Above, Howard “Hoby” Hanna Amid the broader—and increasingly complex—debate over private listings, one of the more independent-minded independent brokerages announced this week that it is launching its own private network as a “strategic initiative,” balancing the demand for so-called “seller choice” with MLS policies the company has previously criticized. HannaList, announced this week by Howard…

Read More

The headlines about the real estate industry are everywhere. Compass acquired Anywhere Real Estate to create the largest real estate company by agent count. Zillow and Compass are locked in a Goliath-versus-Goliath legal battle over private listings. A wave of RESPA-related lawsuits alleges undisclosed referral kickbacks between real estate agents and mortgage companies. And then…

Read More

Compass used its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call to unveil a sweeping three-year exclusive alliance with Rocket Companies that will push the brokerage’s private and coming-soon listings onto Redfin—a direct shot at the “Zillow ban” just weeks after a federal judge handed Compass a significant setback in its antitrust lawsuit against the portal. Under the deal,…

Read More

State legislatures across the U.S. have been seeing new bills that would restrict private real estate listings, with mandates that such listings also be publicly marketed. Wisconsin enacted such legislation in December 2025 (to take effect in January 2027), while another bill of this nature is under consideration in Washington state.  Now, the Illinois legislature…

Read More

The discourse around private listing policies has become a headline controversy over the past year, and with recent massive consolidation, the debate over limited marketing strategies is only going to become more important.  But as brokerages seek an advantage in the post commission-lawsuit landscape, simply being in favor of or against private listings doesn’t take…

Read More

Editor’s Note: The RISMedia series Legislative Round-Up looks at pending and passed federal and state-level legislation that impacts real estate professionals. HUD proposes eliminating a key fair housing rule On Wednesday, January 14, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a new rule proposal into the Federal Register that would change how the…

Read More

Private listings are at the center of one of the most headline-grabbing litigations in real estate right now. Compass has sued Zillow over its new “listing access standards” program, which removes listings not listed on MLSs within one business day of being publicly marketed from Zillow’s platform. While the Zillow and Compass litigation unfolds in…

Read More

Editor’s note: this story is part two of a two-part series—read part one here. 2025 was another whirlwind year for real estate, with industry professionals facing ups, downs and everything in between. The industry saw a lot of major developments, and it can be hard to keep track of everything—from continued debates over Clear Cooperation…

Read More

Portal giant Zillow largely receives listings from MLSs via internet data exchange (IDX) feeds, but at least in one major metro, that feed may soon see some disruptions. This year, Zillow has been in dispute with the Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) MLS, covering Chicago and surrounding areas and which boasts over 48,000 subscribers.  Now,…

Read More

Top from left, Dennis Cestra, Jr. and Stephanie Younger; bottom from left, Brenda Maher and Billy Nash While every company has their position and policy on how to approach private listings, every good real estate agent knows that what really matters is what’s best for the seller. Top real estate professionals tackle the topic in…

Read More