Zillow Group officially launched its new real estate search site, RealEstate.com, on Tuesday morning, unveiling a web experience designed to help more Millennials and prospective first-time homebuyers become actual homebuyers.
Zillow Group announced back in March that it planned to launch the new site, which will pull its listings directly from multiple listings services, real estate brokerages and franchisors.
Prior to the site’s launch on Tuesday, RealEstate.com redirected to Trulia.com. Zillow acquired the domain name as part of its acquisition of Trulia in 2015.
What sets the new site apart, according to Zillow, is that RealEstate.com gives buyers a new way to search for a home – by their preferred down payment and monthly mortgage payment.
According to details provided by Zillow, RealEstate.com calculates an “All-In Monthly Price” for every home, which breaks down estimated expenses that may be part of a buyer’s monthly payment, including principal and interest, property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, HOA fees and utilities, and closing costs.
Those items will help buyers understand the additional costs associated with homeownership, Zillow says.
Zillow adds that a recently published report from its data division showed that homebuyers say that finding a home within their budget is their top concern.
“RealEstate.com is designed to equip the next generation of home buyers to find a home that suits their needs and budget,” said Jeremy Wacksman, chief marketing officer at Zillow Group.
“We know from our research that affordability is a huge driver for home buyers, and that first-time buyers are more likely to go over budget,” Wacksman added. “By tailoring the home search experience on RealEstate.com around a home’s monthly cost, we hope to make the home buying experience less daunting and even more transparent for first-time buyers.”
According to Zillow Group, real estate agents will receive the same services they currently have on Zillow and Trulia on RealEstate.com.
