Zillow Rental Advertising Costs
Yesterday, Zillow announced in South Carolina they will start charging $9.99 per week per rental property.
Depending on how many properties you own and/or manage, the fee can become a big bill fast.
What will you do? Will you continue advertising on Zillow?
The Zillow network is our #1 lead source. I will continue to advertise my properties in the short-term and test if the paid service continues to produce results. Four main factors influence my decision:
1 - The Zillow Network works to finds residents. Yes, there are a lot of websites and avenues to advertise for residents, but Zillow is our #1 qualified lead generator. My goal with any vacancy is to fill it as quickly as possible, and I am not going to eliminate our top lead generation source over $10-40.
2 - Is $9.99 per week really that much? Compared to the free price tag, yes, $9.99 per week could be considered a lot; however, the Zillow network works. The free ride was good while it lasted. Remember when the newspaper was the only advertising source and how much an advertisement in it cost?
3 - Basic economics of supply and demand tell me my advertised properties will rent even faster. Potential residents flock to Zillow. The new pricing will eliminate other properties being listed, so there will be less competition advertising on Zillow. The potential resident demand will remain the same but the available advertised supply will decrease. That equation will work well for us that remain on the platform…. Big caveat – as long as Zillow keeps the prospective residents visiting the website. Hence, why I will pay the fee in the short-term and continually monitor the results.
4 - An additional week's vacancy costs a lot more than a month's worth of advertising on the Zillow Network. Any business owner (which rental property owners are!!) needs to be careful of being penny-wise and pound-foolish.
For my management company, Bluewater Property Management, I will inform our clients of the pricing change, provide the benefits of the Zillow Network, recommend they pay for the advertising and let each client decide if they want to pay the advertising fee.