The one thing you can always count on in the real estate business is that you can’t count on much of anything. That may also include the way you get your listings seen online, if the currently all-powerful real estate portals end up facing their own version of the Death Star: Google.
Analyst: Portals like Zillow face ‘long-term risk’ from Google real estate experiment by Marian McPherson
A Google ad pilot in several key markets shook up the real estate industry recently, when analytics firm HouseCanary’s home search site, ComeHome, began to allow buyers to scroll through listings, then schedule a home tour with a top-rated agent chosen by Google.
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Mike DelPrete first reported on the ads on his blog, saying that there are “a lot of potential implications” for real estate portals, especially in light of the controversy around private listings and the ongoing development of artificial intelligence.
Subsequently, WAV Group Managing Partner Victor Lund questioned the partnership between HouseCanary and Google, saying that it violates IDX guidelines and rules that prevent brokers from advertising other brokers’ listings without prior express consent.
What happens next remains to be seen. Meanwhile, Zillow’s stock price dropped nearly 10 percent on the news as analysts weighed the impact and contemplated whether or not Google is officially entering the portal wars.
If Google’s “real estate experiment” is successful, it could create a fundamental shift in how real estate pros do business. Fortunately, Inman’s contributors are already thinking ahead to how such a shift might impact the industry, what you can begin doing with Google right now to be more successful next year and how digital transformation is already happening as a result of the current thirst for real estate M&A.
Google just entered real estate, but the real shift isn’t about
The next era of real estate won’t be won by whoever displays homes best, Molly McKinley writes. It will be won by whoever understands buyer intent most deeply.
Don’t sleep on Google: 7 steps to get more 2026 recommendations
Google remains the place consumers verify credibility, research agents and confirm trust before making contact for the first time, Jimmy Burgess writes.
70% of digital transformations fail. The other 30% will redefine
Mergers and acquisitions are big business, and technology plays a critical role, writes contributor Lauren Henss. The real game changer? Whether the organization can handle the merger swiftly.
The Download is a column in which Inman’s Christy Murdock takes a deeper look at the top-read stories of the past week to give you what you’ll need to meet Monday head-on.
