If you’ve been searching for homes on Zillow in the Chicago area, you may have already noticed something: the listings are disappearing.

Here’s what happened. MRED — the MLS that covers northern Illinois — cut off its listing data feed to Zillow after Zillow refused to comply with its rules around how pre-marketed listings are displayed. As of this week, Zillow is no longer receiving MRED listings. Zillow has filed a lawsuit trying to stop it. A federal judge will sort out the legal piece. But right now, the listings are gone.

First — what Zillow actually did

A lot of headlines are framing this as a fight over “secret listings” or “hidden homes.” That’s not quite right.

There are two types of non-public listings in this market. One is an MLS Private listing — it’s in the system, it doesn’t feed to the public portals, and sellers use it when they want limited exposure before they’re ready to fully launch. The other is a Compass Private Exclusive — it only exists on Compass.com, shared within the Compass network, no sign, no social media, genuine off-market.

Neither of those ever went to Zillow. That’s not new. That’s not what this fight is about.

What Zillow decided to do is this: any home that was pre-marketed in one of those private channels — and then goes fully public on the MLS — gets permanently suppressed on Zillow. Even after it’s live. Even after it meets every public listing requirement. Zillow is retroactively penalizing a home for how it was marketed before it went public.

MRED’s position is straightforward: compliant public listings get displayed. That’s the rule. It applies to everyone.

Why this matters — and why it might not matter as much as Zillow wants you to think

Zillow has built its brand on the idea that it is the market. It isn’t.

The data tells a different story. Of the hundreds of millions of people who use Zillow, the overwhelming majority are browsers — people checking their home’s estimated value, scrolling through neighborhoods they’ll never move to, or daydreaming. The actual buyers — pre-approved, actively searching, ready to move — are a small fraction of that traffic. Studies consistently show only about 3% of Zillow’s users actually complete a home purchase. And those buyers aren’t loyal to Zillow. They’re loyal to finding the right home.

Realtor.com, Redfin, Homes.com, and Compass.com are all still receiving full MRED data. The inventory is there.

There’s more inventory than most buyers ever see

Portals like Zillow only ever showed one layer of the market. There are two others — and that’s where the less competitive opportunities live.

Public MLS Listing: Fully marketed, feeds to Realtor.com, Redfin, Homes.com, Compass.com, and thousands of agent sites. Strict showing and data requirements. Previously also on Zillow — currently not.

Private MLS Listing: In the MLS system but not fed to public portals. Sellers use this when they want quiet exposure before a full launch — testing price, timing the market, or simply not ready for full traffic. A sign in the yard is allowed. Agents can find these. Buyers working with an agent can access them.

Compass Private Exclusive: The most private option. Only on Compass.com and the Compass app. No sign, no social, no public marketing. Genuine off-market. Only accessible through a Compass agent — which means most buyers never see these at all.

What this means if you’re buying

The homes are still out there. You just need to look somewhere other than Zillow right now. More importantly — the homes that are worth the most attention often aren’t on any portal yet. Private listings, coming-soons, and off-market properties move through agent networks first. If you’re waiting for Zillow to surface the right home, you may be waiting longer than necessary.

What this means if you’re selling

Your listing gets full market exposure on every compliant platform. One portal going dark doesn’t change that. And honestly — the buyers you most want to attract aren’t the ones passively scrolling Zillow at midnight. They’re the ones working with an agent, actively searching, and ready.

The portal era in real estate is shifting. This week just made that a lot more visible.

Questions about what’s available in the northern suburbs — or what your options look like as a seller? Reach out directly. Happy to have a real conversation.