The Council of Multiple Listing Services argued that a “false narrative” about pre-marketing homes is gaining traction.
The real estate industry’s main MLS trade group is pushing back on the growing use of pre-marketing strategies, warning that limiting listing exposure could fragment the housing market and tilt competition toward larger firms.
In a blog post published this week, the Council of Multiple Listing Services argued that a “false narrative” is gaining traction — one that suggests sellers benefit from keeping listings off the MLS and marketing them selectively within brokerage networks or limited channels.
“A cooperative marketplace like the MLS works only when participants contribute to it in the same ways they benefit from it,” the organization wrote. “Siloing and hiding information weaken competition between brokerages and moves the market away from an open, shared system toward a more fragmented one.”
CMLS warned that withholding listings or key data points — including days on market and price changes — reduces transparency and makes it harder for buyers, sellers and smaller brokerages to compete on an equal footing.
While the organization did not explicitly target any specific companies or organizations, the statement lands as brokerages and portals rapidly roll out new pre-marketing and coming-soon strategies that give listings exposure before they hit the MLS — a shift many MLSs view as a direct challenge to the cooperative model.
The pace of those moves has accelerated in recent weeks.
In February, Compass announced a partnership with Redfin and Rocket Companies to display pre-MLS listings during the second phase of the brokerage’s 3-phased marketing strategy. And then on March 17, Zillow unveiled its “Preview” program alongside Keller Williams, REMAX, HomeServices of America, United Real Estate and Side.
The following day, eXp Realty said it would syndicate pre-market listings across Homes.com, Realtor.com and ComeHome — where its listings would be distributed through third-party listing distribution platform Zenlist.
Zillow expanded its effort again this week, adding two dozen more brokerage partners to the program. The company said that the “rapid adoption” of brokerages partnering to offer their coming-soon listings to the platform “signals increasing demand across the industry for a more transparent, consumer-first approach to sharing pre-market listings.”
A number of industry leaders have weighed in on the shift, reflecting a growing divide over whether pre-marketing expands consumer choice or undermines the MLS model.
Some executives have framed the new programs as giving sellers more flexibility and control over how their homes are introduced to the market, while others have warned the approach could fragment inventory and make it harder for buyers to see a complete picture of available homes.
Others have pointed to the competitive implications, arguing that concentrating listings on specific platforms could “create an advantage” for brokerages — particularly if it drives consumer attention to one place over another.
CMLS ultimately framed the issue as a question of how the market functions and fairness for consumers.
“Markets work best when information is broadly shared, rules are applied fairly, and brokers compete on service rather than control over access to information,” the group said.
