This story originally appeared on Real Estate News.
Google can crush“Portal Battle”Once and for all?
A key Google partner is starting to display home listing details directly in search results, prompting some industry experts and analysts to question how the feature could affect the traffic — and finances — of major portal players like Zillow, Realtor.com and others.
A ‘controlled trial’:In some markets, Google’s data partner HouseCanary and its IDX site ComeHome have begun testing home listings at the top of Google search results, complete with basic descriptions, prices, photos and a “request a tour” button.According to HouseCanaryThe company is licensed as a full-service brokerage in all 50 states and in Washington, DC.
Real estate listings sends Zillow
Real estate consultant and analyst Mike Delpretewas the first to reportUnder the pilot list initiative.
HouseCanary has provided some insight into “controlled testing” in a mediumAnnouncement on LinkedInThis week, suggesting that the company and Google are “innovating” and “pushing into new territory” with the effort.
“Prior to the start of this test, we contacted and notified each MLS in the region covered. We are working directly with those MLSs and have active, ongoing communication with them throughout the test. If any MLS has questions or concerns, we address them directly and promptly,” the announcement said.
“The goal is simple: improve how consumers discover listings while aligning with MLS community rules and expectations. We’re excited about what we’re building with Google, and we’re equally committed to getting it right with MLS and other stakeholders. We’ll continue to communicate directly with the MLSs involved and respond quickly to any concerns.”
Real estate listings sends Zillow
Effects of previous search changes:The move to include home listing information on Google comes a year after the search giant launchedIntegrating AI essenceDirectly at the top of search results. July onePew Research Center studyIt found that web users were less likely to click on other pages — such as news media and other outlets that have long relied on traffic as a metric to determine revenue — since Google incorporated AI summaries.
Some major mainstream news sites have seen traffic drop over 30-40% year-over-year thanks in part to AI summaries.NPR reported in July.
What analysts are saying: Top portals may already be concerned about the impact home listing summary can have on Google pages. as Home search leaderZillow will be the site with the most to lose. At the time of publishing this story, Zillow’s stock price had fallen more than 8% since opening hours on December 15.
But some analysts say the concern may be overblown.
“While we don’t expect a direct near-term impact on Zillow’s business, since most of Zillow’s traffic is direct (eg, Zillow.com, StreetEasy.com, mobile apps) and Google’s new product is currently limited to select markets and mobile browsers, we see this development as a long-term risk for the real estate portal, as Michael wrote in a recent N Zillow portal client,CNBC reports.
Piper Sandlercalled the concern “overblown,” and analysts at Oppenheimer and Wells Fargo also seemed less concerned about the immediate impact on Zillow’s traffic and revenue. Instead, they suggest that the experiment may simply represent a new opportunity for Google to generate more revenue.
Wells Fargo analyst Alec Brondolo sees “Zillow, Homes.com, Realtor.com, etc. trying to monetize directly with an ad product sold to Google agents rather than bidding for home listing ad units,” reports CNBC.
Real estate listings sends Zillow
inA blog postViktor Lund, managing partner of real estate consulting firm WAV Group, highlighted some issues with the pilot and suggested that it may exceed existing norms and standards with the IDX protocol.
“IDX was never designed to allow listings on global ad networks to become paid media inventory. If this practice stands, it redefines IDX from a display-based collaboration agreement to an advertising license, which neither MLS nor brokers agreed to,” Lund wrote.
Real Estate News reached out to HouseCanary for more details on the scope and scale of the experiment and to Zillow for comment on the new Google feature.