The new option for home sellers
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Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
A new real estate industry policy will allow home sellers to delay sharing their listings online.
Why it matters: The change aims to give people more flexibility when advertising houses for sale, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced Tuesday.
How it works: Most homes for sale will remain widely viewable on the databases brokers use — but some listings might not show up right away on websites like Zillow and Redfin.
- Sellers who select the new option must sign a disclosure agreeing "to waive the benefits of immediate public marketing" on the internet, per NAR.
- Zillow tells Axios it expects to have access to listings at the same time as other multiple listing service members.
The big picture: The shakeup comes after some brokerages pushed for more leeway to privately share listings with their agents and clients before advertising them publicly.
- Other companies and consumer advocates warned such a shift could make the housing market harder to navigate.
What we're hearing: NAR's decision "makes the system less transparent by limiting buyer access to current listings," Stephen Brobeck, senior fellow at the Consumer Policy Center, tells Axios.
- "Requiring a formal seller disclosure further underscores the risk of holding listings off-market and that privately listing a property should be the exception, not the rule," Errol Samuelson, Zillow's chief industry development officer, says in a statement.
The other side: Private-listing advocates say the status quo hurts home values by making sellers reveal details such as price drops and time on the market.
What's next: The new policy must be implemented by Sept. 30, according to NAR.
- Local marketplaces will each decide how long listings can be withheld from search websites.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information from Zillow.
