Zillow - Email Parsing Integration

Zillow is one of the leading sources of leads for property managers and real estate professionals. Whether you're managing rental properties or selling homes, Zillow generates inquiries that need fast responses. While Zillow doesn't offer a native API integration, Propel automatically handles Zillow leads by parsing the email notifications you receive when prospects inquire about your listings.

How Propel Works with Zillow

When a prospect inquires about a property on Zillow, you receive an email notification in your inbox. Propel monitors your inbox for these emails and automatically:

1. Parses the email to understand the Zillow email format
2. Extracts prospect information including name, email, phone number, and inquiry message
3. Identifies the property mentioned in the inquiry
4. Understands the request using AI to determine what the prospect is asking about
5. Responds automatically with personalized information about the property
6. Logs the conversation in your Propel dashboard for tracking and follow-up

This all happens automatically without any manual intervention, ensuring you never miss a Zillow lead.

Works for All Use Cases:

• Rental Properties: Propel handles inquiries about rental listings, answers questions about availability and pricing, and schedules tours
• Properties for Sale: Propel handles buyer inquiries, answers questions about properties for sale, and schedules showings
• Both: If you manage both rentals and sales, Propel automatically distinguishes between the two and responds appropriately

Zillow Email Format

Propel supports all common email formats from Zillow. Here's an example of the email format Propel handles:

Subject: New inquiry for [Property Address]

Prospect: [Name]
Email: [Email]
Phone: [Phone]
Message: [Inquiry]

Propel's AI understands variations in Zillow's email format and can extract the relevant information regardless of minor formatting differences.

What Propel Extracts from Zillow Emails

From each Zillow lead email, Propel automatically extracts:

• Prospect Details: Name, email address, phone number (if provided)
• Property Information: Address, listing ID, or property name mentioned in the inquiry
• Inquiry Content: The prospect's message or questions
• Additional Context: Move-in date preferences, budget, number of occupants, or other details (when available)

This information is used to create personalized responses and is logged in your Propel dashboard for tracking and follow-up.

Common Questions from Zillow Leads

Prospects from Zillow typically ask different questions depending on whether they're inquiring about rentals or properties for sale:

For Rental Properties:

• Availability: When is the property available for move-in?
• Pricing: What is the monthly rent and what fees are included?
• Pet Policy: Are pets allowed? What are the restrictions?
• Amenities: What amenities are included (parking, laundry, etc.)?

For Properties for Sale:

• Availability: Is the property still available? When can I see it?
• Pricing: What is the asking price? Are there any price reductions?
• Property Details: Square footage, lot size, number of bedrooms/bathrooms
• Showing Availability: When can I schedule a showing?

Propel automatically answers these questions using information from your property listings and can provide accurate, up-to-date details about availability, pricing, and property features.

Zillow-Specific Considerations

Zillow presents unique challenges that make automation essential:

Lead Routing Complexity: Zillow sends leads for both rental and sale properties, and sometimes the same prospect inquires about multiple properties. Propel automatically distinguishes between rental inquiries and sale inquiries, routing them appropriately based on your configuration. Without automation, you waste time sorting through mixed lead types.

Phone vs Email Leads: Zillow sends leads via both email notifications and phone calls. Email leads are easier to automate, but phone leads require immediate attention. Propel handles email leads instantly while flagging phone leads for priority follow-up.

Duplicate Lead Management: Prospects often inquire about multiple properties or send follow-up messages. Propel can detect duplicates and consolidate conversations, so you don't respond to the same person multiple times or miss that they're already in your system.

High Volume, Fast Response Expectations: Zillow is one of the highest-traffic property platforms for both rentals and sales. Prospects expect responses within minutes, not hours. Research shows that responding within 5 minutes increases conversion rates by 9x. Manual response times of 2-4 hours mean you're losing leads to competitors who respond faster.

Use Case-Specific Handling:

• Property Managers: Propel focuses on rental inquiries, answers questions about availability and pricing, and schedules tours
• Real Estate Agents: Propel focuses on buyer/seller inquiries, answers questions about properties for sale, and schedules showings
• Both: Propel can handle both types of inquiries and route them to the appropriate team or workflow

Setting Up Zillow Integration

Since Propel works with Zillow through email parsing, setup is straightforward:

Step 1: Connect Your Email Account

1. Navigate to Settings > Integrations in Propel
2. Connect your Gmail or Microsoft 365/Outlook account
3. Grant Propel permission to read and send emails

For detailed instructions, see:

• Gmail - Email Provider Setup
• Email Provider Setup (Outlook/Microsoft 365)

Step 2: Configure Your Mailbox

1. Go to Settings > Mailboxes
2. Create a new mailbox or select an existing one
3. Choose the email account where you receive Zillow notifications
4. Propel will automatically monitor this inbox for Zillow emails

Zillow emails typically come from noreply@zillow.com or noreply@zillowrentals.com. Propel automatically recognizes these senders.

See Setting Up Your First Mailbox for detailed instructions.

