Zillow Group Inc Stock Price, News & Analysis

Zillow's latest market report reveals single-family home rents have reached a record high, costing about 20% more than typical multifamily apartments. Single-family rents have increased 41% above pre-pandemic levels, while multifamily rents rose 26%. Currently, single-family homes show 4.4% annual growth compared to 2.4% for apartments.

Property managers are increasingly offering concessions, with 41% of rental listings now including incentives like free rent or parking. The for-sale inventory remains 25% below pre-pandemic norms, though showing signs of recovery. Ten of the 50 largest metros, primarily in Florida, Texas, and the South, now have more homes available than before the pandemic.

Salt Lake City shows the largest price premium for single-family rentals at 59% over multifamily units, while Detroit has the smallest at 9%. The median age of renters has increased to 42 in 2024, up from 33 three years ago, reflecting longer rental periods before home purchases.

Zillow Group (Nasdaq: Z and ZG) has scheduled the release of its fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 financial results after market close on Tuesday, February 11, 2025. The company will host a webcast and conference call at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET on the same day to discuss the results. Investors and interested parties can access information about the financial results and the live webcast through Zillow's Investor Relations website. A recorded replay will also be available after the event.

Zillow Group (Nasdaq: Z and ZG) has appointed Zuhairah Washington as senior vice president of Market Operations and Flex general manager. Washington brings 20 years of executive experience from companies like Uber and Expedia Group. At Uber, she managed the company's fifth-largest U.S. market, while at Expedia Group, she led a global team of over 1,000 employees and managed $4 billion in strategic partner revenue.

In her new role at Zillow, Washington will lead operations and scaling initiatives to support Flex agents and teams as the company expands its Enhanced Markets in 2025. The Enhanced Markets initiative integrates multiple aspects of home-buying, including financing, touring, and agent-finding, into a seamless digital experience. Currently operating in 43 Enhanced Markets, Zillow aims to expand this integrated housing super app experience to more markets nationwide.

Buffalo, New York, maintains its position as the hottest housing market for 2025, according to Zillow's latest analysis. The ranking considers factors including home value growth forecasts, sales velocity, job growth per new home permitted, and expected growth in owner-occupied households.

Key factors driving Buffalo's top position include having the highest ratio of new jobs per new home permitted and relatively affordable housing prices. Hartford leads home value appreciation forecasts at 4.2% for 2025, while other top markets include Providence, Indianapolis, and Charlotte.

The analysis reveals a geographic shift in hot markets, spreading from the Northeast, Great Lakes, and South regions into the Midwest and West. Virginia Beach showed the most significant improvement, jumping 23 spots to #13. Notable trends include relative affordability driving demand in Midwest metros and slower but steady price growth expectations for 2025.

Zillow has revealed insights from its AI-powered natural language search feature for 2024, showing diverse home-search trends across the United States. Ranch-style homes emerged as the most searched property type, followed by lakeside properties and duplexes. The data showed regional variations, with pools being among the top three searches in 38 states and garages appearing in the top searches for 46 states.

Notable geographic trends emerged with coastal states prioritizing pools, while colder states focused on practical features like garages. The search data also revealed unique preferences, with some users looking for unusual features like roller coasters and laser tag facilities. Popular points of interest included Myrtle Beach, Lake Tahoe, and Long Island, reflecting a strong interest in waterfront locations.

Manchester, New Hampshire topped Zillow's most popular cities list for 2024, leading a Northeast-dominated ranking as home shoppers prioritized affordability and exurban locations. The city saw a 7.3% home value increase to $415,000, while remaining more affordable than nearby Boston.

The top 10 markets featured mostly exurban communities, with Rockford, Illinois and Stamford, Connecticut completing the top three. Only one West Coast market, Sunnyvale, California, made the list. Other category winners included Toledo, Ohio (large cities), Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania (small towns), Milford, Connecticut (coastal), Portland, Maine (vacation), Pahrump, Nevada (retirement), and Normal, Illinois (college towns).

Zillow's 2025 housing market forecast predicts a gradual increase in home sales from 4.06 million in 2024 to 4.16 million in 2025, contingent on declining mortgage rates. Home values are expected to grow by 2.2% over 2025, similar to the 2.3% annual appreciation observed in November.

The market shows signs of normalizing, with inventory deficits improving from pandemic lows. New listings are now only 14% below pre-pandemic levels, compared to a 25% deficit in March. Total inventory remains 26% below 2018-2019 norms, the smallest gap since September 2020. The current market is becoming more buyer-friendly, with less than 28% of homes selling above list price in October, and reduced competition during winter months provides better negotiating opportunities for buyers.

Zillow has brought back Santa's House, a popular virtual holiday attraction that has garnered over 3 million views. The listing introduces a new 'Let Santa Know You Moved' feature, allowing families to notify Santa of their new address when they move. Santa's House, valued at $1.2 million (up 2% since last Christmas), offers an interactive 3D tour featuring special areas like Santa's mailroom, gift-wrapping suite, and a naughty-or-nice detector.

The virtual experience includes a treasure hunt with 15 hidden holiday items. The listing uses Zillow's Showcase technology, providing immersive floor plans and AI-powered features. According to Zillow research, 51% of parents experience emotional stress while selling their home, compared to 36% of all sellers.

A new Zillow research challenges the notion that a 'silver tsunami' of empty-nest homes could solve the nation's housing shortage. While there are 20.9 million empty-nest households nationwide, these homes are predominantly located in more affordable markets rather than expensive coastal areas where housing demand is highest.

The study reveals that cities like Pittsburgh (22%), Buffalo (20%), and Cleveland (20%) have the highest share of empty-nest households. Conversely, high-demand metros like San Jose (35%), Austin (32%), and Denver (32%) have the largest share of young residents but fewer empty-nest homes. This geographical mismatch suggests that the 'silver tsunami' would have minimal impact on addressing housing affordability in high-demand areas.