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Partner Interview
Published May 26, 2025

Zillow: Rentals and Apartments.com Competition

Executive Bio

Former Account Executive at Zillow

Interview Transcript

Disclaimer: This interview is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions. In Practise is an independent publisher and all opinions expressed by guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of In Practise.

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We aim to explore the competitive dynamics between apartments.com and Zillow rentals. We want to determine the potential winner with the insights and data you provide. That's our main goal.

The distinction is massive. Zillow is slowly monopolizing the market by purchasing top brands. When I started, there were three brands, and now there are seven. Out of the top 10 brands, they own seven. Imagine that.

This is a snippet of the transcript.to get full access.

We aim to explore the competitive dynamics between apartments.com and Zillow rentals. We want to determine the potential winner with the insights and data you provide. That's our main goal.

When it comes to apartments.com, they own only two out of the top 10. The market right now is dominated by apartments.com or Zillow. There is a third player, which is working with AI quite well. I'm friends with the CEO, and what they're doing is incredible. It's called Apartment List. It's more affordable and very AI-focused.

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Getting back to apartments.com versus Zillow in terms of properties, why did apartments.com skip the long tail initially and focus on condos and multifamily?

It was a short circuit strategy. They wanted success overnight because they knew if they played the long game with Zillow, they wouldn't succeed. They were one entity that got bought out by CoStar, meaning it was two companies. Even though CoStar tried competing with us for the past five years, they didn't succeed. They bought homes.com, but we weren't impacted. When you think of buying a home, you think Zillow. 10 years ago, I would have said apartments.com was mostly for renting, but now people go to Zillow rentals.com.

This is a snippet of the transcript.to get full access.

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