Zillow launches ‘Preview’ to highlight pre-market listings 

Less than a month after Compass announced plans to market its exclusive listings via Redfin, Zillow has unveiled a new product aimed at bringing more transparency to homes marketed before they are officially listed for sale.

Called Zillow Preview, the feature will allow participating brokerages to display listings on Zillow and Trulia in a clearly labeled pre-market phase before they go active in the MLS. 

Buyers will be able to view the homes, save them and request tours scheduled for when the property officially hits the market. Sellers will see their home get a boost in search results. And listing agents will be able to get leads and 10% of the buyer commission residual from Zillow if a Preview listing connection to a Zillow Premier Agent leads to any completed transaction.

"Some organizations are trying to gate access to listings," Zillow Chief Industry Development Officer Errol Samuelson told Real Estate News. "What we're trying to do here is say, with these pre-market listings, let's make them available to everybody on the internet."

The product will roll out over the next month with five high-profile partners — Keller Williams, HomeServices of America, REMAX, Side and United Real Estate. Zillow says the program will also be open to other brokerages that support broad listing access.

Guy Gal, co-founder and CEO of Side, said Zillow Preview puts its agents' and teams' listings "in front of 235 million users, with their brand front and center. No private network can match that. We believe in transparency and accessibility in real estate, and if a seller wants to pre-market, this is the best way to do that while still protecting buyers' access to available homes."

"The ability to provide exponential exposure at the beginning of the sales cycle is an extremely compelling value proposition," Chris Kelly, president & CEO of HomeServices of America, said in a statement.

Designed to work with MLS rules

Zillow has taken an increasingly aggressive stance against private listing networks. The home search giant is even facing a lawsuit from Compass over its Listing Access Standards, which bar listings that are publicly marketed but not broadly shared through the MLS or IDX feeds.

"We believe an open market serves consumers the best," said Gary Keller, executive chairman and co-founder of Keller Williams, said in a statement. "Sellers should have the opportunity to reach the broadest pool of potential buyers if they choose to do so, because broad exposure generally benefits the homeowner."

Zillow says its program is designed to operate within existing MLS policies, which often allow a brief window for pre-marketing before a listing must be entered into the system. MLS rules vary by market, Samuelson said, but the most common requirement is that listings must be submitted to the MLS within one business day after public marketing begins.

"The goal here is to comply with those rules," Samuelson said. "You can use Zillow Preview in alignment with whatever the local practices are."

How Zillow Preview works

Under the program, brokerages can send listings directly to Zillow during the pre-market phase rather than through MLS feeds.

Homes in Zillow Preview will receive:

• Prominent placement in Zillow search results

• Brokerage branding on the listing

• The ability for buyers to save the property or reserve a time for a tour once the home becomes active

While a home is in preview status, Zillow will route "Contact Agent" inquiries directly to the listing agent, a departure from the portal's typical lead-distribution model.

The site will also allow buyers to click "Take a Tour," which connects them with Zillow Premier Agents — but those tours are scheduled only once the listing officially becomes active.

"We basically pre-book that tour for when the listing is going to come live," Samuelson said. "The idea is this is truly something's coming — you can go see it on opening night."

A new incentive for listing agents

Zillow is also introducing a financial incentive tied to Preview leads.

If a buyer who schedules a tour through Zillow Preview ultimately completes a purchase through a Zillow Premier Agent, the company will pay the listing agent 10% of the buy-side commission generated by that lead, Samuelson said.

The payment comes from Zillow's share of the transaction and does not affect the buyer's agent commission, he added.

A different approach than Compass' strategy

Zillow's new product, which Samuelson said has been in the works for six months, comes as Compass continues to expand its strategy of marketing listings before they reach the open market.

In late February, Compass struck a strategic partnership with Rocket and Redfin that will allow the brokerage's "Coming Soon" and "Private Exclusive" listings to appear on Redfin's platform. Those listings will not display some information — including days on market or price reductions — unless the seller later chooses to list on the open market.

Zillow's new program emphasizes broad visibility rather than selective access, which REMAX CEO Erik Carlson said creates clarity for buyers and sellers "at a time when inventory is tight and decisions are harder than ever."

"We recognize there is value for the home seller to start building demand early," Samuelson said. "But we're going to make sure that everybody can see the listings. No one is getting a head start."

Note: This story has been updated to include United Real Estate as a partner.