Zillow expands rental marketplace with room listings, offering more affordable and flexible options

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02/08/2024 - 08:00 AM

Renters and homeowners can now list a room for rent on Zillow, reducing housing expenses by finding a roommate to share costs

SEATTLE, Feb. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Zillow® today announced a significant addition to its rental offerings: the option to search for and list individual rooms for rent. This new listing type is particularly timely, as U.S. rents have surged nearly 30% since the pandemic, and a startling 50% of renters are now cost-burdened, spending 30% or more of their income on rent and utilities. Splitting costs with a roommate can help alleviate this financial burden.

Renters using Zillow can now include "room" listings in their searches alongside traditional "entire place" options. These listings, easily identifiable in Zillow search results, cater to those seeking shared living spaces in an increasingly expensive market.

This new listing option especially benefits renters looking for roommates, a common scenario among Gen Z and millennial renters, who make up more than half of the U.S. rental market. According to a Zillow survey conducted by The Harris Poll¹, 59% of these younger renters report feeling uncertain about where they would go to find a roommate if they needed one. The survey also reveals 60% of respondents reported finding a good roommate is harder than finding a romantic partner, with a higher percentage of women (68%) feeling this pressure compared to men (49%).

Recognizing the challenges renters face in finding a roommate, Zillow's room listings simplify this process by facilitating connections between renters and potential roommates.

"We know finding the right place to call home isn't one-size-fits-all," said Michael Sherman, vice president of Zillow Rentals. "By introducing room listings, we're crafting a robust marketplace of options that truly reflects the varied needs of renters. We're committed to providing a platform where searching for a room, a house, an apartment or anything in between is as easy as clicking a button."

Maximizing opportunities: How room listings benefit homeowners and landlords

Zillow's room listing feature is beneficial not only for renters, but also for homeowners, providing an opportunity to reduce mortgage expenses and enhance their financial stability. By listing available bedrooms, homeowners can create new income streams, which may be especially valuable in unpredictable markets. For landlords, this flexibility allows for more dynamic property management, offering single-room rentals as a quick vacancy solution.

How to find room listings

Renters can discover room listings by selecting the "Room" filter, located under the "Home Type" drop-down menu on the Zillow website and within the "Space" section of the app's filtering options. They can tailor their search further with filters based on budget, lifestyle and preferred location. Each listing includes details about the available bedroom, shared spaces and current roommate(s). Room listings are currently only permitted in single-family rentals, select condominiums and townhomes.

How to list a room for rent on Zillow

Steps for renters and property owners:

Create a listing: Both renters and property owners can list a room for rent using Zillow Rental Manager. Throughout the listing path, they are prompted to provide details about the room, including size, any private bathrooms, shared spaces, current roommate(s), policies on pets, smoking, parking and more.
Connect with potential roommates/tenants: The room listing will appear on both Zillow and HotPads. Renters and property owners can manage their listing and interact with interested individuals through their Zillow Rental Manager dashboard.

Additional information for renters and property owners:

For renters: Renters should check their lease agreement before listing a room for rent. They may need their landlord's permission to add a roommate.
For homeowners and landlords: Property owners who list rooms have the option to use Zillow Applications for the tenant screening process and Zillow Payments for convenient online rent collection, both available at no cost.

About Zillow Group
Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z and ZG) is reimagining real estate to make home a reality for more and more people. As the most visited real estate website in the United States, Zillow and its affiliates help people find and get the home they want by connecting them with digital solutions, great partners, and easier buying, selling, financing and renting experiences.

Zillow Group's affiliates, subsidiaries and brands include Zillow®, Zillow Premier Agent®, Zillow Home Loans℠, Trulia®, Out East®, StreetEasy®, HotPads®, ShowingTime+℠, Spruce® and Follow Up Boss®.

All marks herein are owned by MFTB Holdco, Inc., a Zillow affiliate. Zillow Home Loans, LLC is an Equal Housing Lender, NMLS #10287 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org). © 2023 MFTB Holdco, Inc., a Zillow affiliate.

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¹ The research was conducted online in the U.S. by The Harris Poll on behalf of Zillow among 515 Gen Z (ages 18–26; n=260) and millennial (ages 27–42; n=255) adults who currently rent or plan to rent in the next six months. The survey was conducted December 6–15, 2023. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within + 6.4 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact press@zillow.com.