The latest on Zillow’s new listings rules as 2nd brokerage commits 

Zillow's plans to bar listings that are publicly marketed but not widely available via the MLS has touched off a wave of response — and questions.

The standards, announced April 10, will take effect on Zillow and Trulia in May. The home search site characterizes the move as its implementation of the National Association of Realtors' Clear Cooperation Policy. Real Estate News has reached out to NAR for comment.

Another brokerage commits: NextHome Co-CEO James Dwiggins was among industry leaders cheering the new Zillow policy and on April 11 officially signed on, joining launch partner eXp. "Partnering with Zillow to commit to listing transparency is simply the right thing to do for homebuyers and sellers," Dwiggins said in a news release.

Keller Williams, meanwhile, said blanket policies like Zillow's should be handled from the ground up. "We believe it is up to our franchisees and agents to advocate at the local level for the policies they believe best serve their clients," spokesperson Darryl Frost told Real Estate News.

Compass, which has advocated for the repeal of Clear Cooperation, offered the following statement: "NAR's recent move to allow more homeowner choice was a small step forward. Zillow's ultimatum to remove homeowner choice goes the other way. Blocking listings that homeowners want publicly marketed because Zillow wants the listing first doesn't serve consumers."

eXp and exclusives: eXp has an office exclusives program, which might seem to be at odds with Zillow's listing transparency move, but eXp Realty CEO Leo Pareja — a vocal advocate of Clear Cooperation — doesn't see it that way.

The brokerage's Exclusives platform, called eXp Access, "is not a loophole, it's a lifeline," Pareja said in a statement to Real Estate News. It was built to comply with Clear Cooperation and "reflects everything we stand for: trust, flexibility, and doing what's right for the consumer."

"It's designed for the rare but legitimate cases where sellers require privacy — judges, federal agents, high-profile individuals, or tenant-occupied homes. It is not marketed to consumers but instead is used as an office exclusive tool," Pareja added.  

"This is not about avoiding the MLS. It's about empowering agents with professional tools to serve every unique client scenario, without compromising fiduciary duty. Last year, fewer than 1,000 of our 350,000+ transactions were off-market. That statistic alone shows we're operating with intention and integrity, not exploitation."

What about Coming Soon listings? Some MLSs allow agents to designate a Coming Soon status for a listing, temporarily delaying showings and full distribution. A Zillow rep said this complies with Zillow's standards as long as a Coming Soon listing is entered in the MLS and is displayable on all sites receiving a feed.

Can a banned listing get back on Zillow? Errol Samuelson, Zillow's chief industry development officer, told Real Estate News that if the listing is "relisted with a different brokerage and at that new brokerage, they put it into the MLS within one day of public marketing, then absolutely we're going to show that listing."

If someone believes their listing has been wrongly excluded from Zillow, there is not an appeals process per se, but Samuelson said they should reach out to the company's customer support team.