StreetEasy, the New York City-based Zillow-owned search portal confirmed to Inman Tuesday that it’s ending the “days on market” display on listings on its website. The move came a few days after the Real Estate Board of New York announced it was suspending the display on its listing feed, a decision which had agents split.
“The reality we’re all in is changing daily, but we’re committed to adapting quickly,” a spokesperson for StreetEasy said in a statement. “With gatherings of any size in New York state prohibited as of this weekend and virtually everyone required to work from home, it’s no longer an environment where people can safely conduct normal face-to-face real estate activities.”
“This poses new challenges for agents, buyers and renters in an already uncertain time, so we’re making necessary adjustments to our policies, products and resources to best support everyone,” the statement continued. “To that end, we’ve decided to remove open house information and suspend days on market counting, given these are no longer accurate tools or representations of a listing during this pandemic.”
The move follows StreetEasy’s — and parent company Zillow’s — move to discount Premier Agent and rental network fees by 50 percent for agents next month. For StreetEasy, that means the fee to advertise a rental is $3 per day per listing, instead of $6.
StreetEasy is also removing open house promotions for listings, due to directives from New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo.
“Under the new executive order, gatherings of any size are prohibited, impacting the ability to host showings and open houses,” the company said, in an email to agents.
The email announcing the changes also encouraged agents to add listing videos — which can be added from YouTube or Vimeo — as well as three-dimensional tours.
“Buyers and renters are actively searching on StreetEasy,” the company said in the email. “We continue to see hundreds of thousands of daily visits from buyers and renters eagerly looking for new homes.”
“In a survey conducted over the past week, 80 percent of NYC renters indicated that they still intend to move in [the second quarter],” the email continued. “While some plans may be delayed, these renters’ needs are real and urgent, and they can help drive your business.”
