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Zillow continues to add to its bandolier of agent-focused products with the acquisition of a creative services company known for its real estate marketing technologies, VRX Media.
In a Dec. 8 announcement, Zillow said VRX’s aerial drone photography, virtual staging, 3D tours and high-definition photography will enhance what’s offered through ShowingTime+, its home showing scheduling and management solution.
Zillow was seeking a way to further the marketing functionality of its 2021 acquisition of the popular home showing software.
“With VRX Media, ShowingTime+ will give agents elevated listing products unlike anything available today and will transform the way they prepare and market their for-sale listings,“ said Jun Choo, senior vice president of ShowingTime+, in the press release.
In a September report on the release of ShowingTime+, Choo said the product is “a new brand that will house existing products and services from ShowingTime, Bridge Interactive, dotloop and Zillow’s Rich Media Experience team, which oversees 3D tours and interactive floor plans.”
According to the company, 70 percent of sellers say they are more likely to hire an agent who includes virtual tours and/or interactive floor plans in their services. A listing is also more likely to receive a cash offer when it has a virtual tour as part of its marketing mix, according to 2022 The Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report.
VRX Media is a nationwide, agent-founded marketing services company helping listings look better. It emphasizes the importance of high-end property visuals to attract prospects in the mobile environment. It also provides aerial video, virtual staging and Matterport digital twin creation.
The acquisition will lead into the 2023 of two new Zillow products, Listing Media Services and Listing Showcase, the release stated.
The expansion of Zillow’s product lineup overlaps with its new focus on agent services and a long-discussed “super app.”
Inman spoke with Zillow President Susan Daimler in March, 2022, a month before Inman Connect New York, about the company’s future in consumer and agent technology. The app isn’t an all-in-one solution — for now, anyway.
“But the vision is that one seamless transaction and whether that ecosystem lives on an app or a platform, it is all in one place,” she said. Ultimatley, according to Daimler, Zillow wants to make a better moving process for all parties.
“Moving should be a great and delightful thing and we want to bring that to the process. So it can be not just the thinking about it that gets you excited, but the actual doing it can also be a positive experience.”
