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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), which claims almost 50,000 members in the Chicago region, has issued a forceful public rebuttal to Zillow’s recent study alleging that private listings in Chicago reinforce housing segregation, pointing to internal Zillow documents as it argues the portal giant’s criticism may be driven more by business strategy than consumer protection.…
New analysis by Zillow claims major disparities in how homes are marketed through Chicago’s private listing network, with homes in majority-white neighborhoods over twice as likely to be listed privately compared to those in majority-non-white areas. Released today, the research examined over 40,000 residential listings from Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), the multiple listing service…
A little over a week after Zillow sought to clarify its discussions with Chicago-based Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) over restrictions on private listings, the MLS appears to be digging in, as this week MRED CEO Rebecca Jensen sent an emotional open letter to members defending its private listing network against a “one-size-fits-all model.” With…
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