Rollout of Zillow’s private listings ban hits speed bump
A Chicago-area MLS told brokers that listings from its “unique” PLN could be barred by Zillow, but later confirmed Zillow is delaying enforcement in the region.
Zillow's ban on certain private listings — the subject of ongoing litigation with Compass — has rolled out nearly everywhere in the country.
But the leading home search site said enforcement of its new standards have not taken effect in and around the Chicago area "due to the unique situation" of Illinois-based MRED (Midwest Real Estate Data).
MRED has had its own private listing network for nearly a decade, which seems to put it on a collision course with Zillow's rules.
Confusion around enforcement: On Nov. 3, MRED President and CEO Rebecca Jensen said the MLS had sent a notice to managing brokers "after receiving reports that some had been informed their active listings may not appear on Zillow if they had previously been in MRED's Private Listing Network."
But MRED later confirmed "directly with Zillow that this policy has not been implemented in MRED's coverage area," Jensen added. "At this time, Zillow continues to display all active listings from MRED."
A Zillow spokesperson also confirmed that no MRED listings have received warnings related to Zillow's listing access standards, adding that the company has "been attempting to work with [MRED] since the spring."
How we got here: In April, Zillow announced new Listing Access Standards, which require listings that are publicly promoted to consumers to be made widely available via the MLS.
Enforcement of the standards began on June 30, with the company explaining in a blog post that "an agent's third non-compliant listing — and any subsequent non-compliant listings — will be blocked from Zillow and Trulia for the life of the listing agreement between that listing broker and seller."
More about MRED: MRED is the nation's eighth-largest MLS, with nearly 50,000 subscribers in the Chicago area and beyond. In August, it signed on to support the relaunch of Broker Public Portal's home search site, an industry-owned venture and potential Zillow competitor now known as Cribio.
Jensen described the search site at the time as a portal agents "can trust" and an initiative that represents the MLS's "promise of providing additional value" to members — a message echoed in the MLS's statement on its blog about how its private listing status provides "flexibility" while also giving brokers and appraisers with "access to the data they need to make informed decisions and pull accurate comps."