As with other content categories such as search, jobs, personals and shopping, Yahoo is “outsourcing” part of Yahoo Real Estate to Zillow. The two companies are also forming a combined advertising network that will allow each to offer the other’s market reach to agents and brokers. Zillow has been a Yahoo partner for the past few years, providing its Zestimate home valuation service to the site.
For the time being Zillow will be providing only for-sale listings (approximately four million) to Yahoo; however the relationship will probably broaden over time. Zillow not long ago introduced for-rent listings.
According to the press release:
- The successful Zillow Premier Agent program will be extended to Yahoo! Real Estate, and current Zillow advertisers will be offered the first chance to purchase Premier Agent placement on Yahoo!
- For-sale listings placed on Zillow will automatically appear on Yahoo! Real Estate, helping brokers by decreasing the number of data feeds they need to support.
- After the launch of the partnership, advertisers who buy Showcase Ads or Featured Listings will automatically have those placed on Yahoo! Real Estate and Zillow.
- Homeowners will have the ability to purchase “for sale by owner” listings and have them appear on both sites.
- Zillow and Yahoo! expect to work together in the sale of display advertising on Yahoo! Real Estate to new home builders, real estate agents and brokers.
Zillow is seeking to go public in 2011 and this is a strategic deal for the company. For Yahoo it represents the offloading of content and technology development to a leading competitor.
Source: Hitwise (5/10)
The pattern is now very clear over at Yahoo. To save money and control costs, while still providing a ‘best in class” user experience, Yahoo is systematically outsourcing selected verticals to third parties it has identified as segment leaders or otherwise highly desirable partners.
Deal terms weren’t disclosed.
July 9th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
very interesting merger (if you will). I have to question the true amount of potential home buyers using Realtor.com however. I am not saying that the website has no substance or functionality since it most certainly does. I am more concerned with how many unique visits on the site are from persons using the directory of Realtors for Cold Calling and other forms of potential solicitation. Just curious.
July 9th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
Don’t know re Realtor “legitimate” users. But I suspect that there’s truth in what you’re saying; ordinary consumers probably mostly using other sites.
October 23rd, 2010 at 9:40 pm
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February 3rd, 2011 at 7:06 pm
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