Sellers should be able to choose how their listing goes to market 

Thinking big about residential real estate success requires a big-picture perspective. Industry Decoded features industry experts who can enrich your understanding of issues affecting the industry as a whole.

The views expressed in this column are solely those of the author.

This week, a courtroom in Chicago is hearing arguments that could reshape how homes are marketed and sold across the country. At the center of it is a simple question: whether sellers and their agents should have the freedom to choose how, when and where a home comes to market, or whether that decision should effectively be made for them by the platforms that control listing distribution.

It's the latest chapter in a broader conversation that's been playing out loudly across our industry for a while now. Portals, MLSs and other platforms have spent the better part of the last year debating what listing strategies should be available to homeowners. But the loudest voices in that debate share something in common: none of them have a fiduciary duty to the seller, none of them sit across from a seller and learn their story, and none of them are responsible for figuring out what it's going to take to get their home sold.

I've spent my first month as president of Coldwell Banker Affiliates on the road, meeting with broker-owners and agents across the country. Every conversation reinforces the same thing: These are professionals who know their markets, know their clients and know how to get a home sold. That expertise deserves to be trusted. The moment we decide there's only one acceptable path to market, we've already made the seller's choice for them.

Seller choice in practice

Real estate is local, but it's also deeply individual. I spend time with tens of thousands of affiliated agents across 50+ markets in the U.S., and what I hear consistently is that no two sellers are the same, and no two conversations are the same.

Some want immediate broad marketing. Others prefer a phased approach that allows them to pressure test pricing, adds flexibility, builds early momentum and maintains control over their marketing timeline. Unless you're working directly with a seller, you cannot know what their individual needs are. A one-size-fits-all approach simply does not consider the preferences of the most important people: the homeowner.

That's where real estate professionals come in. Agents advocate for their clients, helping them understand their options and giving them freedom to choose how, when and where their home is marketed. No algorithm, portal or AI tool can weigh a seller's personal timeline, financial situation, privacy concerns and emotional readiness and arrive at the perfect plan; that requires real, human conversations and professional experience. Empowering home sellers to sell their home on their own terms is what seller choice actually looks like.

The benefit for buyers

Freedom benefits buyers, too. Options bring more homes to the market, increasing buyer choice. No longer would owners need to wait for a "season" to sell their home; they could bring their home to market immediately when they are ready. 

A phased approach that includes office exclusive and coming-soon listings can give buyers working with any agent access to inventory before it hits the open market — which can mean more time to make a decision. And when those listings reach the wider market, buyers can trust that they've been price-tested, so the listed price is more likely to reflect what the home will actually sell for. A more informed, more confident way to buy homes helps everyone.

The market has spoken

The real estate industry has shifted. Homeowners want more flexibility and freedom in how they market their home, and the broader industry trend has been toward expanding options. Buyers deserve tested pricing. Sellers deserve options. The "best" choice for any one person isn't something a single company should try to dictate. And yet, that's exactly what's happening.

 Zillow launched Zillow Preview and ended its ban on coming-soon listings that appear on other portals or brokerage sites, a move that implicitly acknowledges what the industry has been saying for years: The option to choose phased marketing serves sellers and shouldn't be blocked or punished. Yet, Zillow maintains its ban on homes that begin as private exclusives, even when they are publicly marketed. It's difficult to reconcile a policy that embraces seller flexibility when it benefits that particular platform while penalizing others from providing options.

If a home is publicly marketed and available to consumers, consumers benefit from seeing it. Withholding those listings doesn't create transparency. It limits it.

Agents are entrepreneurs — let's treat them like it

The only person who should be making marketing decisions about a home is the seller, guided by a licensed professional who knows their needs and market. A seller who works with their agent to choose a thoughtful marketing path deserves to have that decision respected, not overruled.

We don't tell coaches there is only one way to win a game, or lawyers that there is only one way to structure a deal. Agents deserve that same professional trust, and their clients deserve a partner who can freely exercise it. That's what real estate agents are for.

Mary Lee Blaylock is the president of Coldwell Banker Affiliates and a longtime real estate executive. She previously held leadership roles at Sotheby's International Realty, HomeServices of America and Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties, and she is widely recognized for her impact on the residential real estate industry.