Compass Competitors Embrace Zillow Preview in Texas

It might not be as unlikely as Macy’s and Gimbel’s Christmas handshake, but peace flourished between real estate rivals Compass and Zillow on St. Patrick’s Day.

Zillow announced a pre-marketing option called Zillow Preview on Tuesday, allowing agents with certain companies to show their listings on Zillow before submitting them to the Multiple Listing Service. The next day, Compass dropped the lawsuit it had been pursuing against Zillow over the portal’s listing access standards, which formerly forbade listings that weren’t uploaded to the MLS within 24 hours of being publicly marketed.

In Texas — where non-disclosure laws, high property taxes and rapid appreciation incentivize sellers to try off-market deals — agents on both sides welcomed the rapprochement.

“We’re thrilled here,” said Grant Lopez, president of Keller Williams Heritage, a KW franchise and leading brokerage in San Antonio.

Keller Williams is one of several franchises and brokerages partnering with Zillow to make Zillow Preview available for their agents. Others include Re/Max, HomeServices of America, Side and United Real Estate, according to Zillow’s press release.

“I think this really helps even the playing field on what Anywhere and Compass were trying to do with Redfin. Us being able to partner with the largest platform out there by far, it’s going to be a really good opportunity for our sellers,” Lopez said.

Compass agents welcomed Zillow’s new standard as well, though with a drier enthusiasm.

“When it came out, I chuckled, because I was like — this is exactly Compass’ ‘Coming Soon.’ And they’re trying to brand it like it’s something different,” said Compass agent Matt Haistings, who works in the Dallas area and was formerly affiliated with Keller Williams.

“There’s been all this fuss between Zillow and Compass, and now they’re kind of copying us. So my first response was a chuckle, but also a little confidence in what we’ve been doing,” Haistings said.

Nimesh Patel, who leads a Re/Max franchise in the Houston area, said he sees the agreement as a recruitment tool.

“In Texas, you can come and go as you please, right? As a broker, I can sponsor any agent, and I can get rid of their sponsorship anytime — just as that agent can also leave anytime,” Patel said. “I’m always looking for something valuable to share with my agents.”

Because Compass is a single brokerage, agents within Compass can share listings en masse without violating National Association of Realtors rules. But franchises like Re/Max and Keller Williams consist of many brokerages, each distinct.

As a result, Zillow Preview is especially beneficial for franchises since it enables systematic mass exposure, Lopez said.

Somer Padilla, a Compass agent who works in the Houston area, said Zillow has threatened to remove some of her listings before. And in addition to days on market and other conventional MLS metrics, Zillow’s data can make listings less attractive, Padilla claimed.

“They slam [listings] with negative insights. How many views, how many saves. Fire risk, flood risk. They are really affecting home values,” Padilla said.

“It’ll be interesting to see if those pre-market listings will have all those negative insights,” she added. “I’m dying to see what they look like.”