On Thursday, April 10, 2025,Zillowmade a significant announcement: they will no longer list homes that aren’t in the MLS on their platform. Four days later, Redfin followed suit. Starting in May, both platforms will exclude off-market and exclusive listings that haven’t been submitted to the multiple listing service.

For the millions of buyers and sellers who rely on Zillow as their primary home search tool, this is a bigger deal than it might appear.

What Actually Triggered This: The Clear Cooperation Policy

To understand what just happened, you need to go back to 2019. The National Association of Realtors and major MLS boards were watching a growing trend: more homeowners and brokerages were selling properties off-market — never listed publicly, never showing up on Zillow, Redfin, or Realtor.com. As a result, those portals were increasingly at risk of becoming incomplete.

In response, NAR adopted theClear Cooperation Policyin 2019 (implemented in 2020). The rule: if you publicly market a property in any way — social media, email blast, yard sign, door knocker — you must submit it to the MLS within 24 hours. Failure to do so meant fines and violations.

This worked for a while. But brokerages found workarounds — “office exclusive” listings that were marketed only within the brokerage without triggering the public marketing definition.Compass, the brokerage Kevin works with, built a significant “private exclusive” program around this model.

What Changed in April 2025

The NAR updated its policy in early 2025, creating two tracks for sellers: the MLS (public, shows up everywhere) and a formal “Delayed Marketing Exempt Listing” category for true office exclusives that are explicitly not publicly marketed. The new rule: if you’re not in the MLS, you can’t be on Zillow. Full stop.

Zillow and Redfin responded by committing to only show MLS-submitted listings. This means buyers using those platforms are now getting a less complete picture of what’s available — anything intentionally kept off-MLS won’t appear on the most-used consumer search portals.

What This Means for Sellers

You now have a genuine choice: pre-market your home as a private exclusive (higher privacy, tests market pricing, reaches serious buyers through agent networks) or go straight to MLS for maximum exposure. The trade-off is real. Pre-market can mean fewer eyes and potentially leaving money on the table in a competitive market. Going straight to MLS means maximum visibility — including Zillow’s 200+ million monthly users.

Kevin’s general guidance: in a competitive seller’s market, maximum exposure typically produces the best outcome. In a slower market or for privacy-sensitive sellers (think: high-profile clients, difficult tenants, or unique properties), the private exclusive phase has genuine value.

What This Means for Buyers

Stop assuming Zillow shows everything. It never fully did — and now the gap is formalized. If you’re only searching Zillow and Redfin, you may be missing homes that are being marketed through agent-to-agent networks, office exclusives, orCompassPrivate Exclusives. Work with an agent who has access to the full inventory — not just what the consumer portals show. Thehome buyer’s guidecovers how to find off-market inventory in Montgomery County.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Zillow banning private listings?

Zillow committed to only showing MLS-listed homes following the NAR’s updated Clear Cooperation Policy in 2025, which created formal rules around the two tracks for selling a home — public MLS listing versus private exclusive.

What is the Clear Cooperation Policy?

A National Association of Realtors rule requiring that if a home is publicly marketed in any way, it must be submitted to the MLS within 24 hours. It was adopted in 2019, implemented in 2020, and updated in 2025 to close office-exclusive loopholes.

Are there still off-market homes for sale in Montgomery County?

Yes. Compass Private Exclusives and other off-market listings still exist — they just won’t appear on Zillow or Redfin. Working with an agent who has access to these networks is the only way to see the full inventory.

Should I sell my Montgomery County home as a private exclusive or on the MLS?

In most cases, maximum MLS exposure produces the best outcome — more buyers competing for your home typically means better price and terms. Private exclusives make sense for sellers who prioritize privacy or want to test pricing before going public. Talk to Kevin about which approach fits your situation.

Does this affect Realtor.com too?

Realtor.com has always been MLS-backed, so this change has less impact there. The bigger effect is on Zillow and Redfin, which had built consumer expectations around showing “all” homes.

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Sources and next steps

Verified local sources:Maryland REALTORS housing statistics;GCAAR housing market reports;FRED 30-year mortgage rate series;Maryland SDAT real property search.

Related Kevin guides:home selling guide;market stats;book a call.

Watch the YouTube videoorbook a 30-minute strategy call with Kevin.

Expanded local research sources:GCAAR housing market reports;Maryland REALTORS housing statistics;Realtor.com Montgomery County market data;FRED 30-year mortgage rates;Maryland SDAT real property search;Zillow Montgomery County home values;Montgomery Planning development;Montgomery Planning development review;MCATLAS zoning map;Montgomery Planning data catalog;Montgomery County permits;Visit Montgomery travel guide;Visit Montgomery restaurant directory;Tripadvisor Montgomery County things to do.

Contextual links for this video

Kevin site links:home selling guide;home buying guide;market stats;DMV Housing Market 2026: Is a Crash Coming or Are the Numbers Telling a Different Story?;10 Things You Should Never Say to Your Real Estate Agent When Selling Your Home.

Outside research links for this video:GCAAR housing market reports;Maryland REALTORS housing stats;Realtor.com Montgomery County market data;Reddit discussion search for this topic;Google context search for this video.

Kevin process link: why Kevin’s local process matters.