Homes.com looks to gain ‘solid’ leadership position in 2-4 years 

CoStar is looking to take advantage of the changing landscape in residential real estate by continuing to push the message of how its search portal — Homes.com — differs from its rivals.

During a first-quarter earnings call on April 29, CoStar Founder and CEO Andy Florance spent a significant amount of time telling investors how the company is well positioned to grow both traffic and revenue as the industry grapples with adjustments to the Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP) and the potential rise of private or delayed listings.

On the revenue front, CoStar continued its lengthy run of double-digit growth, posting a gain of 12% year-over-year. Net income took a hit, however, with the company reporting a loss of $15 million for the quarter, due in part to the completion of its $1.6 billion acquisition of Matterport.

While Florance noted that the Homes.com network, which also includes the Apartments and Land networks, was "the second largest in the industry in the United States" with 104 million average monthly unique visitors in the first quarter, that's down from March 2024, when the network had 156 million monthly unique visitors and Homes.com alone accounted for 110 million unique visitors.

Offering 'a superior product'

Florance has long been critical of Zillow and others for what he refers to as their "lead diversion models" — versus Homes.com's promoted listings model — and he recently spoke out against Zillow's new listing standards, saying the portal had "overplayed its hand."

"Homes.com is based on the premise that the most important thing a portal can do is to market a property for sale," said Florance. "I feel that over the next two to four years we can take a solid and very valuable leadership position in the industry with a superior product and aggressive marketing campaign."

He views the more flexible CCP and changing attitudes around NAR's no-commingling policy as key dynamic shifts. "You've got people beginning to question where they want their listings to go and when they want them to go there," Florance said.

Key numbers

Revenue: $732 million in the first quarter, up 12% year-over-year. 

Cash and cash equivalents: $3.68 billion at the end of Q1, down from $4.68 billion at the end of 2024.

Gross profit: $578.9 million in Q1, up from $515.2 million a year ago.

Net income: A loss of $15 million in Q1, down from a $7 million gain a year ago. One big reason for the loss was the completion of Matterport acquisition.

EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization): A $1 million loss in Q1, down from a $12 million gain a year ago.

Website traffic: The Homes.com network had 104 million average monthly unique visitors in the first quarter of 2025. In March 2024 Homes.com had 110 million unique visitors. The company also reported that unaided consumer awareness grew to 36%, up from just 4% before the February 2024 marketing launch.

Notable moves

CoStar completed its acquisition of Matterport in February, with Florance describing the product as "the best way to present physical real estate spaces online and transform them into data," adding that the company plans "to deploy Matterport across CoStar Group and meaningfully expand this unique data set."

In April, CoStar and Realtor.com agreed to dismiss a trade secrets lawsuit that kept the rivals in court for much of 2024, and a week later, CoStar announced a "refreshment" of its board, prompted by pressure from investors who wanted to see an increased focus on Homes.com profitability.

Looking ahead, Homes.com plans to roll out a marketing product for builders in July. Florance said new construction is an attractive market, as it represents around 20% of all homes sold.

"Yet, there's no great single place for the consumer to go and find all the available new communities," Florance said. "Building a site with full inventory of available new homes would be a very valuable option for both consumers and the industry."