Table of Contents
Image alt text: Zillow logo with text "Zillow's Acquisition History: Building a Real Estate Empire"
Since its founding in 2006 by Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink, Zillow has relentlessly pursued a strategy of expansion and market dominance. Beyond organic growth, a key pillar of this strategy has been a series of calculated acquisitions, transforming Zillow from a property valuation pioneer into a comprehensive real estate technology powerhouse. This post delves into Zillow's significant acquisitions, exploring the strategic rationale and impact of each purchase on its journey to building a real estate empire, supported by insights and statements from the time of these deals.
Postlets (2011)
A free listing creation and distribution platform, Postlets was an early acquisition for Zillow. The move aimed to significantly increase its listing inventory and provide valuable tools for real estate professionals to market their properties more broadly. Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff highlighted the goal: "With this acquisition, Zillow now can offer agents a broad suite of valuable tools to market themselves across the Web and mobile...across multiple sites via our listings distribution service, Postlets."
Diverse Solutions (2011)
Acquired for $7.8 million in cash and stock, Diverse Solutions provided MLS data feed integration and website tools, enabling real estate agents to enhance their online presence. "We're very impressed by the products and team that Diverse Solutions has assembled, and we look forward to offering agents these new solutions for powering their websites and marketing strategies," stated Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff at the time. This acquisition was geared towards improving Zillow's offerings to real estate professionals and boosting agent adoption of its platform. Interestingly, Zillow later sold Diverse Solutions to Market Leader in 2016.
RentJuice (2012)
Marking a major push into the burgeoning rental market, Zillow acquired rental relationship management software company RentJuice for $40 million in cash. Rebranded as Zillow Rentals, this acquisition equipped landlords and property managers with tools to manage their listings and engage with potential tenants. "The acquisition of RentJuice, with its talented team and innovative solutions for rental professionals, propels Zillow's rental marketplace ahead by years," said Spencer Rascoff, then Zillow CEO. David Vivero, RentJuice CEO, who became Zillow's VP of Rentals, added, "Becoming a part of Zillow will allow us to invest more and innovate faster."
HotPads (2012)
To further solidify its growing dominance in the online rental space, Zillow acquired map-based rental and real estate search site HotPads for $16 million in cash. HotPads had a strong appeal to a younger demographic. Spencer Rascoff commented, "This acquisition represents a significant step-change for Zillow Rentals, allowing us to dramatically increase the number of leads we send to landlords. HotPads has a younger, complementary and rental-focused audience." This move significantly expanded Zillow's rental marketplace business.
Mortech (2012)
Expanding its reach into the financial aspects of real estate, Zillow acquired mortgage software and marketing company Mortech for approximately $12 million in cash and 150,000 shares of restricted stock. This was a strategic step to enhance its mortgage services and develop revenue streams beyond advertising. "Enhancing the capabilities of mortgage lenders ultimately leads to a more vibrant and transparent consumer experience,” stated Spencer Rascoff. Don Kracl, President of Mortech, remarked, "Becoming part of Zillow will enable us to broaden the reach of our product and deliver even better technology solutions to lenders.”
StreetEasy (2013)
Conquering the NYC Market
Zillow made a significant geographic power play by acquiring StreetEasy, New York City's leading real estate website, for approximately $50 million in cash. StreetEasy had established a dominant position in the complex and lucrative NYC market. "StreetEasy is an excellent strategic fit with Zillow, as we share a common goal: To help consumers become smarter about real estate," said Spencer Rascoff, elaborating, "Simply put, StreetEasy has cracked the code in New York." Michael Smith, co-founder of StreetEasy, noted, "We're very excited to be joining forces with Zillow, the largest national brand in mobile and online real estate."
Retsly (2014)
To bolster its data capabilities and relationships with Multiple Listing Services (MLS) organizations, Zillow acquired Retsly, a Canadian software company. Retsly specialized in simplifying how developers could build applications using MLS data. While the acquisition price wasn't publicly disclosed, this move was crucial for Zillow in managing and normalizing vast amounts of real estate data.
Trulia (2015)
The Blockbuster Deal
Undoubtedly Zillow's largest and most transformative acquisition, the purchase of its main competitor, Trulia, was valued at $2.5 billion in stock at the deal's closing (initially announced at $3.5 billion). This landmark transaction dramatically consolidated Zillow's position as the dominant online real estate marketplace, forming Zillow Group. "This is a pivotal day in online real estate," said Spencer Rascoff, then CEO of Zillow Group. "Each of our brands share a consumer-first philosophy, and our powerful combination of insights and expertise will drive even greater innovation for consumers." The combined entity boasted nearly 85 million unique monthly visitors, with significant portions of each site's audience not overlapping with the other.
