Shakeup at Costar/Homes.com - possibly exiting the residential market?21451
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JamesG private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Was curious if people had seen this.. Third Point Sends Letter to Board of Directors of CoStar Group Pretty scathing rebuke of Costar leadership and direction the company has been headed. Anyone have any insights or thoughts regarding how this shift might impact the future of the real estate media industry? Also, how might this impact the future of Matterport (considering it was acquired by Costar last year)? |
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 WGANStandard Member Osaka, Japan |
Meidansha private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Thanks for the share | ||
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 WGAN StandardMember Las Vegas |
VTLV private msg quote post Address this user | |
| "the value of CoStar’s world-class core commercial real estate (CRE) business franchise. As outlined below, there is an opportunity to unlock substantial shareholder value by improving governance, divesting or shutting down the RRE businesses, and refocusing on the enormous earnings potential of the core business." - Wouldn't be surprised to see Matterport up for sale again. | ||
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selder76 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Costar is so stupid dabbling in the residential real estate market. It's just too small overall trying to nickel and dime Realtors. My hope is that Matterport (within Costar) attempts to truly use their existing providers to provide residential real estate for priority placement of listings on their site. Win, win. | ||
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WGAN Standard Member Osaka, Japan |
Meidansha private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Matterport does a lot of business for entities that use commercial real estate (retail chains etc.). That said, it is typically used for internal purposes, not for listings. For real estate media professionals who assist in listings this is probably not a favourable turn of events. The Third Point letter points out that MLS listings are free so it is not lucrative to invest in an already saturated residential listing market. Costar must think otherwise, as it took over Matterport to deliver higher quality listings. Wait and see how much support Third Point gets from the other investors. If CoStar has not answered them since December then it is unlikely that the management will budge just because they were called “feckless”. |
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vrephoto private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I'm ignorant about this kind of thing at this level, but it must be so annoying to have some outsider ivester(s) telling you how to run the business you're in charge of. No one's forcing you to own the stock. Would Costar really make changes that big just because some investors are complaining? Although I do wonder what did they spend 5 billion dollars on over the past 5 years? | ||
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WGAN Standard Member Osaka, Japan |
Meidansha private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @vrephoto They are called “activist investors”. They find a company with idle funds or assets that could be sold. Then they encourage the other investors to side with them in return for forcing changes to management. If the other stockholders are moved to agree with Three Point, they will force Three Point’s choice of directors to the board at the annual stock holder’s meeting. The new board will move to fire the CEO. A new CEO will be installed and will begin cutting costs and paying dividends etc. to stockholders (Three Point). It forces Florence to talk with the major shareholders to make sure he has the numbers to see Three Point’s threat out the door. |
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selder76 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @Meidansha Elaborate on how you see this as an unfavorable turn of events for real estate photographers. | ||
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WGAN Standard Member Osaka, Japan |
Meidansha private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @selder76 To clarify, there are no real estate photographers in Japan (or very few anyway). I see this as unfavorable for photographers in the US, only if Third Point gets the numbers to force changes to CoStar's business model. I have no idea what the shareholder make up of CoStar is like but obviously Daniel Loeb (Third Point) thinks he can swing it so he has taken a stake. At the moment Matterport was lucky to find a buyer in CoStar (as I see it). I hoped that would encourage Matterport's Japan office to encourage the Japanese version of MLS to accept virtual tours (they don't and Matterport's Japan office doesn't seem to be trying). However, if CoStar is forced out of Residential RE by its ownership, Matterport will be back on the market again. That is why I don't see it as favourable to US real estate Photographers. I myself use Matterport for just about everything except real estate listings. Archiving heritage listed buildings, public venue virtual tours, interactive exhibits etc. I wish there was a residential real estate photography market here (in Japan) to fill the down season outside of big business and municipal government busy times. |
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selder76 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| That seems a little too doom and gloom in my opinion. If Matterport is sold, analysts will see they already have a profitable business model within US markets (albeit by price gouging those of us that use the system). So the only thing I could see is a different pricing structure instituted to maintain profitability across an inevitable restructure and reduction in jobs. Either way, doesn't frighten me in the least as a US provider. Worst case scenario we're left with some pricey Pro3 paperweights and we move to another provider. | ||
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WGAN Standard Member Osaka, Japan |
