Connect with us

Technology

Zillow launches a personalized hub that guides home buyers from first search to closing

Published

on

Summer Launch 2026 introduces four new products to help buyers plan, finance and find a home, and give sellers more exposure before their listing goes live

SEATTLE, June 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Today, Zillow® is launching a personalized hub that guides home buyers through every step of their purchase in real time. In addition, three new features have been designed to give buyers and sellers more clarity at every stage of the transaction.

The median home search for a buyer takes from three to four months, involves countless conversations with an agent and lender, and culminates in gathering documents at a few days’ notice, all while tracking a budget on a spreadsheet. It’s a process that moves more than half of buyers to tears, according to Zillow research. And today’s market conditions aren’t making it any easier. Buyers, nearly half of whom are first-timers, are navigating a market where the housing recovery is “back on pause,” with mortgage rates climbing past 6.5%, adding more uncertainty to an already complex process.

Now, Zillow is giving buyers a clearer path forward: a single place where everything comes together. The new personalized hub guides buyers through four milestones: setting a budget, finding a home, making an offer and closing the deal. It brings together goals, finances, tasks, documents, and the agent and lender a buyer is working with, all in one place. And all of those details update automatically as the journey evolves, so buyers always know where they stand and what to do next.

“Zillow has spent 20 years turning on the lights in real estate, giving buyers and sellers access to information they’d never had before,” said Jeremy Wacksman, Zillow’s chief executive officer. “The next frontier is the journey itself: the financing, the coordination, the offer, the closing. For the first time, every home shopper on Zillow has a single place that brings it all together, so instead of wondering what comes next, they always know exactly where they are and what to do.”

Personalized moving hub: A clear path from first search to closing
Home shoppers start by answering a single question, “Are you buying, selling, both, or just browsing?” From there, they receive a personalized plan.

The hub immediately displays:

BuyAbility℠: This personalized, real-time affordability tool helps buyers understand the range of home prices and monthly payments that may fit their financial situation. They can then use that guidance to shop for homes that are realistically within reach. That information is updated with live mortgage rates.Local market insights: This includes market conditions, median days to pending, active listings and a one-year price forecast.The shopper’s team: If a buyer is already working with an agent and loan officer, those contacts are given in this view. If the buyer doesn’t have a team, the hub brings up Agent Finder to connect them with an agent in their area.

From there, buyers are guided through four milestones: setting a budget, finding a home, making an offer and closing the deal. The hub shows buyers which areas to focus on and lists the steps to follow below each milestone. Progress is updated automatically — when a buyer gets pre-approved, the hub moves forward; when they go under contract, closing tasks appear.

The hub is available now on iOS and Android, and will be coming soon to Zillow.com.

Three additional Summer Launch features give buyers and sellers the tools to plan their move
Zillow’s Summer Launch goes beyond offering the personalized moving hub with the addition of three new features designed to help buyers and sellers move forward during those moments that matter most.

“Every feature in our Summer Launch was designed around a specific moment when buyers lose clarity or momentum,” said Christopher Roberts, chief product officer at Zillow. “The hub gives buyers confidence by making a complex process easier. The shared collection feature helps partners collaborate on their home search, and the ability to shop with Verified Pre-approval shows buyers what they can actually afford on every listing, not just the list price. Zillow Preview opens the pre-market to every buyer, not just those in a certain network. Together, these features remove the friction that makes the home-buying process so hard.”

Zillow Preview
Zillow PreviewSM gives soon-to-be sellers the opportunity to hire an agent to show their listing to the broadest online audience possible before it actually goes on the market. During this window, the home appears in every buyer’s regular Zillow search, with a Preview label.

Buyers can now filter specifically for Preview listings. Once they find a home they’re interested in, they can save it, pre-book a tour or use the time to get pre-approved — signals that indicate serious buyer interest. Sellers get real-time engagement data on views, saves and tour requests to refine their list price and strategy before their listing is fully active. Preview is available through more than 1,200 participating brokers nationwide.

