Zillow vs CoStar: Why Listing Agents Now Need TWO 3D Tours

Real estate portals are in a full-on turf war, and agents are the ones paying the tab.In S1E7 of The Blueprint, Ken and Katie break down the feud between CoStar Group and Zillow and why it suddenly got expensive (and annoying) to market listings the “right” way.At the center of it: 3D tours, API rules, and two giant companies fighting for more eyeballs… while listing agents get stuck buying two tours instead of one.In this episode, we cover:What a 3D / 360 tour actually is (and what buyers are really seeing)Why Matterport tours stopped showing on Zillow (and what that changes for listings)How this forces agents to run multiple tour systems (Zillow + non-Zillow) to maintain full portal distributionThe rise of homes.com and how it’s trying to compete with Zillow using media-heavy listings and ad distributionZillow’s new listing agent product Showcase and what it requires (pro photos + a Zillow 3D tour)A reality check on iPhone photos: when they’re “fine” and when they’re costing sellers moneyPractical advice for agents: what to buy, what to outsource, and how to stop bleeding cash per listingWhy this probably won’t “get resolved” — and how it could get worseA side quest into the future: portals, subscriptions, and how AI changes the marketing gameMentioned in the episode: Realtor.com, Redfin, Trulia, Apartments.com, LoopNet, Dotloop, Follow Up Boss, Compass, PG&E, SMUD.#realestatepodcast #zillow #costar #matterport #homesdotcom #realestatemarketing #listingagent #realestatephotography #theblueprint