Understanding the shift — and how to protect your listing strategy.

A Quiet Shakeup in the Real Estate World

If you’re a Raleigh-area homeowner considering selling, a recent update from Zillow could have a real impact on how your home is seen — or not seen — online.

Zillow has announced that it will no longer display listings that have ever been marketed privately. In simple terms, if your home was initially promoted as a private exclusive — even just to test the waters — it may not appear on Zillow once it’s made public through the MLS.

This change is more than a technical tweak. It’s a signal of how major real estate portals are shifting to protect their business model, often at the expense of homeowners’ flexibility and control.

What’s Really Behind This Change?

At its core, Zillow’s decision reflects growing tension between traditional listing platforms like the MLS and large consumer portals. The concept of clear cooperation — a policy requiring publicly marketed homes to be listed in the MLS within 24 hours — plays a major role here.

Clear cooperation was created to promote fairness and consistency in listings. But in practice, it limits sellers’ ability to market their homes in a way that best fits their goals. The rule forces agents to move quickly, putting listings on the MLS whether or not it’s strategically the right time. That also gives portals like Zillow the opportunity to harvest the listing data and use it to generate traffic and, ultimately, sell leads.

It’s worth pausing to consider what that means. Zillow, Realtor.com, and similar platforms don’t represent buyers or sellers. Their primary business model involves selling leads — often back to real estate agents who have no relationship with the homeowner or knowledge of the property.

Your Home Is Not Just Another Lead

Compass CEO Robert Reffkin recently addressed this issue directly: “We are in the business of buying and selling homes. Portals are in the business of selling leads.”

This is the heart of the issue. Nowhere in your listing agreement does it say your home should be marketed in a way that makes your agent invisible — or that strangers should be able to buy access to your property data. But when portals act as gatekeepers and profit from listings, that’s exactly what happens.

The decision to remove privately marketed listings doesn’t serve buyers or sellers — it protects a system where listing platforms control access and monetize it.

Why This Matters in the Raleigh Market

In a market as dynamic as Raleigh — with neighborhoods like Hayes Barton, North Hills, and parts of Wake Forest seeing rising demand — sellers benefit from strategy, not just exposure.

Private exclusives and pre-MLS marketing are useful tools in the right situations. They allow sellers to gauge interest, test pricing, and maintain privacy. Zillow’s new policy limits those options by creating a penalty for using them.

For high-end, unique, or time-sensitive listings, this kind of flexibility can make a measurable difference in outcomes. Restricting it reduces your ability to market your home on your own terms.

The Bigger Picture — and Your Next Step

Zillow’s move highlights a larger trend: the increasing control portals and platforms want to exert over the real estate process. But that doesn’t mean sellers have to give up control.

At The Coley Group, we’ve always believed in empowering our clients with transparent advice, custom strategies, and marketing plans designed for your goals — not someone else’s algorithm.

If you’re thinking about selling your home and want to understand how this change might affect your plans, we’re here to help you navigate it.

Want to talk strategy?

Let’s discuss how to market your home with precision, privacy, and purpose — whether that’s through the MLS, a private exclusive, or a hybrid approach tailored to you. We can’t wait to help you unlock Raleigh’s best