HouseCanary is driving the expansion of Google’s real estate ad formats, but analysts say inventory, lead routing and MLS participation remain key tests.
Google will roll out home listing ads nationwide, expand its HouseCanary-powered format that displays property details within mobile search results and allows consumers to connect with local agents, the search giant announced Thursday.
In a short blog post, Google said it is rolling out enhanced local service ads for residential listings in all 50 states, following a limited pilot in eight markets that began last year. The expanded format uses listing data powered by HouseCanary to display property details such as price, images, and key home features.
Google says buyers will be able to call, send messages and schedule appointments with local agents directly from the ad. Agents who are already using Local Services Ads will automatically start showing up, but new agents can sign up. Google also said portal partners can enroll agents through its Managed Partner Program.
HouseCanary separately announced Thursday that the expansion will allow broker home listings from participating MLSs to appear directly in Google’s mobile search results across the United States. The company framed this program as a way for brokers and agents to gain enhanced listing visibility, direct brand attribution, and click-to-contact capabilities through MLS-sourced listings.
“As the real estate market faces unprecedented fragmentation, this program provides brokers and agents with a simple and easy way to help more buyers find listings on the MLS, the industry’s most verified and comprehensive source of information,” HouseCanary Chief Revenue Officer Chris Rediger said in the company’s announcement.
Google moves beyond pilots
The move marks a significant step beyond the previous Google-HouseCanary pilot, which was limited to the Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York City, Austin, Chicago, Miami, and Cleveland.
In May, House Canary told Inman that three MLSs are providing listings to pilots: CRMLS, San Diego MLS and My State MLS. At the time, the company said the experience would remain in a limited pilot, rather than being fully available to the public. However, national expansion does not mean that a comprehensive listed inventory will be immediately available in all markets.
A HouseCanary spokesperson told Inman on Thursday that the program will be rolled out to more markets over the summer and eventually have full national coverage. HouseCanary said listing scope is dependent on MLS agreements, and that the only MLSs participating in the program at this time are CRMLS, San Diego MLS, and MyState MLS.
MLS members in participating countries can submit all listings to the program where the market is being held, a spokesperson said, adding that eXp Realty has done so. Other brokerages also participate through MLS feeds, but participation varies by MLS. Some MLS feeds are configured as broker opt-in, while others are configured as broker opt-out, a spokesperson said.
HouseCanary characterizes this model as a combination of listing distribution, local service advertising, lead generation, and agent advertising, effectively positioning it as a new discovery channel for buyers and a new visibility channel for brokers and agents.
A spokesperson said consumers can click on a listing agent in listing details to access a link to that agent’s email. Other calls to action, such as “Ask a Question” or “Request a Tour,” direct consumers to local services advertisers.
Is it a real threat or just another channel?
Mike Delpreto, a real estate industry analyst and intern at the University of Colorado Boulder, said Google’s expanded push into home listings is still important, even if it’s not an immediate existential threat to Zillow, Realtor.com, Homes.com and other portals.
“At a high level, I still think this is a big thing,” Del Preto told Inman in a conversation earlier this week, before Google and House Canary announced the national expansion. “No matter what business you’re in, if Google starts paying attention to it, by definition it’s going to be a big deal.”
Delprete, who first announced the pilot late last year, said the December test was a “false start” that took the industry by surprise and immediately raised questions about how House Canary captures and displays property data. But he said even before Thursday’s announcement, the relaunch looked more durable, especially as House Canary began working through its MLS contracts and brokerage participation.
“They’re not going to go away. They’re going to figure this out,” DelPrete said. “It takes four months, but five months later they’re back. The plumbing seems to be solid.”
DelPrete cautioned against viewing this development as a simple zero-sum battle for web traffic. He said consumers have access to multiple search portals. Buyers who see your listing on Google may still go to Zillow, Compass, Redfin, or another site. However, the relationship between consumer and agent is different.
“As soon as someone connects with an agent, likes the agent, the agent starts working for them and they sign a contract, it becomes zero-sum,” DelPrete said.
