In a bold move that underscores deepening tensions between MLSs and major real estate portals, Realtracs—in an email sent to its members Wednesday morning—has announced that it intends to cut off Zillow’s access to its MLS data feed effective June 1.
The decision comes after Zillow allegedly refused to comply with the new IDX display rules that Realtracs implemented on May 13, which require compliance by May 31. With only days ahead of the deadline, Realtracs told its members that Zillow is the only platform out of compliance—and they made it clear that it will cut the cord.
In an emailed statement sent to RISMedia, a Zillow spokesperson stated the following.
“Nashville’s MLS has threatened to cut Nashville-area sellers off from Zillow, the most-visited real estate platform in the country, unless Zillow abandons the standards it has put in place to ensure buyers can trust what they see on our platform. This is the same playbook already documented in federal court: a coordinated campaign, initiated by Compass CEO Robert Reffkin, to pressure MLSs across the country into pulling sellers’ listings off Zillow. A judge on Friday just ordered the MLS in Chicago to restore our listing feed. Nashville sellers and buyers deserve access to a full, transparent market. Zillow’s listing access standards exist to protect that. We will not abandon them.”
The issue centers on what the MLS calls a “straightforward requirement” Realtracs issued on April 29: if a seller wants their listing publicly marketed, it must appear in search results that match a buyer’s criteria.
Compass has lobbied for MLSs to “enforce” the rule in question, which Zillow has called “pretextual” and noted that MLSs only recently began saying that the portal’s rules run afoul of that MLS policy.
The Realtracs notification informed all platforms receiving access to the MLS’s data feed that non-compliance would result in suspension of data access.
The problem, according to Realtracs, is Zillow’s own internal policy. The portal prohibits sellers from certain marketing practices that Zillow has described as exclusionary, “and has resulted in dozens of banned Realtracs listings.”
According to the email Realtracs sent its members, Zillow has communicated that it will continue to ban listings after May 31, leaving Realtracs with no choice but to follow through on the suspension.
“We understand this may create disruption for some brokers, agents, and sellers,” Realtracs acknowledged in its statement to brokers.
They did offer a workaround, though.
“If a seller specifically wants their property displayed on Zillow, brokers can still make that happen,” the email continued. “The Broker Only Export, via GRID, allows brokers to send listings directly to Zillow outside of the Realtracs data feed.”
Realtracs noted that listing distribution on Homes.com, Rocket/Redfin, Realtor.com, Realtracs and all other compliant sites will remain unchanged.
Through this move, Realtracs is following in MRED’s lead, signaling that major MLS data providers are drawing a line in the sand over seller choice and market transparency.
“At the center of this issue is seller choice. A seller’s right to determine how their property is marketed is a matter of contract between the listing broker and the seller, whether that means broad syndication, limited distribution, or office-exclusive marketing,” the email reads. “Realtracs’ position is that no entity outside that relationship should determine the seller’s go-to-market strategy. Sellers should also have the flexibility to change those decisions throughout the listing lifecycle.”
