Epic Real Estate Investing - Zillow Crossed the Line: What Else Will They Come For? | 1467

Episode Date: April 13, 2025

This episode discusses Zillow's upcoming policy change starting in May 2025, where publicly marketed home listings that are not listed on a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) will be banned from Zillow. Matt explores the implications of this rule, contrasting it with the National Association of Realtors' recent update allowing public marketing without immediate MLS syndication. Our host argues that Zillow's policy is not merely about fairness or transparency but centralizes power and limits home sellers' control. The episode also emphasizes the importance of mastering off-market strategies to navigate and succeed in a market increasingly dominated by platforms like Zillow. If you'd like to join us in Vegas, you'll find this helpful: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cDeSFadMA7q-qn1dPH7iAlJ5oLMiLwiU_-0Cm_1i5Ts/edit?tab=t.0 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Terio Media. Hey, strap in. It's time for the epic real estate investing show. We'll be your guides as we navigate the housing market, the landscape of creative financing strategies, and everything you need to swap that office chair for a beach chair. If you're looking for some one-on-one help, meet us at rei-aise.com. Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go.

Let's go. You're right. To market your home privately, Zillow's new rule starting May 2025 next month puts it on the chopping block. They're banning off-MLS listings that are publicly marketed. So if you're not playing their game, you don't get a seat at the table. And this could cost you more than just money. And I'll explain. Starting in May next month, Zillow will block any listing from its platform if it's publicly marketed and not also listed on a multiple listing service in an MLS. What counts as public marketing? Yard signs, Facebook posts, email blasts, any kind of public exposure.

If your home is publicly advertised but not entered into the MLS within one business day, Zillow won't show it, period. And if you break that rule, that specific listing attempt is banned from Zillow forever. You can relist with the different agent later, but that original version blacklisted. This isn't just about some fine print. This changes how you're allowed to sell your own home. And if you're not paying attention, it could cost you control and a big chunk of change. What makes this even more controversial is it appears to go directly against the National Association of Realtors' recent update, the multiple listing options for sellers.

That update announced in April, 2025, just this month, specifically allows public marketing without requiring immediate syndication to platforms like Zillow. So while NAR is giving sellers more flexibility, Zillow is taking it away. Zillow says this is about fairness, transparency, preventing discrimination. And sure, some critics argue that pocket listings can keep certain buyers out, and that's a conversation worth having, maybe. MLS exposure can help sellers reach more buyers. Fair housing laws matter. These are valid concerns, but does it apply here? When the government starts regulating in the name of safety, it's most certainly a power grab.

But Matt, this is Zillow. It's a private company. And so is Facebook, Google, the platform formerly known as Twitter, all busted for operating under the influence and order. of government during COVID. Are they really private? Banning a seller's ability to market their own property, how they choose, that's not balance. That's overreach.

Because when one platform controls the flow of listings, their version of fare just so happens to protect their market share. This isn't just about protecting buyers. It's about centralizing power. Zillow controls roughly 70% of online home search traffic. That's not just influence. That's dominance. They've become the gatekeeper to the housing market, deciding who gets in, who gets seen, and who gets silenced.

And when they control the platform, they can control the pricing, the process, and eventually your choices. This policy benefits who? Zillow, the big agents, the institutions. It hurts small sellers, solo investors, and people who want privacy. Even industry experts are calling this a power grab disguised as reform. If you think this is about protecting buyers, ask yourself. Why take options away from sellers? With Zillow forcing more properties into the public glare of the MLS,

the real advantage shifts to finding opportunities before they hit the open market. Zillow wants to control the public listing game. That's precisely why mastering the private off-market game is now essential for savvy sellers and investors. They're building a walled garden where only the listings they approve can thrive. But off-market strategies let you step outside the gate and unlock deals, the algorithm will never show you. This is why we always say, own the asset, control the deal.

You don't need Zillow to do that. In fact, most of the best deals, they happen off the MLS. That's where you find flexibility. That's where you find opportunity. That's where you keep control. And control is the one thing the big guys don't want you to have.

Want to sell without begging Zillow for permission? Want to find deals without competing with 100 other buyers? Learn how to work off market. It can require. some more work, but it can be much more profitable for both the buyer and the seller. And as platforms like Zillow keep closing doors, this knowledge is only getting scarcer. If you want some help with this, check out the document linked in the description.

I'm getting together this month in Vegas with a small group of investors to show them how to stay outside Zillow's walled garden so they can find exclusive deals, protect their privacy, and stay in control of how their properties bought or sold. It's a shortcut to the strategies that still work before they disappear. here. So if you'd like to join us, details are in the document that I created for you. The links below. I don't need your email. Just grab it and go. And this isn't just about Zillow. It's about freedom. You either learn how to play this game on your own terms or get played by the ones who already owned the board. Your property, your terms. Don't let Zillow change that. I'll see you next time.

Take care. And that wraps up the epic show. If you found this episode valuable, who else do you know that might too? There's a really good chance you know someone else who would. And when their name comes to mind, please share it with them and ask them to click the subscribe button when they get here and I'll take great care of them. God loves you and so do I. Health, peace, blessings, and success to you. I'm Matt Terrio. Living the dream. Yeah, yeah, we got the cash flow. You didn't know home for us. We got the cash flow. This podcast is a part of the C-Suite Radio Network. For more top business podcasts, visit c-sweetradio.com.