In wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many real estate companies have undergone policy alterations to adapt to the new situation.
As a result, Zillow recently implemented a dramatic change which has been met with intense criticism. The company emailed its listing partners the new policy, that would be implemented from April 30th onwards. The email revealed that rental feed listings would no longer be published without any direct correspondence with property managers.
The Big Change
The new changes are specifically applicable to clients that publish their rental feed listings in the following states:
- Connecticut
- Louisiana
- Massachusetts
- Nevada
- Virginia
From now onwards, the company will only publish listings on their websites (Zillow, Trulia, and Hotpads) once property managers have entered into a new agreement with Zillow Rentals.
Initially, it may seem as if these changes are no cause for alarm – however, closer inspection reveals otherwise. Effectively, the new changes will significantly influence the nature of the business dealings between Zillow and property managers.
To elaborate, with the initiation of new partnership agreements, Zillow has significantly raised its pricing for rental listings. As per the new policy changes, the cost of each listing per week is now $9.99.
Referring to the statistics, the average rental partner has about 40 or so listings on Zillow. Thus, this amounts to approximately $399.60 in expenditure per week. Furthermore, this adds up to around $1,600 a month.
The Even Bigger Consequences
Many businesses are suffering from the consequences of the current economic climate. Thus, it’s no surprise that this surge in pricing has been met with high levels of hostility by many clients.
Padleads decided to personally investigate the matter, by discussing these recent changes with several real estate agents. Many agents expressed their desire to leave their partnerships with Zillow altogether because of this new policy.
The truth is that very few landlords are ready to spend such a large amount on advertising their rental listings. Furthermore, Zillow users will likely witness a decline in the number of interested renters in this trying time.
Thus, with the pricing being high and the return chances being lower, many customers are hesitant to continue with Zillow. Moreover, this pricing is sure to also discourage potential customers from using the service as well.
Thus, it’s easy to see how these changes will have an adverse effect on Zillow and its business.
An Alternative Course of Action
Considering the severe backlash that these policy changes have been met with, Zillow may want to consider other options.
A sensible option would be for Zillow to introduce a fixed monthly fee for using its services. Thus, business partners would no longer have to worry about being charged heavily for individual listings. This would provide existing customers with incentive to continue their partnership with Zillow. Moreover, this will also attract new clients to the company.
Whether or not such a change will be implemented by Zillow for leasing agents is uncertain. For now, real estate agents and landlords can find solace in the many promising alternatives to Zillow.
Padleads itself syndicates listings to several other websites, such as Apartments.com, Apartment Guide, Rent.com, Rentals.com, Lovely, and Zumper. This ensures that property managers, real estate agents, and landlords are provided with the advertising that their listings deserve. Thus, while Zillow may have dropped the ball on this one, rest assured that there are still many services out there to cater to your business needs!