Zillow Leads Costs and How to Find Qualified Leads in 2025

If you’re a real estate agent or mortgage pro in 2025, you already know Zillow is the digital watering hole where buyers, sellers, and lenders gather. It’s not just a website—it’s practically the town square for American real estate. With over , Zillow’s reach is so vast that if you’re not fishing for leads there, you’re probably missing out on the biggest catch of the year. But here’s the catch (pun intended): finding qualified leads on Zillow is a whole different ballgame. Between sky-high lead costs, endless copy-pasting, and the wild goose chase for real phone numbers, it’s easy to feel like you’re running on a hamster wheel.

I’ve spent years in SaaS and automation, and I’ve seen firsthand how agents and teams burn hours wrangling Zillow data—only to end up with a handful of “tire kickers” and a spreadsheet full of typos. That’s why I’m excited to walk you through the real costs of Zillow leads, where to find the best ones, and how tools like can help you work smarter (and maybe even get your weekends back). Let’s break down the numbers, the strategies, and the tech that’ll help you win the Zillow lead game in 2025.

Zillow Leads: What Are They and Why Do They Matter?

When we talk about “Zillow leads,” we’re talking about real people—buyers, sellers, and borrowers—who raise their hand on Zillow and say, “Hey, I’m interested.” These aren’t just random internet clicks; they’re folks actively looking to buy, sell, or finance a home. And in 2025, that’s gold.

Types of Zillow Leads

• Buyer Leads: Home shoppers who click “Contact Agent” or “Request a Tour.” Zillow verifies their interest and connects them to agents, usually through the .
• Seller Leads: Homeowners thinking about selling—often found via the “Owner Dashboard,” home valuation pages, or FSBO (For Sale By Owner) listings.
• Mortgage Leads: Borrowers looking for financing, often funneled through Zillow’s or the “Get Pre-Qualified” button.

Why do these leads matter? Because Zillow is where most home buyers start their journey (). If you’re not connecting with them early, you’re probably chasing after leads who’ve already talked to three other agents.

Breaking Down Zillow Lead Costs in 2025

Let’s talk dollars and sense. Zillow leads don’t come cheap, and the pricing structure is…well, let’s just say it’s more complicated than your average mortgage disclosure.

How Zillow Charges for Leads

Zillow Premier Agent uses a market-based pricing model. You’re not paying a flat fee per lead; instead, you buy a “share of voice” in specific ZIP codes. The cost depends on:

• Local home values
• Demand in that ZIP
• Competition from other agents
• How many leads you want

Average Costs (2025 Benchmarks)

In hot markets like San Francisco or NYC, agents have reported paying up to $450–$500 for a single lead. Meanwhile, in smaller towns, you might snag leads for $20 a pop. But don’t get too excited—Zillow’s monthly budgets often start around $1,000 in major metros, and can easily climb to $2,500–$4,000 or more ().

Premier Agent Pricing Tiers (Sample)

Note: These are sample numbers. In competitive ZIPs, $300 might only get you a handful of leads.

Flex Program

Zillow Flex is a “pay when you close” model—no upfront cost, but Zillow takes a referral fee (often 35–40% of your commission) when a deal closes (). It’s invite-only and can be a hefty price if you’re successful.

Mortgage Leads

For lenders, Zillow’s mortgage leads typically cost $75–$120 each, but can range from $30 to $300+ depending on loan size and exclusivity ().

Where to Find Qualified Real Estate Leads on Zillow

Okay, so you know what you’re paying for. But where do you actually find the best leads on Zillow? Here’s where agents and lenders get the most bang for their buck (and their time):

Main Sources of Zillow Leads

1. Property Listings (including FSBO)
2. Open House Pages
3. Agent Directory
4. Mortgage Information Pages

Let’s break these down.

