The Truth About Zillow’s Agent Rankings: What Buyers Should Know

How Zillow’s Agent Ranking Works

Zillow's Premier Agent Program allows real estate agents to pay for placement on listings — often listings they didn’t earn or represent. This means:

• When a buyer clicks “Contact Agent”, the Premier Agent(s) — not necessarily the listing agent — are shown.

• These agents pay Zillow for leads, and Zillow does not rank them by number of sales, client satisfaction, or local expertise.

• Even the “Best Match” filter on Zillow is heavily influenced by payment and not necessarily tied to real production.

⚠️ Why This Can Be Misleading

• A high-ranking agent on Zillow may not be the most experienced or successful in the area.

• Real sellers and buyers may assume they’re contacting the listing agent when they’re not.

• Some of the best agents (like your team, for example) may not appear at the top if they don’t participate in Zillow’s pay-to-play structure — even if they dominate actual sales volume.

✅ How to Find Top Performers For Real

To identify the actual top agents:

• Use MLS transaction data (volume, number of listings, etc.)

• Look at public sales reports or ask for proof of performance

• Check for Google reviews, not just Zillow reviews (which can be filtered)

• Visit brokerage sites like Keller Williams, Compass, or local boutique firms that show historical data

• Use RealTrends or HomeLight, which often rank agents based on production

🧠 Bottom Line

Zillow’s rankings are marketing-driven, not merit-based. Agents who show up first are often those who pay the most, not necessarily the most qualified.

Would you like help building a comparison chart or how to present this to a client (or explain why your team isn’t on top of Zillow)? I can write that up.