Google Tests New Home Listing Features in Search - Why Zillow Should Be Worried

Google just took a swing at the real estate listing giants—and Zillow might be ducking.

The search behemoth is quietly testing integrated home listing features directly in its results, bypassing the traditional middlemen who've dominated online property searches for years.

The Direct Pipeline

Forget clicking through to a third-party site. New search queries for homes in specific areas now surface property details, photos, and broker contact info—all without leaving Google's ecosystem. It cuts the referral traffic that platforms like Zillow rely on, turning the world's most visited webpage into a potential competitor.

Data, Not Just Listings

This isn't just about displaying homes. Google's move taps into its vast reserves of neighborhood data, commute times, and local business reviews. It creates a one-stop search experience that pure listing sites can't match—a classic tech giant move of bundling services until competitors' offerings seem redundant.

The Zillow Problem

Zillow's stock has long traded on its dominance of the 'first click' in home searches. Google's experiment threatens that entire business model. Why visit a portal when the portal now lives inside the search bar? It's the same playbook that's crushed countless industries—aggregation, then integration, then domination.

One cynical finance take? Wall Street might finally have to value Zillow as a media company instead of a tech disruptor—and we all know how those multiples compare.

Google hasn't announced a full rollout, but the test signals intent. In the battle for your attention—and your down payment—the most powerful player just entered the bidding.

Key Takeaways

• Google has started testing new home ad features in its search results.
• Shares of Zillow and other home listing sites tumbled Monday amid worries Google's new features could hurt their businesses.
  

Google is getting deeper into the home listings game, in what could mean more competition for Zillow and other real estate sites.

Shares of Zillow Group (Z), which claims to be the most visited real estate website in the U.S., tumbled over 10% Monday after Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google began testing full home ads in its search results, including links to request tours and agent contacts.

Other companies with home listing sites such as CoStar (CSGP) and Rocket Companies (RKT) also saw their stocks lose ground. (Read our daily markets coverage here.) 

Why This News Is Significant

Monday's drop in shares of Zillow and other companies with home listing sites underscores worries Google’s new home ad features in search could present a competitive challenge.

Goldman Sachs analysts told clients Monday that while they "don't expect a direct near-term impact on Zillow’s business, given that most of Zillow’s traffic is direct (e.g., Zillow.com, StreetEasy.com, mobile apps) and Google’s new product is currently limited to select markets and mobile browsers, we view this development as a long-term risk for real estate portals like Zillow."

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With Monday's losses, shares of Zillow are down about 8% for the year, while CoStar shares have lost about 12%. Rocket Companies shares have lost over 60% of their value in 2025.