Sixty-nine percent of agents since 2020 have recommended their sellers list on a private listing network. However, sellers still favor listing on the multiple listing service, a Zillow survey said.
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The debate over Clear Cooperation — the National Association of Realtors policy requiring brokers to list a home on an MLS within a day after publicly marketing it — has extended into the new year as NAR continues to grapple with its fate.
While the industry dukes it out in blog posts and on conference stages, a Zillow-commissioned survey released last week has revealed that consumers are still in the dark on what MLSs and private listing networks are and how they differ, despite the share of agents suggesting PLNs exploding over the past five years.
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The survey, which included 2,087 U.S. adults, revealed consumers are largely unaware of exactly what an MLS and PLN are.
Consumers aged 65 and over were most likely to know exactly what an MLS was (49 percent), followed by consumers aged 55 to 64 (42 percent), and consumers aged 45 to 54 (32 percent). Awareness dropped among younger consumers, with roughly a fourth of respondents aged 35 to 44 (27 percent) and 18 to 34 (23 percent) knowing the purpose of an MLS.
On the other hand, younger consumers aged 18 to 34 (22 percent) and 35 to 44 (23 percent) were most likely to know exactly what private listing networks are. Meanwhile, older consumers aged 45 to 54 (18 percent), 55 to 64 (17 percent), and 65-plus (14 percent) were the least likely to know exactly what a PLN was. Barely a fourth of consumers understood what dual agency was, with the youngest respondents (18 to 34) having the best understanding of the practice (19 percent).
Of the respondents who’ve sold a home at any time in the past (1,232), 39 percent said their agent suggested listing their home on a private listing network. That trend has strengthened over the past five years, with 63 percent of respondents who’ve listed a home within the past five years noting their agent recommended using a PLN — a 250 percent difference from respondents who said they sold a home before 2020 (18 percent). Although listing agents are including PLNs in the list of options for sellers more often, there’s still an education gap. Sixty-eight percent of respondents said their agent didn’t explain the difference between listing on an MLS or PLN.
Despite some of the haziness on the difference between MLSs and PLNs, listing on the MLS still won out with consumers. Of the 39 percent of consumers who said their agent suggested listing their home on a PLN, 43 percent said they started with a PLN but switched to the MLS. Twenty percent of consumers chose and stayed on the MLS, and the remaining 35 percent chose and stayed on a PLN.
When race was thrown into the mix, homesellers of color were more likely to test the PLN route than their white counterparts — signaling a potential shift from historical statistics where white homesellers were most likely to utilize PLNs.
Nearly three-fourths of Hispanic (74 percent) and Black (73 percent) homesellers said their agent suggested using a PLN, compared to 24 percent of white homesellers who said the same. Forty-seven percent of Hispanic homesellers, 44 percent of Black homesellers, and 41 percent of white homesellers started with a PLN but switched to the MLS. Hispanic homesellers were more likely (39 percent) than Black (38 percent) and white (32 percent) to solely list on a PLN, while white homsellers (26 percent) were more likely than Black (16 percent) and Hispanic (12 percent) homesellers to solely list on the MLS.
Zillow credited the surprising trend to the uptick of selling activity among Black and Hispanic homeowners, with 69 percent of Hispanic homesellers and 72 percent of Black homsellers doing so in the past five years, compared to 32 percent of white sellers. The portal also noted Black homeowners also made up a very small share of respondents for the questions on MLS and PLN choice, so the results for that group should be taken more for their qualitative than quantitative value.
Overall, homesellers said it was important to make sure their listing got in front of the largest audience possible, with 81 percent of respondents saying was “very” or “somewhat” important to have their home on a free consumer real estate website. Eighty-six percent of respondents said they “strongly” or “somewhat agreed” that homebuyers should be able to access all for-sale listings for free.
The higher potential for a bidding war was the biggest reason for consumers’ support (81 percent) followed by curtailing the risk of housing discrimination (73 percent). Consumers also said the top thing they want from an agent is to market their home to as many buyers as possible (52 percent), followed by good references (52 percent), recommending an accurate sale price (49 percent), and the promise to get the highest sale price (45 percent). Meanwhile, 21 percent said they want an agent who has access to an exclusive buyer network.
This survey comes as Zillow ups the ante on its defense of Clear Cooperation amid arguments the rule is anti-competitive and undercuts seller choice.
At Inman Connect New York, Zillow CEO Jeremy Wacksman highlighted a handful of the survey’s results in his session detailing the company’s future and his views on several hot-button issues, including CCP. Echoing his previous interviews and takes from fellow proponents of CCP, Wacksman said the rule is what’s best for agents and consumers, as it ensures both parties have a full view of market dynamics. Even if sellers don’t know the nuts and bolts of the rules that govern the market, he said sellers do know one thing: they want the best opportunity to get the best sale price.
“If we all, as an industry, work backward from giving the buyer and seller what they want, it would be whatever rules there are — whether it’s Clear Cooperation in its current form, whether it’s a listing access policy in the future — how can we help make sure sellers get what they’re asking for and buyers get what they’re asking for?” he said. “And, oh, by the way, that’s actually how agents do their best job. Because one of the great things about this country, unlike other countries, is the MLS structure provides a wonderful marketplace.”
“The MLSs are our local marketplaces, and that’s part of why Zillow supports the ability for all data to flow to the marketplace because transparency benefits everybody,” he added. “When buyers can see all the inventory when sellers can market their homes broadly, when agents can see all the inventory and do the best job representing their clients’ needs, everyone wins.”
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