Meidansha private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Well put @selder76 ! I would hope that Matterport, if sold again and bought by a buyer for the platform, that Matterport would abandon Capture Services and save the money to spend on improving its platform and service for photographers and for big clients that use Matterport in-house. However, there are a lot of "if"s involved in that so, to be realistic I hope first that Daniel Loeb and Third Point fail to get the numbers and Andy Florence contiues integrating Matterport into CoStar while improving Matterport's focus on improving the quality of real estate listing. The last year has seen a lot of improvements with Matterport's platform in both appeal for real estate listings (like the plug in features that Chris Hickman and his team have implemented similar to Chris's work at MPEmbed) and also on the large scan side like merging features etc. I'd like to think that this happened because Matterport's partnership with CoStar meant they didn't have to waste time selling the service and could concentrate on the platform. |
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 WGAN FanCLUB Member Coeur d'Alene, Idaho |
lilnitsch private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Real Estate Media Is Shifting — Here’s How I’m Advising Agents Right Now Over the past few years, real estate tech platforms have poured billions into residential tools, portals, and “one-size-fits-all” solutions. Recently, we’ve started to see a clear shift: more scrutiny, tighter budgets, and a stronger focus on what actually delivers ROI. For agents, this doesn’t mean less media — it means smarter media decisions. Not every listing needs the same tools. A starter home, a move-up property, a luxury listing, or a relocation-driven sale all benefit from different approaches. My role isn’t to push one platform or product — it’s to help agents choose the right mix of photography, video, floor plans, and 3D tours based on: • price point • buyer profile (local vs. out-of-area) • days-on-market strategy • and overall marketing goals Sometimes that’s a fast, lightweight 3D tour. Sometimes it’s a full Matterport experience. Sometimes it’s neither — and storytelling visuals matter most. As the market evolves, clarity matters more than ever. If you want a second opinion on what media actually makes sense for your listings this year, I’m always happy to talk through it — no pressure, no upsell. Smart marketing beats more marketing. Every time. |
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WGAN Fan CLUB Member Coeur d'Alene, Idaho |
lilnitsch private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Honestly, I’m still surprised how few LoopNet listings use Matterport or even simple 360° tours. I regularly talk with people who’ve never seen one before — which says a lot about where the market actually is. |
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selder76 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @lilnitsch Amen to this. To many people try to do a one size fits all approach and the "service" side of our industry truly is finding what will showcase the property the best for the agent. About the only thing EVERY listing needs is photos. From there, adding tours, aerials, video walkthroughs, etc...is our job to educate the consumer on the added value. Couldn't agree more. | ||
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WGAN Standard Member Osaka, Japan |
Meidansha private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @lilnitsch so true. Even now after 7 years doing this I get at least one person a month who says "Hey, what is that?". | ||
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threeninemedia private msg quote post Address this user | |
| $5B invested in Homes.com with essentially nothing to show for it… wow. But honestly, that outcome was expected. From the outside, it always felt like there was no clear strategy beyond “let’s beat Zillow.” That approach rarely works, and definitely not this time. I don’t think this will meaningfully impact real estate media agencies like ours, simply because Homes.com never really affected the market in the first place. The main thing they tried was offering free Matterport tours to agents, which didn’t change much on the ground. As for Matterport’s future, I personally see two likely paths: 1. CoStar sells it to another corporation that will try to reposition or reinvent the platform 2. They keep it, but with reduced investment and slower innovation We actually stopped offering Matterport a while ago due to its pricing model and a fairly limited feature set. We’ve since switched to Realsee and Giraffe360, and honestly don’t see many advantages of Matterport for residential listings anymore. At this point, the biggest “advantage” Matterport has is name recognition — many realtors still call any 3D tour “a Matterport,” or even better… “Matterhorn”  |
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WGAN Fan CLUB Member Coeur d'Alene, Idaho |
lilnitsch private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @selder76 Exactly. Photos are table stakes — and at a minimum, they’re required just to get a listing into the MLS. I shoot a wide range of properties, from REO and entry-level homes to multi-million-dollar listings, and while every property needs strong photography, not every property needs the same supporting media. That said, I strongly believe in including some form of floor plan and 360° tour whenever it makes sense. Both help the general public understand how a home actually lays out, and they’re incredibly useful for investors evaluating scope, flow, and renovation potential. Too often, people try to force a one-size-fits-all approach. The real service side of this industry is helping agents choose what will showcase a specific property best. Photos are the baseline. From there, adding tours, aerials, video walkthroughs, etc. becomes an education conversation around value — not a checklist. Couldn’t agree more. I have had 3 recent properties that agents have said were tear-downs and just focus on the land. I shot my basic package on each of them (that includes a Zillow 3D home tour) all 3 were under contract in a matter of days with buyers keeping & remodeling the homes. |
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