Compass offers incentives to agents who ditch StreetEasy 

StreetEasy is preparing to enforce new updates to its Listings Quality Policy — and the changes appear to have ruffled feathers at Compass and elicited a new boycott.

The updated policy, which goes into effect Sept. 17, will prohibit home listings that are selectively marketed but aren't published the same calendar day on StreetEasy. Listing agents will receive a warning the first two times they are found to be in violation. Their third non-compliant listing and any that follow won't be published to StreetEasy, Zillow or Trulia, and the violating agent will lose eligibility for StreetEasy Experts.

The policy changes by StreetEasy, Zillow's subsidiary serving the New York City market, echoes the Listing Access Standards that Zillow unveiled in the spring of 2025, which the home search giant revised in March of this year amid its shift on pre-marketing.

Private listings won't go quietly

In advance of StreetEasy's Listings Quality Policy updates, some Compass International Holdings brands and individual agents have started touting on social media the listings they have that are "not on StreetEasy," with links to the individual firms' websites, Jonathan Miller noted in a Sept. 14 post to his Housing Notes Substack.

But the effort to bash StreetEasy goes beyond social media.

In an email dated Sept. 13 that was addressed to Compass real estate professionals in New York City and subsequently obtained by Real Estate News, Compass asked agents to remove any active listings or listings in contract on StreetEasy "where your sellers and you are comfortable." In exchange, those agents were told they will receive a 30-day $1,000 digital marketing package across Google, Facebook and Instagram.

The brokerage said it will be launching its own Compass.com "advertising blitz" that will encompass Google search, digital advertising across major social media, and other digital news platforms, buyer retargeting, major print advertising and more.

The email also asked agents who felt comfortable doing so to move any current Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) Participant Only Listings (POL) to "active" in the Residential Listing Service (RLS) only, and to place any listings they plan to bring to market before Sept. 17 as active in the RLS only — moves that would keep the listings off public-facing sites. 

The email did not specify whether the StreetEasy boycott was intended as a temporary measure. However, it stressed that agents should take advantage of a "unique moment" and remove listings before the rollout of the platform's policy update. The message promised additional support in the coming days regarding how to discuss removing listings from StreetEasy with sellers.

A Compass representative declined to comment when asked about the email and marketing incentive.

Conflicting reactions among Compass agents

A Compass agent who agreed to speak with Real Estate News anonymously said they knew of at least two New York City-area offices that received the email — and suspected other offices had too.

Based on discussions around the office, the agent said feelings were mixed, with some real estate professionals feeling fed up with StreetEasy's rules and escalating fees (as the email noted, rental listings went from being free to costing $8 per day) while others felt appreciative of the platform's service to the industry. 

Many also felt exasperated at being caught in the middle of the feuding companies, the agent added, with some planning to temporarily remove their listings from StreetEasy to take advantage of the marketing credits before restoring them later this week. 

While whispers of a StreetEasy boycott began earlier this summer, there was at that time no publicly reported mention of agent incentives attached to such actions. But in meetings with top New York City agents at the end of July, Compass executives suggested brokers temporarily remove their listings from StreetEasy starting in August, The Real Deal previously reported.

StreetEasy not a 'limitation' for sellers, rep says

In a statement emailed to Real Estate News, a representative for StreetEasy suggested that sellers might not be getting the full picture when their agent asks them to remove their home listing from the portal.

"Compass leadership is asking agents to convince sellers that StreetEasy's 2 million monthly visitors is a limitation," the representative wrote. "Those 2 million people are actively searching for homes in New York City. No month-long social media ad campaign replicates that."

Sellers would do well to question "who this decision is really serving," the rep added.

Recent 20% rule only impacts one company

A separate update to StreetEasy's Experts program limits the share of agents from any single brokerage that can be included in its lead generation program — and Compass International Holdings is currently the only company impacted.

In late August, StreetEasy said it will not add any more agents from brokerages that represent 20% or more of Experts' total participants. However, a Zillow representative told Real Estate News that StreetEasy will not remove any agents currently enrolled in the program regardless of their brokerage's status.

The rule is enforced at the company-wide level, the Zillow representative clarified, which means that it applies to Compass International Holdings as one entity, rather than the individual brands that make up the company today. The update is intended to create a "healthier overall program" that is "fair and accessible," the rep said.

"The participation cap ensures that agents at companies of every size, from small independent shops to the city's largest firms, have a meaningful opportunity to grow their business through Experts," they added.