Jessica Mendoza

If other buyers or brokerages want access, they have to ask a Compass agent for the information.

In other words, the listings are kept in-house.

Compass says this approach lets sellers test out how their homes might do on the market.

If the home isn't sold, it moves on to phase two, posting the listing on compass.com.

And they really are like advertisements.

They don't include anything that might put off buyers.

You don't want people to know that you haven't been able to sell this house, basically.

Yeah, exactly.

Exactly.

And if the home still isn't sold through Compass's website, then it lands on the final phase.

Compass says sellers can choose how much to opt in to each step in their strategy.

They also say this approach helps sellers get the best price for their homes.

The idea is that by making listings exclusive, they set up sellers for higher offers.

What would it mean if the Compass model became the norm in real estate?

Mm-hmm.

But by pushing these changes, Compass is challenging the rules of real estate and making some enemies.

After the break, a battle over the future of real estate.

In June, CEO Robert Refkin took the stage at Compass's annual company retreat, facing a sea of Compass agents.

At the same time, Refkin rallied the crowd against what he called organized real estate.

In a statement, a Zillow spokesperson said, quote, while Americans are struggling to access and afford housing, Compass wants to hide available listings from the public.