Mortgage Pre-Approval First-time Home Buyers
Learn how to get pre-approved for a mortgage if you’re a first-time homebuyer.
Zillow and Redfin are launching a program that gives agents and sellers the option to publicly sell listings on the platform before moving to active status.
The Zillow Preview Program, starting in April, will allow agents at participating brokerages to make their listings publicly available on Zillow, Trulia, and their own brokerage and agent sites during the preview period. Properties appear exclusively on these sites and are prioritized in searches and savings alerts.
Initial partners in the program include Keller Williams, REMAX, HomeServices of America, Side, and United Real Estate.
“In more and more markets, the public is not able to view homes before they go on the market, including properties called “coming soon.” “Zillow Preview brings these homes out of the shadows and into the light of day, exposing them to the public rather than being confined to a closed system, while working within the framework of the MLS to help brokers and agents comply with local regulations,” Zillow said.
All listings on Zillow Preview require a property description as well as at least one property photo, price, and full property address and specifications. You should also include information about taxes and homeowners association fees, instructions, the listing date (the date the home seller signs the contract with the agent), and the expected date the home will go on the market.
Consumers viewing listings on Zillow Preview can contact the listing agent directly through the “Contact Agent” button or schedule a tour with a Zillow Preferred Buyer’s Agent through the “Schedule a Tour” button once the listing is active.
The program comes after nearly a year of backlash over Zillow’s Listing Access Standards policy, which prohibits listings that were publicly sold to consumers but were not registered with the multiple listing service within one business day of the sale from appearing on the company’s platform.
Zillow updated its Listing Access Standards policy to accommodate evolving “pre-marketing” tactics in conjunction with the Zillow Preview announcement, but maintains its position that published listings should be widely accessible to all buyers.
Zillow’s announcement also comes just a day after a similar program went into effect at Redfin. Parent companies Rocket Companies and Compass International Holdings have partnered to exclusively display “coming soon” listings from Compass and Redfin agents on their website as of March 16th. Later this year, it will expand to include other CIH brands, including Christie’s International Real Estate and Corcoran.
Redfin’s search results prioritize participating listings, and the listing agent’s contact information is displayed on the listing. When a potential buyer submits the Contact Agent form for a Compass “Coming Soon” listing on Redfin, the listing agent has 24 hours to apply for a buyer lead before it is sent to an agent in the Compass Leads program.
Eligible buyers who partner with a Compass agent also have access to Rocket Preferred Pricing, which offers a 1 percentage point reduction in interest rates for the first year of the loan or a lender credit of 0.75% of the loan amount up to $6,000.
“As barriers are removed and supply increases, affordability improves,” said Varun Krishna, CEO of Rocket Companies. “Today’s challenges are friction and inventory shortages in the homebuying process. By combining search, agency, and financing into one connected platform, we can help more sellers enter the market, reduce complexity for buyers, and make homeownership more attainable.”
Maddie McGay is a real estate reporter for NorthJersey.com and The Record, covering everything that’s worth celebrating about living in North Jersey. Find her on Instagram @maddiemcgay or X @maddiemcgayy and sign up for the North Jersey Living newsletter. Have a tip, trend, or great home she should know about? Email MMcGay@gannett.com.
