Seattle-based real estate tech company Zillow Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ZG) has acquired VRX Media, a real estate marketing company headquartered in Milwaukee.
The acquisition, announced Thursday, is meant to strengthen Zillow's real estate software brand ShowingTime+, a platform for agents to manage and schedule showings that Zillow acquired in October 2021 for $500 million. According to a Zillow spokesperson, the company "extended offers to most of VRX Media’s workforce," and more than 100 employees have joined Zillow as a result of the VRX Media acquisition.
"Listing media is a crucial part of selling a home, and we are focused on creating an immersive customer experience," Jun Choo, senior vice president of ShowingTime+, said in a release.
The spokesperson said the companies aren't disclosing the financial details of the acquisition. Zillow said in the release the VRX Media acquisition will bring a real estate media service and a new listing display service to ShowingTime+. The new services are expected to launch in 2023.
VRX Media, founded in 2015, provides agents with professional real estate photos, virtual tours, drone videos and drone photos. According to VRX Media's website, agents can book a photographer in less than five minutes, and VRX Media offers next-business-day delivery for media files. Its services are available in more than 60 metro areas.
Zillow, which launched in 2006, is well-known for its home and rental search, but the company also offers mortgages and a platform for partner agents called Premier Agent.
The company in November 2021, however, announced the closing of its home-flipping business, Zillow Offers, in a move that took several quarters and resulted in laying off roughly a quarter of its workforce. Zillow laid off another roughly 300 workers this October, as rising interest rates and decreased homebuying competition have cooled off the residential real estate market.
In Zillow's third-quarter financial results, released in November, the company said it generated $483 million in revenue during the quarter, a 12% year-over-year decrease. According to Zillow, the company had 236 million average monthly unique users during the quarter.
