Zillow is getting stricter with new listing access standards, and there’s one big takeaway: If an agent wants to promote a listing, they need to submit it to a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) within one day. Starting May 28, agents who don’t comply with these new guidelines will be notified, and by June 30, agents with three or more non-compliant listings will be blocked from both Zillow and Trulia.
“At the core of these standards is one simple principle: A listing marketed to any buyer should be marketed to every buyer,” the company wrote in a blog post, further explaining that it also aligns with the National Association of Realtors’s Clear Cooperation Policy.
“Zillow’s platform lives or dies by consumer trust,” explains Gerson Seise of Gerson Seise Realty in Laguna Beach, California. “For agents, it’s a wakeup call: You can’t play fast and loose with listings anymore. Everything you publish needs to be accurate, transparent, and fully syndicated through the MLS.”
Seise adds that bypassing the MLS service means a property likely hasn’t been vetted properly. These listings could be fake, outdated (as in, they’ve already sold but remain active), or a way for agents to fish for new buyer leads. For instance, two listings could market the same home but use different photos or information. The result? Buyers are confused by the duplicates, and the market appears significantly more competitive and inventory-rich.
“The ‘hustle’ era of shadow listings and marketing tricks is over,” Seise says. “Today’s market demands real strategy—and real compliance.”