Listing Transparency in Real Estate

Homeownership has long been the foundation of the American Dream — and here at Zillow, we work every day to help more people get home with speed, affordability, and ease. That starts with transparency: the foundation of a fair, open, and competitive real estate market. Buyers and sellers should have access to the full picture. That means all available listings, clear information, and equal opportunity to participate. But a growing trend in the industry threatens that promise.

Private listing networks – also known as “pocket listings” or “closed listing networks” – keep homes off the public market and behind closed doors, limiting visibility, reducing competition, and distorting prices. On the rare occasion a seller has a legitimate reason to keep their listing fully private — whether for privacy, safety or another personal reason — we support that. But by and large, these practices benefit a few large brokerages while increasing costs for sellers and limiting access for buyers.

When Listings Are Hidden, Consumers Lose

Sellers Lose

A 2024 CRMLS study found that homes kept off the MLS:

Spent 20-22 more days on the market
Sold for an average of $30,000 less

Zillow’s own analysis shows that off-MLS sellers have lost more than $1 billion in the last two years alone. And the harm falls hardest on communities of color:

Homes in majority Hispanic neighborhoods sold for 4% less off-MLS
Homes in majority Black neighborhoods sold for 3.1% less

These practices reduce transparency, restrict opportunity, and reinforce disparities.

Buyers Lose

When listings are hidden, buyers face a fragmented market. Limited visibility means fewer options, reduced competition, and higher prices. Without access to all available homes, buyers can’t make fully informed decisions. This lack of transparency worsens the housing affordability crisis.

So Why Is This Happening?

Private listing networks hurt buyers, sellers, and free-market principles. There’s only one group that they help — and that’s big brokerages. By keeping homes exclusive to select buyers, they increase the chances of representing both buyer and seller in a deal – lining their own pockets in the process, creating conflicts of interest, and hurting consumers. This practice fragments the market and undermines the open, transparent system that works best for everyone.

A Broad Coalition Is Advocating for Listing Transparency

From consumer and civil rights organizations to real estate brokerages, many voices are coming together to call out the harms of hidden listings and push for transparency in the market.

“We encourage all brokers to support Zillow’s efforts to maintain the transparency of real estate markets and prevent their balkanization.”

Stephen BrobeckConsumer Policy Center

“The fact that major real estate players are actively undermining open access… underscores the urgent need for formalizing these principles beyond the scope of any single industry organization or platform.”

NAHREP

“A fair housing market should be just that: fair. No one should be locked out of opportunities simply because they aren’t part of an exclusive club or don’t have the right connections.”

Michael ChavarriaHOPE Fair Housing Center

Groups like National Fair Housing Alliance, California Alliance for Anti-Reciprocity Enforcement, and the National Association for Real Estate Brokers, are also speaking out.

And a growing list of brokerages share this commitment, including eXp, NextHome, WestUSA, Samson Properties, Lammachia Realty, Brown Harris Stevens, Windemere, Anywhere, and others.

Together, this coalition is working to keep the housing market fair, open, and accessible for everyone.

Stories

Predatory practices that undermine the free market are harming consumers everywhere.

One homeowner in the Bay Area nearly lost $100,000 after initially listing her home privately — only to discover its true value on the open market

“The broader the reach, the more competitive the results. Period.” – Wendy Gilch, Fellow at the Consumer Policy Center, on why she would never list privately.

How Zillow is Advocating for Listing Transparency

At Zillow, our mission is to make buying, selling and renting a home easier for everyone. That means helping consumers access all available listings — without barriers, bias or backroom deals. It also means creating a more transparent, fair and efficient marketplace for agents and brokers.

At the core of Zillow’s new Listing Access Standards is one simple principle: A listing marketed to some buyers should be marketed to every buyer. Why is this important? Because consumers deserve fair access to listings without having to get access behind a velvet rope controlled by any one company.

Consumers should not have to wonder whether the home that might be perfect for them is hidden behind a gate they didn’t know existed. And agents shouldn’t have to jump through hoops just to show their clients all the homes available to buy.

In some cases, buyers are encouraged to commit to an agent by being promised exclusive access to certain listings. This limits transparency, disadvantages consumers, and undermines trust in the market. I think we have to introduce what this practice is and the earlier sentence doesn’t do that super well It’s a bait-and-switch move, where agents or brokerages try to get the best of both worlds — dangling a listing to gain more business, only to turn around and market it widely later.

On the rare occasion a seller has a legitimate reason to keep their listing fully private — whether for privacy, safety or another personal reason — we support that. In those cases, the listing never gets publicly marketed (on Zillow or anywhere else online) and there is an existing path for these unique sellers. It’s the exception, not the norm. But when a listing is made public, it should be accessible to every consumer and every agent. Anything less creates an uneven playing field.