Zillow: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors

On its third-quarter 2026 earnings call, held on Nov. 4, 2026, Zillow (NASDAQ:ZG) reported $724 million in total revenue for the third quarter. Understanding how the company expands market share through higher-margin services matters for investors navigating a tough housing backdrop.

Three things management said stand out.

1. Expanding Rentals Creates a Billion-Dollar Growth Pillar

Zillow expands its rental marketplace to capture multifamily apartment property managers alongside individual landlords. Multifamily advertising revenue jumped 35% year over year as property managers upgraded advertising packages.

Rentals is a core pillar for us, a scaled, durable marketplace delivering strong performance today with a clear path to more than $1 billion in annual revenue and a substantial opportunity to keep growing across both multi-family and long-tail rentals well beyond that milestone.
-- Jeremy Wacksman, Chief Executive Officer

2. Preferred Partner Model Delivers Higher Revenue per Connection

Management accelerates the transition to Zillow Preferred, a model where real estate agents pay the company after transactions close. Partnering with high-performing real estate agents raises conversion rates and boosts revenue per connection.

Preferred connections convert to closed transactions at a higher rate than non-Preferred connections, and generate 35% more revenue per connection for Zillow than our legacy advertising model did.
-- Jeremy Wacksman, Chief Executive Officer

3. Integrated Mortgage Offerings Unlock Greater Transaction Value

Combining home search with Zillow Home Loans allows the company to capture broader transaction economics. Integrating mortgage financing directly into partner agent workflows drives higher customer adoption over time.

In markets where Zillow Home Loans and Zillow Preferred have been integrated the longest, Zillow Home Loans adoption rates are roughly 20%, giving us a clear road map for driving greater adoption across the country.
-- Jeremy Wacksman, Chief Executive Officer

Looking Ahead

Housing affordability pressures continue to slow home purchases across the industry, but Zillow relies on cost discipline and growing rentals revenue to offset market softness. Management keeps fixed expenses down while spending selectively in high-return areas.

Our framework for cost has been pretty consistent, which is leverage our fixed costs manage the variable costs commensurate with the revenue, and then invest in advertising opportunistically.
-- Jeremy Hofmann, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer

Long-term growth rests on expanding market share in rentals, residential real estate software, and mortgage origination. Management focuses on expense control while building transaction software that scales when housing activity recovers.

While the housing market is clearly softening, and we think it's prudent to not assume it gets better, we'll control what we can control on the cost side, and we'll go grow the company and take share as a result.
-- Jeremy Wacksman, Chief Executive Officer

The Motley Fool recommends Zillow Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.