Zillow co-founder Rich Barton is stepping back into the reins as CEO, replacing Spencer Rascoff, the real estate tech giant announced amid its fourth quarter 2018 corporate earnings release.

Rich Barton, co-founder and CEO of Zillow Group

Barton, who co-founded Zillow in 2005, was replaced by Rascoff after stepping down as CEO in 2010. He has maintained an active role as executive chairman of the company since stepping down.

Rascoff, who oversaw Zillow through its initial public offering (IPO) and managed more than 15 acquisitions, will remain on the company’s board of directors.

Zillow co-founder Lloyd Frink, who stepped down from his role as president at the same time as Barton, has been named the new executive chairman.

“We decided to rotate seats a bit, and Spencer will step out of day to day but continue as an indispensable advisor and overseer on our board of directors,” Barton told Inman in an email.

Under Rascoff’s leadership, Zillow has grown to more than 4,000 employees.

Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff 2018 Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit

Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff | Credit: John Lamparski/Getty Images

“Leading Zillow Group through its tremendous growth has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” Rascoff said in a prepared statement. “I couldn’t be prouder of the team and what we have accomplished together, and I will continue my deep involvement with Zillow Group as a board director and major shareholder.”

At the beginning of the year, Zillow announced plans to expand its direct-to-consumer homebuying and re-selling service, Zillow Offers, to five more cities.

Zillow first launched the platform in Phoenix last April and has since grown to Las Vegas, AtlantaDenverCharlotte and Raleigh. It also plans to come to Riverside, California, as well as Houston and Dallas, in 2019. The company said that it currently receives one Zillow Offers request every five minutes.

The real estate giant has also been running tests placing its own for-sale homes at the top of its namesake home search portal Zillow.com and mobile apps.

“I want to be clear, though: Premier Agent is as important to us as ever,” Barton wrote to Inman.

Barton continued: “Our partnership with PAs is critical. First, they are the backbone of our business. Second, we know that while Zillow Offers is going to be interesting to lots of consumers, it won’t be to everyone. Those consumers will need fantastic agents who are partners, not just advertisers. That’s PA.”

Since the launch of Zillow Offers, Wall Street has been skeptical of the program and Zillow’s efforts to get closer to the real estate transaction. Stocks tumbled after Zillow’s initial announcement of the iBuyer program and its purchase of Mortgage Lenders of America, a lender, last year.

This week, StreetEasy, the New York City-focused homes search website owned by Zillow, has suffered a data breach, putting roughly one million of its accounts at risk of being hacked. Company spokesperson Lauren Riefflin told Inman that the breach did not affect the parent company.

Developing…

Email Veronika Bondarenko

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
Only 3 days left to register for Inman Connect Las Vegas before prices go up! Don't miss the premier event for real estate pros.Register Now ×
Limited Time Offer: Get 1 year of Inman Select for $199SUBSCRIBE×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×