Compass says Zillow exposure cut sale-to-list ratios by 1.3%

Homes that appeared on Zillow sold for 1.3% less, on average, than comparable listings that did not show up on the portal, according to new internal research from Compass International Holdings. The analysis, led by Compass chief economist Mike Simonsen and chief data officer Dave Crosby, examined 296,966 Compass listings posted between January 2025 and May 2026. Of those, 806 listings were “banned” from appearing on Zillow. The median sale-to-list price ratio for banned listings was 100%, compared with 98.7% for non-banned listings, Compass said. On a $1 million home, a 1.3% gap equates to roughly $13,000 in seller proceeds. Compass refers to this difference as the “Zillow Tax.” The firm argues that, while Zillow has long promoted rapid online exposure as critical to a sale, the net effect of appearing on the site is a lower achieved price for sellers. This study from Compass comes as the two firms are engaged in an on going legal battle. After Zillow’s Listing Access Standards policy went into effect last June, Compass filed an antitrust lawsuit against the listing portal giant claiming that it was using its monopoly power to harm Compass and industry competition. Compass volunta...