Are Zillow leads worth paying for? Only if you answer first
Zillow leads pay off only if you reply within minutes, since buyers contact several agents. What to ask Zillow before signing, and first replies to copy.
Paying for Zillow leads is worth it if you can answer them within a few minutes, and mostly money down the drain if you can't. A buyer who taps the button to contact an agent on a Zillow listing usually contacts more than one, often in the same sitting, and the agent who replies first with something useful tends to get the showing. So before you look at what Zillow charges in your area, look at your own Tuesday afternoon and ask how long a lead would sit while you're in someone's kitchen talking about countertops.
How fast you can be depends on how the lead reaches you, and on which phone you carry. Zillow leads usually reach agents through Zillow's agent app or by email; check which yours uses. iPhone keeps Zillow's app alerts inside Zillow, so watching them there needs the PinG keyring. The email has no such limit.
Is it worth paying for Zillow leads?
That makes the decision less about Zillow and more about your week. Zillow leads tend to suit an agent who can pick up most of the day, or a team with one person whose whole job is answering. They tend to hurt the solo agent who spends afternoons at showings and evenings writing offers, which happen to be hours when plenty of buyers are scrolling listings too.
Zillow has sold leads to agents in more than one form, and the terms differ by market and change from year to year. Some arrangements cost money every month whether or not anything closes. Others cost nothing until a deal closes and then take a fee. I'm not quoting prices or percentages here, because they depend on your zip code and on what Zillow is offering when you call. Your Zillow rep has the figures. Get them in writing.
What to ask Zillow before you sign
- How does a lead reach me: a live phone call, a message in the agent app, an email, or several of those at once?
- If I miss it, does the buyer get passed to another agent, and after how long?
- Is the lead mine alone, or is it shared?
- What do I pay, when do I pay it, and is there a minimum term or a notice period to leave?
- Do my answer rate and response time change how many leads I get? Ask what the expectations are and how they are measured.
- Can new-lead emails go to the Gmail address of my choice?
The second question matters most. If a missed lead moves on quickly, your speed isn't a nice extra. It is the product you are buying.
Do you have to pay for Zillow leads?
For a steady flow, yes. A free Zillow agent profile can bring the occasional message from someone who found you through your own listings or reviews, but the regular stream of buyer leads comes through Zillow's paid programs. Whether that costs you monthly or at closing depends on what's offered in your market.
Where do Zillow leads arrive?
Many agents meet a new Zillow lead as a push notification from Zillow's agent app or as an email to the address on their Zillow account. If your arrangement connects buyers to you by phone, there's also the plain incoming call, and the only fix for that one is answering it.
The app notification has a problem: it looks like every other notification on your phone. It gets the same buzz as a group chat, and during a showing your phone is probably on silent or in a Focus that holds it back. If you use a Focus on iPhone, open Settings > Focus, pick the one you use for showings, and under Apps allow Zillow's agent app through. On Android, the same exception lives in Do Not Disturb, which newer phones call Modes (Settings > Modes > pick a mode > Notification filters). Google says the menus vary by phone.
The email is easier to miss and easier to fix. Check which address your Zillow account sends lead emails to. If it's a brokerage address you open twice a day, point it at a Gmail account you actually watch. In Gmail, a filter for mail from Zillow can apply a label, and on Android you can give that label its own notifications (Settings > your account > Manage labels > the label, turn on Sync messages first, then set its notifications and sound). That still only buzzes, but it buzzes for Zillow alone.
How do I answer a Zillow lead first?
Write the first reply before the lead exists, so sending it takes twenty seconds.
A good first reply does four small jobs. It uses the buyer's name, names the home they asked about, asks one question, and offers a time to talk. It doesn't need your bio or a link to your site. Those can wait until they have answered you. Keep two or three versions in your phone's text replacement or a notes app, with a gap for the address.
For a text, when you can talk soon:
Hi [name], it's [your name] with [brokerage]. Saw your note about [address]. It's still available. Want to see it this week? I'm free at 5:30 today or 10 tomorrow.
When you're in the middle of a showing:
Hi [name], I'm with a client until 3. Got your question about [address] and I'll call you at 3:15. If texting is easier, just reply here.
For email, which can carry one more line:
Hi [name], thanks for asking about [address]. I can show it this week, and I'm happy to pull a few similar homes nearby if this one isn't quite right. Is a call at 5:30 today or 10 tomorrow better for you?
Then call. The text buys you a few minutes of attention, and the call is where a showing gets booked. If they don't pick up, leave a short voicemail that repeats the address, because a buyer who contacted three agents about the same house won't remember your name yet.
The founder's version of this problem is in speed to lead, and the clock runs the same way for agents.
Getting a call the moment a Zillow lead lands
That is the job we built OLL.E for. Zillow's lead emails can go to Gmail, and OLL.E can watch that Gmail account and phone you the moment one arrives. On iPhone this works with nothing extra, since it reads your mailbox and not another app's notifications. It can also watch the Zillow app's notifications, directly on Android, and on iPhone only with PinG, a Bluetooth keyring that relays notifications. Zillow never hands OLL.E anything; it only sees the email or notification you already get.
Along with the call it can send you a short summary of the lead, and for the Gmail version it can auto-reply with the intro text you wrote. Test one thing first: reply by hand to a Zillow lead email and check that your reply reaches the buyer rather than a Zillow inbox. If it doesn't, keep the call and the summary, and send your first reply from the Zillow app.
OLL.E is a phone app for Android and iPhone that turns the emails and notifications you choose into a phone call. The free plan needs no card; Pro is $19.99 a month, with a 7-day trial. On iPhone, Gmail watches work fully, calls included, while watching Zillow's app notifications needs PinG. It doesn't buy leads or call the buyer for you. Tonight, save your first reply as a text shortcut with a blank where the address goes, so answering the next Zillow lead means filling in one blank.
Questions people ask
How do I get leads from Zillow?
Mostly by paying for them through Zillow's agent programs, which route buyers who ask about a home to participating agents in your area. A free agent profile can bring the odd direct message from people who find your listings or reviews. Either way, set up new-lead emails and app notifications so you see each lead within minutes.
Is it worth paying for Zillow leads?
It is worth it if you can reply within a few minutes during the day, and rarely worth it if you can't. Buyers who contact an agent on Zillow often contact more than one, so the first useful reply tends to win the showing. Get the price, the term and what happens to a missed lead in writing before you sign.
Do you have to pay for Zillow leads?
For a steady flow, yes. Zillow sells leads to agents in different forms depending on the market, some billed monthly and some charged as a fee when a deal closes. A free profile alone brings only occasional contacts.
Are Realtor.com or Zillow leads better?
Neither is better everywhere; it depends on your market and on how fast you answer. The same rule applies to both: a lead you reply to in minutes is worth far more than one you reach the next morning. Track cost per closed deal for each source for a few months and keep the one that pays.