This story initially appeared on Actual Property Information.
The controversy over personal listings and pre-marketing in Washington state might quickly attain a turning level if a invoice requiring the general public advertising and marketing of residential properties advances within the state legislature.
Washington Realtors is backing SB6091, a brand new draft invoice aimed toward curbing unique house advertising and marketing practices — whereas stopping in need of mandating MLS participation. The commerce group knowledgeable members of the trouble on Jan. 9 in preparation for the beginning of Washington’s quick legislative session this week. The group shared the draft invoice with Actual Property Information and different media retailers on Jan. 12; Inman was first to report on the initiative.
‘As consumer-friendly’ as attainable
Ryan Beckett, Washington Realtors’ 2026 president, stated the measure is designed to prioritize customers slightly than settle trade disputes over platforms or itemizing methods. The draft invoice would prohibit actual property brokers from advertising and marketing residential properties to a restricted or unique group of consumers or brokers except the property can also be marketed publicly on the similar time.
“The final word aim is being as consumer-friendly as humanly attainable for anyone attempting to purchase or promote actual property,” Beckett stated of the trouble. “After we maintain having these conversations about personal itemizing networks, we acknowledge that it truly is at odds with that idea.”
Underneath the invoice, brokers would nonetheless be free to make use of personal itemizing networks or different selective advertising and marketing methods — however provided that the itemizing can also be made out there publicly “ultimately, form or type,” Beckett defined.
“We’re not telling anyone they will’t use a non-public itemizing community, or that they will’t market their property the way in which they need to,” he stated. “However in the event you do go ahead with that specific technique, you additionally must make it out there publicly.”
MLS entry not required: ‘We’re not giving parameters’
Not like the Nationwide Affiliation of Realtors’ Clear Cooperation Coverage, the invoice doesn’t tie compliance to MLS guidelines or require brokers to incorporate their listings within the MLS. Beckett emphasised that the language within the invoice is deliberately platform-neutral.
“Publicly advertising and marketing might be so simple as placing it in your web site,” he stated. “We’re not telling you you need to have it within the MLS. We’re not giving parameters aside from saying it does must be publicly out there to the neighborhood.”
That flexibility means the invoice can be much less restrictive than Zillow’s itemizing entry requirements, which require broad public distribution of listings, or Northwest MLS’s insurance policies prohibiting pre-marketing of listings and workplace exclusives. These guidelines have put the 2 Washington state-based organizations at odds with brokerages within the “vendor selection” camp — notably Compass, which is suing each Zillow and NWMLS over their personal itemizing insurance policies.
A state effort with no trade partnerships concerned
Washington isn’t the primary state to aim to codify residential itemizing entry in state regulation.
Simply final month, the Wisconsin legislature handed a invoice requiring residential properties to be marketed “on a number of Web platforms or web sites accessible to most people” inside one enterprise day of a signed itemizing settlement, except the vendor completes and indicators a state-mandated disclosure type. The regulation is ready to enter impact in January 2027.
An analogous invoice was launched in Illinois final yr — and in that case, Zillow was a key associate within the effort. However in Washington, Beckett stated his group intentionally prevented framing the invoice as a response to particular corporations or trade rivalries.
“Zillow and Compass are each members of our group,” he stated. “We hate getting concerned the place members are being pitted towards each other. We tried very, very onerous to remain out of that utterly.”
Transparency, client consciousness key
Fairly than taking a place on the present personal listings debate, Beckett stated Washington Realtors is solely centered on transparency and entry, and avoiding the “potential for issues,” similar to the Honest Housing considerations steadily cited by personal itemizing opponents.
“For us, that’s the massive key — simply ensuring there’s sufficient transparency on the market that buyers out there are conscious of what’s out there,” Beckett stated.
The laws does embrace restricted carve-outs for sellers with well being, security or confidentiality considerations, nevertheless, together with in conditions the place medical points would require limiting the variety of individuals getting into a house. Beckett stated a few of these exceptions exist already in state regulation, with others clarified within the new invoice.
The invoice has bipartisan help in each legislative chambers: Within the Senate, sponsors embrace Sens. Marco Liias (D-21), Emily Alvarado (D-34), Chris Gildon (R-25), John Braun (R-20) and Jessica Bateman (D-22); within the Home, the invoice is sponsored by Reps. Strom Peterson (D-21) and April Connors (R-8), Washington Realtors advised Actual Property Information.
