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As the real estate portal space grows ever more competitive, Realtor.com and Zillow announced Wednesday that they are teaming up on a new rental listing alliance.
The companies explained in a statement that their new agreement means that “multifamily rental listings with 25 or more units advertised on Zillow will also be displayed on Realtor.com.” Prospective renters will additionally see Zillow features, such as 3D home tours and interactive floor plans, when they visit multifamily listings on Realtor.com.
Damian Eales
In the statement, Realtor.com CEO Damian Eales said the partnership will allow “us to deliver significant value to Realtor.com users.”
“Consumers will have access to an enhanced rental experience while property management companies and landlords will be able to tap into a market-leading combined audience across both the Realtor.com and Zillow platforms,” Eales continued. “On average, 70 million people each month turn to Realtor.com to find their next place to live, and we remain committed to delivering the best possible experience for renters, buyers and sellers at every stage of their real estate journey.”
The partnership arrives against the backdrop of an intensively competitive residential portal environment. The intensity of that competition increased significantly after CoStar, long a powerhouse in commercial real estate, began making a play for residential consumers as well. Today, CoStar’s flagship residential site Homes.com is seeing significant growth and is the subject of a major marketing push.
CoStar additionally operates rental portal Apartments.com.
CoStar CEO Andy Florance has also made a point of critiquing rivals, including both Zillow and Realtor.com, and has said he believes he can eventually make Homes.com the largest residential portal in the U.S.
The resulting battle for consumers’ attention, sometimes called the “portal wars,” is also happening at a moment in which a slew of commission lawsuits are raising questions about the future of agent pay — something that could impact the big portals if real estate professionals suddenly have less money to pay for online leads.
Rich Barton
The statement from Realtor.com and Zillow sidesteps this context, instead focusing on the details of the new rental partnership. It adds that Zillow “continues to grow its multifamily rentals marketplace, with nearly 39,000 such properties advertising across Zillow as of the end of February 2024.” It also notes that Zillow will begin syndicating listings to Realtor.com this spring.
In the statement, Zillow CEO Rich Barton said the deal with Realtor.com will boost the visibility of rental listings on his site, and help “our partners reach even more renters and propel their business forward.”
“We’re committed,” Barton added, “to delivering a superior experience for consumers and helping more and more people get home.”
