Posted by Tony Mariotti on Saturday, January 7, 2023 at 12:00 PM By Tony Mariotti / January 7, 2023 1 Comment
The Most Popular Real Estate Websites in the United States Based on Unique Monthly Visitors
Real estate websites are the most dominant means for consumers to find a home. Nearly all buyers (95%) use online tools in their search process according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
A quick background: Real estate marketing requires two components, advertising and distribution. Before the internet, brokerages and agents would advertise their listings primarily in print (newspapers) and distribute them collated in three-ring binders kept at local real estate offices, where customers would visit and leaf through pages of properties, pick out a few they liked, and hop in their agent's car to go view homes in person.
Then in 1995, when the public got their hands on the first internet browser, the die was cast for sweeping changes in the real estate industry. Today, advertising and distribution are handled simultaneously on real estate portals and brokerage websites, which see millions of website visitors each month.
So, how big are real estate websites?
Real Estate Website Statistics (Editor's Picks)
- Zillow is the largest real estate website in the United States, ranked by visitor traffic. In the last year, Zillow averaged 60 million monthly visitors.
- In fact, 2 of the top 3 websites are owned by Zillow Group.
- The top 3 most popular real estate websites (Zillow, Realtor, and Trulia) earn revenue primarily from selling leads to real estate agents.
- With 10.2 million monthly visitors, Redfin is the top-ranking website for a full-service brokerage (works directly with consumers).
- The top 5 ranked real estate websites are digital-first companies.
- Remax.com, with 4.7 monthly visitors, is the top-ranking traditional (pre-internet) brokerage website.
Here's a table with the top 10 real estate websites' traffic:
| Website | Monthly Visitors |
|---|---|
| Zillow | 60,001,080 |
| Realtor.com | 41,392,537 |
| Trulia | 20,764,278 |
| Redfin | 10,188,869 |
| Movoto | 6,998,761 |
| Homes.com | 6,011,590 |
| Remax | 5,963,444 |
| Point2Homes | 4,621,469 |
| Century21 | 3,105,739 |
| ColdwellBankerHomes | 2,335,473 |
Source: Ahrefs
Discussion
Despite being the largest real estate holding company in the United States, Anywhere Real Estate (formerly Realogy Holdings Company) has only one website in the top ten: Century21.com. Their portfolio of brokerages relies heavily on the traditional agent-centric business model for customer acquisition.
What's more, the top iBuyer, Opendoor, is not ranked as a leading real estate website despite its 1.3% U.S. residential market share.
Compass has 5.6% of residential real estate market share in the United States but still has not cracked the top ten websites in terms of monthly visitors.
A lot of local real estate companies carry IDX feeds. In fact, CRMLS in California claims that it distributes 22,000 property listing feeds to agent-owned websites. Many of these small players get less than 1,800 visitors/month. Still, it's worth keeping an eye on as the dominant players could slowly bleed organic traffic as data becomes more democratized and decentralized - a death by a thousand cuts (of sorts).
Having successfully penetrated top real estate markets - like Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, Chicago, and San Francisco - in 2022, Redfin announced its expansion plans to reach more markets in the United States. That year, the company successfully grew its monthly unique visitors from in 8.4 million to 10.2 million.
Conclusion
That’s our roundup of real estate website rankings. You may also be interested in the largest residential real estate companies by transaction volume, agent count, and sides. For even more data, view allreal estate stats.
The biggest takeaway for me was the organic traffic Zillow Group generates from the combination of its flagship website and Trulia. It simply dominates online real estate searches.
Can anyone catch up to Zillow?
Can anything disrupt websites as the primary means of real estate advertising and distribution? Meaning, could some new consumer experience, like virtual worlds, replace the web as we know it?
As an industry expert with a profound understanding of real estate and online marketing, it's evident that the landscape of real estate has undergone a significant transformation, largely influenced by the rise of the internet and the subsequent emergence of real estate websites. The information presented by Tony Mariotti on January 7, 2023, sheds light on the most popular real estate websites in the United States based on unique monthly visitors. Let's delve into the key concepts discussed in the article.
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Evolution of Real Estate Marketing:
- Before the internet era, real estate marketing involved traditional methods such as print advertising in newspapers. Property listings were physically collated and stored in binders at local real estate offices.
- The advent of the internet in 1995 marked a pivotal moment, leading to a paradigm shift in the industry.
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Significance of Online Tools:
- The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that a vast majority (95%) of buyers use online tools in their home search process, emphasizing the dominance of real estate websites in the modern property search.
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Components of Real Estate Marketing:
- Real estate marketing comprises two main components: advertising and distribution. In the pre-internet era, advertising was primarily in print, while distribution involved physical binders at local offices.
- Today, advertising and distribution are seamlessly integrated on real estate portals and brokerage websites, reaching millions of monthly visitors.
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Major Players in Real Estate Websites:
- Zillow emerges as the largest real estate website in the U.S., boasting an average of 60 million monthly visitors. Notably, two of the top three websites are owned by Zillow Group.
- Other key players include Realtor.com, Trulia, Redfin, Movoto, and Homes.com, with each having substantial monthly visitor numbers.
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Revenue Models:
- The top three real estate websites (Zillow, Realtor, and Trulia) generate revenue primarily by selling leads to real estate agents.
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Digital-First Companies and Traditional Brokerages:
- The top 5 ranked real estate websites are digital-first companies, highlighting the influence of online platforms in the industry.
- Traditional brokerage websites, exemplified by Remax.com, still hold significance, particularly Remax being the top-ranking pre-internet brokerage website.
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Expansion and Market Share:
- Redfin's expansion plans after successfully penetrating major markets in 2022 are mentioned, with a growth in monthly unique visitors from 8.4 million to 10.2 million.
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Notable Omissions and Future Trends:
- The article discusses the absence of certain major players, such as Anywhere Real Estate and Opendoor, in the top rankings. It also raises questions about the potential for new consumer experiences, like virtual worlds, to disrupt the current model of real estate advertising and distribution.
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Challenges for Local Players:
- Many local real estate companies with IDX feeds, despite having fewer monthly visitors, could face challenges as data becomes more democratized, potentially impacting organic traffic.
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Closing Thoughts:
- The conclusion of the article invites readers to explore additional data on residential real estate companies and raises intriguing questions about the possibility of any entity catching up to Zillow's dominance or if a new consumer experience could replace existing online platforms.
In conclusion, the article provides a comprehensive overview of the real estate website landscape, highlighting the evolution, key players, revenue models, and potential future trends in the industry.
