SEATTLE, March 4, 2026, 03:13 PST
- Zillow CEO Jeremy Wacksman stood by a rule requiring listings to be widely posted online within a day, even if it means some are blocked.
- Brokers are ramping up “private” and “coming soon” listings just as these comments surface ahead of the spring selling season.
- This week’s insider filings revealed fresh equity awards and some stock sales involving two Zillow directors.
Jeremy Wacksman, CEO of Zillow Group, Inc., stood by the firm’s approach to limiting some home listings on Zillow when sellers opt for selective marketing. He said this kind of inventory holdback could ultimately push costs higher for both buyers and sellers. 1
With the spring season approaching, the U.S. housing market finds itself grappling with the same issue: transactions remain sluggish, and brokerages are hungry for any edge. That means pushing for greater say in how fast a new listing lands on major portals—and what details are attached when it does.
Zillow and other online portals occupy a middle ground here. Their listings depend on data coming from regional multiple listing services (MLSs), which are managed by local real estate organizations. The current dispute centers on which properties make it into those MLS databases, the timing of those uploads, and who gets early access.
Compass, known for its “Private Exclusive” and “Coming Soon” listings, has signed a three-year deal allowing those early-stage properties to be shown on Redfin’s portal, the companies confirmed. The tie-up broadens the exposure of Compass’s listings, though it keeps some information—like days-on-market—out of public view. “As we go into the spring market, we want to give sellers more choices on how they market their home,” Compass CEO Robert Reffkin said. 2
Wacksman described Zillow’s strategy as aiming for rapid-fire, wide-reaching marketing immediately when a home goes up for sale—likening it to e-commerce, not staggered showbiz releases. “You want to advertise to as much demand as possible, as quickly as possible,” he said in the interview.
Zillow isn’t aiming to eliminate off-market deals altogether, he said. Sellers wanting privacy can skip the MLS, block their listing from internet sites, or keep the address hidden. But “selective marketing” is where he draws the line: showing a property to certain buyers while keeping it out of view for the rest is not acceptable, he emphasized.
“You just can’t window by only showing your home to some people and then forcing those people to go work with certain companies,” Wacksman said. He added, “the toll on all those customers is going to go up.”
The fight is changing how listings appear, too. MLS operators will probably need to draft rules to address synthetic images and what Wacksman called “AI slop” slipping into property marketing. Zillow, for its part, is still working to show “the most fair and transparent and accurate version of a listing” possible.
According to him, Zillow keeps rolling out richer media tools aimed at cutting down on buyer time-wasting — products like Zillow Showcase, which taps AI for deeper, more immersive tours and visuals. Uptake so far remains limited, he acknowledged, but is picking up. He expects these high-tech listings will soon be standard across the industry.
According to Wacksman, Zillow is steering its focus away from just home searches, pushing deeper into transactions by providing software and services to real estate agents and lenders. The company now offers mortgage and rental tools right next to its core search product. Headcount stands at about 7,000. Most of Zillow’s site visits still come in “free and direct,” he said — a crucial edge if costs for paid acquisition start to climb.
Still, “open” listings aren’t without headaches. Some brokerages are trying out tactics to hide sellers’ pricing histories and how long homes have been on the market — a move that could pull listings away from portals unwilling to cooperate. Legal trouble also hangs over Zillow, which remains mired in lawsuits over listing access and competitive practices, cases likely to drag and keep management tied up. 3
Zillow’s Class C stock (Z) climbed roughly 3.8% before the bell this Wednesday.
Director Gregory B. Maffei exercised stock options and offloaded shares this week, according to fresh filings. Another director, Erik C. Blachford, disclosed stock awards and a modest sale carried out via a preset trading plan. Sec 4
Wacksman says Zillow plans to stick with broad distribution. “We’re going to bend towards open,” he said. Brokerages, meanwhile, are pushing the boundaries on just how private a listing can get while still qualifying as “for sale.”