Step 3: Add Your Property Listings

For Propel to provide accurate information in responses, make sure your property listings are up to date:

1. Go to Listings in Propel
2. Add or import your properties
3. Ensure availability, pricing, and amenities are current

You can import listings from:

• Data Sources (Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox)
• Manual entry via the Listings page

Step 4: Test the Integration

1. Send a test inquiry on Zillow for one of your listings
2. Check your Propel dashboard to see if the email was parsed correctly
3. Review the automated response to ensure it's accurate and personalized

Automation Workflow

Here's how Propel handles Zillow leads automatically:

1. Prospect inquires on Zillow → 2. Zillow sends email notification → 3. Propel detects email → 4. AI parses email and extracts information → 5. Propel creates personalized response → 6. Response sent to prospect → 7. Conversation logged in dashboard

This entire process happens within minutes, ensuring prospects receive timely, personalized responses even when you're not monitoring your inbox.

Zillow Email Subject Patterns

Propel recognizes Zillow emails by these common subject patterns:

• New inquiry for [Property Address]
• New message about [Property Address]
• Inquiry: [Property Address]

Field Mappings

Propel extracts the following information from Zillow emails:

• Prospect Name: Usually in format "Prospect: [Name]" or "From: [Name]"
• Email: Format "Email: [email]" or in reply-to header
• Phone: Format "Phone: [number]" or "Phone Number: [number]"
• Property Address: Usually in subject line or "Property: [address]"
• Message: In email body, often after contact information

Special Considerations

• Zillow emails may include HTML formatting
• Some emails include property photos or links
• Lead source tracking: Look for "Source: Zillow" or similar in email headers
• Property ID may be in email body or subject line

Measuring Success

Track these metrics to measure your Zillow integration success:

• Response Time: Average time from Zillow email to first reply (target: under 5 minutes)
• Response Rate: Percentage of Zillow leads that receive a reply (target: 100%)
• Parsing Accuracy: How accurately Propel extracts information from Zillow emails
• Tour Booking Rate: Percentage of Zillow leads that book tours (target: 30%+)
• Conversion Rate: Percentage of Zillow leads that sign leases (target: 15%+)

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Zillow send phone leads?

Yes, Zillow can send leads via phone calls in addition to email. Propel handles email leads automatically while flagging phone leads for immediate manual follow-up. Some automation systems can also integrate with your phone system to log calls.

Can I auto-reply to Zillow leads with calendar links?

Yes, but be strategic. Zillow leads often ask specific questions first (availability, pet policy, amenities). Propel answers those questions first, then offers to schedule a tour. Sending calendar links too early can feel pushy.

How do I handle Zillow leads for properties I've already rented?

Propel can check your property database in real-time. If a property is already rented, the system can automatically respond with: "Thanks for your interest! This unit has been rented, but I have similar properties available. Would you like to see those instead?" This saves you from manually checking availability for every inquiry.

What about Zillow's rental vs sale leads?

Zillow sends both rental and sale inquiries. Propel automatically distinguishes between the two based on:

• Property type in the listing (rental vs for sale)
• Keywords in the inquiry (e.g., "rent", "lease" vs "buy", "purchase")
• Listing category from your Zillow account

For Property Managers: Propel focuses on rental inquiries and can either ignore sale leads or forward them to the appropriate team member.

For Real Estate Agents: Propel focuses on sale inquiries and can either ignore rental leads or forward them to the appropriate team member.

For Teams Managing Both: Propel can handle both types of inquiries and route them to the appropriate workflow or team member based on your configuration.

Can automation handle Zillow's Instant Apply feature?

Zillow's Instant Apply sends applications directly, not just inquiries. Propel can detect these application emails, extract applicant information, and route them to your application review process automatically.

Troubleshooting

Propel isn't detecting Zillow emails

Possible causes:

• Email account not connected
• Mailbox not configured or not enabled
• Emails going to a different folder

Solutions:

1. Verify your email account is connected in Settings > Integrations
2. Check that your mailbox is enabled in Settings > Mailboxes
3. Ensure Zillow emails are arriving in the monitored inbox/folder
4. Check email filters that might be moving Zillow emails to other folders

Information not extracted correctly

If Propel isn't extracting information correctly from Zillow emails:

1. Check the email format in your inbox - Zillow may have updated their format
2. Review parsed emails in your Propel dashboard to see what was extracted
3. Contact support if you notice consistent parsing issues

Responses not being sent

If responses aren't being sent to Zillow prospects:

1. Verify your mailbox is enabled
2. Check response rules in Settings > Mailboxes to ensure responses are allowed
3. Review approval settings if approvals are required before sending

Related Integration Guides

Looking to integrate with other lead sources? Check out our guides for:

• Integrating with Apartments.com
• Integrating with Realtor.com
• Integrating with Homes.com
• Integrating with Craigslist
• Integrating with Facebook Marketplace

Need Help?

If you have questions about integrating Zillow with Propel:

• Support Email: partners@propelhq.io
• Documentation: Browse our complete documentation for more guides
• Getting Started: See Getting Started for setup instructions