In a Redfin blog post, Rocket exec Joe Rath makes a case for “more flexibility” for sellers — while asking Washington state’s largest MLS to change its rules.
Key points:
- Rocket’s head of industry relations published an open letter to Seattle-area sellers explaining the benefits of pre-marketing and the importance of seller choice.
- “We’re already seeing demand for this flexibility,” he argues, highlighting several large MLSs that offer pre-marketing options — while noting that NWMLS is not one of them.
- NWMLS — which is in a legal battle with Redfin listings partner Compass — has, according to Rath, had “productive conversations” with Redfin about pre-marketing.
Since announcing a listings partnership with Compass in late February, Redfin and parent company Rocket have become increasingly vocal advocates for pre-marketing.
In an open letter to Seattle-area homesellers published on Redfin.com today, Joe Rath, head of industry relations at Rocket, makes a case for seller choice while imploring Northwest MLS to change its policies around pre-marketing.
What Redfin is pitching to sellers
Rath opens his letter by telling prospective sellers that “a behind-the-scenes industry debate could shape how your home comes to market,” noting that Redfin has planted its flag firmly in the “seller choice” camp — and echoing language used by Compass leaders, and more recently, by Rocket.
Redfin, he says, is decidedly in favor of pre-marketing as a way for sellers to test the market. “But home sellers in Seattle don’t have this choice,” he adds, “because Northwest MLS (NWMLS), the region’s multiple listing service, currently prohibits all premarketing.”
A compromise … of sorts?
NWMLS, which covers most of Washington state, does not allow Coming Soon-style listings that obscure metrics such as days on market or price reductions — aka “negative insights,” according to Compass — or listings that “reset” once they are publicly accessible via the MLS.
Rocket and Redfin say they want NWMLS to allow a pre-marketing phase, during which time “a home would still be filed with NWMLS and visible to all member agents and available to all buyers through those brokers, preserving the cooperation that the MLS is built on.”
That approach, Rath says in his letter, aligns with a new Washington law set to take effect in early June prohibiting “marketing residential properties to an exclusive group of prospective buyers or real estate brokers” unless it is also broadly marketed to consumers and other agents at the same time.
“We believe the law clearly supports premarketing as long as the listing is publicly marketed and the seller consents. That means a home can be shared on a publicly available platform, like Redfin.com, where any buyer or agent can view it freely,” Rath wrote.
Making a case for pre-marketing
Rath cites the experience of a local agent as evidence that “we’re already seeing demand for this flexibility from sellers in the Seattle area.” The agent was representing a unique property and opted to list it as a Coming Soon on Redfin.com so the sellers could “test the waters, get feedback, and feel confident in their next move,” Rath said.
He also suggested that pre-marketing “can encourage more homeowners to list, which can help increase inventory and give buyers more options” — consistent with data published on Redfin last month indicating pre-marketing could boost housing supply (findings that Zillow’s chief economist disputes).
Additionally, a pre-marketing “shift is already underway across the country,” Rath writes, pointing to several large MLSs — including Bright, MRED and Unlock — that allow the practice. “The momentum is clear: the industry is moving toward giving sellers more flexibility, not less. We’re asking NWMLS to join that movement.”
In a March 20 LinkedIn post, Compass CEO Robert Reffkin thanked the MLSs named in Rath’s letter for creating “seller-choice frameworks” — while blasting those, such as NWMLS, that have not.
It isn’t the first time Reffkin has come out swinging against NWMLS: Compass sued the MLS over its allegedly “anticompetitive” rules nearly a year ago, with NWMLS filing a counterclaim earlier this month accusing Compass of using marketing practices that “emphasize exclusivity and exclusion.”
‘Productive conversations’ happening?
Redfin appears to be taking a more collegial approach, stating that its goal “is to work constructively with NWMLS and the broader industry to find a solution that keeps listings available on the MLS, supports transparency for agents, and gives sellers the flexibility they’re asking for.”
Rath also indicated that Redfin has “had productive conversations with leaders at NWMLS who have expressed an openness to hearing our ideas and considering our proposal.”
Real Estate News has reached out to NWMLS, which said it had no comments to share at this time.