Realtor.com
| File:Realtor.com logo.png Realtor.com Logo | |
| File:Realtorcomheadquarters.jpg Former headquarters of Realtor.com located in Santa Clara, California | |
| Industry | Real estate |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1995 |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Key people | |
| Parent | Move, Inc. |
| Website | www |
Realtor.com is a real estate listing platform managed by Move, Inc., a subsidiary of News Corp, with its headquarters situated in Austin, Texas. As of 2021, it ranks as the second most frequented real estate listing website in the United States, attracting more than 100 million active users monthly.
Originally established in 1995 as the Realtor Information Network exclusively for members of the National Association of Realtors, it opened to the public in 1996, showcasing property listings. Realtor.com asserts it is the largest real estate website in the U.S. and was valued at $2.5 billion by Morgan Stanley in 2016.
Operations
Realtor.com functions as a division of Move, Inc., which is owned by News Corp. Ryan O'Hara held the CEO position for both realtor.com and Move until June 2019; Tracey Fellows then assumed the role on an interim basis. David Doctorow took over as CEO in January 2020, followed by Damian Eales who was appointed in June 2023.
Operating under a license from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the largest trade organization within the industry, Realtor.com's business strategy centers on referral services, lead generation, and advertising revenue targeting agents and brokers. The platform targets users across approximately 80 countries, capitalizing on its leadership and broad industry alliances to maintain competitive strength.
Early development and public launch
Founded in 1995 as the Realtor Information Network (RIN), Realtor.com initially served as a private network for members of the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The platform became publicly accessible in 1996 and expanded its database with Regional Multiple Listing Service (RMLS) entries, growing from 32,000 to nearly 400,000 listings within twelve months.
In November 1996, the site was rebranded as "Spot Realtor.com" through RealSelect, a newly formed company collaborating with NAR and supported by venture capital funding. RealSelect was later renamed Homestore and continued operating Realtor.com alongside NAR.
By 1997, Realtor.com had established exclusive online listing partnerships with significant media outlets such as USA Today, NBC, and AOL. In 1998, it began working with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Service.
Surpassing 1.3 million listings by 1999, Realtor.com became the largest online real estate listing service and introduced virtual home tours. Homestore went public in August of that year, securing $140 million through its initial public offering. While NAR retained substantial ownership stakes, Homestore arranged direct listing feeds from multiple listing services and brokerages.
News Corp period
In September 2014, News Corp purchased Move, the parent company of Realtor.com, for $950 million. At that point, Realtor.com was drawing 34.1 million unique visitors each month. The company formed strategic alliances with Airbnb to promote stays within specific neighborhoods and with Yelp to offer information about local amenities.
Initially headquartered in San Jose, California, the firm moved its base to Santa Clara, California in 2016. That same year, Move expanded its portfolio by acquiring interior design site Remodelista and garden design site Gardenista, which collectively attracted 1.5 million monthly readers; both sites were sold back to their original founders in 2019.
By 2016, Realtor.com featured nearly 97% of U.S. residential property listings and recorded 36.7 million unique monthly visitors. Morgan Stanley placed the company's valuation at $2.5 billion. In 2017, the mobile applications incorporated augmented reality and image recognition tools, alongside 3D tours powered by Matterport technology on both iOS and Android devices.
In 2018, Move acquired Opcity, a real estate technology company based in Austin, for $210 million. Opcity’s AI-powered platform connected buyers with agents and was fully integrated into Move’s services by 2020. Realtor.com introduced Local Expert, a digital marketing platform aimed at agents and buyers on its website and Facebook; this was expanded in 2019 to include targeted advertising at the city level. The Market Reach marketing solution was launched in early 2020.
Between 2019 and 2020, Realtor.com upgraded its search functionalities by adding filters for commute times, noise overlay maps, and automated home value comparisons. In July 2020, the platform rolled out Sellers Marketplace to support homeowners exploring iBuying options through collaborations with companies such as Opendoor.
In August 2020, a digital tool assessing flood risk for prospective homebuyers was launched; this offering was further enhanced in May 2022 to incorporate wildfire risk data through a partnership with the First Street Foundation.
By mid-2020, Realtor.com had grown to approximately 68 million unique monthly users. That year also saw Move’s acquisition of Avail, a software platform providing landlords with tools for managing listings and rent collection.
Ranked as the second most visited real estate listings website in 2021, Realtor.com continued broadening its market presence. In June 2022, Move acquired UpNest.com to strengthen its seller services; UpNest employs algorithms to connect clients with multiple agents and had generated around one million proposals since its inception in 2013. UpNest appeared on Deloitte's Technology Fast 500 list in both 2018 and 2019.
On February 10, 2025, Realtor.com shifted its headquarters from Santa Clara to Austin, Texas.
Marketing
In 2015, Elizabeth Banks became Realtor.com's spokesperson, starring in a YouTube series aimed at millennials purchasing their first homes. Her initial commercial was directed by Fred Savage. A significant advertising campaign titled "The Home of Home Search" was launched in April 2018.
The company's 2021 advertising initiative, "Homes for Every Home Buyer," carried the slogan "to each their home." One notable advertisement called "Our First Big Boi House" featured rapper Big Boi and spotlighted first-time homebuyers of color while celebrating Black homeownership. Realtor.com's marketing campaigns have received accolades from Adweek, the Online Marketing Media and Advertising (OMMA) Awards, and the Webby Awards for creativity and excellence in digital advertising.
External links
- Pages with broken file links
- Companies founded in California in 1995
- American enterprises founded in 1995
- U.S. real estate online platforms
- Businesses headquartered in Austin, Texas
- Web-based properties launched in 1995
- Subsidiaries of News Corporation
- Online property databases
- Real estate firms established in 1995
- Property valuation services
- Residential property sector
- United States real estate service providers
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- American companies established in 1995
- Companies of the United States by year of establishment