Regarding Legislations on Private Listings

Over on HousingWire, everybody’s favorite real estate compliance expert Summer Goralik wrote a piece discussing the new Wisconsin statute that was 2025 Assembly Bill 456. Her opinion is that this is a major step forward for transparency in real estate:

What did Wisconsin do exactly? From this compliance professional’s vantage point, it did something refreshingly unambiguous: it codified transparency expectations directly into law. That law, 2025 Wisconsin Act 69 (formerly Assembly Bill 456), which takes effect January 1, 2027, starts by confronting the private listing network dilemma head-on.

First, listing agreements and the marketing of a seller’s property — an area the Wisconsin Realtors Association (WRA) has described as central to the legislation. As WRA has explained, the law steps directly into an existing tension between those who favor broad exposure to promote fairness and competition and those who emphasize a seller’s right to choose more limited marketing strategies.

Rather than relying on MLS rules, brokerage practices, or talk of “best practices,” Wisconsin embedded market-exposure decisions directly into statute.

I read that statute, and I’m not as confident as Summer is that Wisconsin embedded market-exposure decisions into statute.

The Wisconsin law is merely the first of what is likely to be many such laws in the near future. Washington is working on a similar law according to Inman. Since passing these laws, especially in partnership with state REALTOR Associations, was in Zillow’s strategic plan, it is safe to assume they are effectively executing on it.

For that reason, I thought it worth taking a closer look at what the law actually seems to require. I rather think there’s more smoke than fire there if you are an opponent of private listings and PLNs like Top Agent Network.

Let’s get into it. Again, I am not your lawyer and none of this is legal advice. Please consult your attorney for actual legal advice on what you should do.