Google Listings Aren’t a Threat to Home Stocks

Housing technology companies are offering far more than just online listings—and those expanded services act as a buffer against disruptions in the residential real estate market.

A turf war over the online home listings business has been brewing for some time. Then Google entered the fray.

As part of a pilot program, the search giant began placing home listings at the top of certain Google search results. News that Google might push deeper into home listings sent shockwaves through the stocks of companies that currently dominate the space.

On December 15, after reports of Google’s test spread over the weekend on social media, Zillow Group’s market value dropped by about $1.5 billion. Shares of CoStar Group, the parent company of Homes.com, fell to their lowest level in more than three years. Neither stock has fully recovered since.

The selloff, however, appears unwarranted.

A Small Experiment, Not a Market Takeover

There is no indication that Google’s home listings feature will see a broad rollout. The test itself is limited in scope: listings have appeared only for mobile users in select cities such as San Francisco and Miami. A Google spokesperson described it to Barron’s as “a small experiment,” without specifying when it began or how long it would last.

Wall Street analysts largely agree that investors overreacted. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has previously experimented with home listings—efforts that ultimately faded away. Still, as Benchmark analyst Daniel Kurnos put it, “No one likes it when an 800-pound gorilla comes sniffing around.”

The episode reflects deeper anxieties about disruption in the housing technology sector, driven not only by Google but also by the rise of artificial intelligence. Agents told Barron’s they are already receiving increasing referrals—of mixed quality—from AI-driven chat platforms.

More disruption is coming, and companies are preparing for it.

Listings Are Only One Piece of the Business

Major housing platforms—Zillow, Rocket’s Redfin, and CoStar’s Homes.com—are no longer just house-browsing websites. Each has expanded into adjacent services that help insulate them from changes in how buyers search for homes and how agents advertise.

Realtor.com, which also operates a listings platform, is owned by Barron’s parent company, News Corp.

Among the big players, analysts say Zillow’s core business appears the most insulated from increased competition, thanks to strong organic traffic and brand recognition. According to web traffic measurement firm Semrush, Zillow is the most-viewed real estate website in the United States.

In recent years, Zillow has pivoted away from relying primarily on agent listing marketing. Instead, its main sources of growth now come from mortgage services and rental listings. The company also offers agent-focused products such as workflow management software and seller-oriented listing tools.

“The combination of the business that we’ve built is far more diversified than it was five years and 10 years ago,” Zillow Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Hofmann said at a December technology conference.

Benchmark’s Kurnos rates Zillow’s Class A stock a Buy, with a $95 price target—nearly 40% above its recent price of $68.54. “To think that Google would somehow displace the most complete end-to-end solution in the marketplace with the strongest and stickiest agent product suite seems rather far-fetched,” he wrote.

Homes.com and CoStar’s Long Game

CoStar’s Homes.com was positioned as an agent-friendly alternative to dominant listing sites, focusing on services for sellers’ agents rather than lead generation. CoStar acquired Homes.com in 2021 and announced its aggressive expansion with a Super Bowl commercial in 2024.

Usage has grown since then—but so has spending. CoStar’s marketing budget reached $1.36 billion in 2024, up from $684 million in 2022. That surge in spending has weighed on earnings, contributing to stock declines. CoStar shares are down 26% since the Friday before the 2024 Super Bowl and fell another 6% in 2025.

Homes.com remains a relatively new arm of CoStar’s broader commercial real estate business, which includes data analytics software and marketing platforms. Fears of technological disruption have only added to recent pressure on the stock.

Still, CoStar is betting heavily on innovation. According to CEO Andy Florance, 50% of Homes.com’s software development is now focused on artificial intelligence. “AI offers transformative opportunities to unlock tremendous value in real estate,” he said on an October earnings call.

Rocket, Redfin, and Vertical Integration

Rocket, one of the largest mortgage originators in the U.S., made a major move into listings with its 2025 acquisition of Redfin. By the third quarter, more than one in ten of Rocket’s retail loan closings came from customers who used both Redfin and Rocket, CEO Varun Krishna said. “We expect this to only increase,” he added.

Even if competition intensifies or demand for listings portals weakens, Rocket maintains a dominant position in mortgage origination and servicing. Its $14.2 billion all-stock acquisition of loan servicer Mr. Cooper brought an estimated one in six U.S. mortgages under the combined companies’ management.

That refinancing opportunity is one of the reasons Rocket’s stock surged 72% in 2025.

A More Competitive—but Stronger—Ecosystem

For real estate professionals, increased competition may ultimately be beneficial. Wendy Monday, a broker at Nashville-based Onward Real Estate, says she currently advertises on Zillow but is watching Google’s experiment closely.

