Automate Zillow and Realtor.com leads to respond within 5 minutes, convert 9x more inquiries into tours, and never miss a prospect—even at 2 AM on Sunday. Learn how to set up automated lead responses from Gmail or Outlook.
Automate Zillow and Realtor.com leads to respond within 5 minutes, convert 9x more inquiries into tours, and never miss a prospect—even at 2 AM on Sunday. Propel monitors your Gmail or Outlook inbox, automatically detects lead emails from these platforms, parses prospect and property information, and sends personalized responses instantly—all without manual monitoring.
Zillow generates thousands of leads for real estate agents and property managers every day, but most go unanswered. Research shows that responding within 5 minutes increases conversion by 9x—yet manually monitoring Zillow and Realtor.com notifications is impossible if you want that speed. The solution? Automate Zillow and Realtor.com leads so every inquiry gets an instant, personalized response, even at 2 AM on Sunday.
When a prospect inquires on Zillow or Realtor.com, you receive an email notification. These emails contain valuable information:
But these emails get lost in a sea of other messages: tenant maintenance requests, vendor invoices, team communications, and spam. Even if you see the email quickly, manually parsing it, finding the property details, crafting a personalized response, and logging it takes time.
The result: You respond hours or days later, and the prospect has already moved on.
Here's the complete automation flow:
1. Lead email arrives → 2. AI parses email → 3. Extracts prospect/property info → 4. Personalizes reply → 5. Sends response → 6. Logs conversation
Your automation system monitors your Gmail or Outlook inbox for new emails. It can watch:
The system uses AI to understand the email structure. Zillow and Realtor.com emails have different formats:
Zillow format example:
Subject: New inquiry for 123 Main St, Apt 2B
Hi [Your Name],
You have a new inquiry for your rental listing at 123 Main St, Apt 2B.
Prospect: John Smith
Email: john.smith@email.com
Phone: (555) 123-4567
Message: Hi, I'm interested in viewing this property. When is it available?
Realtor.com format example:
Subject: New Lead: 123 Main St, Apt 2B
A new lead has been submitted for your listing.
Contact Information:
Name: John Smith
Email: john.smith@email.com
Phone: (555) 123-4567
Property: 123 Main St, Apt 2B
Inquiry: When can I schedule a tour?
The AI identifies which platform sent the email and extracts the relevant information, regardless of format variations.
The system extracts:
Instead of sending a generic template, the AI creates a personalized response that:
Example personalized response:
Hi John,
Thanks for your interest in 123 Main St, Apt 2B! I'd be happy to help you schedule a tour.
The unit is currently available for move-in starting February 1st. It's a 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom apartment with:
- Updated kitchen with stainless steel appliances
- In-unit laundry
- Pet-friendly (with deposit)
- Rent: $1,800/month
I have availability for tours this week:
- Tuesday, Jan 23 at 2:00 PM
- Wednesday, Jan 24 at 10:00 AM or 3:00 PM
- Thursday, Jan 25 at 1:00 PM
Would any of these times work for you? Just reply with your preference, and I'll send you the calendar invite.
Looking forward to showing you the property!
Best,
[Your Name]
The system sends the reply directly to the prospect's email address (not back to Zillow or Realtor.com). This ensures:
Everything is logged in your system:
Here are real examples of real estate agents and property managers who improved their conversion rates by automating Zillow and Realtor.com leads:
Challenge: Spending $2,000/month on Zillow Premier Agent leads but only converting 18% to appointments. Responding within 15-30 minutes on average.
Solution: Connected Propel to Gmail inbox. Propel automatically detects Zillow lead emails, parses prospect information, and responds within 1 minute with personalized property details and tour scheduling.
Results:
Key insight: Zillow leads are expensive. Faster response times dramatically improve ROI by converting more of those expensive leads into appointments.
Challenge: Managing 500 units across 20 properties. Getting 200+ inquiries per month from Zillow and Realtor.com but only converting 14% to tours. Response times varied by property and time of day.
Solution: Centralized automated lead response system that monitors all inboxes and responds within 1 minute to all Zillow and Realtor.com inquiries.
Results:
Key insight: Consistency matters. When response times vary by property or time of day, you lose leads. Automation ensures every lead gets a fast response, regardless of source or timing.
Challenge: Managing buyer and seller leads from Zillow, Realtor.com, and other sources. Getting 40 leads per month but only converting 15% to appointments. Responding within 1-2 hours on average.
Solution: Automated lead response that works 24/7, responding within 1 minute to all inquiries from Zillow, Realtor.com, and other sources.
