Zillow Rentals: Long Tail Listings

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Why aren't mom-and-pop houses of interest to Apartments.com? Having the most listings seems advantageous, and mom-and-pop properties are often the hardest to acquire due to their fragmentation. Wouldn't it offer a better value proposition for customers? Or is it that mom-and-pop houses differ significantly from multifamily properties, which might be targeted at a younger demographic with amenities like pools?

That's a very good question. A building with more than 20 units is considered multifamily, while a single-family property is one house. Apartments.com focuses on the multifamily sector because they deal with commercial real estate, which is more building-focused, particularly medium and large-sized properties. Zillow, however, caters to both sectors. Many people visit Zillow intending to buy a house but end up renting when they realize they can't afford a purchase. This is why Zillow is strong in the single-family market. In our context, a single-family property is one house, and multifamily refers to buildings with more than 20 units. Zillow excels in the long tail market, which is expensive to reach for companies. However, due to the regular traffic on Zillow from people who can't afford to buy, they have grown significantly without substantial investment.

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Okay, moving on to the long tail. StreetEasy charges $250 per rental listing, while Zillow seems to offer the listing for free. Homeowners, mom-and-pop landlords, don't pay anything. Why is StreetEasy able to charge so much compared to Zillow?

That's a good question. StreetEasy has a very strong presence in the New York marketplace, which is complex. They have a strong pull within the marketplace, making it difficult for others to enter. They can charge because there aren't many competitors, so people have to use them anyway. It's more about the regulations in New York, the fact they've been there for many years, and they understand the nuances of managing a marketplace. New York City is an expensive real estate market for rentals, so the fee might be negligible compared to rental costs, which could be no less than $3,000 per month.

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Okay, moving on to the long tail. StreetEasy charges $250 per rental listing, while Zillow seems to offer the listing for free. Homeowners, mom-and-pop landlords, don't pay anything. Why is StreetEasy able to charge so much compared to Zillow?

They have a lot of listings, so people love to go to StreetEasy for the inventory. If you need to rent quickly, you go to a place with the most listings. A few dollars here and there for an expensive rental is worth it. Zillow doesn't have as much presence because StreetEasy is very established in New York. Zillow rentals don't really compete with StreetEasy; it's like an island they own, and Zillow plays in the rest of the country.

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