With Zillow Preview, no private network is required. But sellers who decide to go the private-network route pay a price: They lose access to the full buyer pool and net 1.5% less on their sale, which could amount to more than $30,000 in high-cost markets, according to Zillow research. A Zillow survey conducted by The Harris Poll finds that 85% of soon-to-be sellers would be more likely to hire an agent who can show their listing to the broadest online audience before putting it on the market.

Shop with Zillow Home Loans Verified Pre-approval
Most buyers lack financial clarity when they start their home search. Only 28% of prospective buyers who plan to finance have been pre-approved before they begin their search, and about half don’t know what pre-approval means, according to Zillow research.

Now buyers have a way to shop with Zillow Home Loans Verified Pre-approval, with that pre-approval connected directly to a buyer’s home search. Buyers will clearly see whether a listing is a match or is out of their price range as they browse.

A home costs more than its list price. That’s why taxes, insurance, HOA fees and closing costs are factored into Verified Pre-approval, so buyers understand why a higher-priced home may still fit within their means, or a lower-priced one may not. Zillow Home Loans is the only lender to integrate financing directly into the home search in this way, with the buyer’s loan officer accessible throughout the process.

Shared collection
Most people buying a home aren’t doing it alone. More than half of buyers in 2025 purchased their home with a partner, according to Zillow research, and for most of them, coordinating their search consisted of texting screenshots and forwarding listing links. The new shared collection feature replaces that with a single shared workspace inside Zillow, where buying partners can save, organize and compare homes together in real time, with any update immediately visible to both people, across iOS, Android and the web.

Tech momentum at Zillow keeps growing
Today’s launch is the latest move by Zillow to streamline the home-buying process and build consumer confidence throughout the full transaction.

In summer 2025, the company introduced SkyTour, an interactive 3D exterior home tour built on Gaussian splatting technology originally developed by the gaming industry; and Offer Insights, a tool that shows buyers in real time how competitive different offer prices might be. In fall 2025, Zillow launched in-app messaging for co-shoppers, AI-powered virtual staging on ShowcaseSM listings, and an integrated closing dashboard, connecting the front end of the search with the back end of the transaction.

Earlier this year, Zillow launched Zillow AI mode, a conversational AI experience built directly into the app that lets buyers and renters ask questions in plain language, explore neighborhoods, compare affordability and book tours without leaving Zillow. Now available to a growing number of users, it will be expanding throughout the year.

About Zillow Group: 
Zillow Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: Z and ZG) is reimagining real estate to make home a reality for more and more people.

As the most visited real estate app and website in the United States, Zillow connects hundreds of millions of consumers with innovative technology, trusted agents and loan officers, and seamless digital solutions. With industry-leading tools and resources, Zillow supercharges real estate professionals so they can grow their businesses and deliver exceptional client experiences. For renters and housing providers, Zillow offers not only a robust marketplace but a set of end-to-end products and services to streamline applications, leases, payments and more.

Zillow’s ecosystem spans the entire home journey — from dreaming and shopping to renting, buying, selling and financing.

Zillow Group’s affiliates, subsidiaries and brands include Zillow®, Zillow Premier Agent®, Zillow Home Loans®, Zillow Rentals®, Zillow® New Construction, Trulia®, StreetEasy®, Out East®, HotPads®, Follow Up Boss®, ShowingTime® and dotloop®.

All marks herein are owned by MFTB Holdco, Inc., a Zillow affiliate. Zillow Home Loans, LLC is an Equal Housing Lender, NMLS #10287 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org). © 2026 MFTB Holdco, Inc., a Zillow affiliate.

(ZFIN)

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zillow-launches-a-personalized-hub-that-guides-home-buyers-from-first-search-to-closing-302807155.html

SOURCE Zillow

Continue Reading

Technology

Landis+Gyr Secures Major Contract with Leading US Utility

Published

on

By

CHAM, Switzerland and ALPHARETTA, Ga., Oct. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Landis+Gyr Group AG (SIX: LAND), a global energy technology leader driving intelligent innovation across the grid, today announced that it has secured a major contract with a leading US investor-owned electric utility. The agreement covers more than 3 million advanced metering endpoints.

