StreetEasy, a listing platform owned by Zillow Group (NASDAQ: Z, ZG), announced that it will prevent access by New York City agents who publicly market listings to a select group of potential buyers.
In a blog post on the StreetEasy website, Vice President and General Manager Caroline Burton stated if “a listing is publicly marketed — whether through an email blast, an Instagram post, or on a brokerage website with the lure of exclusive inventory behind a consumer registration — it must be submitted to StreetEasy within one business day of that public marketing. These listing standards apply to listings that are subject to an exclusive for sale listing agreement between an agent and a seller.”
The policy change will go into effect in June, with Burton adding that StreetEasy “will communicate specifics about an exact implementation date in advance.” She noted that while most agents and teams will not be impacted, those who “choose to publicly market listings to some buyers but not all buyers will lose access to programs including StreetEasy Experts, StreetEasy Concierge and Zillow Premier Agent in NYC and will not have access to new listing and agent marketing tools StreetEasy is rolling out soon. Additionally, NYC listings that do not comply with Zillow’s listing access standards will not be published on Zillow or Trulia when the Zillow standards go into effect later in May.”
Burton declared the policy shift was to provide fair access to inventory.
“When real estate listings are hidden from consumers, it creates an uneven playing field,” she continued. “This lack of transparency can erode trust in the real estate market, where buyers are not given a fair chance to explore all their options and could miss out on their ideal home simply because the listing agent is selectively sharing the listing. Sellers also lose out on the best possible offers due to a reduced pool of potential buyers. This can result in less competitive prices for sellers, fewer choices for buyers, and limits everyone’s ability to make informed decisions.”
