Explainer · 7 min read

Zillow Preview for Agents: How It Works, Who Gets the Leads, and Preview vs Coming Soon

Zillow Preview lets agents at partner brokerages show a home on Zillow and Trulia before it's on the MLS. Since September 17, it shows on Realtor.com too. It's free. Buyers who message the listing agent reach you, but tour requests go to Zillow's buyer-agent network. Here's how it works and what your MLS still requires.

By Bristol Briggs Updated September 25, 2026

Newly built white two-story house with a three-car garage — Photo by Eric Ardito on Unsplash

What Zillow Preview is

Zillow Preview is a public pre-market status: the home shows on Zillow before it's active on the MLS.

Zillow describes a Preview home as one "not yet active on the MLS but is publicly visible on Zillow and Trulia." Anyone browsing can see it.

No login or special brokerage relationship is needed.

Zillow announced Preview on March 17, 2026 with five launch partners: Keller Williams, HomeServices of America, REMAX, Side and United Real Estate. By September 17, Zillow counted more than 400 partner brokerages.

We couldn't find any count from Zillow of how many homes have been listed in Preview.

Who can use it

Only agents at brokerages that have signed a Preview agreement with Zillow can publish a Preview listing.

You publish it through Zillow Workspace once your brokerage has signed Zillow's agreement. You can't sign up on your own.
Some brokerages make it optional. Keller Williams calls it an optional pre-marketing strategy, switched on at the brokerage level.
If your MLS doesn't allow any public pre-marketing, Zillow says not to publish a Preview listing.
It's free. Zillow says there's never a cost to the brokerage, the agent or the buyer.

How a Preview listing works

You set an expected on-market date, and that date decides when buyers can start touring the home.

Length: there's no fixed limit. You decide, within the window your MLS allows. Zillow says Preview listings are "meant to be short-term."
Price: you can change the price during Preview.
Days on Zillow: you and your seller choose whether it shows. If it shows, the count keeps going once the home is active, where the MLS allows.
Tours: buyers can request one ahead of time, and it's booked for on or after your go-live date.
Feedback: you see views, saves, shares and tour requests while the home is in Preview.
Going live: the listing goes to the MLS when you're ready, within your MLS's window.

Where the inquiries go

A Preview listing gives buyers two buttons, and each one sends the inquiry to a different agent.

If a tour request turns into a closed deal with a Zillow partner agent, Zillow says the listing agent "may receive a share of the revenue." It's paid through the brokerage.

At launch, Real Estate News reported the share as 10% of the buy-side commission. Zillow's own announcements don't give a percentage.

Not everyone thinks the buttons are clear. CoStar, which owns rival Homes.com, says buyers get confused.

In a June court brief, it cited a study where "99.7% of respondents incorrectly identified whom they were contacting." That claim comes from a competitor, and the article doesn't say who ran the study.

On Realtor.com, Zillow says tour requests go to a qualified partner agent. It hasn't said whether that's the same network.

Button	Who gets the inquiry	Cost to the listing agent
Contact listing agent	You, the listing agent, directly	Free
Request a tour	An agent in Zillow's buyer-agent network (Zillow Preferred)	Free; you may get a share if it closes

Realtor.com now shows Preview listings

Since September 17, 2026, Preview homes also appear on Realtor.com, labeled as Preview listings and open to everyone.

Zillow called it "the largest pre-market syndication effort in U.S. residential real estate." Buyers on either site can reach the listing agent or a local buyer's agent.

The revenue share covers qualified Preview connections from either site that close through a partner agent.

Zillow says Preview listings got 18% more views, 9% more shares and 7% more saves than similar listings in their first 14 days. That's Zillow's own data, not an independent study.

Zillow Preview vs Coming Soon vs private listings

The difference is who can see the home: anyone online, whoever your MLS allows, or only one brokerage's buyers.

Coming Soon is a status your MLS defines, and Zillow still shows MLS Coming Soon listings that reach it through IDX. The site now displays both statuses.

Compass launched See It First on Compass.com on September 22, one section that gathers early listings from all nine Compass brands. Compass says any buyer or buyer's agent can view and inquire.

Real Estate News found the registration link for its private listings was still on the site.

Status	Who sets the rules	Who can see it
Zillow Preview	Zillow's agreement with your brokerage, inside your MLS rules	Anyone on Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com
Coming Soon	Your local MLS	Varies by market and is often limited
Private or office exclusive	Your brokerage, within MLS and state rules	Only buyers working with that brokerage
Compass See It First	Compass	Anyone on Compass.com, according to Compass

Your MLS rules still apply

Preview doesn't replace your MLS, and NAR's Clear Cooperation Policy still counts from the day you market a home publicly.

