Google’s home listing ads program is beginning to take shape for agents and brokers, with Bright MLS preparing to make active brokerage listings eligible to appear in mobile Google Search results this week.
Bright — the country’s largest MLS by subscriber count, with 101,000 members — announced this month that it has partnered with HouseCanary to display active listings in Google Search through HouseCanary’s ComeHome platform. The integration is expected to become available on June 30, with listings expected to display shortly after, according to Bright.
The announcement offers one of the clearest looks yet at how Google’s HouseCanary-powered home-listing experience may work in practice. For agents and brokers, the program appears to have two distinct components: free listing exposure through participating MLS and brokerage feeds, and paid lead opportunities through Google Local Services Ads.
Listing exposure depends on MLS and brokerage participation
Bright told subscribers that active listings will be eligible to appear in mobile Google Search property carousels, where the MLS said they may be positioned above traditional portals. Bright said the display comes at no additional cost to brokerages and will prominently show the listing agent’s name, brokerage and contact buttons.
But Bright also cautioned that display is not guaranteed. Listings are surfaced based on Google’s algorithm and the consumer’s search parameters, meaning agents should not assume every listing will appear for every relevant search.
The integration is not a direct feed from Bright to Google. Bright said the connection is powered through HouseCanary’s consumer platform, ComeHome, which has been supplying listing data for Google’s home-listing ad experience.
Participation appears to depend first on MLS and brokerage-level decisions, rather than individual agents simply uploading listings to Google. Bright told Inman that brokerages can opt out of the program through the MLS’ existing syndication dashboard, where brokerages manage a number of distribution options. At the agent level, agents can exclude an individual listing from all distribution options, including Google, by selecting “Internet no,” Bright said.
Bright also said neither HouseCanary nor Google receives rights to listing data or photos beyond displaying them for the advertising program.
A solo agent can advertise through Google Local Services Ads, but getting listings into Google’s home-listing display appears to depend on whether the agent’s MLS or brokerage is participating in the listing feed.
HouseCanary’s own FAQ makes a similar distinction. Listings in the program are exclusively sourced from participating MLSs, according to HouseCanary. Brokers who want listings available for the Google program must join a participating MLS or coordinate with their existing MLS to establish a feed. Agents, in turn, need to be licensed with a broker in a participating MLS.
HouseCanary says eligible listings include active listings and, in some cases, pre-market listings, while commercial, rental and land listings are generally not included. Depending on each MLS’ rules, brokerages can either opt in or opt out of the feed.
HouseCanary also says all eligible listings from participating MLSs are available for display in active markets, but Google surfaces listings based on relevance to consumer queries.
Agent leads come through Google’s Local Services Ads
Bright confirmed that agents should understand the program as two separate components: free listing display through participating MLS and brokerage feeds, and paid lead opportunities through Google Local Services Ads.
“The listings appear on Google Search at no cost to the listing agent,” Bright said. “Agents who choose to advertise alongside listing content (via Google Local Services Ads) pay only for leads.”
Google’s Local Services Help page also offers more detail on how that side of the program works. Home Listings Ads display for-sale listings directly on Google Search and include listing agent, price, images and neighborhood data alongside promoted buyer’s agents, according to Google. Potential buyers can engage with the ads to call or message a local buyer’s agent.
As with other Local Services Ads, Google said agents pay only for leads, not clicks or impressions. To use Home Listings Ads in Local Services, agents need a verified Google Business Profile, a Local Services Ads campaign linked to that profile and must opt into Buyer’s agent or Seller’s agent job types.
Google said the format is available in U.S. markets on mobile and requires agents to have an active Local Services Ads account and pass the company’s standard verification process.
The listings themselves are provided by ComeHome, powered by HouseCanary, according to Google. Google said Local Services Ads automatically surface the appropriate ad format for searches such as “homes near me” or “real estate agent near me.” Pricing varies dynamically by market, and the Home Listings Ads format does not serve on Google Maps, according to Google.
The distinction between listing display and paid lead generation is likely to matter as more MLSs and brokerages consider joining the program. For agents, getting a listing into Google’s home-listing experience may depend on whether their MLS or brokerage participates. Getting themselves surfaced as a promoted agent, by contrast, runs through Google’s Local Services Ads system.
More feeds are expected
HouseCanary has said the broader program is continuing to expand. In prior conversations with Inman, the company said it was working with additional MLSs to coordinate more feeds so more brokers and agents can have listings displayed in the program.
The company also said it expects more partners to be announced in the coming weeks. Bright’s integration appears to be one of the first examples of that broader expansion becoming visible to agents and brokers.
The program has already drawn attention from major portals and brokerages because it sits at the intersection of listing distribution, agent advertising and lead generation. Zillow previously told Inman that it does not view Google’s expansion into home listings as an immediate threat to its business, arguing that Google is moving into a pay-per-lead model Zillow says it has been moving away from.
From the brokerage side, eXp Realty CEO Leo Pareja had also previously framed the program less as a portal threat and more as another place to display listings. Pareja previously told Inman that eXp is sending all active and coming-soon listings for eXp Realty and NextHome into the program.
For agents, the more immediate takeaway may be simpler: Google’s home-listing ads are not a single switch they can flip. Listing exposure depends first on MLS and brokerage participation. Paid lead generation depends on Google Local Services Ads. And the value of either side will depend on whether consumers use the new experience to find homes and contact agents.
Update: This story has been updated with additional comment from Bright MLS.
Email AJ LaTrace
