Zillow (Z) announced its plan to acquire HotPads, a map-based rental and real estate search site, for $16 million on Nov. 26. On Friday, the real estate information marketplace reported the acquisition of San Francisco-based HotPads is complete.
HotPads will offer a robust website and five mobile apps for iPhone, iPad and Android. The search site will be a significant player for both consumers and professionals, as nearly 2.8 million unique users visited the site in October 2012, primarily shopping for rentals.
This acquisition will expand Zillow’s growing rental audience and extend the reach for rental professionals.
“HotPads brings a younger, complementary and rental-focused audience to Zillow’s growing portfolio of brands,” said Spencer Rascoff, CEO of Zillow. “With this acquisition, Zillow becomes even more relevant to consumers at the beginning of their real estate life cycle. And with the addition of the talented HotPads team, we’ll be able to innovate and monetize our rental marketplace faster than before. We’re thrilled to officially welcome HotPads to Zillow.”
HotPads will bring 19 employees to the Zillow team. The company expects to move into Zillow’s new consolidated San Francisco office after its expected completion in early 2013.
Matt Corgan, co-founder and CEO of HotPads, will become Group Program Manager, continuing to oversee the HotPads brand and products.
“With Zillow’s resources, not only will we be able to innovate faster on the behalf of the consumer, but now we can offer rental professionals unmatched productivity tools to help them better market and manage their listings,” Corgan said.