Under the agreement, Landis+Gyr will provide Revelo meters and associated network and head-end system technologies, complemented by advanced security solutions, premium support, and software maintenance and services. The deployment is expected to advance the utility’s grid modernization objectives by enhancing security, grid visibility and operational performance.

“This important win reflects the strong momentum of our Grid Edge Intelligence portfolio and the trust customers place in Landis+Gyr to support large-scale grid modernization programs. By combining advanced metering, integrated technology, security and support capabilities, we look forward to helping this utility enhance grid visibility, reliability and operational performance,” said Peter Mainz, Chief Executive Officer of Landis+Gyr.

About Landis+Gyr

Landis+Gyr is a global energy technology leader, delivering intelligent solutions that connect devices, data, and decisions across the grid. Trusted by more than 2,000 utilities worldwide, we transform traditional devices into intelligent, networked sensors, giving utilities real-time grid visibility and system control. With these combined insights, electric, gas, and water companies can anticipate demand, optimize operations, and deliver energy that’s more reliable, resilient, accessible, safe, and sustainable for everyone. For more information, please visit our website www.landisgyr.com.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/landisgyr-secures-major-contract-with-leading-us-utility-302919687.html

Continue Reading

Technology

In HelloNation, Electrical Expert Sean McGahy Breaks Down How a Whole Home Surge Protector Works

Published

on

By

The Article Explains How This Type of System Protects a Home’s Electronics From Power Surges Throughout the Day.

WAKE FOREST, N.C., Oct. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — What does a whole home surge protector do? A HelloNation article answers that question and explains how this type of device defends a home’s wiring and electronics from voltage spikes.

The article explains that many power surges happen quietly throughout the day, often without anyone noticing. Large appliances such as air conditioners and refrigerators create small voltage spikes every time they cycle on and off.

According to the article, a whole home surge protector is installed directly at the electrical panel, where it can monitor voltage across the entire house. Unlike a power strip, which protects a single outlet, this device works at the source.

The article notes that modern homes rely on sensitive electronics, including smart thermostats, entertainment systems, and connected appliances. Repeated voltage fluctuations can damage this circuitry over time, even when a homeowner never notices it happening.

External surges from lightning strikes or utility grid fluctuations tend to be more severe than everyday cycling surges, the article explains. A whole home system is designed to respond quickly and redirect excess voltage away from a home’s circuits.

Installation is typically straightforward for a licensed electrician and does not usually require major changes to existing wiring, the article states. Many systems include indicators that let homeowners confirm the device is functioning properly.

The article points out that surge protectors are rated by how much energy they can absorb, often measured in joules. Homes with more electronics generally benefit from a protector with a higher rating.

A protector does not last forever, the article notes. Absorbing a large surge can wear down its internal components, even if the device still looks functional. Periodic testing by an electrician can confirm the system is still working as intended.

Electrical Expert Sean McGahy of Zar Electric is featured in the article. The article explains how periodic testing can confirm that a whole home surge protector is still providing the level of protection it was designed for.

The article adds that surge protection works best as one part of a broader approach to electrical safety. Homes should still have properly functioning breakers, updated wiring, and routine inspections alongside this added layer of defense.

Homes in areas prone to storms or frequent power fluctuations may see added value from this protection, the article notes. New construction offers a convenient time to add it, though retrofitting an existing home is described as achievable and usually quick.

The article notes that cost varies depending on the type of system installed and the complexity of a home’s existing electrical setup. Many homeowners view the expense as reasonable compared to the potential cost of replacing damaged electronics after a serious surge event.

Some insurance providers take note of these systems when evaluating a home’s overall risk profile, the article adds, though policies vary from carrier to carrier. This is described as one more reason homeowners weigh the value of this type of protection.

The article closes by noting that deciding whether this protection makes sense often comes down to a home’s electronics, its location, and a homeowner’s comfort level with risk. A licensed electrician can walk through these considerations before a final decision is made.

