Today, Redfin announced a partnership with Compass International Holdings that will expand the number of homes buyers can discover on Redfin.com.
Through this partnership, home sellers, and the Redfin and Compass International Holding’s network of real estate professionals that represent them, will have the choice to display their homes on Redfin.com with no days on market, no price history, and no home valuation estimates. Redfin and Compass share a belief that giving sellers more flexibility in how they introduce their homes to the market can increase confidence to list, helping bring more listings online for buyers. That means more inventory for buyers, more flexibility for sellers, and more opportunity for agents in our networks.
This partnership’s implementation is in compliance with MLS rules and takes into account local market policies and practices.
Balancing Buyer and Seller Needs
Redfin occupies a unique position in this debate because we operate both a national home search platform and a brokerage. We help thousands of buyers purchase their dream home every year. We sit at kitchen tables with sellers every day. We hear directly what homeowners want when they decide how to market their homes.
Not every seller wants the same one-size-fits-all approach.
Some sellers want maximum exposure immediately. Others want to test pricing before going fully public. Some prefer privacy. Others do not want their home syndicated across thousands of websites that begin tracking negative insights like days on market and price history on day one.
Sellers, and the agents they hire to represent them, must make thoughtful decisions about one of the most important financial transactions of a seller’s life. Our real-world experience has shaped our thinking.
Offering seller choice and making it easier to test the market without negative insights has the potential to increase overall inventory coming on the market, resulting in improved access and affordability for homebuyers.
Registration and Distribution Are Different
We continue to value the MLS system when it serves consumers and agents. We are willing to register listings in the MLS when the framework supports seller choice on distribution timing. Cooperation between brokers remains foundational to a healthy marketplace.
Registration and internet distribution are separate functions.
Sellers should have the flexibility to phase their marketing based on what is best for their specific situation. This choice must always be backed by clear, written seller consent and relevant disclosures at the time of listing, ensuring total transparency. This approach feeds the MLS ecosystem rather than bypassing it—in fact, Compass data shows that 94% of listings that begin with phased marketing ultimately end up fully active on the MLS.
This is not a new or untested concept. Many of the country’s largest MLSs, including Bright MLS, MRED MLS, RealTracs MLS, Unlock MLS, and many others, already have established frameworks that successfully strike the balance between seller choice, data integrity, broker cooperation, and buyer access. In many markets, these flexible marketing models have been working seamlessly for years, if not decades. They allow a property to be registered in the MLS while preserving the seller’s control over internet distribution and “Coming Soon” marketing, all while brokers continue to cooperate impartially.
We are open to collaboration. We also intend to move forward. Rules that no longer fit the market should not stand in the way of seller choice.
Giving Buyers Access and Sellers Flexibility
Buyers want to see as much inventory as possible. Sellers deserve meaningful options in how they market their homes.
These principles are not in conflict.
Redfin operates at the intersection of platform and brokerage. That perspective informs how we approach this issue.
We will continue to support transparency. We will continue to work with MLS partners. And we will continue evolving in ways that reflect what we hear directly from the people we serve.
The future of real estate should be shaped by consumers, not constrained by legacy defaults.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this inventory from Compass and Redfin being kept off the MLS?
No. This partnership’s implementation is compliant with MLS rules and takes into account local market policies and practices. We are willing to register listings in the MLS when the framework supports seller choice on distribution timing. This partnership is about flexibility in internet distribution and phased marketing, not removing cooperation among brokers.
Are these “pocket listings”?
No. These listings are being publicly marketed and displayed on Redfin.com and Compass.com, which reach 60 million monthly visitors, and in the future, will include listings from other Compass International Holdings websites. They are not hidden from buyers.
Does this change Redfin’s commitment to transparency?
No, all Coming Soons are publicly marketed. Additionally, buyers visiting Redfin.com benefit from seeing more inventory. By bringing these listings onto Redfin.com, we are expanding visibility. Redfin is a two-sided marketplace that must effectively serve both buyers and sellers. Offering seller choice and making it easier to test the market without negative insights has the potential to increase overall inventory coming on the market, resulting in improved affordability.
Will Redfin ban listings from appearing on Redfin.com if those listings were selectively pre-marketed prior to being submitted to the MLS?
No. Redfin will not ban any listing based on how a homeowner elects to market his or her home.
Why did Redfin change its position on exclusive listings?
Our perspective evolved through direct experience representing sellers and buyers. Not every homeowner wants the same marketing approach. This partnership delivers more choice. Redfin buyers want to find out about Coming Soon listings. This partnership gives them better access.
As a brokerage, we’ve always offered Coming Soon options for homeowners to test the market while preparing for MLS debut, as well as private exclusives for sellers who prioritize privacy in their home sale. We are now expanding those options and extending phased marketing on Redfin.com to Compass and Anywhere listings.
Is Redfin encouraging sellers to avoid the MLS?
No. We believe that how home sellers test the market differs from MLS marketing, and that registration and internet distribution should be treated as separate decisions, allowing sellers more flexibility while maintaining cooperation.
Does this violate Clear Cooperation?
No. Clear Cooperation requires that listings be entered into the MLS within a defined timeframe. This partnership does not change how Coming Soons are entered into the MLS.
Will most phased listings eventually appear fully on the MLS?
Yes, just on a timeline chosen by the seller. This is a soft launch, not an opt-out.
