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West USA Realty is the latest brokerage to commit to Zillow’s new listing standards policy.
On Thursday, West USA Realty announced that it had agreed to abide by Zillow’s policy that bans any listing that has been publicly marketed to buyers without being put into the MLS.
Zillow announced the policy earlier this month, as the debate surrounding the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP), which requires that listings be input into the MLS within 24 hours of them being publicly marketed.
“At West USA Realty, we believe that providing our clients with the most accurate and comprehensive information is essential to their success in the real estate market,” Nick Weitekamp, the executive vice president of West USA Realty, said in a statement. “By aligning with Zillow’s pro-consumer listing access standards, we’re reinforcing our responsibility to ensure sellers receive maximum visibility and reach the widest possible audience, and that buyers have a clear understanding of their choices.”
Founded in 1986, West USA Realty is one of the largest brokerages in the Southwest with over 3,000 agents. In 2023, the firm recorded 19,785 transaction sides for a total of $4.47 billion in sales volume, according to data from RealTrends Verified.
Zillow’s listing standards go into effect on both Zillow and Trulia beginning in May. Last week, Redfin put out a similar policy, which, like Zillow’s, bans listings that have been publicly marketed to some buyers without being input into the MLS.
In committing to Zillow’s policy, West USA Realty is joining eXp Realty and NextHome.
“West USA Realty is joining others who share our belief that transparency is the foundation of a healthy real estate market,” Errol Samuelson, the chief industry development officer at Zillow, said in a statement. “By joining us and many others across the industry in adopting these listing standards, they’re helping ensure that buyers, sellers, and agents have equal access to the same critical information when it matters most. This partnership strengthens our collective effort to foster a more open, competitive, and consumer-focused real estate experience in Arizona and beyond.”
While West USA Realty, NextHome and eXp Realty are in favor of these listing standards, others are not.
In a post on LinkedIn, erstwhile CCP critic and Compass CEO Robert Reffkin wrote that Zillow’s policy “constitutes platform-based exclusionary conduct.” He went on to compare Zillow’s conduct to that of Google in its recent antitrust lawsuit with the Department of Justice.
