Google home listings are back in 8 major markets 

Google is once again dipping its toe into home listings, signaling that a big new shift could be coming to the real estate industry amid what has already been a period of upheaval.

Real estate tech strategist Mike DelPrete, who was first to report on these listings late last year, flagged in a May 17 blog post that they are back on Google — in a limited capacity. The listings, which are powered by Google data partner HouseCanary, are live in a handful of markets but only available on mobile devices. The pilot program launched briefly in December before disappearing for the past few months.

HouseCanary Chief Revenue Officer Chris Rediger confirmed that a pilot program is in place. The program is going through various iterations, he noted, which include some market-specific pauses.

So far, HouseCanary is excited about the direction it's going in, Rediger added. "At the core, this is about creating a simpler, more direct home search experience for consumers while keeping agents at the center of the transaction. It also gives brokers greater visibility for their inventory and more control over how listings are distributed," he said.

Live in 8 markets: As of May 18, the pilot program is active in Chicago, Miami, Cleveland and Austin, Texas, as well as the greater San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego and New York markets. 

MLS involvement: The listings come from My State MLS, California Regional Multiple Listing Service and San Diego Multiple Listing Service. Many of the listings available through My State MLS are coming from eXp Realty.

A 'helpful' shift for agents: Back in March, eXp Realty CEO Leo Pareja confirmed a deal to offer its "Coming Soon" listings on Realtor.com, Homes.com and HouseCanary's ComeHome.com. He provided a bit more detail in a recent interview with Real Estate News.

For Pareja and eXp, the use of Google listings is part of a larger strategy to get the brokerage's listings in front of more buyers and sellers with the least amount of friction possible. It also ties into a wider company strategy on transparency, he said, which includes open sourcing eXp's forms without copyrights.

"I think you've seen pretty consistent behavior for us in the sense of, we want this (listings) in as many places as possible," Pareja said.

If Google listings take off beyond the pilot stage, Pareja said it would be a big deal for eXp agents and consumers. "I think it's helpful in a listing presentation when our agents can show that our listings appear in all the possible places," he said. "I think when a seller is hiring an agent, the marketing strategy and where the property appears is very important."

How we got here: When the pilot program surfaced in December, there was concern among some industry leaders about how its introduction would impact home search portals. While some believe the concern is overblown for the near term, others worry that an expansion of Google's product could bring long-term risk.

As for Pareja, he thinks all portals offer something different — and doesn't anticipate a winner-take-all scenario in which one company achieves market dominance. "When anyone competes, I think it creates a better experience," he said.

Meanwhile, DelPrete believes Google's test gives brokerages more options and keeps the agent at the center of the transaction while connecting them directly to consumers. "When agents and brokers can multi-home their listings, distributors begin to compete on value — with power starting to flow back to whoever owns the listing," DelPrete wrote.

Real Estate News has reached out to CRMLS for comment.