Zillow Flex leads are the pay-at-closing version of Zillow. You do not buy ZIP codes up front. Zillow sends you live buyer and seller connections, and you pay a share of your commission only when one of them closes.
The name changed. In its 2025 annual report, Zillow calls Zillow Preferred “the next chapter for our Flex program, the invite-only, pay-when-you-close program for top real estate agent teams.” Same model, new name. People still search for Flex, so this page uses both.
The part most Flex reviews skip: a pay-at-closing program is not free leads. You pay with a success fee when you win, and you pay with performance standards every month. Miss enough connection calls and Zillow sends the next buyer to a team that answers.
This page covers what Flex actually is today, what it costs, the standards Zillow holds partners to, and how to work a connection so the fee is worth paying.
What is Zillow Flex, now that it is Zillow Preferred?
Zillow sells agents buyer and seller connections two ways. Its 10-K describes them as share of voice (“market-based pricing”, the Premier Agent ads you pay for up front) and pay for performance (“Zillow Preferred, which was introduced as the next chapter” of Flex).
Flex and Preferred are the pay-for-performance side:
- Invite-only. Zillow picks teams. You do not sign up from a pricing page.
- No upfront spend. You receive connections at no initial cost.
- A success fee at closing. You owe Zillow a percentage of your commission when a connection closes.
- Live connections. A Zillow connection is a buyer Zillow connects to you by phone, in a live transfer, not a form you read tomorrow. Zillow’s own Conversion Playbook says it plainly: “Zillow will connect them by phone to a local Zillow Premier Agent partner.”
Zillow is pushing more volume this way, not less. In the same 10-K, connections delivered through its Enhanced Markets (the integrated touring-to-closing experience run with Preferred partners and Zillow Home Loans) exited 2025 at over 40 percent, and Zillow says it expects Preferred “to expand in tandem.”
If you joined Flex, check which Preferred agreement you are on now. Read the current terms, not a 2022 forum thread.
How much does Zillow Flex cost?
You pay nothing until a connection closes. Then you pay a success fee. Zillow’s Help Center article How to calculate success fees gives the formula:
Success Fee = GCI × Zillow Preferred Success Fee %
GCI is the gross commission income on your side of the deal. Zillow says the percentage currently ranges from 15-40 percent, depending on the ZIP and sale price. The Preferred pricing page adds the two hard rules:
- Seller-originated connections: 40 percent, in all markets.
- Buyer-originated connections: varies by location, transaction price, and connection delivery date.
Zillow can change the fee with 15 days’ notice. New rates apply to connections received after the notice period.
Here is what that looks like on one deal. The rate below is an example, not your ZIP’s rate. Look yours up.
| Line | Example |
|---|---|
| Sale price | $450,000 |
| Your side of the commission (2.5%) | $11,250 GCI |
| Buyer success fee in your ZIP (example: 35%) | $3,937.50 to Zillow |
| What is left before broker and team splits | $7,312.50 |
| Same deal from a seller connection (40%) | $4,500 to Zillow |
That is why “pay at closing real estate leads” sound cheap and still feel expensive. You never pay for a lead that goes nowhere. You pay a large share of the ones that close, and you pay it after your broker and your team have already planned to split that commission.
For the side-by-side with Premier Agent share of voice, see Zillow leads cost.
The standards are the other half of the price
The fee is what you pay per closing. The standards decide how many chances you get to close.
Zillow’s partner guide, Flex Program Overview: Enhanced Markets (2024), lists what Flex teams are measured on:
| Metric | Program standard | Minimum before a warning |
|---|---|---|
| Answer rate (unique connection attempts delivered to your agents, last 3 months, dropped calls excluded) | 60% or more | 40% |
| Closing doc submission rate (closed deals with valid closing docs in the Premier Agent app) | 100% | 75% |
| Pay on time rate (invoices paid on closed deals) | 100% | 95% |
| Logged transactions vs your monthly target (last 6 months) | 100% or more | - |
| Engaged transfer rate (connections who asked for pre-approval and engaged a Zillow Home Loans officer) | 15% or more | - |
The guide is blunt about what happens below the line. Any minimum missed for one month is a warning. Two consecutive months puts the team at risk for disengagement, and “also at risk for decreased connection volume.” Teams grow volume the other way: above 100 percent of the transaction target, above a 20 percent engaged transfer rate, and in good operational standing.
