When you shop around for a new home, you may assume you have every available listing at your fingertips, but that is not the case.
Most homes are listed publicly through a multiple listing service, or MLS. But some are marketed privately, or off-market, limiting the number of potential buyers who can see them.
Private listings don't always include information about how many days a home has been on the market or recent price drops.
Compass and private listings
A Consumer Policy Center report released earlier this year criticizes Compass, the country's largest independent real estate brokerage, for its emphasis on private listings, "That are available only to consumers who are buyer clients," the report said.
Private listings, according to the report, have also led to a higher rate of "double-ended" sales in which "the listing agent and buyer agent belong to the same company."
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Nick Libert, founder and CEO of Exit Strategy Realty, said private listings can create access and affordability issues for buyers and sellers.
"Our concern, the concern of many brokers and agents and consumers that are not affiliated with Compass, is that if properties are listed on the Compass private listing network only, agents at other firms are not seeing them," Libert said. "Consumers at other firms are not seeing them."
The Consumer Policy Center's report was released after Compass acquired Anywhere Real Estate — the company behind brands like Century 21, Sotheby's, and Coldwell Banker — making Compass the world's largest residential real estate brokerage.
Market share aside, Libert said he's more concerned that limited exposure can have a negative impact on sellers.
"If you have only a limited number of eyeballs on your property, you are not getting the best possible price and terms for you and your family," Libert said.
Libert acknowledged there are cases — like divorce or high-profile clients — where privacy matters but told us there are alternatives to private listing networks.
How companies are responding
Compass is also in legal disputes with Zillow over how homes appear on the platform.
In May, Zillow filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against Compass and Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), a multiple listing service serving the greater Chicago area.
In a news release, Zillow claims MRED and Compass "are colluding to hide home listings from buyers — and conspired to punish Zillow for not going along with it."
A Compass spokesperson told Scripps News the company stands behind seller choice in marketing.
"A home belongs to the homeowner, not Zillow. Sellers should have the right to decide how their homes are marketed and where they are marketed," the spokesperson said.
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The spokesperson added, "If a homeowner believes a particular marketing strategy better protects the value of their home, agents should be free to provide that advice and execute that strategy without interference from a portal whose economic interests may not align with the seller's interests."
Mischa Fisher, chief economist at Zillow, argued that broader exposure benefits both buyers and sellers.
"If you're a buyer, you want to make sure that whatever agent you agree to work with is going to show you all the listings that are available, not just the ones that they have in their particular brokerage where they're trying to earn both sides of the commission," Fisher said.
Antitrust investigation underway
The Office of the New York Attorney General confirmed its antitrust bureau is currently investigating Compass following its acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate.
The attorney general's office did not provide a timeline for when the investigation could wrap up. The U.S. Justice Department chose not to extend its review of the merger.
