Key Highlights
- Zillow to purchase ShowingTime, a home showing management and market analytics company, for $500M.
- Company intends to operate ShowingTime as open platform for industry in general
Zillow Announces Plan to Acquire ShowingTime
Last Wednesday was a big day for Zillow. Not only did the company publish its Q4 2020 revenue earnings report, the company’s share price soared to an all-time high.
The company’s announcement of its purchase agreement with ShowingTime, a real estate showing management and market analytics company, for $500M on that same day was the icing on the company’s cake.
Zillow Sees ShowingTime Acquisition as Consistent with Previous Purchases
Errol Samuelson, Zillow’s chief industry development officer, said “…this acquisition is thematically similar to other work we’ve been doing…” in terms of applying tech to help “fix” broad industry opportunities or challenges. Samuelson offered up two examples…dotloop, a transaction management platform, and 3D tours, a virtual home touring app, as consistently parallel purchases.
Acquiring ShowingTime Almost a No-Brainer for Zillow
ShowingTime, with its a 22-year-old history as a tech company and its nearly 1M existing agent users plus its approximately 300 MLS existing relationships, makes complete sense for Zillow.
Why would Zillow would want to develop something in-house that is similar to ShowingTime when ShowingTime with its track record and +1M users already exists?
Each Company Committed to Having ShowingTime Continue to Operate as an Open Platform
Mike Lane, ShowingTime’s president, told Inman that Zillow shares ShowingTime’s vision of wanting “everybody to use the platform.” Lane continued by saying, ”They’re really a great strategic fit on showings.”
Zillow’s Samuelson agreed by saying, “I think the key here is our intention to operate this as an open platform with the same rules for everybody, doesn’t matter which brokerage, which franchisor you’re with, what brand you’re affiliated with. The goal here is to have an open and equitable platform for all users. That’s not changing.”
Meanwhile, Other Existing Management Platforms Ready to Compete in Showing Wars
Co-Star, the day after Zillow announced its acquisition of ShowingTime, announced that its newly acquired Homesnap is fast-tracking its home showing scheduling tool.
Homesnap CEO John Mazur said, “Our development team is putting the pedal to the metal so this (home showing scheduling) feature will be available to every Homesnap Pro user as soon as possible.
Also on the day of CoStar’s Homesnap announcement and the day after Zillow’s ShowingTime announcement, Instashowing’s 22-year-old founder, Will Schoeffler, told Inman, “…several dozen multiple listing services reached out to request a quote.” Currently, according to Schoeffler, Instashowing has some 1,000 users.
Clearly, Instashowing’s Schoeffler and Homesnap’s Mazur are as ready to pick up the gauntlet in the showing wars as Zillow’s Samuelson.
Thanks to Inman.