01NAR restated the rule on March 20, 2026: submit a listing to the MLS within one business day of marketing it to the public.
02NAR also said each MLS sets its own pre-marketing rules, and every agent agrees to follow their MLS.
03Under NAR's 2025 seller options policy, office-exclusive and delayed-marketing listings need a written certification from your seller. Your MLS may have its own form.
04Some states now have their own rules. Washington's took effect June 11, 2026, and Connecticut's starts October 1, 2026.
05Ask your broker whether a Preview listing starts your MLS's clock. Zillow says Preview listings go to the MLS "within the window local MLS rules allow."

The Chicago court fight

On September 15, a federal judge in Chicago denied Zillow's request for a preliminary injunction against MRED and Compass.

MRED is the Chicago-area MLS. Judge John Tharp Jr. wrote that Zillow "has not made the required strong showing that MRED and Compass agreed to cut off Zillow's access" to listings.

He sent Zillow's claims against MRED to arbitration and paused its claims against Compass. He also lifted the temporary order that had kept MRED's listings flowing to Zillow.

Zillow said the ruling "is not the final word."

The court didn't order Zillow to change its listing rules. Real Estate News reads the practical effect as Zillow having to follow MRED's licensing rules to keep the listing feed.

If you list in MRED's area, check with your broker before using Preview.

Separately, the law firm Hagens Berman is looking for Chicago-area buyers for a possible class action against Compass and MRED, not Zillow. As of September 18, nothing had been filed.

Tips for listing agents

Treat Preview as the first week of your marketing plan, with your seller's OK and your MLS's rules in writing.

01Get your seller's decision in writing before any pre-marketing, on your MLS's form if it has one.
02Pick a realistic on-market date. Tours can't start before it.
03Decide with your seller whether to show Days on Zillow, knowing the count can carry over.
04Read early views and saves as a signal, not a price verdict. As one listing-media company put it, early activity "does not replace a thoughtful pricing analysis."
05Answer every Contact listing agent message quickly. A buyer who hears nothing can still press Request a tour, and that goes to another agent.
06Put the listing in the MLS inside your MLS's window.

The bottom line

Preview is free exposure before the MLS, but the tour button belongs to Zillow's network, so the messages that reach you matter most.

If your brokerage is a partner and your MLS allows pre-marketing, Preview is worth a conversation with each seller. Check your MLS rules first, get the seller's choice in writing, and be fast on every inquiry that comes to you.

Where Sifta fits

Sifta handles the buyer messages that land in your email, including Zillow inquiries, and texts you a reply to approve.

Sifta doesn't list homes or touch your MLS. It works on the messages buyers send you.

Sifta is an AI assistant built only for real estate agents. Here is what it does:

Connects to Gmail or Outlook and your calendar, and runs by text from the Messages app on your phone.
Drafts the reply to each portal lead in your voice, with real open times, and texts it to you to approve.
Tracks the deal dates it finds in your email.
Pulls comps on any address you text it.
Books showings from the group text with your client.
Briefs you every morning.

It does not make phone calls and it is not a CRM. It's one flat monthly plan with no contract.

If Sifta doesn't catch something worth more than the price in week one, you don't pay.

What is Sifta Sifta pricing Is Sifta safe Why response time matters on Zillow leads

Sources

23 sources

Every fact on this page was checked against these sources on September 25, 2026.

Zillow, the MLSs and the courts keep changing these rules. If something here is out of date, email hello@joinsifta.com and we will fix it.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does Zillow Preview cost money?

No. Zillow says there's never a cost to the brokerage, agent or consumer. If a tour request closes with a Zillow partner agent, the listing agent may get a share of Zillow's revenue.

How long can a listing stay in Zillow Preview?

There's no fixed limit. The listing agent decides, within the window the local MLS allows, and Zillow says Preview listings are meant to be short-term.

What's the difference between Zillow Preview and Coming Soon?

Coming Soon is a status your MLS defines, and who can see it varies by market. Zillow Preview is shown publicly on Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com before the home is active on the MLS.

Can any agent use Zillow Preview?

No. Only agents at brokerages that have signed a Preview agreement with Zillow. Zillow counted more than 400 partner brokerages in September 2026.

Can buyers tour a Zillow Preview home?

They can request a tour in advance. It's scheduled for on or after the go-live date the listing agent set.

Does Zillow Preview count toward days on market?

Showing Days on Zillow is optional during Preview. If the agent and seller show it, the count continues when the listing goes active, where the MLS allows. Your MLS's own days-on-market count follows MLS rules.

Three ways in

Get started Pick a plan and start today. No contract, and the first week is guaranteed. Go Get the free Leak Report Connect your email and get one number: what your inbox lost you last quarter. Go What Sifta does A personal AI assistant for realtors that runs the busywork of your business. Go

Preview brings them early. Answer them first.

Works with Gmail and Outlook. Setup takes two minutes. No contract, and the first week is guaranteed.

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