The typical home seller who did not list on the Multiple Listing Service sold their home for nearly $5,000 less.
New research reveals a significant financial impact on home sellers who did not list their properties on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Over the past two years, sellers who transacted off the MLS collectively left more than $1 billion on the table.
The study examined home sales from 2023 and 2024, finding that homes sold off the MLS typically sold for $4,975 less than those listed on the MLS, a median loss of 1.5% nationwide. The loss is much more significant in some areas; sellers in California, for example, typically gave up more than $30,000 selling off the MLS.
Some real estate brokerages are increasingly steering sellers to list their homes on private networks first instead of the MLS without adequately highlighting the potential negative price impacts or that their home will only be visible to buyers locked into a contract with that same brokerage.
This research highlights the importance of a for-sale listing being entered into the MLS to be openly marketed to the widest audience of home buyers. By listing on the MLS, sellers can expose their properties to a broader pool of potential buyers, which increases competition and can result in securing the highest possible sale price.
A January 2025 Zillow/Harris Poll survey of more than 2,000 U.S. consumers found 63% of those who have sold a home within the past five years say their agent recommended listing on a private listing network. That’s compared to 18% for those who sold more than five years ago. In that same survey, more than four in five Americans (81%) said if they were selling a home it would be important to them that their home listing is viewable for free to the public.
Private listing networks also mean buyers potentially making more tradeoffs than necessary and missing out on homes that could be their best option. Additional Zillow research shows that almost all buyers – 91% – believe they should be able to see all listings and be able to access these for free, without barriers. In the current market, in which housing supply remains down 26% from pre-pandemic levels, seeing the full picture of the market becomes even more critical for a home shopper and for the health of the market.
