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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2023
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include Zillow Group, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. These condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) regarding interim financial reporting. Certain information and note disclosures normally included in the financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. Accordingly, these interim condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and accompanying notes included in Zillow Group, Inc.’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, which was filed with the SEC on February 15, 2023. The condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2022, included herein, was derived from the audited financial statements of Zillow Group, Inc. as of that date.
The unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements, in the opinion of management, reflect all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary to present fairly our financial position as of June 30, 2023 and our results of operations, comprehensive income (loss), and shareholders’ equity for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, and cash flows for the six month periods ended June 30, 2023 and 2022. The results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the year ending December 31, 2023, for any interim period, or for any other future year. Certain reclassifications of prior period amounts have been made to conform to the current period presentation. Unless indicated otherwise, the information in the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements relates to our continuing operations and does not include the results of discontinued operations.
There were no significant changes to the significant accounting policies disclosed in Note 2 in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, except for the updates noted below. Such updates were made due to our determination that we have a single operating and reportable segment, as well as certain changes to how we disaggregate our revenue into categories, beginning in the first quarter of 2023.
Recoverability of Goodwill
Goodwill is measured as the excess of consideration transferred for an acquired business over the net of the acquisition date fair values of the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed, and is not amortized. We assess the impairment of goodwill at the reporting unit level on an annual basis, in our fourth quarter, or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that goodwill may be impaired. In our evaluation of goodwill, we initially perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances indicates that it is more likely than not that the carrying value of each reporting unit is greater than its fair value. If it is more likely than not that the carrying value of a reporting unit is greater than its fair value, we perform a quantitative assessment and an impairment charge is recorded in our statements of operations if the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value.
Beginning in 2023, our chief operating decision maker, who is our chief executive officer, manages our business, makes operating decisions and evaluates operating performance on the basis of the company as a whole, instead of on a segment basis as he did prior to 2023. This aligns to our ongoing growth strategy and our intent to provide integrated customer solutions for all tasks and services related to facilitating real estate transactions. This resulted in revisions to the nature and substance of information regularly provided to and used by the chief operating decision maker. Accordingly, we have realigned our operating structure, resulting in a single operating and reportable segment. In line with this, the nature and substance of the information regularly provided to our segment manager similarly changed, and we determined that we have only one reporting unit. Because the segment change impacted the structure of our reporting units, we performed a qualitative goodwill impairment assessment immediately before and immediately after the change in reporting units. Based on those assessments, we determined it was more likely than not that the fair value of our current and legacy reporting units exceeded their respective carrying values. Therefore, we concluded that it was not necessary to perform a quantitative impairment test.
Revenue Recognition
We recognize revenue when or as we satisfy our performance obligations by transferring control of the promised products or services to our customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for those products or services.
As a practical expedient, we do not adjust the promised amount of consideration for the effects of a significant financing component as the period between our transfer of a promised product or service to a customer and when the customer pays for that product or service is generally one year or less.
We do not disclose the transaction price related to remaining performance obligations for (i) contracts with an original expected duration of one year or less or (ii) contracts for which we recognize revenue at the amount to which we have the right to invoice for performance completed to date. The remaining duration over which we satisfy our performance obligations is generally less than one year.
We disaggregate our revenue into the following categories: Residential, Rentals, Mortgages and Other, described below.
Residential. Residential revenue includes revenue generated by our Premier Agent and new construction marketplaces, as well as revenue from the sale of advertising and business technology solutions for real estate professionals through StreetEasy for-sale product offerings and ShowingTime+.
Our Premier Agent program offers a suite of marketing and technology products and services to help real estate agents and brokers achieve their advertising goals while growing and managing their businesses and brands. All Premier Agent partners receive access to a dashboard portal on our mobile application and website that provides individualized program performance analytics, our customer relationship management tool that captures detailed information about each contact made with a Premier Agent partner through our mobile and web platforms and our account management tools. The marketing and business technology products and services promised to Premier Agent partners are delivered over time, as the customer simultaneously receives and consumes the benefit of the performance obligations.
