"Behind the black box sits a heap of listings beyond Zillow's reach, so-called "Private Exclusives" that can only be seen with the help of a Compass agent. The intrigue is undeniable: "Unlock 347 (8%) more homes you won't find anywhere else," the box urges when I search in the Austin area. In Los Angeles, there are apparently 366 homes that can only be unearthed by contacting Compass. New York City boasts nearly 450 homes you can't find on Zillow, Realtor.com, or any other home-search portal."
"Each of these homes is technically in violation of Zillow's hotly debated "Listing Access Standards," rules the search giant unveiled last April to crack down on agents - many of them at Compass - sharing homes in some places but not others. The country's most popular home-search portal has gone so far as to ban some listings from its vaunted website, which Zillow says is necessary to stem the rising tide of exclusive listings and preserve a fair and open marketplace:"
Compass places numerous listings behind a black box labeled "Private Exclusives," viewable only by contacting Compass agents. Hundreds of properties in cities like Austin, Los Angeles, and New York are available exclusively through Compass rather than on major portals such as Zillow or Realtor.com. Zillow implemented "Listing Access Standards" to limit selective listing distribution and has banned some exclusives from its site to protect open marketplace access. Compass sued Zillow, alleging abuse of monopoly power and arguing that short-term exclusivity should not prevent eventual broader listing availability; Compass's CEO compares exclusivity to a movie trailer.
Read at Business Insider
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