Massachusetts Brokers Launch Private Listing Network

The largest residential real estate team in Massachusetts is making a bet on its brand.

Douglas Elliman’s Sarkis Team, which did over $300 million in sales last year according to RealTrends, launched its own listing website. Brothers George and Manny Sarkis claim the venture has the first-ever exclusive network by one team.

“We control a lot of listings that are off market,” said George Sarkis. “You can filter it based on location, price point, and see what we have to offer that they can’t find on Zillow.”

The move comes during a tumultuous time in the industry over who controls listings and how they are marketed.

Compass and Zillow are weeks away from a court ruling that could potentially temporarily halt Zillow’s listing policy that threatens to ban listings not uploaded to its site once they’re publicly marketed. And a number of other brokerages, including Elliman, Corcoran and Sotheby’s International Realty, have already rolled out their own exclusive networks in the past year.

While brokerages like Compass have deemed promotion of off-MLS listings as important for seller choice, the Sarkises say they were looking to boost interest across their business.

“We literally have the biggest brownstone listing off market,” he added. “No one can find that. Now, if they’re looking for a seven-plus bedroom on Commonwealth Avenue, that’s 20,000-plus square feet and an eight-car garage. Guess what? We’re the only show in town. They’re going to have to inquire, but in order for them to inquire, they’re going to have to get to our website.”

For buyers, the benefit is access to the team that’s done business with Boston royalty like Jaylen Brown and Rob Gronkowski. For brokers on the Sarkis Team, the network allows more control than Elliman’s in-house exclusive model over where buyers are routed when they pursue a listing.

The listing space has already undergone a number of evolutions in the last decade with the National Association of Realtors’ introduction and then rollback of Clear Cooperation Policy, which has given way to the proliferation of consumer-facing off-market networks.

“I guarantee you there are teams out there that are already building their own private networks,” said real estate coach Ricky Carruth, who said he’s spoken to several top 10 teams in the country considering a similar move.

The one holdup for those teams has been the uncertainty around the outcome of Compass and Zillow’s legal battle. If Zillow beats the anticompetitive allegations lobbied by Compass and can keep its listing policy in place, agents may have a harder time convincing sellers that using exclusive networks is better for their ultimate sale price, according to Carruth.

“I think it’s dangerous for this team to create a private listing portal because we don’t really know what’s going to be allowed,” he said.

But Sarkis said he doesn’t believe Zillow has the means to ban noncompliant listings. “How can they even know,” he said. “Are they going to search everyone’s website in the country?”

He also shrugged off concerns about violating Zillow’s listing policy, when, in his estimation, it’s Zillow that needs his listings.

“They’d be doing everyone who has Zillow a disservice, because then they can’t find my listing,” he said.