Zillow Z is expanding its role in the housing market by helping renters build stronger credit histories through on-time rent reporting. Since launching its free rent-reporting program in 2024, Zillow has reported more than 1.78 million rent payments to major credit bureaus. In July 2026 alone, more than 78,000 renters had payments reported, which rose 26% year over year and marked the highest monthly total since the program began.
Zillow is broadening the reach of the program through CreditClimb, launched in November 2025 and powered by Esusu. The tool enables renters to report rent payments even when they do not pay rent directly through Zillow. According to the cited data, renters consistently using Esusu-powered programs have experienced an average 53-point increase in credit scores.
Zillow is also connecting renters with tools such as BuyAbility and information on down-payment assistance. This creates a more connected journey in which consumers can move from renting and establishing credit to assessing affordability and eventually purchasing a home.
Final Take on Zillow
As more renters become financially prepared for homeownership, Zillow could gain additional opportunities to monetize these users across multiple stages of the housing journey. The initiative could support engagement, deepen customer relationships and enhance Zillow's brand as a platform that not only helps consumers find homes but also become financially ready to buy one.
However, higher lead acquisition, advertising and legal costs can delay margin expansion for Zillow, impacting its performance.
Over the past three months, shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have declined 3.8% compared with the industry’s fall of 1.2%.
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Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked stocks from the broader REIT sector are Digital Realty Trust DLR and OUTFRONT Media OUT, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DLR’s 2026 FFO per share has been revised upward marginally to $8.40 over the past month.
The consensus estimate for OUT’s 2026 FFO per share has moved 1.3% upward over the past week to $2.32.
Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO), a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.
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Zillow Group, Inc. (Z): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).