Zillow named New York's official brokerage, though not in the traditional sense

StreetEasy's new Vice President of Real Estate Strategy and Operations is the Founder of RealDirect.

Zillow Group is now a licensed corporate broker in New York.

It’s part of a national growth strategy in which Zillow is getting itself licensed from coast to coast.

Viet Shelton, a spokesperson for Zillow, said in a statement:

“As we work to redefine how real estate is done, and create product improvements for consumers, brokers and agents on our platforms, we will be performing activity for which many states require a license.

“In order to cover these new services, Zillow has been working to get traditional brokerage licenses across the country, even though we aren’t operating as a classic, traditional brokerage."

He declined to comment on the specifics of any new services.

It’s not the Seattle-based listing giant’s first brokerage license.

In 2018, Zillow got licensed in Arizona at the behest of regulators as it was rolling out its instant homebuying service, Zillow Offers, which uses Premier Agents to broker deals. In a letter to regulators that August, the company said it is not looking to cut brokers out of the transaction and would not be using its license to operate as a “traditional brokerage.”

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