By Shaina Mishkin
A pilot program by Alphabet's Google to provide home listings -- a move that spooked investors in competitors like Zillow Group, Rocket and CoStar Group last year -- is expanding in a big way.
Google said on Thursday that it is rolling out home listings in sponsored search results across all 50 states. Listings are provided through a partnership with the private real estate data platform HouseCanary , Google added.
It's the return of an old threat for housing services companies whose investors have long feared that a large technology company entering the space will take away business and market share.
The first time the test was reported in mid-December, the news sent Zillow, CoStar, and Rocket shares lower. As Benchmark analyst Daniel Kurnos wrote, and Barron's reported , at the time, "no one likes it when an 800-pound gorilla comes sniffing around."
( News Corp, which owns Barron's, also operates listings website Realtor.com through its Move subsidiary.)
The pilot program re-emerged this spring. "It reintroduces a familiar overhang around Google more directly entering the home search category -- an issue that has periodically resurfaced over time," KBW analyst Ryan Tomasello wrote in a late May report.
As of Wednesday, a user who encounters the ads by searching a term like "Homes for sale Austin" or "buy a house Miami" can click into a listing of a home for sale, swipe through photos, read basic facts, and tap a button to reach out to an agent who pays Google for the lead -- all from the Google search interface.
Such results were available in Cleveland, Miami, Chicago, Austin, New York, San Diego, Los Angeles, and the Bay area, according to HouseCanary.
Google said it will now start rolling out mobile search ads more broadly. "As buyers look for homes, this expanded format surfaces relevant property details -- such as pricing, images and core home features," Google says. "Buyers can then call, message or book an appointment with a local agent right from the ad."
This is breaking news. Check back soon for more analysis.
Write to Shaina Mishkin at shaina.mishkin@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 11, 2026 11:01 ET (15:01 GMT)
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