Here’s What’s Still on Zillow After Chicago Blackout

More than half of Chicago-area homesellers woke up Wednesday to find their listings had vanished from Zillow.

Midwest Real Estate Data, the MLS operator for northern Illinois, cut off its listing feed to Zillow, saying Zillow’s refusal to display listings that had been marketed privately before going public violates the MLS’s rules. Zillow sued MRED and Compass last week, accusing them of colluding to pressure Zillow into displaying listings that start their marketing process outside its websites.

What’s left on the platform are listings from brokerage firms that signed agreements with Zillow to send their feeds directly, going around the MLS. Compass International Holdings and its brands, which represent more than a third of MRED’s transaction volume, previously ended their direct feeds to Zillow, meaning their listings are not displaying on the site.

But listings from brokerages like Baird & Warner, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago, Keller Williams OneChicago, eXp Realty, and Re/Max franchises are still appearing on Zillow.

Joe Zimmerman, operating principal at Keller Williams OneChicago, said his firm made that decision the day before MRED severed its feed to Zillow. The brokerage signed a 90-day agreement to ensure their listing flow continued to appear as the dispute plays out, he said.

“This wasn’t about taking political sides in a dispute,” Zimmerman said. “It was about protecting our agents and our consumers while giving ourselves time to thoroughly evaluate where the industry ultimately lands.”

Others have had direct feeds for some time, as it became clear that MRED could pull listings from Zillow. D.J. Paris, president of sales and marketing at Kale Realty, said the brokerage set up a direct feed months ago.

“We believe agent listings should be distributed anywhere sellers want them,” he said. “I think this should drive some agents to join independent brokerages, as they will likely keep their Zillow feeds active.”

Zillow’s reach is a major reason brokerage leaders cited for why they’re continuing to send listings to the site. Zillow receives more than 200 million monthly visitors, making it by far the most visited home search portal in the country. Grigory Pekarsky, the managing broker at Vesta Preferred Realty, was blunt about his rationale.

“We are not idiots,” Pekarsky said, adding that he didn’t want “any sort of disruption in the number one buyer portal for our sellers.”

Pekarsky said he thinks Zillow’s refusal to comply with MRED’s demands to display pre-marketed listings was “unwise” and played into Compass’ goals of funneling users away from Zillow.

“Consumer loyalty is the most frail, easiest thing to lose in this game,” he said. “If you make this even a little bit hard, you lose everything. I hope they wake up sooner before they lose it all.”

Brokers have mixed feelings about the impact of the inventory dropoff on their business. Some agents do a significant amount of business through Zillow’s Preferred and Premier Agent programs, and fewer overall listings could result in fewer leads.

Pekarsky said Zillow leads make up some of his team’s volume, but that the business maintains other lead avenues and a large referral network to avoid over-reliance on Zillow. Zimmerman said he expects some disruption for his agents, but he said agents who adapt to the changing marketplace and educate their clients will be successful.

Matt Laricy, who leads the Laricy Team at Americorp, said he sees significant upside in the arrangement. With Compass listings off Zillow, his team’s listings are more prominent on the site. And having his listings on Zillow gives him an advantage with potential clients, who generally want their homes to be on Zillow, over Compass agents.

“If Zillow still gets leads, I’m still getting leads, and my listings are on there, how do I lose?” he said. “This is a win-win situation for an independent guy like myself.”

Compass embraces listing blackout

For Compass, the messaging this week was clear: We have listings Zillow doesn’t. The allure of exclusive, hard-to-find listings is what drove the private listing push in the first place, and Compass agents are leaning into that messaging.

Several social media posts from Compass and @properties agents this week have used the same line: “Zillow can’t show you what it doesn’t have.” The posts used the disparity to emphasize the importance of working with a real estate agent who has access to all listings.

“The impact on everyday buyers and sellers is straightforward: right now, Zillow is not a complete source for Chicago real estate listings,” Compass agent Isabelle Reddington said in a LinkedIn post.

Compass International Holdings CEO Robert Reffkin made a legal argument for why Compass isn’t sending its listings to Zillow in social media posts Wednesday. He pointed to a class-action lawsuit leveled against Zillow accusing the company of deceptive business practices in its Flex program, and argued sending listings to Zillow opens Compass up to legal liability.

“Under Illinois law, brokerages are responsible for supervising how listings are marketed to consumers, and directly submitting listings to Zillow creates legal and regulatory risk for both the brokerage and agents,” Reffkin said.

Zillow has asked the judge to dismiss the suit and argued its agent referral program is clearly explained. In a statement, a Zillow spokesperson called the post “nonsense.”

“Now that other brokers are setting up direct listing feeds so their sellers can keep reaching Zillow’s audience, Compass is coming up with new spin to try to scare them out of it,” the spokesperson said. “Reffkin is starting to realize that sellers want their listings to be broadly available, and he doesn’t want that to get in the way of his conspiracy.”