Zillow CEO on Decoder: We’re ‘building a one-stop shop for real estate’

Zillow Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Wacksman recently joined The Verge’s “Decoder” podcast for a wide-ranging conversation about artificial intelligence, real estate databases and how the housing market is evolving.

At the center of the discussion was a defining question for the industry: as AI reshapes how people search for information, what happens to platforms built around that search?

Wacksman’s answer was clear: In housing, the real value lies in coordinating the transaction. 

From information to execution

Zillow was founded 20 years ago to bring greater transparency to housing, making real estate information broadly available at a time when it was fragmented and difficult to access.

Over the past several years, the company has expanded beyond a listings and advertising marketplace to focus more directly on participating in transactions, building the products, services and partnerships needed to support more of the process end to end.

“We shifted and pivoted the business to be more transaction-focused,” Wacksman said. Today, Zillow measures its progress by how often it meaningfully supports buyers, sellers, renters and agents through every step of the process. 

As artificial intelligence reshapes how consumers discover information, Wacksman acknowledged that the top of the funnel may evolve. But when people move from browsing to transacting, they still need coordinated software, data, workflows and licensed professionals to complete the deal.

Integration, regulation and transparency

Throughout the discussion, Wacksman emphasized that housing is local, regulated and high-stakes. Transactions operate within Fair Housing standards, MLS rules and state licensing frameworks — and broad access to listing information remains foundational to how the market functions.

About 80% of U.S. residential transactions involve an agent who uses at least one Zillow-owned product. With roughly 235 million average monthly unique users engaging across a months-long journey, the company has visibility into how intent turns into tours, offers and closings. That end-to-end context improves timing and supports smoother handoffs between steps. Despite its scale, Zillow’s transaction share remains in the single digits, underscoring room to grow even in a slower housing market, Wacksman noted. The combination of consumer demand on the front end and embedded professional workflows on the back end is what Wacksman described as durable, even if the way people start their journey changes over time.

The conversation also explored debates about selective listing distribution. 

When asked whether housing should follow a “windowing” approach — where content is made available to select audiences before becoming broadly accessible — similar to entertainment releases, Wacksman drew a distinction.

“I think you should think about real estate more as e-commerce than as premium content,” he said. “When you’re selling a good, you want to advertise to as much demand as possible, as quickly as possible.”

Homes are major financial assets, not movies. Zillow research shows that the average seller reported living in their home for 14 years before selling. For most families, it is the largest transaction they will ever make and generational wealth is at stake. 

Broad visibility supports competition, lowers search costs and strengthens trust in a complex market. In a category where licensed expertise and human judgment remain central, AI enhances coordination and preparedness rather than replacing professional guidance. 

A supply-driven housing market

Wacksman framed today’s affordability challenges primarily as a supply issue. “The affordability crisis is really an availability problem,” he said. Zillow estimates the U.S. is underbuilt by nearly 5 million homes, a structural gap that has been building for more than a decade.

Transaction volumes have declined from historical averages of roughly 5.5 to 6 million homes annually to about 4 million in recent years. Even so, millions of households continue to move each year due to life events.

Zillow’s strategy, he said, is to deepen engagement within those transactions and simplify the process itself.

Building the integrated experience

Central to Zillow’s long-term vision is what Wacksman calls a “housing super app,” a connected experience that brings together search, agent collaboration, touring, financing and closing.

After 20 years of building the brand and the audience, Wacksman said the company’s next phase is about integrating those capabilities into a system that works end to end. “The goal is building a one-stop shop for real estate,” he said, “we’re really just getting started.”