Amid the evolving arms race for inventory, and policy disputes focused on listing access, Compass today launched what it is calling a website “redesign,” bringing a huge amount of “Coming Soon” listings from all its brands together in one place.
Dubbed “See It First,” the mega-brokerage is pitching the new format as a way to view its exclusive listings “across every stage of marketing,” including nine other brands in the Compass International Holdings family.
That does not appear to include “Private Exclusives,” with a Compass spokesperson clarifying that agents and consumers must still contact Compass agents, or visit a Compass office to see some listings.
“With See It First we’re giving consumers the opportunity to discover more homes earlier,” said Compass Head of Consumer Search Julie Keef in a statement. “By bringing more homes and local expertise together in one place, we’re making Compass.com an even more valuable destination for buyers to start and continue their home search.”
A Compass spokesperson clarified that the “See It First” moniker is “confirming that listings in the early stages of marketing are still publicly marketed,” all together under “one recognizable brand.” The company is launching a “multimillion-dollar investment” in advertising to promote the new “search experience,” Compass said in a release.
The news is just the latest development in the current private exclusives/private listings blueprint that has become a major industry action and talking point. Indeed, in his continued push to expand seller choice across the industry, Compass CEO Robert Reffkin said during the company’s recent Q2 earnings call that he expects “more than 90% of MLSs to have rules that allow sellers to market both Private Exclusives and Coming Soons by the end of the year.”
Notably, the “black box” on Compass’s website appears to have been redesigned as well—no longer specifically plugging the company’s “Private Exclusives,” which are held on an internal platform not accessible to anyone other than Compass agents (though Compass promises it will share those listings with anyone who asks to see them).
It now explicitly notes that “listings are only private online,” promising that “all buyers and agents can access in our offices or by contacting Compass.”
That “black box” has been at the center of both lawsuits and broader controversy over private listings, and previously was explicit in plugging the company’s “Private Exclusives.”
Clicking the black box opens a page that prompts the user to enter contact information and a button that offers “early access” to “exclusive inventory,” but no specific mention of Private Exclusives.
The big picture
Compass’s campaign in support of “seller choice” as it aggressively promotes its pre-marketing options has created broad change across the industry, with MLSs, portals and other brokerages all tweaking rules or offering various levels of pre-marketing. Reffkin said recently that “seller choice options are already becoming the norm,” claiming 60% of Compass’s markets currently allow its three-phased marketing plan within their rules.
This past July, Compass announced a new study of its own private listing program, covering over 70,000 closed transactions, which shows properties sold with “phased marketing” (including some level of pre-marketing as a “Coming Soon” or “Private Exclusive”) earned sellers 4.6% more than homes that went straight on the MLS.
The strategy, which has included partnering with MRED and Rocket, has also led to court consequences. Within just a few months, there have also been legal entanglements with NWMLS and Zillow.
Nevertheless, Compass continues to press forward. In the press release, the company noted that every element of Compass.com has been redesigned to make it easier for more buyers to discover more homes, earlier, with See It First integrated throughout the search experience. The redesigned homepage, search experience and listing pages, along with new See It First badges and a dedicated landing page, help all buyers identify and explore homes earlier.
Elements of See It First that Compass lauded in its new rollout include the fact that any buyer or buyer’s agent, regardless of brokerage affiliation, can learn more about any home represented by a real estate professional affiliated with any of the nine Compass International Holdings brands. Buyers do not need to work with a Compass real estate professional to view these listings, Compass emphasized.
Compass also says that See It First will empower homeowners to test pricing and build buyer demand through premium placement in search results, without accruing days on market or public price drops. They can then use those insights to adjust their pricing and marketing strategy.
For sellers who want to sell but are not fully committed, or who want to put their home on the market off-season, See It First can give them the opportunity to test the market first, without risk, Compass said.
