CCP war escalates: Pareja says eXp will not use delayed listings

CCP requires agents to place a listing on a NAR-affiliated MLS within 24 hours of publicly marketing it. But brokerages trying to build an inventory of exclusive listings — namely Compass — have waged war on the rule and subsequently forced NAR to address it.

The trade group’s answer is what it calls Multiple Listing Options for Sellers, or colloquially, delayed listings. These listings still have to be placed on the MLS, but under the direction of the home seller, the agent can delay the listing from appearing in Internet Data Exchange (IDX) feeds, which is how portals like Zillow pull listings to their sites.

In his comment about eXp not using them, Pareja is indicating that because homebuyers can’t access the delayed listings feed without an agent who is a member of the MLS, the industry is risking another antitrust lawsuit like the one over MLS commission offers that shook the industry.

While Pareja rejected the idea that his position on delayed listings is out of self-interest, much of the industry has drawn its battle lines around just that.

Compass CEO Robert Reffkin has gone scorched-earth on CCP, as his company wants to build an inventory of exclusive listings, which would allow Compass to be on both the buy side and sell side of home transactions.

Publicly, Reffkin argues that CCP limits a “seller’s choice” on how their listing is marketed, while proponents of the rule say that exclusive listings limit the reach of it and thus don’t serve the best interest of the seller.

Reffkin’s approach has rankled much of the real estate industry, sparking heated LinkedIn posts and venomous public comments.

“The loudest voices behind the so-called ‘seller choice movement’ come from a company born out of greedy venture capital who has purchased all of its growth without a sustainable business model or a clear path to profitability,” Pareja said on the call, clearly referring to Compass. “Now in a rush to appease Wall Street investors, they’re pushing an agenda that runs clearly counter to consumer best interests.”

Pareja didn’t stop there. He dropped another not-so-veiled attack on brokerages wanting to build “walled gardens and private exclusives with some nonsense marketing strategies,” adding that taking listings off market is a “fair housing disaster.”

While Compass may have struck the first blow in the battle over CCP, none may have landed a bigger one than Zillow, which stands to lose scores of listings if CCP was repealed. 

The portal announced last week that it will not display delayed listings on its site, instead holding to a de facto CCP policy that requires listings be placed in an IDX feed within a day of any public marketing. Redfin, eXp and NextHome have committed to abide by the policy.