Zillow Preferred: How the Money Works
Seven short videos, about 15 minutes in all · first shown at the Zillow Team Meeting, Friday, September 25, 2026 · BHHS Florida Showcase Properties
1 How the Program Works 2 The Fee Slides With the Price 3 Your County Sets the Tiers 4 Two Deals, Two Years 5 No Getting Out of It 6 What You Accepted 7 Get It Right the First Time The checklist Links
Video 1 — How the Program Works1:56
The three ways a Zillow customer reaches you, why you pay nothing until you close, and what the contract actually says about the fee.
Video 2 — The Fee Slides With the Price2:02
The fee is a percentage of the gross commission, never the sale price, and the percentage slides with the price. Three deals run through the numbers.
Video 3 — Your County Sets the Tiers2:17
The same five tiers everywhere, but the price where each one starts depends on the county. Citrus, Marion and Levy are Group 1; Hernando and Sumter are Group 2. And the cheat: Zillow's transaction page already knows the county.
Video 4 — Two Deals, Two Years2:22
How long the fee follows a customer and how many deals it covers, how the two clocks work, how it compares to an ordinary referral, and our own numbers on second deals.
Video 5 — There Is No Getting Out of It2:54
Why the name on the lead does not matter, why another source does not matter, the one real exception and its 14-day clock (asked four times in 6,000-plus leads, granted once), what late costs, and why none of it is worth losing sleep over.
Video 6 — What You Accepted1:30
What three years of Zillow customers would have cost to buy, what we actually paid, and what was left on our side of the table.
Video 7 — Get It Right the First Time2:26
The six-item checklist for paying the fee right the first time, the sentence we are retiring, and where it is all written down.
The checklist
- A Zillow customer is a Zillow file from day one. The lead source says Zillow in Back Office the day the file opens.
- Already knew them before Zillow sent them? Tell the office within 14 days of delivery, with proof you were already talking. Not at closing.
- The second deal counts, and so does the name on it. If your Zillow buyer sells their house through you, that listing is a Zillow file. If the deal that came from the lead closes in a spouse's, a family member's or a company's name, it is still a Zillow file. A family member or friend who later buys their own home is a referral from your customer, and that one is yours, fee-free.
- Know the county. Citrus, Marion and Levy are Group 1. Hernando and Sumter are Group 2. Pay the right number. The cheat: write the deal up on Zillow's transaction page, and it already knows the county from the address.
- Itemize builder bonuses and incentives. Their own line on the settlement statement, or Zillow shares in them.
- Tell the office the minute a Zillow deal goes under contract, so the file is marked Zillow before the commission comes in and the fee comes out in our accounting the first time.
Not sure whether a customer is a Zillow customer? Ask before you write the contract. That question costs nothing. The answer after closing always costs more.
The fee, in one paragraph
Zillow is paid only when a deal closes. The fee is a percentage of the gross commission on the deal, never of the sale price. The percentage slides with the price: 15%, 25%, 30%, 35% or 40%, and the price where each tier starts depends on the county. A seller who came to Zillow to sell is a flat 40% everywhere. The fee covers up to two deals for the same customer: the first within two years of Zillow sending them, the second within two years of that first closing. Anyone that customer refers to you is yours, fee-free.
Our five counties
| County | Zillow market | Group | 15% | 25% | 30% | 35% | 40% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citrus | Homosassa Springs | 1 | under $75,000 | $75,000+ | $150,000+ | $225,000+ | $300,000+ |
| Marion | Ocala | 1 | under $75,000 | $75,000+ | $150,000+ | $225,000+ | $300,000+ |
| Levy | Gainesville | 1 | under $75,000 | $75,000+ | $150,000+ | $225,000+ | $300,000+ |
| Hernando | Tampa–St. Pete–Clearwater | 2 | under $100,000 | $100,000+ | $200,000+ | $300,000+ | $400,000+ |
| Sumter | The Villages | 2 | under $100,000 | $100,000+ | $200,000+ | $300,000+ | $400,000+ |
Example: a $350,000.00 sale at 3% is $10,500.00 of gross commission. In Citrus, Marion or Levy the fee is 40%, $4,200.00. In Hernando or Sumter it is 35%, $3,675.00.
Where it is written down
The fee rules (the tiers, the county groups, two deals in two years, the 14-day exception, what is excluded, late payment):
- Zillow's pricing page — enter a ZIP code to see the tiers for that market, or download the full pricing sheet.
- The program terms, Exhibit A — Section 14 (the fee), Section 15 (how it is figured and how long it lasts), Sections 16 and 17 (late payment).
- Zillow Preferred FAQ — Zillow's own answers.
- The seven videos above.
How we work the program (the leads, the calls, Follow Up Boss, follow-up, the standards):
- FSP Zillow Field Manual — our own manual for the program, start to finish.
- Zillow Preferred: Agent Training — our twelve short modules on the BHHS Training Academy channel.
Questions about any deal: ask Mark or Ellen before you write the contract.