The Zillow housing super app was built to be the place consumers go for all things housing. Now Zillow’s COO and CFO says the next big opportunity is serving sellers and homeowners.
On this episode of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered — recorded live at Zillow Unlock 2026 — Jeremy Hofmann, chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Zillow, joins James Dwiggins to discuss the vision behind the Zillow housing super app.
He breaks down the vision behind Zillow’s housing super app, including the internal personas the company builds around, like Beth the buyer, Sebastian the seller and Audrey the agent. He explains why sellers and homeowners are Zillow’s next big opportunity and why he believes AI will strengthen home search rather than replace it. They also discuss why transparency in real estate will keep increasing, no matter how the industry evolves.
Hofmann closes with Zillow’s top priorities for agents in 2027: helping them win more business and giving them back more of their time.
Highlights
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Zillow builds products around buyer, seller and agent personas
- Why sellers and homeowners are Zillow’s next big opportunity
- Why AI is likely to strengthen home search, not replace it
- Why transparency in real estate will only keep increasing
- Zillow’s top two priorities for agents in 2027
Hofmann believes home search is different from most tasks people hand off to AI. Consumers love the dreaming and shopping part of a move and want to see everything available. Where AI helps is in answering far more questions than a map-based search ever could. It also opens new ways for consumers to connect with agents, which means agents will increasingly work with clients who are better informed and more ready to act.
On the listings debate, Hofmann points to every major shift in how consumers search for homes, from desktop to mobile to AI. Each one has pushed toward more information, not less. His view is that regardless of how the industry evolves, transparency is going up.
For 2027, Zillow’s focus for agents comes down to two things. The first is helping them win more business at the kitchen table. The second is giving them back time by cutting busy work like call notes and CRM management, primarily through Follow Up Boss.
Connect with Jeremy Hofmann on LinkedIn.
Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered is now exclusively on Inman. Tune in for agent- and team-focused content on Mondays and leadership interviews on Wednesdays each week. Listen on Apple or Spotify.
James Dwiggins is the president of NextHome, Inc. and co-host of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered.
Keith Robinson is the president of strategy at NextHome, Inc. and co-host of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered.
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The views and opinions expressed on Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered are those of the hosts and guests in their personal capacities and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of AGNT, Inc., eXp Realty, LLC, NextHome, Inc., or any of their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, or directors.
