Zillow has acquired its real estate marketing product Zillow Showcase. nationwide earlier this year. However, 2024 has been a year like no other with changing interest rates and new industry standards. Can a new product like Showcase add value to agents in a year like this and in areas that heavily favor either the buyer or the seller?

Let’s dive in. Zillow data shows that showcase listings sell for 2 percent more², which is $9,000 more for a home sold at the median home sales price in the United States. This is one of the many data points Showcase agents can use to confidently communicate their unique value to potential sellers. Additionally, Showcase agents win over 20 percent more listings than comparable non-Showcase agents¹.

So, does this data match the experiences of agents who signed up for Showcase this year? We have stories from three different markets.

First, we see that although Showcase is an investment, it can pay off quickly. Jimmy McNally of CENTURY 21 Beggins near Tampa, Florida, shared his showcase experience. “Helps me win more offers and a higher commission. Allows leads to come directly to me. I have already paid for my next eight showcases using one of the leads I received. This allows the agent to appear more professional and better than the competition without becoming oversaturated on the top website where buyers/sellers search for properties!” Accordingly Zillow’s Market Heat Indexthe Tampa area is a buyer’s market.

Across the country, in California, Elmer Morales of eHomes is excited about how Showcase can help maximize a sale. Accordingly, the area is a seller’s market Zillow’s Market Heat Index. “So if you have five or three agents coming to your house and one of them says your property is going to be at the top of every search in your zip code or the city you live in… what does that mean? How do you think this will affect the sale of our home? And the obvious response will be huge. Any buyer looking in this area will see my home. The potential to receive a full price offer, if not higher, or to initiate a bidding war may be higher.”

Near Atlanta, Grace Orban of Red One Realty LLC has fully integrated Showcase into her marketing plan to inspire buyer and seller love for Zillow. “And that’s part of our world-class marketing strategy. So if people want it, they want it, you know, when I show it to them, nine times out of ten people.” Atlanta is currently a neutral market in terms of supply and demand balance for sales.

At the end of the day, the size and quality of traffic on Zillow (“Zillow” is searched more often than “real estate”³) is unbeatable, so it makes sense to stand out on Zillow as it is a key to success. However, as with any marketing tactic, the true value lies in the unique strategy and expertise that individual agents utilize to fully integrate them into their business as experts of the market and their customers. Customers will recognize this in you and your business will be set up for sustainable growth.

¹Rationale: Showcase listings on Zillow include an interactive floor plan, a virtual tour, and a special display from Zillow (the “Showcase Treatment”). The average home sales price in the United States comes from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Average Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States (“ASPUS Data”) as of June 27, 2024. This claim is based on Zillow -Data analyzed in Showcase markets with at least one For Sale By Agent listing and is limited to listings using the Showcase process on the date the listing went live in the applicable MLS and on or sold before August 20, 2024 (“Showcase Listings”). The Showcase listings were compared to listings for sale by agents on Zillow: (i) without the Showcase treatment; (ii) of the same house type; (iii) are in the same MSA as the Showcase Listings; (iv) listed in the same month as the Showcase Listings or in the immediately preceding month; and (v) contain a similar list price to the Showcase Offers. *Data is for listings sold on or before April 16, 2024 and represents an average of the immediately preceding six months. Data shows the top 5% and bottom 5% of the delta between list price and Sales price of each month and the immediately preceding six-month average are not taken into account. At the time of publication, Zillow listings with the Showcase treatment represent less than 1% of Zillow listings.

²Showcase listings on Zillow include an interactive floor plan, a virtual tour, and a special display from Zillow (the “Showcase Treatment”). The average home sales price in the United States comes from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Average Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States (“ASPUS Data”) as of June 27, 2024. This claim is based on Zillow -Data analyzed in Showcase markets with at least one For Sale By Agent listing and is limited to listings using the Showcase process on the date the listing went live in the applicable MLS and on or sold before August 20, 2024 (“Showcase Listings”). The Showcase listings were compared to listings for sale by agents on Zillow: (i) without the Showcase treatment; (ii) of the same house type; (iii) are in the same MSA as the Showcase Listings; (iv) listed in the same month as the Showcase Listings or in the immediately preceding month; and (v) contain a similar list price to the Showcase Offers. *Data is for listings sold on or before April 16, 2024 and represents an average of the immediately preceding six months. Data shows the top 5% and bottom 5% of the delta between list price and Sales price of each month and the average of the immediately preceding six months are not taken into account. At the time of publication, Zillow listings with the Showcase treatment represent less than 1% of Zillow listings.

³Source: Google Trends (https://www.google.com/trends), August 2024