The Past, Present, and Future of Real Estate Discovery

The consumer experience of discovering apartments and homes has been largely unchanged for over a decade. What companies and technologies might change that?

Thesis Driven dives deep into emerging themes and real estate operating models by featuring operators executing on each theme. This week's letter is a guest post from Ehson Kolb, Founder at Co.Z. and Real Estate Investment Professional. It details the evolution, progression, and future of residential listing sites. 

The residential listing sector has experienced significant growth over the past two decades thanks to the emergence of platforms such as Zillow, Apartments.com, Streeteasy, and Trulia. While these platforms revolutionized the way people search for and find homes, the user experience and discovery process they offer has been largely unchanged for a number of years. This has paved the way for a new generation of residential listing sites challenging the status quo by offering new ways to improve the journey of finding a home.

This week, we will explore the evolution of residential listing sites, discuss the lackluster pace of innovation, introduce the new challengers and their unique approaches to catering to consumer needs, and provide insights into the future of residential listing and discovery sites.