Sourcing Buyer and Seller Leads from Property Listings

Property listings are the bread and butter of Zillow lead gen. Here’s how to approach them:

For Sale By Owner (FSBO) Listings

• Seller Leads: FSBO listings often display the owner’s phone number right on the page. For example, a Florida FSBO might say, “Property Owner (656) 207-2178” (). Even if the description says “no realtors,” a motivated seller may change their mind if the home sits unsold.
• Buyer Leads: Open houses on FSBOs are a great way to meet unrepresented buyers. If you’re a mortgage broker, you can reach out to FSBO owners and offer to help any buyers who need financing.

Agent-Listed Properties

• Buyer Leads: Look for listings with lots of “saves” and recent activity—these signal high buyer interest.
• Seller Leads: Listings with high “days on Zillow” and multiple price cuts often mean a motivated seller who might be open to a new agent.

What to Look For

• Days on Zillow: Older listings = more motivated sellers.
• Price Cuts: Multiple reductions = owner might be ready for help.
• Views and Saves: High numbers = lots of buyer interest.
• Owner’s Remarks: Read the description for clues about openness to agents.

Uncovering Mortgage Leads and Contact Information

Zillow’s mortgage section is a goldmine for lenders and agents who want to partner up.

• Mortgage Marketplace: Borrowers click “Get Pre-Qualified” and become leads for lenders ().
• Lender Finder: Users can search for local lenders and see profiles and reviews.
• Contact Info: FSBO listings often display owner phone numbers—prime for outreach.

If you’re a lender, you can also use the agent directory to find top-performing agents and offer your services as a preferred lender.

The Challenge: Manual Lead Collection and Its Pitfalls

Here’s where things get real. Most agents spend hours each week copying and pasting Zillow data into spreadsheets. It’s like the world’s least fun game of “Where’s Waldo?”—except instead of finding Waldo, you’re hunting for phone numbers and hoping you didn’t transpose a digit.

Why Manual Lead Collection Is a Headache

• Time-Consuming: Even at a few minutes per listing, building a list of 50–100 leads can eat up hours.
• Error-Prone: Manual data entry has about a —that’s one wrong phone number or email for every hundred fields.
• Data Gets Stale: Zillow updates constantly. Your spreadsheet is outdated the minute you finish it.
• It Doesn’t Scale: The more ZIP codes you cover, the more overwhelming it gets.
• It’s Boring: Let’s be honest—copy-pasting is nobody’s dream job.

I’ve seen agents burn out on this grind, and I get it. That’s why automation is the secret weapon for anyone serious about scaling their Zillow lead gen.

How Thunderbit AI Web Scraper Transforms Zillow Lead Generation

Now, let’s talk about how to work smarter. At , we built an AI-powered Chrome extension designed to make Zillow lead collection as easy as ordering takeout. Here’s how it works (and why agents love it):

AI “Suggest Fields” and Subpage Scraping

• AI Suggest Fields: Thunderbit’s AI reads the Zillow page and automatically suggests which data fields to extract—address, price, owner name, phone number, you name it. No need to set up custom scrapers for every page.
• Consistent Data Structure: Whether you’re scraping FSBOs, agent listings, or mortgage leads, Thunderbit outputs the same clean columns every time.
• Subpage Scraping: Need more details? Thunderbit can automatically click into each listing, grab the extra info (like owner phone numbers), and add it to your table. No more clicking back and forth.

Check out our Zillow Property Scraper template for a quick start.

Automating Lead Collection with Scheduled Scraper

• Scheduled Scraper: Set Thunderbit to automatically scrape Zillow every day, week, or whatever schedule you want. Wake up to a fresh list of leads—no manual work required.
• Use Cases: Daily FSBO updates, price monitoring, new listing alerts, you name it.

Data Accuracy and Formatting

• No Typos: Thunderbit pulls data straight from Zillow’s HTML, so you avoid the copy-paste blues.
• Smart Formatting: Phone numbers, addresses, and other fields are formatted consistently—ready for outreach or import into your CRM.

Free Contact Detail Extraction

• Phone/Email Extractors: Grab phone numbers or emails from any Zillow page in one click. Super handy for those quick “just need the number” moments.

