This summer, Zillow Preview listings are coming to Realtor.com, giving pre-market homes exposure across the two biggest real estate platforms in the country, reaching 75% of major portal visitors combined.
The collaboration, announced today, means agents using Zillow Preview through an enrolled brokerage will automatically have their pre-market listings appear on both Zillow and Realtor.com.
Why are Zillow and Realtor.com sharing Preview listings?
Both platforms are framing this as a transparency play and a direct counter to the growing fragmentation of pre-market inventory into private networks.
In a statement, Jeremy Wacksman, CEO of Zillow, said:
“The real estate market works best when every buyer has access to the same information — nothing hidden, nothing reserved for a select few. Zillow and Realtor.com both are committed to the same principle: sellers deserve maximum exposure from day one, and buyers deserve visibility into every home available to them. With this collaboration we’re not just expanding reach, we’re creating true seller choice while setting a new industry standard for what transparency in real estate actually looks like for buyers, sellers and agents.”
Realtor.com CEO Damian Eales was blunter about the stakes. In a blog post published alongside the announcement, he wrote:
“Pre-market inventory is growing, and too much of it is flowing into narrower and more fragmented channels. And it’s not just listings that are being kept from buyers. Critical home data is increasingly being withheld from buyers who need it to make one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives. That is a dangerous direction for the industry. When listings and information become harder to find, buyers and sellers lose, and it becomes harder for brokers to work together to best serve their clients.”
His preferred solution? MLSs establishing and syndicating Coming Soon listings themselves. But where that hasn’t happened yet, Eales argued Realtor.com has “a responsibility to support” exposure of pre-market listings to the widest possible audience.
What do agents get from the Zillow-Realtor.com Preview collaboration?
Three things worth knowing:
- Boosted visibility. Preview listings get elevated placement in search results and saved-home alerts on both platforms during the preview window. That’s prime real estate before your listing even hits the MLS.
- Free connections. When a buyer reaches out to the listing agent directly through either platform, that connection is free. No referral fee.
- Revenue share. If a qualified Preview connection closes through a qualified partner agent, the listing agent may receive a share of the revenue, paid through the collaboration, not out of the consumer’s or agent’s pocket.
Zillow Preview is currently available in all U.S. markets, with the exception of New York City. There are currently more than 60 participating brokerages, including Keller Williams, RE/MAX, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, HomeServices of America, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, United Real Estate, Engel & Völkers, and Side.
How should agents use this in their listing strategy?
If your brokerage is enrolled, Preview will now reach 75% of all portal users. Instead of reaching buyers on one platform, you’re now building demand across both simultaneously.
For your seller conversations, the pitch writes itself. You can tell clients their home will be visible to buyers on the two most-trafficked real estate sites in the country before it officially hits the market. That’s a concrete, measurable advantage over agents who aren’t using Preview.
For buyer clients, make sure they know Preview listings exist on both platforms. Buyers can save homes, contact listing agents, and even pre-book tours, so they’re ready to move the moment a home goes active.
Bottom line: The Zillow-Realtor.com Preview partnership doubles your pre-market reach at no extra cost. If your brokerage is enrolled, it’s a tool worth sharing with your clients.
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