This has been anticipated pretty much since the inception of Zillow but news is coming out via Inman that they’re in talks with Citigroup to look into going public very soon. This website took the real estate industry by storm, but as Zillow tries to point out to real estate companies, they’re not a real estate sales site but an information site meant for the good of the consumer. I’ve personally never bought into those comments from them, but basically they’re a site that has learned how to monetize the industry in yet another way by charging real estate agents and mortgage professionals for leads.
The reason they don’t want to be a real estate sales site? Well, much like Redfin discovered (both just happen to be Seattle based start ups), it’s a lot harder to BE in real estate than it is to sell stuff to people who work in the industry, because when you’re in the industry, you’re monitored and licensed by a State regulatory system and legal liability runs much higher.
Either way, I hope that it goes well for Zillow. This is one real estate “related” firm that I’d buy stock in, but that’s just my personal opinion.
