Zillow’s New Rules Could Cost Sellers More Than They Think

Off-market listings — sometimes called pocket or private listings — have always carried big risks for sellers.

While they’re sometimes pitched as a way to stay “private” or “in control,” the truth is simple: limiting exposure usually limits your results . Unless there’s a real need for privacy, keeping a home off the open market can cost the seller.

Starting in May , Zillow — the country’s largest real estate portal — will permanently prohibit any listing that isn’t added to the MLS within 24 hours of public marketing.

If a home is marketed to any buyer, it must be available to every buyer — or it won’t appear on Zillow or Trulia at all.

(And yes — even those of us with a love/hate relationship with Zillow know that's where buyers are looking.)

This change follows updates to NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy, now allowing MLSs to create a Delayed Marketing Exempt Listing option. Sellers get a limited window to prepare a property before full exposure — but that's it.

Here’s why this matters to all of us:

Homes sell for more when marketed widely . Research from Bright MLS shows MLS-listed homes sell for nearly 17% more than private sales. 

True privacy is rare . Trusts and LLCs already shield most owners’ identities. Keeping listings off the MLS doesn’t guarantee real anonymity. 

Who really benefits? In most cases, pocket listings benefit the brokerage more than the seller. 

When limited marketing might be appropriate: A condo owner who doesn’t want neighbors to know yet, or a family handling the sale of a loved one’s home and seeking privacy. Even then, sellers should fully understand the risks. 

Privacy can be respected — but full value comes from full exposure.

Bottom Line:

The days of quietly marketing properties outside the full marketplace are ending.

As REALTORS®, it's our duty to explain the risks clearly and help sellers understand that wide exposure remains the best path to better offers and stronger terms.

At LUVA Real Estate , we not only market listings locally, but nationally on sites like Zillow and Homes.com, internationally through Leverage Global Partners , and even syndicate to exclusive private portals that other brokerages can’t reach.

Question for my fellow REALTORS®:

👉 How are you advising your sellers under the new Clear Cooperation and Zillow rules?👉 Are you seeing more sellers push for exclusivity, or are they more open to full MLS marketing?

Would love to hear how you’re handling the changes in your market! 

#RealEstate #HomeSellingTips #RealEstateAdvice #Zillow #NAR #RealEstateMarketing #HomeSelling #HawaiiRealEstate #BigIslandRealEstate #LuxuryRealEstate #LUVARealEstate #LeverageRE 

Posted by:

Lance Owens RB-24133
808.936.8383 

LUVA Real Estate | 75-240 Nani Kailua #8, Kailua Kona, HI 96740 
   REALTOR® / BROKER-IN-CHARGE • Residential homes, Condos, Land, Agricultural/ Equestrian/Large Acreage 
Hawaii Association of REALTORS® (HAR) 
    2025 President   2023/24 State RPAC Chair
    2023 HARLA Graduate 
National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) 
    2023-25 Director   2024-25 RPAC Participation Council   Safety Advisory Committee   Region 13 Leadership
NAR Designations
      AWHD (At Home With Diversity) | PSA ( Pricing Strategy Advisor) 
West Hawaii Association of REALTORS® (WHAR)
   2023 REALTOR® of the Year   2018/2022 Preside