Realtor.com and Zillow (NASDAQ:Z, ZG) have announced a new agreement for Zillow to be the exclusive provider of multifamily rental listings on Realtor.com.
According to the companies, multifamily rental listings with 25 or more units advertised on Zillow will also be displayed on Realtor.com. Renters using the Realtor.com website can also make use of Zillow’s 3D Home tours, interactive floor plans and walkthrough videos.
Zillow will begin syndicating multifamily rental listings to Realtor.com later this spring.
“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,” said Damian Eales, CEO of Realtor.com. “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.”
“Extending Zillow’s multifamily rental listings to Realtor.com’s platform will boost these properties’ visibility, helping our partners reach even more renters and propel their business forward,” said Zillow co-founder and CEO Rich Barton. “We’re committed to delivering a superior experience for consumers and helping more and more people get home.”
Realtor.com is operated by the News Corp (NASDAQ:NWS, NWSA) subsidiary Move Inc.
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They strike again.
I think this is a bad decision for the public interest. Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com are businesses that prioritize profit, which is understandable, but they should also be more vigilant about the criminals who exploit these platforms for fraud. Zillow has many fake listings and no effective way to stop criminals from posting them. This will benefit the criminals. They will have more visibility and more targets. Scams related to housing are on the rise. The FBI’s latest Internet Crime Report shows that losses from real estate cybercrimes increased by 64% last year, reaching over $350.3 million. I also suspect that this move is a desperate attempt to salvage Zillow’s failing situation, especially after the Ibuying concept that resulted in a $300 million loss and a 25% staff reduction. The safest way to find a rental is to contact a local realtor who uses the MLS, which is completely free of scams. It’s curious that they never really address this problem.
Someone should expose this fully and spread the word so people are aware of the huge risk they take when using these sites. It’s astonishing that no one talks about this. its interesting as a rental expert in Northern VA. My most recent clients sent me listings from Zillow and 100% of the listings they sent me were fake. It’s also interesting the most of my clients get frustrated with the system of Zillow and the commercial website because there is no real customer service and no one working one on one with the client plus the persons contacting the agent (Who work for the owners best interests only) are never told that. Zero disclosure.