How Does Whole Home Surge Protection Safeguard Your Home? features insights from Sean McGahy, Electrical Expert of Wake Forest, North Carolina, in HelloNation.

About HelloNation

HelloNation is America’s Good News Network, a premier media platform built on the idea that good news travels faster when real people tell real stories. Through its community-focused digital publications and innovative “edvertising” approach, HelloNation delivers expert-driven, good-news content that informs, inspires, and spotlights the leaders making a meaningful impact in their communities.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/in-hellonation-electrical-expert-sean-mcgahy-breaks-down-how-a-whole-home-surge-protector-works-302919589.html

SOURCE HelloNation

Continue Reading

Technology

In HelloNation, Building Materials Expert Andy Maetzold Explains How Freeze-Thaw Cycles Affect Minnesota Homes

Published

on

By

The Article Shows How Moisture, Temperature Swings, and Hail Shape Material Choices for Roofs, Windows, Walls, and Decks.

WACONIA, Minn., Oct. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — How do freeze-thaw cycles damage a home in Minnesota? The answer appears in a HelloNation article that was newly published for homeowners choosing building materials for a cold climate. The article features insights from Building Materials Expert Andy Maetzold, a fourth-generation member of the family behind Mayer Lumber.

The HelloNation article explains that a Minnesota home faces a wider range of weather than houses in most of the country. Below-zero nights, humid summers, and hailstorms all test the products used to build and repair it.

According to the article, moisture often does more harm than cold by itself. Water seeps into small gaps, freezes overnight, and expands, and repeated freeze-thaw cycles slowly push joints and seams apart.

The article also notes that large temperature swings make many products expand in summer and shrink in deep cold. Materials installed without room to move can buckle, crack, or pull loose from their fasteners.

The roof takes more of this stress than any other part of the house, the article explains. Asphalt shingles remain the most common choice because they are affordable and familiar to most roofing crews. In areas that see hail, many homeowners look at impact-resistant shingles that earn a Class 4 rating.

The article points out that some insurance companies offer lower premiums for Class 4 roofs, though discount rules vary by insurer. Metal roofing is another option that sheds snow quickly, and snow guards are often added above doors and walkways.

Ice dams get special attention in the piece. The article explains that no shingle stops them alone, because the real cause is warm air leaking into the attic and melting snow on the upper roof. Air sealing, attic insulation, and steady ventilation deal with that heat directly.

Cold-climate building codes also call for an ice barrier membrane under the shingles along the eaves, according to the article. This layer helps keep backed-up water away from the roof deck and the ceilings below.

For windows, the article points readers to the National Fenestration Rating Council label and its U-factor, which measures how easily heat passes through the whole unit. A lower number means better insulation and a warmer glass surface on a January night.

The article compares double-pane windows with triple-pane units, which cut heat loss further but cost and weigh more. It also notes that vinyl and fiberglass frames insulate well, while aluminum frames need a thermal break to suit Minnesota winters.

Walls, decks, and lumber are covered as well. The article explains that house wrap and flashing protect wall framing from water, and that wood touching concrete or soil generally needs pressure treatment.

The insights from Building Materials Expert Andy Maetzold also address cost. The article encourages comparing the full life of a product rather than the purchase price alone, since a cheaper material that needs frequent repairs can cost more over 20 or 30 years.

Finally, the article advises checking with local building officials about code rules. It also stresses following manufacturer installation instructions, since many warranties depend on them.

How Do Freeze-Thaw Cycles Affect Building Materials in Minnesota? features insights from Andy Maetzold, Building Materials Expert of Waconia, Minnesota, in HelloNation.

About HelloNation

HelloNation is America’s Good News Network, a premier media platform built on the idea that good news travels faster when real people tell real stories. Through its community-focused digital publications and innovative “edvertising” approach, HelloNation delivers expert-driven, good-news content that informs, inspires, and spotlights the leaders making a meaningful impact in their communities.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/in-hellonation-building-materials-expert-andy-maetzold-explains-how-freeze-thaw-cycles-affect-minnesota-homes-302919645.html

SOURCE HelloNation

Continue Reading

Trending