Realtors are fighting over “hidden” or “pocket” listings, and a growing fight over the future of how homes will be available to would-be buyers. At the heart of the conflict is the National Association of Realtors policy on Clear Cooperation, which mandates that homes marketed publicly also be listed on the MLS-Multiple Listing Service, a database that pushes listings to websites such as Zillow and Redfin. That is, said James Rodriguez, a senior real estate reporter with Business Insider: “If you are publicly marketing your home and using MLS. The moment you start marketing, you have to put it in this database, and then it gets blasted out everywhere.” Some realtors counter that keeping listings off the MLS could be advantageous for certain clients who want to contain the visibility to select groups of agents or private networks.

This might avoid some potential downsides of the private listings for sellers, Rodriguez said, such as showing a home’s price cuts or days on market. That could theoretically prevent would-be buyers from having bargaining power, in theory. “Sellers may test a price without worrying that a price-cut history will show up for everyone,” said Rodriguez. Private listings let showings be constrained to serious buyers in hot markets, eliminating “lookyloos” and maximizing the experience of interested parties.

Yet other realtors argue that maximum exposure through the MLS means maximum dollars, especially in a cooler market. Indeed, with high mortgage rates giving buyers fits, many are looking to new construction for access to lower borrowing rates and less maintenance. Rodriguez referred to the current state of the market as a “housing ice age,” in which homeowners locked into low mortgage rates were reluctant to make a move, further limiting inventory.

The Clear Cooperation Policy was targeted at making all available homes visible; however, the industry still remains divided as to whether broad visibility is a benefit to sellers. As this debate unfolds, buyers and sellers may find navigating the housing market increasingly difficult.