Zillow
shares plunged more than 9% on Monday on worries that the online real estate platform could have a big new competitor: Google Search.
appears to be running tests on putting real estate sale listings into its search results. Over the weekend, real estate tech strategist Mike DelPrete published mobile phone screenshots of Google Search results showing real estate listings, which appeared to be powered by real estate data company “HouseCanary.” The listings allowed users to view the full details of a property’s page, request a tour and contact an agent — similar to the functions offered on Zillow.com’s online marketplace portal. Google’s home searches appear to work only in select markets and on mobile devices as testing is underway.
The decline in Zillow signals investors are bracing for the eventual impact of Google’s foray into the real estate market. The stock was down at least 11% at one point during Monday’s session.
However, Wall Street analysts were quick to point out that Zillow’s exposure to organic search is fairly small, limiting potential downside at least in the near term as more details around Google’s product come to light.