Preferred partners now see their numbers in Follow Up Boss, which has a Zillow Preferred agent performance report. Metric names and thresholds get revised. Treat the table above as the shape of the system, and check your own Partner Performance Report for the current numbers.
The shape matters more than the exact figures. Answer rate is the first gate. Every other metric starts with an agent picking up a live transfer.
Why the first call decides the fee
On Premier Agent, a missed call wastes money you already spent. On Flex, a missed call costs three things:
- That buyer. Zillow’s Premier Agent FAQ says a missed live connection goes to the next agent. A buyer who reaches someone else does not come back to wait for you.
- Your answer rate. Every unanswered transfer lowers the 3-month number Zillow uses to decide your standing.
- Next month’s volume. Zillow’s guide says it rewards “top performing Flex partners with a greater share of connection volume.” Fewer answers, fewer connections.
The appointment is the second gate. Zillow’s playbook says that when a buyer and agent confirm an appointment on the connection call, the buyer is 3× more likely to transact. That is Zillow’s figure from its own data, not an independent study. The independent research points the same way.
The 2007 Oldroyd / InsideSales research found contacting a web lead within 5 minutes, rather than 30, made contact about 100× more likely and qualifying about 21× more likely. HBR’s 2011 audit, The Short Life of Online Sales Leads, found a 42-hour average first response among companies that replied at all. A Flex connection is the opposite of a slow web lead: the buyer is on the phone right now. Speed to lead on Flex is measured in rings, not minutes.
How to work a Zillow Flex connection, step by step
Zillow’s playbook structures the connection call around ALM: Appointment, Location, Motivation. Here is that framework as a desk routine.
- Answer inside the transfer. Turn on in-app connections in the Premier Agent app so the call, the property, and what the buyer has been saving show up together. Use broadcast routing so a showing or a lunch break does not drop the call.
- Greet by name and name the home. Zillow’s own example: “Hi [name], this is [agent], a local agent with [brokerage]. Zillow just connected us and I see you’re interested in touring [address].”
- Ask for the appointment first. “Great, when would you like to go see the property?” Not at the end of a ten-minute chat. First.
- Location. “Are you only interested in this area, or open to other neighborhoods?” Offer to line up other homes so a sold listing does not end the relationship.
- Motivation. “What interests you about this property?” and “How long have you been looking?”
- Leave financing for the appointment. The playbook warns against pointed money questions before rapport. If the buyer brings it up, acknowledge it and book it into the meeting.
- Confirm the next step in writing. Date, time, address, by text or email, while they are still on the line.
- Write it down where Zillow can see it. Note, status, and appointment in Follow Up Boss the same minute. Preferred expects status updates and Follow Up Boss usage, and closing docs depend on a clean record later.
For buyers who are not ready to talk yet, the qualifying questions and the follow-up cadence carry the rest. Flex does not change that part. It just makes the first call matter more.
Where an AI voice agent fits, and where it does not
Be precise about this, because a wrong setup can cost you your Flex standing.
The live Zillow transfer is built to reach a person on your team. That is the call answer rate measures. Do not route Preferred connection calls to a bot, and read your Preferred agreement on who may handle them before you change anything about the transfer.
The work around that call is where a voice agent earns its keep:
- Missed connections. If nobody on the team could take a transfer, a call back within a minute is the difference between a lost buyer and a booked tour. It does not undo the missed answer, but it can still win the deal.
- Direct contacts and nurture leads. Buyers who texted your Zillow number or were not ready to talk still need a first ring, often at 10pm on a Sunday.
- Appointment confirmation. Reminder calls and texts that keep the held-appointment rate up.
- Write-back. A summary, budget, timeline, and next step on the Follow Up Boss record, so status updates are never a Friday chore.
