StreetEasy adds status options so listings can ‘build momentum’
Zillow’s NYC-focused portal now offers agents a 14-day window to pre-market properties without accruing days on market or displaying price changes.
Seven months after "Preview" launched on Zillow and Trulia, the pre-market offering is becoming available on StreetEasy, Zillow Group's New York City listings portal.
2 new statuses: Starting today, agents listing for-sale properties on StreetEasy will have the option to select one of two pre-market listing statuses — Preview and Coming Soon — the company announced this week. The pre-marketing phase is limited to 14 days, which StreetEasy described in a blog post as "a short window to build momentum, not a permanent state." The statuses cannot be used in phases; an agent can pick only one option for a given listing.
What buyers can see: Listings in either status are publicly displayed "from the moment they publish," according to StreetEasy, and home shoppers can view the listing and pre-schedule a showing. Agents can also see views, saves, shares and messages to track engagement.
…and what they can't: While coming-soon listings accumulate days on market and show price changes, Preview listings do not. "This gives you and your agent the flexibility to test and refine your selling strategy early on, without losing your go-live momentum," StreetEasy wrote. Following the two-week pre-marketing phase, a Preview listing changes to active status and its search results ranking is reset.
'Better buyer demand insights': The StreetEasy blog post, which is aimed at consumers, says the Preview status allows sellers to "tweak pricing, presentation, and other details before your property is actively for sale," which provides "more exposure and better buyer demand insights."
Compass, the leading proponent of pre-marketing, has repeatedly shared a similar message, arguing that visible price reductions or extended days on market are "negative insights" that disadvantage sellers.
No 'gatekeeping': The difference between Preview and Compass' 3-phased marketing approach, according to StreetEasy, is "there is no closed network and no brokerage gatekeeping" because consumers can view the listings from day one without having to register or work with an agent from a particular firm.
The NYC portal also noted that "no brokerage agreement is required, which matters for independent and boutique firms that have been left out of premarket tools tied to large-brokerage programs."
Pre-marketing and transparency can coexist: To further distinguish Preview from brokerage-specific private listing programs, StreetEasy GM and Zillow VP Caroline Burton emphasized that the offering is consistent with an open marketplace.
"Premarketing doesn't need to mean pre-selecting who gets to see a home, and a premarket tool shouldn't depend on which brokerage's name is on your business card," Burton said in a statement. "For too long, the industry has treated premarketing and transparency like a tradeoff. It isn't, and StreetEasy Preview proves it: any NYC agent can build demand early, in front of the largest audience of NYC home shoppers, without closing the market to anyone."