Private listings banned from Zillow may have a new home. And for some, this home will offer a move-in bonus.
CoStar’s Homes.com turned Zillow’s ban into a marketing opportunity through its new digital marketing package, “Boost.” Announced during the company’s first quarter earnings call last week, CEO Andy Florance presented it as a major opportunity for newer agents looking to market single listings.
A few days later, Florance marketed the tool to another audience—agents and homeowners blackballed by Zillow’s private listing ban.
Adding fuel to the fire, Homes.com is offering Boost free of charge to any listings banned on Zillow. Like Zillow, Redfin—set to be acquired by Rocket—also has a ban on private listings, but it is unclear whether Homes.com is extending the free Boost for Redfin-banned listings.
Joining in the conversation, Compass CEO Robert Reffkin lauded the new Boost feature on social media for “standing up for homeowner choice.”
What is Boost?
Just as Florance initially marketed the tool, Boost is meant for agents who aren’t ready to commit to the six-month or annual Homes.com membership. Through Boost, they can market a single listing for a one-time fee of $260 per property, and the benefits are active up until the sale.
“Just like membership, once boosted, their listing source at the top of search results, receives a Matterport and is retargeted across the internet,” said Florance during the earnings call. “This is a low-risk purchase option for an agent because they can go into a listing presentation, use the Boost as a differentiator, but they only have to pay for it when they win the listing and have offsetting commission revenue.”
As many real estate incumbents have embraced Zillow’s aggressive push for limitations on private listings, Florance has pushed back strongly, calling the move a “power grab.” CoStar and Florance have telegraphed that the long-term goal is to have Homes.com unseat Zillow as the top consumer real estate portal.
Homebuyers see a boosted listing 32 times on average, according to Homes.com. Also, they are 25% more likely to go under contract within the first 10 days, and will receive stronger performance in exposure, favorites and views compared to non-Boosted homes, according to Homes.com.
Boosted listings are pushed to the top of search results, promoted in listing alerts and neighborhood content and featured across CNN, ESPN, The New York Times and social platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
The Boost option will also be available for homeowners looking to market their property directly. During the earnings call, Florance said that in a focus group of homesellers and listing agents in Southern California, almost all of them were willing to purchase a Boost at “about the $500 price point.”
According to the Homes.com site, member agents do not need to purchase Boost, as they already receive Boost benefits.
Matterport
Besides being boosted to the top of search results, Boost listings will receive a Matterport 3D tour and floor plan, providing a 24/7 virtual open house. Matterport is not available in all markets.
CoStar completed its acquisition of the 3D camera and property mapping company in late February, which contributed $15.9 million in revenue during the first quarter, shared CFO Christian M. Lown during the call.
Listing performance report
To know exactly how the Boost is performing, a listing performance report is sent out, detailing a listing’s total views, retargeting ad views, detail page views, favorites, shares and leads.
The report also compares your listing to similar homes, shows the top sites where your listing is advertised and provides a breakdown of traffic sources.
CoStar and Zillow did not immediately respond to RISMedia’s request for comment.