That is the job mergro does: the first ring on every lead that is not already on a live transfer, with notes written back to Follow Up Boss, so your agents spend their time on the connection calls Zillow is measuring.
What to measure this week
Pull the last 90 days from your Partner Performance Report and Follow Up Boss.
- Answer rate on connection calls. Below 60 percent means fix routing and coverage before anything else.
- Missed connections by hour and day. Most teams find the misses in clusters: showings, lunch, Sundays.
- Appointments set on the connection call versus appointments set later.
- Held appointments (not set, held).
- Success fees paid ÷ closings from Flex. Your real average fee per deal.
If your answer rate is fine and closings are not, the problem is between the appointment and the offer. If your answer rate is the problem, more Zillow volume will not help, because Zillow will not send it. Run the numbers in the cost per booked viewing calculator and compare against your Zillow lead conversion rate.
Common mistakes
Treating pay-at-closing as free. It is 15-40 percent of GCI on every closed connection, 40 percent on every seller connection.
Pricing from an old Flex screenshot. Zillow can change the fee with 15 days’ notice. Use the current pricing page and your agreement.
Leaving the transfer on one agent’s phone. One showing at the wrong time is a missed connection and a lower answer rate.
Asking for the appointment last. Zillow’s own data says an appointment on the first call makes the buyer 3× more likely to transact.
Skipping closing docs and status updates. They are graded. Two bad months put the whole team at risk.
Putting a bot on the live transfer. Automate the missed calls, follow-ups, and notes. Keep the transfer for your people unless your agreement says otherwise.
Frequently asked questions
Is Zillow Flex still available?
Yes, under a new name. Zillow calls Zillow Preferred “the next chapter for our Flex program.” It is still invite-only and still pay at closing, and Zillow says Preferred builds on Flex’s foundation.
How much is the Zillow Flex referral fee?
It is a success fee on your gross commission income. Zillow says it currently ranges from 15 to 40 percent, depending on ZIP and price. Seller-originated connections are 40 percent in all markets. Buyer-originated fees vary by location, price, and delivery date.
How do you get invited to Zillow Flex or Preferred?
Zillow invites teams it sees performing well, based on how they handle connections and convert them. There is no public application. A strong answer rate, appointments set, and closings logged on Premier Agent are what get a team noticed.
What answer rate does Zillow Flex require?
Zillow’s Flex partner guide sets the program standard at 60 percent or more over three months, with 40 percent as the minimum. Falling below a minimum two months in a row puts the team at risk of removal and lower connection volume. Check your own Partner Performance Report for the current numbers.
Are Zillow Flex leads worth it?
They are worth it if you can answer the live transfers and set appointments on the first call. You only pay on closings, so the risk is not wasted spend. The risk is losing your standing because the phone was not answered. See are Zillow leads worth it.
Can an AI answer Zillow Flex calls?
The live connection transfer is meant to reach a person on your team, and that is what answer rate measures. Use AI for the calls around it: callbacks on missed connections, direct contacts, nurture leads, appointment reminders, and CRM notes. Check your Preferred agreement before changing how transfers are handled.
Sources
- Zillow Group, Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025. Zillow Preferred as “the next chapter for our Flex program”, share of voice vs pay for performance, Enhanced Market connections over 40 percent.
- Zillow Help Center, How to calculate success fees. Success fee = GCI × 15-40 percent.
- Zillow, Preferred pricing. Seller-originated connections 40 percent in all markets. Buyer fees vary. 15-day change notice.
- Zillow, Flex Program Overview: Enhanced Markets, partner guide, 2024. Program standards, minimums, disengagement process.
- Zillow, Premier Agent Conversion Playbook, October 2023. Live phone connections, ALM framework, 3× likelihood with an appointment on the call.
- Zillow Help Center, Premier Agent FAQ. Missed connections go to the next agent.
- James Oldroyd, Kristina McElheran, and David Elkington, The Short Life of Online Sales Leads, Harvard Business Review, March 2011.
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