Building an agent-first future: Inside Homes.com’s scalable growth strategy

As the real estate industry undergoes rapid change, questions around listing display, agent attribution, and new technology are reshaping how consumers connect with agents. Andy Stearns,  Senior Vice President, Sales at Homes.com, speaks with us about building scalable teams, creating an agent-first platform, and how his experience leading growth at large organizations informs Homes.com’s go-to-market strategy.

HousingWire: Your background includes building large, scalable businesses and teams. What core belief from that experience most shapes your go‑to‑market philosophy at Homes.com. How does it show up in an agent‑first model day to day?

Andy Stearns: I think about this in two ways: anticipating market trends externally and building strong teams internally. In real estate, that means understanding the housing market and evolving consumer expectations.

The current online real estate model often confuses consumers and adds unnecessary middlemen. People want clarity, trust, and simplicity when making one of the most significant financial decisions of their lives. We are positioning Homes.com as a place where people can find their ideal home. They can connect with actual agents without the anxiety of not knowing who they’re connecting with after clicking a button; and we bring together buyers, sellers, and agents to do business their way.

With a go-to-market strategy that is aligned with the direction of the housing market, it’s imperative that we build teams focused on delivering the right outcomes for our customers. This involves setting the right cultural foundation, and building the right measurement and accountability systems to live up to our promises at scale. It also means having the right reinforcement mechanisms like training, compensation, and leadership to meet our customers’ goals, and therefore our business goals. As we grow as quickly as we have, it takes constant attention and improvement cycles to ensure we tune the organization the right way.

HW: Many agents have muscle memory around paying for leads. Homes.com positions itself as a marketing platform — direct leads to the listing agent, transparent routing, and broader brand exposure. What tradeoffs did you intentionally make to support that model, and which outcome metrics do you feel show it’s better for agents?

AS: Building Homes.com required making deliberate trade-offs. While many competitors rely on recycling leads among a small pool of agents, we chose not to replicate that model, even if it could have been a faster path. Globally, the most profitable portals are those that focus on marketing properties for sale, not harvesting leads. We believe that approach, combined with a clean, ad-free consumer experience, will ultimately define the dominant model in the U.S as it is around the world. This meant giving up short-term revenue opportunities, like selling leads or ad space, in favor of building trust, simplicity, and long-term value for consumers and agents.

The results validate our strategy. Member agents are winning 60% more listings than non-members, and those listings reach 22 times more prospects, generate six times more engagement, and are 25% more likely to go under contract within 10 days. Because listings are the foundation of an agent’s business, these outcomes are critical. By helping agents secure and market more listings, while delivering a better consumer experience, we’re proving this model works — and positioning Homes.com as the future of residential real estate.

HW: Agents are anxious about industry change and skeptical of “AI” as a buzzword. If you were coaching a new Homes.com member, what’s the 30/60/90‑day plan you recommend to shift from lead buying to brand building? What practical behaviors (content, follow‑up, listing promotion, retargeting setup) separate top performers on your platform from the rest?

AS: I believe humans will continue to play a critical role in an AI world, especially in real estate. Buying or selling a home is one of the most complex and financially significant transactions in a person’s life, and people still want trusted professionals to guide them through that process. We use technology and AI to enhance — not replace — the agent’s role and empower them to unlock the full value of their Homes.com membership by treating it as a true partnership rather than passive exposure.

The most successful agents actively engage with their account managers, especially in the first 90 days. They ensure their profiles are optimized, their information is accurate, and they leverage Homes.com’s unique features to strengthen their presence and reconnect with past clients. By embedding these tools into their business, whether through listing presentations, digital marketing, or retargeting — they’re able to differentiate themselves and win more business.

Ultimately, the membership provides more than access; it equips agents with premium features and marketing power that resonate with today’s consumers. When agents integrate Homes.com into their client conversations, they demonstrate real value, showing sellers how their homes will be marketed to millions across top sites and with advanced tools at no extra cost. That’s where we see traction: agents who leverage the platform as part of their go-to-market strategy are building credibility, standing out, and growing their businesses faster.

HW: Can you explain how Smart Search, retargeting, and the Matterport acquisition work together to enhance the buyer experience and strengthen the listing agent’s brand? Once fully integrated, what changes or benefits should agents expect?

AS: Smart Search transforms how buyers discover homes. Instead of relying on filters and dropdowns, buyers can input their queries in natural language and refine results in real time. This creates a more intuitive, personalized search experience while giving agents deeper insights into what matters most to their clients, enabling more targeted guidance.

Matterport adds another layer to this evolution. Its immersive 3D digital twin technology lets buyers virtually tour homes while providing detailed data on layouts, dimensions, and finishes. This not only enriches the buyer experience but also empowers agents to offer more accurate, actionable recommendations, reinforcing their brand and expertise.

Once fully integrated across CoStar Group’s platforms: Homes.com, Apartments.com, and commercial products, these capabilities will provide a cohesive, data-driven property search experience. Buyers, renters, and investors gain transparency and engagement, while agents see enhanced opportunities to showcase listings, differentiate their services, and deepen client relationships.

HW: New construction is often underexposed in traditional search. What is unique about the way Homes.com that’s helping builders capture buyer demand? How will that differ from the traditional experience? 

One of the best things about our no-cost listing option is how it brings new home communities together on one platform. Before our August launch, no real estate portal truly offered a comprehensive experience. Buyers had to hop between multiple sites, dealing with a fragmented, pay-to-play system that limited their choices. With our free-to-list option, builders can now easily list their communities. Today, Homes.com hosts over 21,000 distinct communities, and that number keeps growing, showing the success of this approach.

For builders, we also offer a Community Boost, a powerful marketing solution that includes priority placement in search results across the entire Homes.com marketplace along with enhanced media packages creating an immersive search experience. A boosted community will sort higher in new home search results, plus three move-in ready homes or plans will sort higher in the existing home search. By integrating new construction alongside resale listings, Homes.com ensures buyers see all available options in one place, helping builders capture demand more effectively than other portals. For builders not looking to increase their exposure to new home buyers, we offer basic listings so they can list their communities, plans and move-in ready homes – at no cost.

HW: With shifting policies and debates over listing display, what principles will guide Homes.com on inventory completeness, agent attribution, and ranking so agents trust the platform? As you grow the sales org from 250 to 800, how will you maintain service quality and NPS? And five years from now, what does success look like for agents, consumers, and Homes.com?

AS: This summer alone, we’re onboarding 350 new team members. To maintain service quality at this pace, we’ve built a strong foundation: five weeks of immersive training, a territory-based model to encourage long-term account ownership, and performance systems that emphasize retention and NPS alongside sales. We only hire when leadership is in place to support new staff, ensuring consistency and accountability from day one.

Our five-year vision is for Homes.com to be viewed not just as a platform but as a trusted partner to agents — reliable, indispensable, and aligned with their long-term success. That means agents see us as a resource they would never give up, buyers and sellers benefit from a better, more transparent experience, and our own team members grow their careers in step with the company. Revenue growth will matter, but enduring trust, retention, and customer satisfaction will be the truest markers of success.

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