Dave Mele, president of Homes.com since 2014, has left CoStar Group to pursue “an opportunity outside of the real estate industry,” he confirmed to Real Estate News on Friday.
During his tenure, Mele guided Homes.com through its acquisition by CoStar in 2021 and its emergence as a significant player in the home search market.
“We are grateful to David Mele for his contributions to Homes.com over the past year,” Andy Florance, CoStar Group founder and CEO, said in a statement provided to HousingWire. ”He was a member of a very talented and motivated team that is successfully launching Homes.com, the industry’s first agent friendly portal with more than one hundred million unique visitors that empowers agents to sell homes faster and for more money. We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.“
Mele played a pivotal role in CoStar’s strategy to dominate the residential real estate sector, advocating for the “your listing, your lead” philosophy. Prior to CoStar’s acquisition, Homes.com sold buyer leads to agents but ceased this practice after the deal.
As part of his leadership role, Mele oversaw CoStar’s residential division, including the integration of Homesnap into Homes.com as Homes Pro. He also handled layoffs during the merger.
Under his leadership, Homes.com experienced substantial growth in web traffic, solidifying the portal’s position as a top home search site. In its first-quarter 2024 investor presentation, CoStar Group announced that Homes.com had surpassed 110 million monthly unique visitors, based on data from Google Analytics. This made CoStar the second most-visited residential listing site, trailing only Zillow.
Realtor.com CEO Damian Eales recently took issue with CoStar’s claims that Homes.com has surpassed Realtor.com as the second most-trafficked home search site during the MLS Forum at the National Association of Realtors’ annual legislative meeting.
Mele also spearheaded Homes.com’s monetization efforts, launching the Homes Pro membership plans earlier in 2024. In the first quarter, the sales team for Homes.com generated nearly $40 million in net new bookings.
“This is by far the strongest sales launch of any product in the company’s history, and we are raising our sales and revenue forecast for Homes.com for the full year 2024,” CoStar CEO Andy Florance said about Homes Pro during his Q1 2024 earnings call.
