How will Zillow Preview affect Long Island competition, buyers and sellers?

The largest real estate network in the country is launching a tool that will give house hunters a sneak peek into homes before they hit the market.

Zillow Preview, scheduled to launch next month, will publicly display pre-market listings on both Zillow and Trulia.

The tool could help house hunters get in the door more quickly in Long Island's low-inventory, high-demand real estate game. But it could also heighten competition between buyers, one agent said, when such a large pool of users is able to access listings sooner.

The announcement comes after real estate company Compass sued Zillow last year over its policy that obligates agents to list properties within a day of marketing them if they want their listings to appear on Zillow. Compass on Wednesday said it would drop the lawsuit after Zillow agreed that Compass could feature its listings on its own sites and on Redfin, another real estate brokerage, before appearing on Zillow.

What is Zillow Preview?

The feature will offer a snapshot of a listing before it officially goes live. Available details will include at least one photo (which can be interior or exterior), address, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, square footage, description and the expected on-market date.

The tool is similar to the OneKey MLS "coming soon" feature, said Shaan Khan, president of Long Island Board of Realtors.

There will also be a "take a tour" button that will allow users to book a showing once the home hits the market, said Errol Samuelson, Zillow's chief industry development officer.

Additionally, sellers can opt to post their listings in this preview mode to get early eyes on their homes.

Participating brokerages will include Keller Williams, REMAX and HomeServices of America, all of which have offices on Long Island.

What does it mean for Long Island buyers and sellers?

Gordon Lewis, a real estate agent with RE/MAX Integrity Leaders in Smithtown, said this feature could be great for sellers, but create even more competition for buyers.

"These are all pings," Lewis said, referring to "coming soon" and "active" alerts that prospective buyers can receive about listings. "The more notifications you get to the consumer, the more likely someone is not going to overlook or miss the property, which is just going to create more interest for the seller."

And for a buyer who is about to go into contract on a house but is still on the fence, a Zillow Preview notification might turn their interest elsewhere, Lewis added.

"That could be an interesting dynamic for buyers," he said.

Dean Graber, a real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty Landmark in Bayside, Queens, said Zillow Preview could "open up the market tremendously."

"We find that the most activity on a home happens right at the beginning, when people are excited about a new listing. Now, more people can be excited at the same time," Graber said.

Agents can also use the tool as a way to strategize with their seller and possibly make price adjustments on their listings before the home hits the market, he added.

Khan said buyers, too, can be strategic with Zillow Preview.

"Buyers want to know about the options available to them sooner, so that the consumers are able to plan and make decisions: Is this a house I want to pursue? Do I need to go back to my loan officer and adjust my pre-approval?" he said.

"There's a variety of things buyers may need to do if they find a house appealing, that they might be able to do, to be competitive," Khan added.

But future homebuyers on Long Island might be dealing with even longer lines at open houses once they have access to pre-market listings through such a prominent marketplace like Zillow, Lewis said.

"I just had a house in East Northport with 80 groups of people through in two days," he said. "I can't imagine if I started marketing it three weeks in advance. There's so much foot traffic as it is."

By Rachel Weiss

rachel.weiss@newsday.com@RachMWeiss

Rachel Weiss joined Newsday in 2016. As a real estate/living multimedia reporter, Rachel writes feature stories and contributes to and appears in on-camera video packages. She was the lead reporter on Newsday’s LI Acts of Kindness series.