Realtor.com Company Culture & Values

What recent decision best reflected your values — and what changed as a result?

Driven by our values of “RealAmbition” and “RealInnovation,” we recently shifted our search experience to a continuous testing model. Instead of aiming for a single, perfect launch, we now run simultaneous experiments to see what truly helps consumers find their way home.

The result has been a fundamental shift in how we operate. We moved toward a model where teams are empowered to drive decisions with clear alignment across stakeholders on the value of search and what it means to “win.” This clarity allows us to fail fast and learn even faster. We are able to respond to agent and consumer needs with immediate agility, ensuring our innovation is honed by real-world data rather than assumptions.

What collaboration habit keeps work moving—and how do you measure it?

In our consumer organization, our defining collaboration habit is working in autonomous, cross-functional squads. We recently restructured to align dedicated designers, engineers and product leads around focus areas like search, AI and our listing detail pages. These changes represent a fundamental shift in how we build. By embedding roles together, we remove the friction of hand-offs, giving teams the autonomy to make decisions and drive toward year-long targets without waiting for permission. They stay aligned through constant communication via Slack and daily standups, clearing roadblocks in real time.

We measure success through a balanced mix of delivery and health metrics. We track output metrics to ensure teams stay on pace, but we prioritize outcomes over activity. We look at post-launch data to measure tangible business impact: Did we help the business win? Crucially, we believe sustainable innovation requires a healthy culture. We use regular surveys to track employee satisfaction and team dynamics, ensuring high velocity doesn’t come at the cost of burnout. This data confirms that when our teams feel supported and autonomous, business results follow.

How do you recognize impact fairly — and what’s the return on investment?

We approach recognition with a dedicated, high-visibility cadence. Every two months, the consumer organization holds an all-hands meeting where we spotlight employees who are living our values. We believe fairness comes from celebrating the cross-functional effort behind a win, ensuring that the individuals who knit teams together are seen and rewarded.

We recently recognized a team member for her dedication to our value of “RealCollaboration” on our new AI-powered search feature called “Search it how you say it.” This launch was technically and operationally complex, requiring deep synchronization across product, engineering, marketing and analytics. By highlighting her leadership in front of the broader organization, we demonstrated that we value the “how” as much as the “what.” The return on investment on this time spent is a culture of appreciation and high retention. When people see that we take the time to recognize specific individual contributions within large team efforts, it reinforces their sense of belonging and motivates the entire organization to lean into healthy, collaborative dynamics.