Dotloop (2015)
Streamlining Transactions
Focusing on the transaction process itself, Zillow acquired Dotloop, a platform for digitizing real estate paperwork, for approximately $108 million in cash. The aim was to simplify the often-cumbersome closing process and keep users within the Zillow ecosystem from initial search to final signature. Spencer Rascoff stated, “There is no question that real estate transactions are moving online... DotLoop is the clear leader in the category,” adding, "we intend to apply as much innovation to the transaction itself, as we have to the search process.” This move was also seen as a way for Zillow to embed its brand within the transaction and better measure ROI on lead conversions.
Bridge Interactive (2016)
Continuing its efforts to improve listing data accuracy and relationships with real estate professionals, Zillow acquired Bridge Interactive. This company created software tools for brokers and MLSs that streamlined listing data management. The acquisition price was not disclosed.
Technology Impact
Bridge Interactive's technology played a key role in standardizing data exchange and management between MLSs and brokers, benefiting the broader industry.
Industry Adoption
The tools developed by Bridge Interactive saw adoption by numerous MLSs across the country, improving data flow and consistency.
Naked Apartments (2016)
Further strengthening its presence in the competitive New York City rental market, Zillow Group acquired Naked Apartments, then NYC's largest rentals-only platform, in a $13 million cash deal. Susan Daimler, then StreetEasy General Manager and VP of Zillow Group New York, commented, "Naked Apartments is a natural strategic fit with StreetEasy and Zillow Group in New York.” Joe Charat, CEO of Naked Apartments, added, "StreetEasy shares this laser-focused vision for New York City real estate."
New Home Feed (2017)
To enhance its offerings for home builders, Zillow acquired New Home Feed, a listing management platform specifically catering to new construction. This purchase aimed to bolster Zillow's new construction marketplace and improve its relationships with builders. The acquisition amount wasn't publicly disclosed.
Mortgage Lenders of America (2018)
Financial Integration
In a significant move towards becoming a more integrated real estate platform, Zillow acquired Mortgage Lenders of America (MLOA). This acquisition was pivotal for supporting Zillow's then-active Zillow Offers (iBuying) program and marked its expansion into direct mortgage lending. MLOA was subsequently rebranded as Zillow Home Loans. While the exact amount wasn't disclosed, this venture represented Zillow's strategic entry into the financial services sector, aiming to offer a more end-to-end home buying experience.
ShowingTime (2021)
One of Zillow's most significant recent acquisitions was ShowingTime, a leading showing management and market statistics platform for real estate professionals, for approximately $500 million. This move aimed to streamline the home touring process, a critical friction point in real estate transactions. "We have been impressed with ShowingTime's ability to simplify a cumbersome but critical part of the home shopping experience," said Errol Samuelson, Chief Industry Development Officer at Zillow Group, emphasizing that "ShowingTime will remain an open platform available to all industry participants." Mike Lane, ShowingTime’s President, remarked, "There's such a good opportunity between our companies that I have a hard time scripting a better situation...They're really a great strategic fit on showings." ShowingTime had facilitated over 63 million showings in the 12 months leading up to the acquisition.
Impact on Agent Workflow
The integration of ShowingTime aimed to greatly improve the scheduling experience for both agents and home buyers, embedding Zillow deeper into the agent's daily workflow.
The Ever-Expanding Empire
From its beginnings as a valuation site, Zillow's strategic acquisitions—now numbering well over a dozen—have systematically built a multi-faceted real estate empire. Each purchase has been a calculated step to eliminate competition (as with Trulia), add critical new technologies or data capabilities (Retsly, Bridge Interactive), expand into new and lucrative markets (StreetEasy, HotPads), enhance service offerings across the entire transaction lifecycle (Dotloop, Mortgage Lenders of America), or streamline crucial processes for consumers and agents (ShowingTime). This aggressive M&A strategy has cemented Zillow's position as a dominant force in the real estate technology landscape, continuously reshaping how properties are bought, sold, and rented.
References:
- [Inman News article regarding Diverse Solutions & Postlets, 2011]
- [News article regarding Market Leader acquiring Diverse Solutions from Zillow, 2016]
- [TechCruncharticle regarding RentJuice, 2012]
- [Zillow Press Release regarding HotPads, 2012]
- [Inman News article regarding Mortech, 2012]
- [Zillow Press Release regarding StreetEasy, 2013]
- [Zillow Group Press regarding Trulia acquisition closing, 2015]
- [Initial announcement of Zillow-Trulia deal, 2014]
- [TechCrunch article regarding Dotloop, 2015]
- [Inman News article regarding Naked Apartments, 2016]
- [Zillow Group Press Release regarding ShowingTime acquisition, 2021]