Most people want to date before becoming exclusive, and the same goes for hiring a real estate agent, per Zillow.
Last month, the company unveiled a short-term touring agreement to get ahead of the buyer-agency agreement stipulation in the proposed NAR settlement—and has now shared additional details with RISMedia.
Long-term exclusive agreements from the get-go will only hurt the consumer experience, according to the company, but industry reviews are mixed at best when it comes to Zillow’s new “dating” form.
About the Touring Agreement
If the proposed NAR settlement gets passed as-is, buyers will need to have a written agreement with a real estate agent before they can tour homes. Zillow says it’s getting ahead of this potential condition with a new seven-day touring agreement, which would allow buyers to seek other representation once the limited contract expires and only covers touring.
According to a spokesperson at Zillow, the agreement, currently in a testing phase, includes just a few hundred Premier Agents in states that align with local requirements. However, separate from this pilot, the form will be available for anyone who wants to use it and is eligible based on location.
Why seven days? It’s the average time frame for buyer-requested tour scheduling, says Zillow.
“This window ensures that, in most cases, the agreement would not expire before the actual tour occurred. It also serves to prevent the same buyer and agent from having to sign new agreements for each new home tour within that week, enables buyers to schedule tours days in advance and accounts for standard reschedules (which almost always happens within five days).”
The company does note, however, that any additional buyer agreement by the involved parties supersedes the Touring Agreement regardless of whether it falls within those seven days.
A temporary agreement gives time and space?
Get too close too fast, and you might scare away a potential match—at least that’s what Zillow implies with this temporary contract.
In a public fact sheet, the company emphasized that it didn’t need to offer consumer-facing agreements in light of the NAR proposal, but wanted to give consumers sufficient time to decide to work with an agent before the topic of commission or exclusivity even comes up.
“That’s by design,” says Zillow. “We believe any negotiation of compensation, and what it will look like for the buyer and agent to work together, should happen after both meet and feel ready.”
Pushing against ‘working for free’ rumors
The initial social media response has been lukewarm, with a large segment of agents on one end condemning the company for promoting seven days of “free” work or sabotaging their lead conversion efforts, while others see Zillow’s move as simply reducing a new friction point introduced by the proposed settlement.
“Zillow wants you to work your butt off for nothing,” comments an anonymous agent on a Reddit thread that’s gone viral since the agreement’s announcement. “Very rarely do I show houses to buyers without doing a consultation first and seeing if we fit well together.”
“A seven-day, non-exclusive, no-compensation agreement is genius!” clamors back another Reddit user. “Gives the prospect time to feel you out and gives you time to show your value!”
For others, there’s a distrust with Zillow that keeps them at arms-length
California-based broker associate at eXp Realty Michael Dehesa tells RISMedia that the agreement is not in the best interest of the consumer, regardless of how Zillow spins it in “well-written press releases.”
“While Zillow is working on releasing a non-exclusive touring agreement, behind the scenes they are mandating the agents to fulfill their quota to Zillow home loans,” he says.
Pushing back against allegations of unpaid labor, Zillow tells RISMedia that fair pay and transparency are important to the company and why it has only included touring activities within the agreement.
“The touring agreement only covers touring services, and aligns with current industry practice—very few agents charge a prospective buyer to take them on an initial tour,” says the spokesperson.
“When the buyer and agent decide to work together throughout the home-buying process, they will take the important step to sign a longer term (usually exclusive) agreement, which outlines payment terms and the services the agent will provide.”
Zillow says it wants to make this clear, and as a result has launched educational resources to clarify the benefits of buyer-agent agreements—including long-term and exclusive (if it’s the right fit).