Premier Agent advertising products, which include the delivery of validated customer connections, or leads, are primarily offered on a share of voice basis. Payment is received prior to the delivery of connections. Connections are delivered when consumer contact information is provided to Premier Agent partners. We do not promise any minimum or maximum number of connections to customers, but instead control when and how many connections to deliver based on a customer’s share of voice. We determine the number of connections to deliver to Premier Agent partners in each zip code using a market-based pricing method in consideration of the total amount spent by Premier Agent partners to purchase connections in the zip code during the month. This results in the delivery of connections over time in proportion to each Premier Agent partners’ share of voice. A Premier Agent partners’ share of voice in a zip code is determined by their proportional monthly prepaid spend in that zip code as a percentage of the total monthly prepaid spend of all Premier Agent partners in that zip code, and determines the proportion of consumer connections a Premier Agent partner receives. The number of connections delivered for a given spend level is dynamic - as demand for advertising in a zip code increases or decreases, the number of connections delivered to a Premier Agent partner in that zip code decreases or increases accordingly.
We primarily recognize revenue related to the Premier Agent products and services based on the monthly prepaid spend recognized on a straight-line basis during the monthly billing period over which the products and services are provided. This methodology best depicts how we satisfy our performance obligations to customers, as we continuously transfer control of the performance obligations to the customer over time. Given a Premier Agent partner typically prepays their monthly spend and the monthly spend is refunded on a pro-rata basis upon cancellation of the contract by a customer, we have determined that Premier Agent partner contracts are effectively daily contracts, and each performance obligation is satisfied over time as each day lapses. We have not allocated the transaction price to each performance obligation within our Premier Agent partner arrangements, as the amounts recognized would be the same irrespective of any allocation.
We also offer a pay for performance pricing model called “Flex” for Premier Agent advertising services in certain markets. Flex is available to select partners alongside our legacy market-based pricing model. With the Flex model, Premier Agent partners are provided with validated leads at no initial cost and pay a performance advertising fee only when a real estate transaction is closed with one of the leads, generally within two years. With this pricing model, the transaction price represents variable consideration, as the amount to which we expect to be entitled varies based on the number of validated leads that convert into real estate transactions and the value of those transactions. We estimate variable consideration and record revenue as performance obligations, or validated leads, are transferred. We do not believe that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will occur once the uncertainty related to the number of transactions closed is subsequently resolved. We record a contract asset for our estimate of the consideration to which we will be entitled when the right to the consideration is conditional. When the right to consideration becomes unconditional, upon the close of a real estate transaction, we reclassify amounts to accounts receivable.
Our new construction marketing solutions allow home builders to showcase their available inventory to home shoppers. New construction revenue primarily includes revenue generated by advertising sold to builders on a cost per residential community basis whereby we recognize revenue on a straight-line basis during the contractual period over which the communities are advertised on our mobile applications and websites. New construction revenue also includes revenue generated on a cost per impression basis whereby we recognize revenue as impressions are delivered to users interacting with our mobile applications and websites, which is the amount for which we have the right to invoice. Consideration for new construction products is billed in arrears.
StreetEasy for-sale revenue primarily consists of our pay for performance pricing model available in the New York City market for which agents and brokers are provided with leads at no initial cost and pay a performance referral fee only when a real estate purchase transaction is closed with one of the leads. Under the StreetEasy pricing model, the transaction price represents variable consideration, as the amount to which we expect to be entitled varies based on the number of leads that convert into real estate transactions and the value of those transactions. We estimate variable consideration based on the expected number of closed transactions during the period. We do not believe that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will occur once the uncertainty related to the number of transactions closed is subsequently resolved. We record a corresponding contract asset for the estimate of variable consideration for StreetEasy Experts when the right to the consideration is conditional. When the right to consideration becomes unconditional upon the close of a real estate transaction, we reclassify amounts to accounts receivable.
Our dotloop real estate transaction management software-as-a-service solution is primarily billed in advance on a monthly basis and revenue is recognized ratably over the contract period which aligns to our satisfaction of performance obligations.
ShowingTime revenue is primarily generated by Appointment Center, a software-as-a-service and call center solution allowing real estate agents, brokerages and multiple listing services to efficiently schedule real estate viewing appointments on behalf of their customers. Appointment Center revenue is primarily billed in advance on a monthly basis and recognized ratably over the contract period which aligns to our satisfaction of performance obligations.
