Big changes are happening in the back-end of Zillow’s platform. The company has announced that its website has switched over to an IDX feed from its traditional MLS feed. This move emphasizes the company’s support of agent-made listings, which will be featured more prominently on the platform while clutter is diminished on the website’s customer-facing pages.
Alongside this announcement, Zillow says it is shutting down its Premier Agent websites in a move to cut out the weaker links in its business model.
A Zillow spokesperson said in a statement:
“Accurate and comprehensive data is central to our mission to simplify and streamline real estate transactions and deliver a more integrated experience to customers.
“Our Premier Agent and industry partners are a critical part of that vision: We believe moving to IDX will create a better experience on our platform for consumers, driving successful home searches for buyers, greater exposure for sellers, and creating more opportunity for our partners in the industry.”
That isn’t all. Zillow is also taking its pre-foreclosure advertising service off its main site, though this move will not change the way it receives and displays foreclosure listings.
Zillow stated on its site:
“We’ve seen strong performance in our tests of the new contact form, and we expect no change to the number of connections you will get as a result of the new experience.”