In September, Apple released iOS 10 — one of the biggest iPhone operating system updates thus far. One of the crowning jewels of iOS 10 is the souped-up messaging app that allows users to fill the screen with balloons, play games within the app, and use plug-ins created by outside developers.
Today, Zillow joined in the fun by adding an iMessage functionality to its Zillow app to make co-shopping for homes easier.
Current iPhone iOS 10 users click the app store logo within Messages and turn on the Zillow iMessage app.
Zillow’s iMessage functionality.
The new iMessage functionality will allow users to:
- Access and browse through “Recently Viewed” and “Saved Homes” tabs
- Share property photos of homes for sale and for rent, plus home facts, sales history and Zestimate details with friends and family
Zillow says the iMessage functionality was an answer to the more than 1.68 million Zillow users who shared homes via text in November alone.
The company says the update fulfills the needs of the 86 percent of buyers who co-shop with a spouse and the 13 percent who rely on the opinions of a friend or other family members for whittling down their homebuying options (according to the Zillow Group Report on Housing Trends).
Zillow Chief Marketing Officer Jeremy Wacksman says the update is perfect for millennials who prefer social media and text messaging to communicate.
“Millennials, the largest segment of home shoppers today, bring a deeply social approach to finding a new home unlike anything we’ve seen with the other generations,” Wacksman said in a statement.
“They bring all the available tools into the process, including their smartphones, social media and their personal network. This new iMessage feature brings Zillow’s visual search experience alive in a text, giving home shoppers a faster, more delightful way to share the homes they love with family and friends.”
The Zillow iMessage feature was created during the company’s November 2016 Hack and Innovation Week events.
For the time being, there is no iMessage functionality for the Zillow Premier Agent app.