Washington State Stops Private Real Estate Listings

Washington is leading the way in cracking down on private listings in the state.

On Monday, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed Senate Bill 6091, the state’s toughest-yet restriction on private real estate listings, Realtor.com reported. The law prohibits real estate brokers from marketing properties to exclusive groups of brokers or prospective buyers unless the property is simultaneously marketed to the general public. Listings that could threaten the owner’s health or safety would be exempt from the law’s implementation.

Washington’s new regulations against private listings are the second such law in the country. Late last year, Wisconsin amended a statute to add a ban on private listings, becoming the first in the nation to do so. SB 6091 goes further than Wisconsin’s restrictions; each violation is counted as a professional conduct infraction under state professional conduct guidelines, meaning brokers would earn a fine of up to $500 per violation and risk revocation of their license.

The evergreen state might not be alone with Wisconsin for much longer. In recent months, lawmakers in Illinois, Hawaii and Connecticut have introduced measures that too would ban private listings on the marketplace.

Washington’s move acts as a “warning shot” to the industry to avoid behind-closed-doors showings, Summer Goralik, a California-based real estate compliance consultant, told Realtor.com.

“When it’s a business strategy, it just seems dirty,” Goralik said, predicting more states would follow suit in enacting such bans. “Are you truly executing your fiduciary duty, putting clients’ interests above your own?”

Under the National Association of Realtors’ Clear Cooperation Policy, listing brokers must submit listings to the local multiple listing service for cooperation with other MLS participants within one day of marketing a property to the public.

The Washington Realtors supported Ferguson’s signature, saying the law “promote[s] transparency, fairness and equal access in the residential real estate market,” a Washington Realtors spokesperson told HousingWire. Ryan Beckett, 2026 president for the Washington Realtors group, said the move by the state legislature shows how Washington is creating a “process that is transparent, accessible and fair” to all families.

— Chris Malone Méndez