EXp Realty became the latest brokerage to announce a pre-marketing deal Wednesday, revealing that it has arranged for its listings to appear on three different portals before they become more widely available.
The deal will give eXp agents the ability to send their “coming soon” listings to Homes.com, Realtor.com, and ComeHome.com beginning April 15. The listings will be distributed through third-party listing distribution platform Zenlist and are subject to local multiple listing service (MLS) rules and guidelines.
“By bridging the gap between ‘pre-market’ and ‘public-facing,’ eXp is redefining how agents generate early demand and deliver unparalleled exposure for their clients,” the statement read.
The statement also notes that syndication of the listings is not exclusive, with any portal able to “choose to receive eXp listings on equal terms, subject to applicable MLS rules and seller authorization.”
Leo Pareja
“Our philosophy is simple,” eXp Realty CEO Leo Pareja said in a written statement. “If a home is being marketed to the public, consumers deserve the opportunity to see it. Our role as an industry is to create the most open and efficient marketplace possible for buyers and sellers.”
“This is not about limiting where listings appear,” he added. “It is about expanding visibility and giving sellers the widest possible audience while maintaining compliance with MLS rules and local regulations.”
Realtor.com CEO Damian Eales said the partnership aligns with the portal’s longstanding dedication to market transparency and the MLS system.
“Sellers want clicks, not cliques and eXp is delivering for them,” he said in an emailed statement. “We recognize a seller’s desire for price exploration before officially going to market, and a ‘Coming Soon’ status is the ideal solution for buyers, sellers and professionals.”
“By displaying these listings on the open market, sellers can achieve true price discovery,” he added. “It eliminates the need for restrictive private marketplaces and ensures equal access for all buyers, not a subset selected by the listing agent.”
Damian Eales
Eales said public coming-soon listings have a proven benefit, giving listing agents and their clients more time to create excitement and attract more homebuyers, which can lead to a higher sales price.
“We thank eXp for their leadership and encourage all brokers to prioritize the interests of their clients by making ‘Coming Soon’ listings widely available through their MLS,” he said. “If an MLS doesn’t support ‘Coming Soon’ status today, we encourage the MLS to create it.”
News of eXp’s pre-market syndication deal comes a day after Zillow announced its own pre-market offering, which launched in partnership with Keller Williams, REMAX, HomeServices of America and Side.
And late last month, Compass kicked off the pre-marketing syndication trend when it debuted a coming-soon partnership with Redfin.
Though the details of the deals vary slightly, they all aim to push listings out to consumers on some platforms before they are widely available on all platforms. They also come amid a broader push among brokerages to build their own private listing networks. Major players in that trend include Compass, which has leaned into what it calls a “3-Phase Marketing Strategy” as well as Howard Hanna, which last week debuted an offering dubbed “HannaList.”
Update: This story was updated after publication with additional background.
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