Zillow unveils tools to simplify buying, renting, touring

Zillow has rolled out five new features aimed at streamlining the process of buying, renting and touring homes.

The updates — now live nationwide — include a drone-powered virtual viewing tool and offer pricing transparency for rental properties, along with coordinated tour scheduling and affordability estimates.

SkyTour allows users to navigate a 3D aerial view of a home’s exterior using drone footage. The experience is powered by Gaussian splatting, a rendering technology often used in gaming and virtual production.

SkyTour is available on select Zillow Showcase listings where drone footage is included.

“SkyTour puts home shoppers in the pilot’s seat with a dynamic, drone-like 3D view of a home’s exterior,” Zillow explained in its announcement. “With simple, intuitive controls, buyers can fly around a property virtually to get a sense of the exterior layout, lot and area surrounding the property — right from their phone or computer.”

Another addition is Offer Insights — a feature designed to help prospective homebuyers assess how competitive their offer might be. By using market data and recent sales, users can toggle between different offer amounts to gauge the likelihood of acceptance.

The tool also benefits agents by surfacing more serious buyers.

For renters, Zillow’s Rentals Costs & Fees Breakdown adds transparency to listings by detailing move-in costs, recurring charges and additional fees — provided that the information is available from the property manager.

Listings now include a personalized calculator to help users estimate their total expenses.

The update targets a long-standing frustration among renters. According to Zillow, 94% of renters want upfront cost details, but many still encounter unexpected fees.

More than half of renter households in the U.S. are considered cost-burdened — spending more than 30% of their income on rent — with Black and Hispanic renters facing disproportionate challenges, Zillow added.

Tour Itineraries lets buyers and agents coordinate property visits in one shared location. Through Zillow’s app and website, users can add homes to a shared tour list and track upcoming or completed tours.

Lastly, Zillow updated BuyAbility — a tool that estimates how much a buyer can afford based on income, credit score, debts and savings. It now displays homes that fit both a buyer’s preferred monthly payment and their maximum loan qualification range.

All five tools are now accessible on Zillow’s website and mobile apps.