In Real Estate, Visibility = Power: Zillow's Latest Rule Change & How It Will Affect Who Sees Your Home
- New Era Real Estate
- Jun 2
- 3 min read
If you’ve ever browsed through newly-listed homes on Zillow, you know how easy it is to fall down a real estate rabbit hole, clicking through seemingly endless photos of dream kitchens and beautiful backyards. But behind the scenes, there’s a big change happening in how homes listed for sale show up on the site, and it could affect both buyers AND sellers.
Zillow — the largest real estate website in the US, and the go-to platform for many when house hunting — is tightening the rules for which listings make it onto their platform. In line with the National Association of Realtors ‘Clear Cooperation Policy’, Zillow will now only display listings that are also on a local Multiple Listing Service (MLS). In South Jersey, if a listing isn’t added to the South Jersey Shore MLS, it ain’t showing up on Zillow.
If an agent or brokerage advertises a home publicly (e.g. on social media, with a yard sign, or on their own website), but does NOT put it on the MLS within one business day, that listing will be removed from both Zillow and Trulia.
This is a pretty big deal because for many consumers, Zillow is the first (and sometimes only) place they go when looking for a home. If a property isn’t on Zillow, it's almost like it doesn’t exist at all to a majority of buyers. While these listings can still be marketed elsewhere, not being on Zillow can significantly reduce visibility, especially among casual browsers and first-time buyers who aren’t yet working with a Realtor®.
Zillow states that this change is meant to level the playing field. The idea is that everyone should have equal access to listings, not just a select few who happen to have insider info, or those with a friend who is licensed who can give them the scoop. By requiring homes to be on the MLS, Zillow hopes to ensure that listings are widely available to all potential buyers, not just those connected to certain agents or brokerages.
Of course, not everyone’s thrilled by this rule change. Some real estate agents argue that the policy limits their sellers flexibility: for example, some clients prefer to "test the waters" by listing their home privately, before making their listed home fully public in the MLS. Others might want to market exclusively to a select network of high-end, luxury real estate buyers. Under Zillow’s new listing policy, opting for an off-MLS (i.e. private) listing could mean giving up major marketing visibility on the most visited real estate platform in the country.
What’s the real trade off? Public listings on the MLS are then shared to a wide network of platforms, including Zillow, Realtor.com, and Redfin, and more —giving sellers MAXIMUM exposure. Skipping the MLS may keep a sale more private, but it’s also likely to risk losing access to a much larger audience. And in a market where competition is fierce, that’s a big risk.
When it comes to the current real estate market, what’s the situation nowadays anyway? As of May 2025, housing inventory remains tight in many parts of the country, though there's been a slight increase in new listings compared to 2024. According to BusinessWire, “The U.S housing market 500,000 more sellers than buyers — the most on record.” Mortgage rates are still hovering above 6%, which has kept some buyers waiting on the sidelines for a rate drop, but demand remains strong, especially in more affordable markets. Homes that are priced well and marketed with a wide scope — and included on sites like on Zillow, Realtor.com, and Trulia — are still moving quickly.
Whether you’re listing your home or you’re house hunting, it’s important to understand how these visibility rules work. For sellers, getting your property on the MLS quickly is more important than ever if you want full exposure to as many potential buyers as possible. For those looking to buy, you can feel a little more confident knowing that what you’re seeing on sites like Zillow is a more complete picture of what’s actually available.
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