The pandemic has made lusting after real estate, a phenomenon spoofed by Saturday Night Live in February, more popular than ever—which was great news for Zillow. America’s largest online real estate marketplace logged 9.6 billion visits to its website and app in 2020. Revenue surged, and in March, the company, led by CEO Rich Barton, announced plans to increase its workforce by 40%. Although Zillow has faced some growing pains—a recent lawsuit claims its platform illegally suppresses independent brokers, which the company denies—it continues to expand, including getting into the brokerage game.
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