Zillow CEO Jeremy Wacksman Talks Q3 Revenue

Summary

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Bloomberg Talks Podcast: Zillow CEO Jeremy Wacksman Talks Q3 Revenue

Date: October 30, 2025
Host(s): Bloomberg Interviewers
Guest: Jeremy Wacksman, CEO of Zillow Group

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Episode Overview

This episode features an in-depth conversation with Jeremy Wacksman, CEO of Zillow Group, following Zillow’s Q3 earnings release. The discussion centers on Zillow’s standout quarterly performance, the company’s diversified revenue streams, the booming rentals marketplace, and strategic perspectives amid challenging housing market dynamics.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Q3 Earnings Beat and Revenue Drivers

• Strong Financial Performance:
  • Zillow reported Q3 revenue of $676 million, up 16% year-over-year, and an EPS of $0.44.
  • Q4 revenue guidance is between $645 and $655 million, slightly above average street estimates. (01:14)
• Broad-Based Growth:
  • Both for-sale (mortgages and agent revenue, up 10%) and rentals marketplace (up 41%) contributed to growth.
• Integrated Transaction Strategy:

  • The outperformance is attributed to Zillow’s push towards integrating software for buyers, sellers, and renters—making transactions more seamless.

    "What's driving that outperformance against a housing market that's up mid single digits is this integrated transaction strategy building software for buyers, sellers and renters to use Zillow more and connect with professionals and get more transactions done."
    — Jeremy Wacksman (01:15)

Home Loans Business Ambitions

• Small but Strategic:

  • Home loans remain a smaller segment but have shown double-digit growth throughout the year.

  • Wacksman emphasized the strategic fit of offering Zillow Home Loans as part of a unified consumer platform.

    "80% of all buyers need a mortgage and those buyers are shopping on Zillow... they want a one stop shop."
    — Jeremy Wacksman (02:12)

  • The goal: streamline the process so customers can find homes, agents, and financing in one place.

Renting vs. Buying Trends Amid Affordability Crisis

• Housing Affordability Dynamics:

  • Home prices are up nearly 100% from pre-pandemic levels; rent has increased 30-40%.

  • Many would-be buyers, particularly first-timers, are finding buying out of reach and opting to rent.

    "Unfortunately it is still a real affordability crisis in the housing market... it becomes more affordable to rent versus buy in many markets. And you're seeing many folks who are trying to be first time homebuyers. That's just out of reach."
    — Jeremy Wacksman (03:29)

• Zillow’s Dual Tracking Strategy:

  • By offering both rental and for-sale listings, Zillow caters to consumers “dual tracking” both options.

  • Zillow helps renters build credit and plan for potential future homebuying.

    "Those renters are tomorrow's buyers... We're helping them report their rent to the credit bureaus to start building their credit score to get them ready for that home loan."
    — Jeremy Wacksman (04:03)

Rentals Marketplace: Rapid Growth and Market Leadership

• Critical Growth Engine:
  • Zillow Rentals now represents over a quarter of company revenue.
  • Unique value: Organizing rental inventory (now 2.5 million listings) that’s often fragmented elsewhere.
• Market Impact:

  • Zillow boasts 36 million unique monthly visitors for rentals—largest in the category.

  • Advertisers and property managers are fueling revenue growth via rental listings:

    "Advertisers, big property managers who are looking to fill their vacancies. They want to tap into that audience. And so they're what's driving the revenue growth."
    — Jeremy Wacksman (06:18)

  • Rental revenue up 41% in Q3; multifamily revenue up 62% year-over-year.

Rentals as a Brand Identity Shift

• Breaking the 'For Sale Only' Perception:

  • Wacksman made clear that rentals are now a cornerstone, not a secondary business.

    "Our mission is to help more and more people get home. You can't do that if you're not helping renters get home, because there's so many more renters than buyers and sellers every year."
    — Jeremy Wacksman (05:15)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Integrated Strategy:

  "[We're] building software for buyers, sellers, and renters... That’s what's driving a great Q3 for us." (01:15)

• On Housing Market Challenges:

  "Home prices are up nearly 100% from pre pandemic levels. So we talk a lot about mortgage rates... but it's really home prices that are making things unaffordable." (03:29)

• On Rentals Growth:

  "We now have the most listings. We have two and a half million rental listings on Zillow... That is what brings renters to Zillow." (05:15)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Q3 Performance & Revenue Drivers: 01:14 – 02:00
• Home Loans Business Discussion: 02:00 – 03:04
• Renting vs Buying & Market Trends: 03:04 – 04:48
• Rentals Business Impact: 04:48 – 06:18
• Closing Remarks: 06:33

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Final Takeaways

• Zillow’s Q3 was characterized by strong growth in both traditional for-sale and rapidly expanding rentals segments.
• The company is evolving into a holistic real estate platform, serving buyers, sellers, and the growing cohort of long-term renters.
• Affordability concerns are shaping housing demand, with rentals becoming more prevalent, but Zillow positions itself to capture value across both segments and help renters eventually transition to buyers.

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For listeners interested in the future of real estate platforms, housing affordability, and how tech is changing where and how people live, this episode offers a wealth of market perspective from Zillow’s top leadership.

