An Update on Zillow's New Listing Access Standards

For all details that agents need to know about Zillow's listing access standards, check out this updated article.

At Zillow, we aim to make home buying, selling and renting easier for everyone by ensuring all listings are accessible without barriers or bias. 

That's why we’ve established Zillow’s listing access standards, which outline how Zillow is implementing the NAR Clear Cooperation policy on our platform. At the core of these standards is one simple principle: A listing publicly marketed to any buyer should be marketed to every buyer. 

This means when a listing is publicly marketed to consumers — whether through a sign in the yard, an Instagram post, or on a brokerage website behind the lure of exclusive inventory behind a consumer login — it must be submitted to a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) within one day and published on Zillow and other sites that receive listing feeds. This is consistent with NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy and reflects our belief in fair access for all.

These standards take effect on Zillow and Trulia in May 2025. For many of you, nothing changes. You, like us, are committed to doing the right thing for your sellers and buyers in the market and are already marketing your listings to the widest audience of buyers by putting them in the MLS.

The problem with selective access

Listings shouldn't be used to control who participates in the home-buying process. Selectively sharing listings creates confusion, harms consumers and erodes trust. If a seller needs to keep their listing private for specific reasons, there's a path in the MLS for these cases. But publicly marketed listings should be accessible to everyone to ensure a level playing field - for consumers and for agents.

Our commitment: Consumers come first

Consumers shouldn't wonder if their perfect home is hidden behind a velvet rope. Agents shouldn't have to jump through hoops to show their buyers all available homes. When consumers and agents have equitable, timely access to real estate information, it supports and protects a more open and competitive housing market. We also know this is what our shared consumers want: your sellers want their home on Zillow, reaching the widest audience of prospective buyers. And your buyers want to see all available homes for sale on Zillow. 

Zillow is committed to free and fair access to real estate information. Our audience of movers, the largest in the category, expect to see all publicly available listings.

Our commitment to you

Consumer empowerment also benefits you. When we empower consumers, we’re also supporting great agents in building and scaling their businesses. Additionally, you cannot do your best work when you are unable to compete freely and fairly, earning business based on the value you offer, not because you are members of a private listing club. 

Zillow is committed to helping agents succeed in today’s real estate market. This means investing in software and tech offerings for real estate professionals, but it also means advocating for policies that move the industry forward - not back. We will continue to innovate so you have the tools and systems you need to serve your clients while also working together with brokerages who share our vision for a fair and equitable marketplace.