Zillow adds iMessage support to its iPhone, iPad apps

Zillow has just announced the launch of an iOS 10-centric update to its flagship app, now featuring iMessage App Store support. This new iMessage app allows users to quickly access and share photos and information about a home's key features through text messages with friends – all without leaving the messaging screen.

According to the Zillow Group Report on Consumer housing Trends, home shopping is a shared activity, with 86 percent of people co-shopping with a spouse or partner, and 13 percent with a friend or other family member. Zillow for iMessage is designed to fit into the browsing behavior of today's shoppers, who are increasingly searching for homes on their smartphone with the help of their family and friends. In November alone, home shoppers clicked to share homes via text over 1.68MM times in the Zillow iOS app.

"Millennials, the largest segment of home shoppers today, bring a deeply social approach to finding a new home unlike anything we've seen with the other generations," said Jeremy Wacksman, Zillow chief marketing officer. "They bring all the available tools into the process, including their smartphones, social media and their personal network. This new iMessage feature brings Zillow's visual search experience alive in a text, giving home shoppers a faster, more delightful way to share the homes they love with family and friends."

With the iMessage App, home shoppers on Zillow can:

• Immediately access and browse through Recently Viewed and Saved Homes tabs quickly and easily while on the go
• Instantly share property photos of for sale and for rent homes, home facts, sales history and Zestimate details with friends and family
• Share, confer, and coordinate the home search process all without leaving the text conversation

The new iMessage feature was created during Zillow's November Hack and Innovation Week events. Hack Week is a Zillow tradition, held three to four times per year, when all Zillow employees are invited to dedicate their time to dream up and innovate special projects of their choice. Tapping into the talented minds within the company, this event has seeded some of the most innovative products and enhancements on mobile and desktop including an app designed for real estate agents and a website feature that helps connect income-restricted renters with property managers. Now, only a few weeks after the event, the new iMessage App has gone live.

The Zillow app is available as a free download from the App Store on iPhone and iPad devices. Once downloaded, simply tap the app store logo within Messages, and turn on the Zillow iMessage app. Users will be able to immediately share their saved home searches instantly, anytime and anywhere.