‘Flat housing market’ forces Zillow layoffs: Real estate company sheds 7% of jobs in second round of cuts this year

‘Flat housing market’ forces Zillow layoffs: Real estate company sheds 7% of jobs in second round of cuts this year

Wed, August 5, 2026 at 9:15 PM GMT+3 1 min read

Zillow plans to lay off "just over 500 employees," or about 7% of its workforce, as part of a company-wide restructuring. The Seattle-based online real estate company had 7,058 employees as of March 31.

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CEO Jeremy Wacksman made the announcement in a blog post on Tuesday, citing a "flat housing market" and "what is required of us to grow at scale."

"These changes are about ensuring we have a disciplined cost structure and getting more efficient, with the right people in the right positions," Wacksman said. "The opportunity in front of us is as large as it's ever been, and we're building toward it with urgency and a structure that will get us there."

The news comes as the digital real estate giant prepares to report second-quarter 2026 earnings on Wednesday after the closing bell.

The move marks Zillow's second round of layoffs this year, and the larger of the two. It previously cut 200 roles, or 3% of its workforce, in January, after a round of annual performance reviews.

Shares of Zillow Group Inc. (Nasdaq: Z) were trading down less than 1% on Wednesday afternoon.

Zillow and rival Compass are currently battling it out for dominance in the online real estate market. Last year, Compass, one of the largest brokerages in the country, filed a complaint against Zillow in New York federal court alleging Zillow was engaging in "anticompetitive tactics" and violating antitrust laws, Fast Company previously reported.

The current layoffs come after Zillow reported strong first-quarter earnings, with revenue up 18% year over year to $708 million, and net income growing to $46 million from $8 million a year earlier, GeekWire reported.

This post originally appeared at fastcompany.com
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