At Zillow, our mission is to make buying, selling and renting a home easier for everyone. That means helping consumers access all available listings — without barriers, bias or backroom deals. It also means creating a more transparent, fair and efficient marketplace for agents and brokers.
That’s why we’ve established Zillow’s listing access standards, which outlines how Zillow is implementing the NAR Clear Cooperation Policy on our platform. At the core of these standards is one simple principle: A listing marketed to any buyer should be marketed to every buyer. This means in the MLS, on Zillow and even on non-Zillow portals or brokerage sites. Why is this important? Because consumers deserve fair access to listings without having to get access behind a velvet rope controlled by any one company.
This means when a listing is publicly marketed to consumers — whether through a sign in the yard, an Instagram post or on a brokerage website behind the lure of exclusive inventory behind a consumer login — it must be submitted to a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) within one day and published on Zillow and other sites that receive listing feeds. This is consistent with NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy and reflects our belief in fair access for all.
For a seller to get maximum exposure with their listing on Zillow, an agent will need to enter it in the MLS at the point of publicly marketing. Our standards are straightforward: If a listing is marketed directly to consumers without being listed on the MLS and made widely available where buyers search for homes, it will not be published on Zillow.
These new listing standards apply to listings that are subject to an exclusive for sale listing agreement between a broker and a seller.
They will go into effect on Zillow and Trulia in late May 2025.
The problem with pick-and-choose access
Listings shouldn’t be used as leverage to control who gets to participate in the home-buying process. Practices that selectively share listings — such as with buyers or sellers who agree to work with an agent due to the promise of exclusive access — create confusion, harm consumers and erode trust in the marketplace. It’s a bait-and-switch move, where agents or brokerages try to get the best of both worlds — dangling a listing to gain more business, only to turn around and market it widely later.
On the rare occasion a seller has a legitimate reason to keep their listing fully private — whether for privacy, safety or another personal reason — we support that. In those cases, the listing never gets publicly marketed (on Zillow or anywhere else online) and there is an existing path in the MLS for these unique sellers. It’s the exception, not the norm. But when a listing is made public, it should be accessible to every consumer and every agent. Anything less creates an uneven playing field.
Our commitment: Consumers come first
Consumers should not have to wonder whether the home that might be perfect for them is hidden behind a gate they didn’t know existed. And agents shouldn’t have to jump through hoops just to show their clients all the homes available to buy.
Zillow was founded on the principle of free and fair access to real estate information and listings and we have not wavered in that commitment. We are the most trusted consumer brand in real estate, with the largest audience of movers who expect to see all the publicly available listings on Zillow. We have a responsibility to deliver what consumers demand and deserve. We will continue to advocate for the best interests of consumers, as we always have.
By requiring timely listings in the MLS and on other sites that receive MLS feeds, Zillow aims to prevent the disadvantages that arise from private listing networks and restricted inventory, which limit visibility and have an added impact for first-time buyers, lower-income groups and communities of color.
What this means for the industry
Zillow’s listing access standards reinforce what most in the real estate community already believe: transparency and equal access are essential for a healthy marketplace. When listings are made equally available to all agents and all consumers, everyone benefits. If you’re already doing the right thing for your buyers and sellers, nothing changes for you.
Our standards say it’s okay to share office exclusives among agents within the same brokerage, or to have delayed marketing or coming soon listings that are entered into the MLS and available to all MLS participants. And, of course, it’s okay to maintain a seller’s privacy when necessary by keeping a listing off the internet entirely. But when it’s time to market to buyers, that means all buyers.
These standards also reduce confusion for consumers. Fragmented listing access — in which a home is available on one platform but not another, or shared with some agents but not others — creates frustration and distrust.
Zillow is committed to consistency, clarity and fairness, and to empowering brokerages, like eXp Realty, and agents who are dedicated to raising the bar for access. Zillow and eXp Realty encourage other industry leaders — brokerages, MLSs and tech platforms alike — to commit to transparent practices prioritizing access for all consumers and agents, not just a select few.
That’s what consumers expect, and what they deserve.