In that sense, Google may not really need to replace Zillow or other portals. Google may just need to insert itself early in the search and agent connection process. DelPrete likened the development to adding more housing to the power grid. One new connection may not be significant, but enough new connections can eventually cause the lights to flicker, he said.
“This is not about the existence of Zillow or any other portal,” DelPrete said. But when Google’s listing ads are considered alongside other industry changes, such as AI, national MLS initiatives, and ongoing battles over listing management, the compounding pressures become even harder to ignore, he added.
“This is one step away from Gemini and AI,” DelPrete said, referring to Google’s AI products. “Do you think HouseCanary and Google could do all these deals and just do a Google search?”
Inventory and lead routing questions
WAV Group managing partner Victor Lund expressed more skepticism about the product’s short-term impact in a conversation with Inman earlier this week ahead of Thursday’s announcement. He argued that Google’s biggest challenge remains the same since the last time the company tried to move deeper into real estate: access to comprehensive, sanctioned listing data.
Lund pointed to Google Base, an early 2000s product that allowed users to upload structured data to Google, as an early example of the company’s attempt to aggregate real estate listing information. He said portal sites never became significant competitors because most agents and brokers didn’t manage their own listing data at scale.
Lund said that if Google wants to display a comprehensive inventory of listings on its site, it will need to work through an entity that can properly access and license the data, or become an intermediary itself.
“Google displays listings on its website,” Rand said. “If you want to get a comprehensive data feed, you have to become a broker. Google is not a broker.”
This dynamic was at the heart of early industry concerns about the HouseCanary-Google pilot, including questions previously raised by Rand about whether the deal would extend beyond regular IDX displays. But Lund said CRMLS is taking an “innovative” approach by moving this arrangement to a separate data licensing structure, allowing participating brokers to receive licensing revenue when their data is used.
“They are not doing this without the express permission of the broker,” Rand said.
Still, Lund said the importance of wider rollout depends on whether the product creates a positive search experience for consumers and becomes a more affordable and effective lead source for agents and brokers. In markets with limited inventory, Google could benefit from higher rankings in search results, but could lose consumers if they perceive they aren’t seeing a comprehensive view of available homes, he said.
“Depending on your position on the page, you might get the first click, but you might not get the second click,” Rand said. “If you’re attending a public offering presentation, it looks great, but if you’re investing money, you want it to not only look great, but actually perform well.”
Lund also said the product sits within a larger debate about whether brokers should distribute their listings as widely as possible or be more intentional about where their listing data goes. The debate rages on amid battles over private listings, portal visibility, broker attribution, and control over listing data.
Lund said the longstanding position among brokers is that distribution of listings is permissible as long as listing brokers and listing agents receive clear attribution and consumer leads are not passed on.
“Give me your listing information and I’ll get it,” Rand said, summarizing the broker’s position. “This is my listing. Please do not place other agents. Please do not transfer customers to others.”
The expanded program sits between these models, with HouseCanary emphasizing MLS-sourced listings and listing agent attribution, and Google framing the product as a richer local services ad format. HouseCanary acknowledged Thursday that some consumer actions point toward listing agents, while others direct consumers to advertisers for local services ads.
As your program grows, split-lead wiring structures may become more important. But for now, both analysts said the industry should watch developments without assuming the outcome is already clear.
DelPrete said he sees no obvious reason why HouseCanary and Google won’t eventually gain access to listings on a par with other portals, but long-term consumer response remains uncertain.
“Nobody knows how this will play out for consumers,” Delpreto said. “Anyone who is confident about how this is going to play out is clearly joining the fight.”
Lund said the program is worth monitoring, but he wants to see evidence that it’s generating actual leads and consumer engagement before declaring it disruptive.
“This is definitely something the industry needs to monitor,” Rand said. “If Google offers a great solution for generating leads with listings, I think that’s the story people want to hear. I want to see the data.”
Update: This article was updated with additional context, interviews, and background after publication.
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