Rentals. Rentals revenue includes the sale of advertising and a suite of tools to rental professionals, landlords and other market participants under the Zillow and StreetEasy brands. Rentals revenue includes revenue generated by advertising sold to property managers, landlords and other rental professionals on a cost per lead, lease, listing or impression basis or for a fixed fee for certain advertising packages. We recognize revenue as leads, clicks and impressions are provided to rental professionals, or as rental listings are published on our mobile applications and websites, which is the amount for which we have the right to invoice. We recognize revenue related to our fixed fee rentals product on a straight-line basis over the contract term as the performance obligations, rental listings on our mobile applications and websites, are satisfied over time based on time elapsed. The number of leases generated through our rentals pay per lease product, Zillow Lease Connect, during the period is accounted for as variable consideration, and we estimate the amount of variable consideration based on the expected number of qualified leases secured during the period. We do not believe that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will occur once the uncertainty related to the number of leases secured is subsequently resolved. We record a corresponding contract asset for the estimate of variable consideration for Zillow Lease Connect when the right to the consideration is conditional. When the right to consideration becomes unconditional upon the execution of a lease, we reclassify amounts to accounts receivable. Rentals revenue also includes revenue generated from our rental applications product, through which potential renters can submit applications to multiple properties for a flat service fee. We recognize revenue for the rental applications product on a straight-line basis during the contractual period over which the customer has the right to access and submit the rental application.
Mortgages. Mortgages revenue primarily includes revenue generated by Zillow Home Loans, our affiliated mortgage lender, and marketing products sold to mortgage professionals on a cost per lead basis, including our Custom Quote and Connect services.
Mortgage origination revenue reflects origination fees on purchase or refinance mortgages and the corresponding sale, or expected future sale, of a loan. When an interest rate lock commitment (“IRLC”) is made to a customer, we record the expected gain on sale of the mortgage, plus the estimated earnings from the expected sale of the associated servicing rights, adjusted for a pull-through percentage (which is defined as the likelihood that an interest rate lock commitment will be originated), as revenue. Revenue from loan origination fees is recognized at the time the related purchase or refinance transactions are completed, usually upon the close of escrow and when we fund the purchase or refinance mortgage loans. Once funded, mortgage loans held for sale are recorded at fair value based on either sale commitments or current market quotes and are adjusted for subsequent changes in fair value until the loan is sold. Origination costs associated with originating mortgage loans are recognized as incurred. We sell substantially all of the mortgages we originate and the related servicing rights to third-party purchasers.
Mortgage loans are sold with limited recourse provisions, which can result in repurchases of loans previously sold to investors or payments to reimburse investors for loan losses. Based on historical experience, discussions with our mortgage purchasers, analysis of the volume of mortgages we originated and current housing and credit market conditions, we estimate and record a loss reserve for mortgage loans held in our portfolio and mortgage loans held for sale, as well as known and projected mortgage loan repurchase requests. These have historically not been significant to our financial statements.
Zillow Group operates Custom Quote and Connect through its wholly owned subsidiary, Zillow Group Marketplace, Inc., a licensed mortgage broker. For our Connect and Custom Quote cost per lead marketing products, participating qualified mortgage professionals typically make a prepayment to gain access to consumers interested in connecting with mortgage professionals. Mortgage professionals who exhaust their initial prepayment prepay additional funds to continue to participate in the marketplace. In Zillow Group’s Connect platform, consumers answer a series of questions to find a local lender, and mortgage professionals receive consumer contact information, or leads, when the consumer chooses to share their information with a lender. Consumers who request rates for mortgage loans in Custom Quotes are presented with customized quotes from participating mortgage professionals. For our cost per lead mortgages products, we recognize revenue when a user contacts a mortgage professional through our mortgages platform, which is the amount for which we have the right to invoice.
Other. Other revenue includes revenue generated from display products, which consist of graphical mobile and web advertising sold on a cost per thousand impressions or cost per click basis to advertisers promoting their brands on our mobile applications and websites. We recognize display revenue as clicks occur or as impressions are delivered to users interacting with our mobile applications or websites, which is the amount for which we have the right to invoice.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make certain estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the related disclosures at the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the periods presented. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates, including those related to the accounting for certain revenue offerings, restructuring costs, amortization period and recoverability of contract cost assets, website and software development costs, recoverability of long-lived assets and intangible assets, share-based compensation, income taxes, the presentation of discontinued and continuing operations, business combinations and the recoverability of goodwill, among others. To the extent there are material differences between these estimates, judgments or assumptions and actual results, our financial statements will be affected. The health of the residential housing market and interest rate environment have introduced significant additional uncertainty with respect to estimates, judgments and assumptions, which may materially impact the estimates previously listed, among others.
Recently Issued Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted
In June 2022, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued guidance to improve existing measurement and disclosure requirements for equity securities that are subject to a contractual sale restriction. This guidance is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2023 on a prospective basis, with early adoption permitted. We expect to adopt this guidance on January 1, 2024. We have not yet determined the impact the adoption of this guidance will have on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.