House bill would bar pocket listings in residential market, sponsors say to increase transparency

House Bill 2,512, introduced in the House Consumer Protection and Business Committee, would make it an unfair practice for a licensed broker to market a residential property only to a limited or exclusive group unless the property is concurrently marketed to the public.

Representative Strom Peterson (21st District), the bill’s prime sponsor, said the measure is about market transparency. "I think that the key word in this piece of legislation is really around transparency," Peterson told the committee, arguing that private networks can create an "exclusive" subset of buyers and undermine broad access to housing opportunity.

Supporters — including Washington Realtors, Zillow, Habitat for Humanity and the Fair Housing Center of Washington — told the committee private listings reduce competition, limit buyer access, and risk discriminatory outcomes. Bill Clark of Washington Realtors said exclusive networks "limit buyer access to homes for sale and promote misleading disadvantages" and called public marketing the better default for residential property.

Opponents representing some brokerages and sellers urged amendments to protect homeowner autonomy and privacy. Brandy Huff of Compass said the bill "effectively strips Washington homeowners of the right to decide how their private property is marketed" and proposed a written opt‑out whereby a homeowner could request private marketing. Washington Realtors’ counsel Annie Fitzsimmons told the committee the Department of Licensing typically pursues compliance and would not immediately suspend licenses for minor violations.

Committee members asked whether the bill applies to commercial property (staff and witnesses said it applies only to residential transactions) and how enforcement would interact with existing anti‑discrimination law. A managing assistant attorney in the attorney general’s office cautioned that placing enforcement inside the Washington law against discrimination may be redundant or misplaced and asked legislators to consider where enforcement best belongs.

The bill drew extensive testimony from industry and housing‑access advocates; several speakers said recent research and national fair‑housing organizations have raised alarms about hidden listings reinforcing segregation. Representatives pressed witnesses on whether private listings could be used in ways that have disparate impact; witnesses pointed to Department of Licensing complaint and investigation processes for established enforcement."