When Zillow announced it was pulling Matterport 3D tours off of Zillow and StreetEasy sites on Monday, some industry members were shocked and others infuriated.
To be clear, Zillow says the tours are being taken down because CoStar, Matterport’s parent company, didn’t renew the Matterport API agreement, while CoStar says Zillow is making a unilateral decision.
The truth is, removing Matterport won’t rattle every agent, but for those of us who’ve been using the 3D platform for years — it’s a gut punch.
I’ve been using Matterport in rural Iowa since 2016. It was how I leveled up my local game. My sellers loved it, my listings were tech-forward, and it helped prove that small-town real estate could compete on a big city stage.
Buyers want 3D tours
Buyers vote with clicks: On Zillow, listings with 3D Home tours see 37 percent more views and 46 percent more saves than those without, according to Zillow.
Surveys from Matterport show nearly 80 percent of buyers and sellers prefer working with an agent who offers immersive 3D tours.
After all that investment in hardware, cameras and hosting fees, that tool — our tours on Zillow and all those buyer views — just vanished.
To recap: Zillow blamed CoStar, CoStar blamed Zillow, and now agents are stuck playing monkey in the middle while the two biggest kids on the playground toss our toys back and forth.
Zillow Showcase isn’t the same
Zillow has been rolling out its own shiny version of premium listing features, Zillow Showcase for quite a while now, complete with 3D tours.
Agents in big metro markets may not blink. They have photographers on speed dial and budgets to absorb new tech shifts. But in rural markets, it’s not that simple. I can’t just order a Zillow Showcase shoot. There’s no one local who even does it.
When I tried Zillow Showcase last year, the 360 camera they suggested I buy was subpar. We couldn’t even pull stills from it for the MLS. So we had to do them both anyway.
What agents should do now
So what now? I’m not one to complain without offering solutions. I’m telling my agents to pivot fast and get creative. If you have to, use Zillow’s 3D tour option from your phone; something is still better than nothing. But don’t stop there.
Use a tech stack that doesn’t crumble when a portal changes its policy. Use your Matterport tours on the MLS, your single-property websites and anywhere that uses your IDX feed. Buyers still want to explore at home, and they don’t care which logo is at the bottom of the screen.
Reuse what you already have. Embed those links in property emails, YouTube descriptions and QR codes on yard signs. Drive traffic to places you control, like your own website, not Zillow’s. If this week proved anything, it’s that your digital game shouldn’t be played by someone else’s rules.
Matterport still has unmatched advantages. The high-resolution stills, interactive floor plans and blur tools for privacy make it a professional-grade option. The measurement and floor plan features save agents hours of work. This move is about tools, and just because one tool was taken out of your toolbox doesn’t mean defeat.
Our job as brokers and agents isn’t just to adapt, it’s to stay two steps ahead. The tools will keep changing, but client experience shouldn’t suffer. Control your content. Protect your listings. Stop letting someone else dictate your brand.
This is just another power struggle over data and dollars, with agents and consumers caught in the middle. Every time one of these platforms tightens its grip, it reminds us why independence matters. If your marketing depends on a company that can change the rules overnight, it’s not a plan; it’s a gamble.
The giants will keep fighting. Let them. What matters is that we focus on what we can control: our clients, our markets and our reputation. Zillow might dominate search results, but it can’t replace local trust.
Holly Brink is the co-founder, COO and managing broker of My Real Estate Company in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Illinois. Connect with her on Instagram or LinkedIn.