Results:
Key insight: Solo agents can't monitor their inbox 24/7. Automation ensures you never miss a lead, even during off-hours or when you're busy with tours and closings.
Calculate your own ROI: Use our free portal leads ROI calculator to see how automating Zillow and Realtor.com leads could impact your revenue.
For a detailed step-by-step setup guide, see our complete guide on how to automate Zillow leads. Here's a quick overview:
Some leads only provide an email address. Your automation should:
Some leads include a phone number. Your automation should:
Best practice: Start with email, then offer phone as an option. Email creates a record and allows the prospect to respond on their own time.
Sometimes prospects inquire about multiple properties. Your automation should:
Method 1: OAuth Integration (Recommended)
Method 2: Email Forwarding
Security: OAuth is more secure. It uses tokens that can be revoked, and you control exactly what permissions are granted.
Method 1: Microsoft 365 Integration (Recommended)
Method 2: Shared Mailbox
Method 3: Email Rules + Forwarding
Best practice: Use Microsoft 365 integration when possible. It's more reliable and provides better security.
The key to effective automation is personalization. Your system should pull property details from your database or property management software:
Property data to include:
Dynamic personalization examples:
Sometimes the same prospect inquires multiple times or through multiple platforms. Your automation should:
Zillow requirements:
Realtor.com requirements:
Best practice: Your automation should comply with both platforms' requirements while still providing excellent service.
Some prospects ask complex questions the AI might not be able to answer:
Your automation should:
Track these metrics to measure your automation ROI:
Calculate the ROI of your Zillow and Realtor.com leads with our portal leads calculator. If you spend $1,500/month on Zillow leads and convert 20% to appointments, faster responses can improve that to 30%—adding $72,000 in annual revenue.
See what you really earn from your Zillow and Realtor.com leads. Calculate cost per lead, appointment, and closing with our free ROI calculator.
Yes. Propel works with both Zillow Rental Manager (for property managers) and Zillow Premier Agent (for real estate agents). The automation detects Zillow lead emails regardless of which Zillow product you're using.
Propel sends responses directly to the prospect's email address, not through Zillow's platform. The responses are personalized and professional, so they appear as if you sent them yourself. Zillow doesn't monitor or restrict automated responses sent directly to prospects.
Propel can handle leads from multiple sources simultaneously, including Zillow, Realtor.com, Apartments.com, Facebook, and other portals. The system automatically detects which platform each lead came from and responds accordingly.
Zillow's built-in messaging requires you to log into Zillow and respond manually. Propel automates the entire process by monitoring your email inbox and responding instantly, without requiring you to log into any platform. This means you can respond faster and work with leads from multiple sources in one place.
Yes. Propel sends automated responses, but you can always jump into any conversation and respond manually. The system logs all interactions, so you have full visibility and control.
Propel sends professional, personalized responses directly to prospects, which complies with Zillow's terms of service. The automation helps you respond faster and more consistently, which improves your response rate on Zillow. Always review Zillow's current terms of service to ensure compliance with any updates.
Propel typically responds within 1 minute of receiving a Zillow lead email. This is well within the 5-minute window that research shows increases conversion by 9x.
Yes. Propel works with both rental leads (Zillow Rental Manager) and sale leads (Zillow Premier Agent). The system automatically detects the type of inquiry and personalizes responses accordingly.
Ready to automate your Zillow and Realtor.com leads? Here's how to start. For a broader guide on automating rental inquiries from all sources, see our comprehensive automation guide.
See how Propel monitors your Gmail or Outlook inbox, parses lead emails, and sends personalized responses automatically, so you never miss a prospect from these platforms.
Zillow and Realtor.com are powerful lead sources, but only if you respond fast enough. Automation ensures every lead gets an instant, personalized response, even when you're not monitoring your inbox. By parsing emails, extracting information, and personalizing replies automatically, you can turn more inquiries into tours and more tours into signed leases.
Learn more about Propel's email automation. For teams using Outlook, see our Outlook integration guide. To understand the ROI of portal leads, check out our guide on calculating portal lead ROI.
See how Propel can help you convert more inquiries and book more tours automatically.
Step-by-step guide to automating Zillow leads. Learn how to set up email forwarding, inbox monitoring, parsing Zillow email format, and testing your automation to convert 9x more inquiries.
Learn how to calculate the true ROI of your portal lead spend, including cost per lead, cost per appointment, and cost per closing. See how faster response times can dramatically improve your conversion rates.
Learn how to automate rental inquiry responses to improve speed-to-lead, increase tour bookings, and never miss a prospect, even at 2 AM.