coming Soon” designation that would show homes in an MLS without information about their price history or time on market.
Most home sellers want to market their homes to the widest possible pool of potential buyers. But a small percentage of sellers, especially in luxury markets, seek off-market listings to maintain privacy or test aspirational listing prices. In recent years, some brokerages, most notably Compass, have sought to distinguish themselves by promoting their access to private listings.
CoStar Group, which owns listings website Homes.com, has also weighed in on the dispute. CEO Andy Florance wrote in a letter to agents last week that real estate platforms should remain neutral on the policy and called Zillow’s decision “a pure power play of epic proportion.”
Claire Boston is a Senior Reporter for Yahoo Finance covering housing, mortgages, and home insurance.
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