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Since Realtor.com’s debut in 1995, real estate portals have become a key player in the transaction process, with brokers leveraging the platforms to broadly advertise their listings and consumers using the sites as a launchpad for their buying and selling needs.
However, the relationship between portals, brokers, and consumers has become more complicated over the years, with industry members bemoaning portals’ increasing influence on consumers and power within the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system.
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The latest example is Zillow Group and Redfin’s decision to ban listings that aren’t added to the MLS within 24 hours of public marketing, per the National Association of Realtors’ Clear Cooperation Policy.
The decisions, which were announced after Inman Intel’s March survey closed, have heightened the debate over who portals benefit, with brokers either seeing Zillow Group and Redfin’s moves as a win for consumer transparency or another example of portal overreach.
The respondents for this month’s survey, which largely include real estate agents and executives, like broker-owners, shared with Intel their mixed sentiments on real estate search portals and their wide array of lead generation options below.
Agents are split on using portal leads
Perhaps reflecting the tenuous relationship between portals and agents, the number of respondents who have and haven’t purchased portal leads is nearly split down the middle.
- 412 respondents participated in this month’s Intel survey. Of the 200 respondents who answered Inman Intel’s questions about portals, 46 percent said they’ve purchased a lead from Zillow, Realtor.com, Homes.com, Redfin or Trulia.
- Among those who acknowledged purchasing leads from portals, 80 percent reported buying them from Zillow, 50 percent from Realtor.com, and 19 percent from Homes.com. Trulia and Redfin tied with 18 percent each.
- Meanwhile, 53 percent have never purchased a lead from any portal.
Portal leads fall flat for most
Although a strong share of Inman Intel respondents have tested portal leads, the majority have since abandoned this lead generation source.
- 69 percent of respondents who’ve bought a portal lead in the past aren’t actively purchasing leads now.
- 50 percent of respondents said portal leads were a waste of their time and money.
According to the National Association of Realtors’ 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 43 percent of consumers start their homebuying or homeselling journey online.
Portals get the lion’s share of consumer attention, with Zillow reporting 204 million average monthly unique visitors during the fourth quarter of 2024. During the same quarter, Realtor.com pulled in 62 million average monthly unique visitors while Redfin tallied 43 million. Meanwhile, CoStar logged 110 million average monthly unique visitors for its Homes.com Residential Network, which includes Homes.com, Apartments.com and Land.com.
Yet, some agents feel portals’ expansive consumer bases don’t necessarily translate to a robust funnel of high-intent homebuyers, or if they do, the cost is too high to justify the benefit.
Last year, eight real estate agents slapped Realtor.com parent company, Move Inc., with a class action lawsuit for allegedly selling unvetted leads through its network of sites. Zillow has gotten its share of complaints over the years, with agents questioning whether the portal’s flagship lead generation offering, Premier Agent, is worth the rising cost despite strong conversion rates.
Redfin and Homes.com have also faced criticisms on value and price, as Redfin raised its Redfin Partner Program referral fees and Homes.com is still in the beginning stages of creating a dedicated sales and support team to back its ‘Your Listing, Your Lead’ promise.
However, the drop off isn’t all negative. Some respondents said portal leads were worth the effort, but have simply become less relevant in their strategy.
- 13 percent said leads helped build their business, but they no longer rely on them.
- 20 percent said it was worth the time and money, but it was never a significant part of their business.
- 5 percent said they haven’t purchased enough leads to have a strong opinion.
… But still works for a select group
Although many Inman Intel respondents have written off portal leads, a solid contingent still uses them.
- 42 percent of respondents still purchase portal leads.
- 12 percent said it’s a significant part of their business.
Of the respondents who still purchase leads, Zillow and Realtor.com are the clear favorites, while Homes.com, Redfin and Trulia trailed behind.
- 18 percent of respondents purchase leads from Zillow, while 14 percent purchase leads from Realtor.com.
- 4 percent of respondents purchase leads from Homes.com, 3 percent purchase leads from Redfin, and 2 percent purchase leads from Trulia.
In a previous deep dive on portal leads, Robert Slack Chief Operating Officer Lauren Bowen, and Washington D.C.-based Compass team leader Sina Mollaan shared their playbook on getting the most from portal lead gen. Both leaders said they have a hefty monthly budget for portal leads and have an extensive process for engaging high-intent leads and nurturing low-intent leads as they inch closer to making a purchase.
Bowen said paid portal lead generation is a volume game, with the best agents usually maxing out at a 10 percent conversion rate. With that in mind, it takes at least 100 leads to get 10 sales.
“Let’s say if you’re even a great agent converting at 10 percent, then you have to have a hundred leads that month to close 10,” she said. “So if you’re only spending $200 a month for let’s say, six leads, you’re going to need quite a substantial pipeline to be able to build that up to start closing them.”
“It’s probably not going to be enough, so you very well may get frustrated,” she added.
Methodology notes: This month’s Inman Intel Index survey was conducted March 18-April 7, and received 412 responses. The entire Inman reader community was invited to participate, and a rotating, randomized selection of community members was prompted to participate by email. Users responded to a series of questions related to their self-identified corner of the real estate industry — including real estate agents, brokerage leaders, lenders and proptech entrepreneurs. Results reflect the opinions of the engaged Inman community, which may not always match those of the broader real estate industry. This survey is conducted monthly.
