Experts talk about contrasts, agent benefits

Zillow: A Lead-Gen-Platform

According to Delprete, “Zillow has two strategies for generating lead generation within the Prime Minister,” he said. “There are market -based prices, where you pay in advance and then you get leads, and then the other is flex. In Flex you do not pay anything in advance, but you only pay for success costs. I believe it is about 40% of a committee if that actually transacts real estate.”

“The way Zillow works is that they get the offers. And the list on the website has a contact button,” he said. “When someone clicks on that contact button, this is not necessarily – in fact, rarely – it goes to the listing agent.”

According to Davis, however, Zillow recently started showing the contact details of Listing Agents.

According to Zillow, about two-thirds of the Zillow real estate audience uses somewhere on their travel-more than twice another company in the same category and 80% of that traffic comes organically and directly to Zillow, the company said.

Homes.com – owned by Costar Group -Leans heavily in his policy for ‘your mention, your lead’ policy, which prioritizes the listing agent.

“When Homes was launched a few years ago, they said,” We’re going to offer something else, “said Delprete.” So every list there has the phone, name and image of the listing agent, whether they pay homes.com or not. “

According to Davis, this philosophy is not only good for agents – it also improves the consumer experience.

“If I look at investment houses, I use Homes.com because I want to talk directly to the listing agent,” he said. “I can e -mail the listing agent from the platform. I can e -mail the listing agent via the platform at home.

“The disadvantage for houses is that they are only a smaller audience,” says Delprete.

Non -express consumer consciousness from Homes.com rose to 36% in Q1 2025, compared to only 4% before February 2024, according to Costar. The company reported that member agents win 61% more offers than comparable non-members.

Stand on the clear cooperation policy of Nar

Zillow has closely joined the National Association of Realtors’ Clear cooperation policy, to support the urge to offer transparency and uniform data distribution.

As a result, Zillow generally does not promote off-market lists, unless explicitly permitted by local MLS rules.

Homes.com occupies the opposite position. Costar CEO Andy Florance has publicly criticized clear cooperation as competitive, with the argument that it limits the choice of consumers and limits how agents can market houses.

The company has positioned itself as a advocate for listing agents who want more flexibility – including the possibility to market properties private or to share it with selected customers before they touch the MLS.

“So Zillow says:” If a cop there is a house in a private network, we will forbid it, “said Delprete.” Homes.com says, “Hey, if you are banned at Zillow, we will promote it.” “So they come up with it from different positions.

The consumer experience: control v. Speed

The Zillow model offers an advantage, especially when it comes to the responsiveness of the consumer.

“The counter argument is that when a consumer, a homebuyer, is on the internet and they are interested in the property, and they click on a button, they want an answer immediately,” Delprete explained. “They want to hear from someone now. They don’t want to hear a day, two days, three days from now on. Some of the research I did, it appears that about 50% of online leads just remain unanswered.”

The Zillow system can lead to more responsive agents, Delprete noted.

“If all leads go to that one listing agent, and the listing agent is busy – or is not very good at e -mail or chooses to ignore the leads – all those people will be ignored, and there is nothing they can do about it,” he said. “While Zillow contacts the lead and the leads in the Zillow model to different buyers agents, until they get someone who responds to them.”

Davis, however, remains skeptical. “If I try to sell my house and see a buyer in Zillow, and they reach contact with a prominent agent, they call someone who knows nothing about my house,” he said. “You get a bad service as a buyer.”

Yet Zillow offers unique functions, recognized Davis.

“Homeowners can ‘claim’ their house and edit certain real estate data – even if the house is not for sale. Homes.com and Realtor.com do not allow that,” he said.

Zillow and Homes.com fight for dominance of digital real estate with sharp different approaches. Zillow gives priority to speed and scale, routing leads to paying leading agents, who often circumvent listing agents. Homes.com, on the other hand,, Champions Agent Control with its “Your list, your lead” model – gives all leads to the listing agent, paid or not.

The platforms also split in clear cooperation: Zillow supports the rules of NAR for offering transparency, while Homes.com challenges them as anti-competitive.

Ultimately, it is about agent choice – whether you want more leads or more control.