“The more platforms there are,” she said, “the sharper their tools all have to be.”

For now, Google’s test looks less like a threat—and more like a reminder that housing technology companies have evolved well beyond simple listings.

Source: Barrons

What are the legal documents needed in selling land of a deceased owner?

In the Philippines, selling land owned by a deceased person involves a legal process that requires specific documents to be presented and processed. The legal documents needed for selling land of a deceased owner are as follows:

1. Death Certificate: The death certificate of the landowner is a crucial document that confirms their passing. It is required to establish the fact that the owner is deceased and cannot execute any transactions.

2. Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) or Original Certificate of Title (OCT): These are the primary documents proving ownership of the land. The TCT or OCT should be presented to verify the land's legal owner and to initiate the transfer of ownership to the buyer.

3. Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate (EJSE) or Affidavit of Self-Adjudication (ASA): If the deceased owner left a will, the heirs can execute an EJSE. If there is no will, they can execute an ASA. These documents outline the distribution of the deceased's estate among the legal heirs, including the land being sold.

4. Deed of Sale: This is a written agreement between the seller's heirs and the buyer, stating the terms and conditions of the sale. It must be notarized.

5. Tax Identification Number (TIN): The TIN of both the seller's heirs and the buyer should be included in the documents.

6. Certificate Authorizing Registration (CAR): This document authorizes the transfer of the property's title to the buyer.

7. Barangay Clearance: A clearance issued by the local barangay (village) where the property is located.

8. Real Property Tax Clearance: A certificate indicating that the property taxes have been paid up to date.

9. Notarized Affidavit of the Buyer: This affidavit states that the buyer is not related to the seller within the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity, as mandated by the law.

10. Other documentary requirements: Depending on the specific circumstances, additional documents may be required, such as the seller's heirs' valid IDs, proof of relationship, and other supporting papers.

Please note that the legal process of selling land owned by a deceased owner can be complex and time-consuming. It is highly recommended to seek the assistance of a lawyer or a qualified real estate professional to ensure that all legal requirements are met and the transaction is conducted smoothly and legally.

Source: Ziggurat Real Estate Corp.

BIR finalizes 1 percent tax for online sellers

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is in the final phase of its plan to impose a one percent withholding tax on online platform providers that people use to sell goods and services amid the continued surge in digital transactions.

Based on the final draft of the revenue regulation posted on its website over the weekend, the BIR will impose a creditable withholding tax on income payments made by electronic marketplace operators to online merchants.

The BIR sought comments from stakeholders on the new revenue measure last April.

Withholding tax is a kind of tax on the salary earned by a certain employee.

Based on the current framework, employers are required to deduct a certain percentage of their employee’s salary which, in turn, is remitted to the BIR.

As online sales transactions continue to increase, further expedited by the pandemic, the BIR has been looking at ways to tax online sellers.

The final draft of the revenue regulation, which is subject to final comments until Oct. 27, imposes a creditable withholding tax of one percent on one-half of the gross remittances of the online platform providers to the sellers of the goods and services.

The withholding tax imposed, however, will not apply if the annual total gross remittances to an online merchant for the past taxable year has not exceeded P250,000.

Also excluded are online sellers with cumulative gross remittances to an online merchant in a taxable year that have not yet exceeded P250,000, as well as those cooperatives duly registered with the BIR with a valid certificate of tax exemption.

According to BIR, electronic marketplace refers to a digital platform whose business is to connect online consumers with online merchants, facilitate and conclude the sales, process the payment of the products, goods or services through the platform.

It also facilitates the shipment of goods or provides logistics services and post-purchase support within such platforms, and otherwise retains oversight over the consummation of the transaction.

This includes the marketplace for online shopping, food delivery platforms, platforms for booking of resort, hotel, motel, inn, house, condominium unit, bed space, room for rent, and other similar lodging accommodations, and other service or product marketplaces.

The BIR said the withholding tax imposed shall be in addition to the existing withholding tax obligations being imposed to the e-marketplace operators.

These are withholding taxes on payment to transportation contractors for the carriage of goods and merchandise and commissions on the goods and services actually sold, aside from the consideration for the use of the digital platform.

“The e-marketplace operator shall not allow the sale of goods or services in the e-marketplace by online sellers who are not duly registered with the BIR, whether or not the online sellers whose remittances do not exceed P250,000 or are members of a duly registered cooperative,” the BIR said.

Since tax involved and being withheld is income tax, the burden of the tax is upon the seller although the mode of payment of the tax is through withholding by the buyer, or by the e-marketplace operator, in case the payment for the sale of goods or services were made therein.

Source: Philstar