Transcript

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[Jeremy Waxman]

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[Bloomberg Host]

News let's take a look at another mover to the upside and that is Zillow. Up a couple of percentage points here in the after hours trade after the real estate marketplace reported earnings a beat on several key metrics. Revenue $676 million in the most recent quarter here EPS at $0.44 a share for the most recent quarter and guidance for the fourth quarter. This says that expect revenue for the current quarter in a range of 645 to $655 million. The low end of that range, just above the average of street est. Jeremy Waxman joins us right now, pleased to say the CEO of Zillow Group to talk a little bit more about the performance and your core business did well Jeremy, and I am curious as to what drove that. Was there sort of macroeconomic factors behind that marketing? What?

[Jeremy Waxman]

Yeah, thanks for having me. Q3 was a great one for Zillow. As you said, revenue up 16% year over year and the growth was really across the board. Our for sale revenue which is mortgages and agent revenue up 10% and our rentals marketplace, our rentals revenue up 41%. And what's driving that outperformance against a housing market that's up mid single digits is this integrated transaction strategy building software for buyers, sellers and renters to use Zillow more and connect with professionals and get more transactions done with our software and our partners. That's coming to life in more places. So that's what's driving the revenue growth. And for sale that's what's driving the revenue growth in rentals and that's what's driving a great Q3 for us.

[Bloomberg Host]

And curious about the home loans business. I know a small part of your business there was some decent growth there. What are your ambitions for that Jeremy? Does that need to be bigger? Are you comfortable with where it sits right now in your portfolio?

[Jeremy Waxman]

We expect that to be a bigger business for us over time. 80% of all buyers need a mortgage and those buyers are shopping on Zillow. They're using Zillow to find their agent, to find the home of their dreams and they want a one stop shop. They want the ability to transact on all in one place in that Zillow app. So being able to offer them Zillow home loans as one of their choices of financing, it makes sense from a consumer experience standpoint. And then it's a great business because it's more efficient for them to use one platform and get multiple services. So you're right, it is very small today. It is growing nicely. It's growing double digits and has all year. We would love to see that business continue to grow over time. And as I said, the strategy there is really offer that service to our buyers inside of Zillow, offer it to our agents who are working with the those customers and just become one of their loan offerings for more of those transactions.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

Jeremy, I'd love to get a little bit more detail when it comes to the breakdown of buyers versus renters, because with mortgage rates still at the levels that they are, you know, one of the narratives out there is that actually you take a look at the monthly payment and for a lot of folks it makes more sense to just rent versus to buy something. And I'm wondering when you take a look at the trends on Zillow, whether that's still the case. Are we starting to see that shift?

[Jeremy Waxman]

Yeah, unfortunately it is still a real affordability crisis in the housing market. And one way to think about that is just where are things versus pre pandemic? Home prices are up nearly 100% from pre pandemic levels. So we talk a lot about mortgage rates and the rise in mortgage rates from those lows, but it's really home prices that are making things unaffordable. Rent affordability. Rent prices have only gone up about 30, 40%. So it's still more challenging from pre pandemic. But it becomes more affordable to rent versus buy in many market. And you're seeing many folks who are trying to be first time homebuyers. That's just out of reach. And they are choosing to rent again. The good news for Zillow is by offering both of those marketplaces, we can help them with those needs. Right. You see our rentals business growing incredibly rapidly. Right. And that's now more than a quarter of our revenue. Those renters are tomorrow's buyers. So yes, we're helping them find a place to rent, but we're also helping them get ready to buy. We are helping them report their rent to the credit bureaus to start building their credit score to get them ready for that home loan. We're helping them with tools where they can understand what they could afford when they go shop. Because Most of those folks, as you point out, they are what we call dual tracking. They are thinking about, could I buy or should I re rent? And having all those options in one place is really what they need to make that decision.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

I hear what you're saying, and, you know, in some cases, you're preaching to the choir as a renter who would like to buy. But I want to talk a little bit more about what the rentals market has meant for you, because a lot of folks think of Zillow as a home buying app, a home buying website. Website. But the rentals market has been a big driver of your growth. I would love a little bit more detail on that and where you see that evolving as it comes to your business. The rental market versus the buying market.

[Jeremy Waxman]

Absolutely. Rentals is a fast growing business for us, and it's a really great experience for our consumers. You know, our mission is to help more and more people get home. You can't do that if you're not helping renters get home, because there's so many more renters than buyers and sellers every year. And what's great about our rentals business is it's really solving the fundamental problem a renter has. There is no one database of all the rentals. You have to scour everywhere, online and off to find a place on a very compressed time frame. So we set out to try and organize as much of the inventory as possible, and we now have the most listings. We have two and a half million rental listings on Zillow. Everything from those big buildings to the single family homes that are for rent in your neighborhood. That is what brings renters to Zillow. You want to find a place, you want to go where there are the most places to look for. That's why we have the largest audience now. So Zillow Rentals has 36 million unique visitors per month coming to Zillow. It's the largest audience. Those factors are now why the revenue is growing.

[Bloomberg Podcast Host]

Right?

[Jeremy Waxman]

Advertisers, big property managers who are looking to fill their vacancies. They want to tap into that audience. And so they're what's driving the revenue growth. Up 41% in Q3 multifamily revenue. Those advertisers are 60, 62% year over year revenue growth.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

All right, Jeremy, really appreciate you taking the time after earnings. That is Jeremy Waxman. He is Zillow Group CEO.

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