"When Zillow launched 20 years ago, the home-buying process happened almost entirely offline. The company's digital listings, combined with its innovative "Zestimate"-an estimate of a home's value, based on the kind of data typically only available to real estate professionals-marked a turning point for the housing market. Zestimates weren't exact representations of value, but they put power back in the hands of prospective buyers (to sellers' and agents' chagrin). Their near-instant popularity was an early "do your research" internet moment."
"Zillow CEO Jeremy Wacksman, who joined the company in 2009 and became CEO in 2024, is walking a careful line. Zillow's brand is associated with data transparency and consumer empowerment, but an increasing share of its revenue is tied to real estate agents who pay for software tools that help them virtually stage homes and message with open house leads."
Zillow transformed home buying with digital listings and the Zestimate, giving buyers unprecedented access to valuation data. Zestimates empowered prospective buyers despite being imperfect measures of value. Zillow partnered with First Street to publish climate risk scores for homes, prompting homeowner pushback and lawsuits when high-risk labels, such as flooding, reduced perceived property value. Jeremy Wacksman, who joined in 2009 and became CEO in 2024, is managing tensions between transparency and relationships with real estate agents. A growing share of revenue comes from agents paying for software tools, and the company faces market and legal pressures alongside a $13 billion market cap and Q4 revenue expectations.
Read at Fast Company
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