Pre-built Templates

• Zillow Templates: Use our pre-built templates for property search, property details, and more. These are updated as Zillow changes, so you don’t have to worry about maintenance.

Exporting and Organizing Zillow Leads for Outreach

Collecting leads is only half the battle—you need to organize and act on them.

• One-Click Export: Send your data to Excel, Google Sheets, Airtable, or Notion for free. No paywall, no hassle.
• CRM Integration: Import your leads into your CRM (like Follow Up Boss, Top Producer, Salesforce) for follow-up and drip campaigns.
• Team Collaboration: Share Google Sheets with your team for live updates. With scheduled scraping, your inside sales agent can have a fresh list every morning.

Pro Tip: Use Zillow’s unique listing IDs (zpid) as a key in your CRM to avoid duplicates and keep your database clean ().

Maximizing ROI from Zillow Premier Agent and Lead Generation Tools

Let’s get down to brass tacks: how do you turn all these leads into closed deals (and make sure you’re not just burning cash)?

Conversion Strategies

• Speed to Lead: Respond within 5 minutes—Zillow’s own data shows conversion rates drop sharply after 30 minutes ().
• Use the ALM Script: Appointment, Location, Motivation. Always aim to set a meeting, learn where else they’re looking, and understand their “why.”
• Leverage Zillow Tools: Use the Premier Agent app for instant responses and client insights.
• Personalize Outreach: Reference something specific from the listing (“Love that golf course view you mentioned!”) to show you’re not just robo-dialing.
• Co-Marketing: Partner with a lender to share ad costs and appear as a team on Zillow (just follow RESPA rules).

Track Your ROI

• Measure Everything: Track how many leads you contact, how many respond, how many become clients, and how many close.
• Adjust Spend: If a ZIP code isn’t converting, reallocate your budget.
• Continuous Improvement: Use feedback and data to refine your approach.

Real-World ROI Examples

• An agent in Connecticut spent ~$19,000 on Zillow ads and closed 15 deals, netting a .
• Another spent $20,000/month in a high-end market and closed $2.3M in volume in one month ().
• But if you spend $1,000 and close just one $5,000 commission, after splits and taxes, you might be in the red. Always know your numbers.

Key Takeaways: Smarter Zillow Lead Generation in 2025

• Zillow is the #1 real estate lead source in the U.S., but leads are expensive and competition is fierce.
• Qualified leads come from property listings (especially FSBOs), open house pages, mortgage info, and agent directories.
• Manual lead collection is slow, error-prone, and doesn’t scale. Automation is the way forward.
• makes scraping, organizing, and updating Zillow leads a breeze—with AI-powered field suggestions, subpage scraping, scheduled jobs, and free exports to your favorite tools.
• Maximize ROI by responding fast, personalizing your outreach, tracking every lead, and continuously refining your strategy.

FAQ: Zillow Leads & Smart Automation in 2025

1. How much do Zillow leads cost in 2025?
   Average costs range from $139–$223 per lead, but in hot ZIPs, agents report $450+. Premier Agent spend often starts at $1,000/month and goes up fast.

2. Where can I find the best Zillow leads?
   Top sources include FSBO listings (owner phone numbers!), open house pages, and mortgage pre-qual forms.

3. Why is manual Zillow scraping so painful?
   It’s slow, error-prone, and doesn’t scale. Zillow updates constantly—your spreadsheet’s outdated before you finish it.

4. How does Thunderbit help?
   Thunderbit automates Zillow scraping with AI field detection, subpage clicking, and scheduled updates. Export to Sheets/CRM in seconds, no coding needed.

5. Tips to boost ROI?
   Respond fast (within 5 min), personalize outreach, track every lead, and adjust budget by ZIP. Co-market with lenders to split costs.

Further Reading & Sources:

If you’re ready to stop copy-pasting and start closing more deals, give a try. Your future self (and your commission checks) will thank you.

For more tips and deep dives on scraping and automating real estate data, check out the , including guides like and .