Zillow · Product sense · Entry · 45 to 60 minutes

Which buyer problem should Zillow solve first?

Zillow is a US online real estate marketplace where people search for homes and connect with real estate agents. Answer this product management case and get it graded line by line against a weighted rubric.

User segmentation
Problem prioritization
Product sense
Metrics
Experimentation

The situation

You are a PM on Zillow's home shopping experience in the US. Your GM asks for one focused recommendation that helps home buyers move from browsing listings to a stronger sign of purchase intent, such as saving a home, contacting an agent, or scheduling a tour. This matters now because buyers often research for months, affordability pressure has made decisions harder, and competitors like Redfin and realtor.com also help users evaluate listings. Zillow already has rich listing data, neighborhood information, and user behavior signals, but there is no agreement on which buyer problem to solve first. Some teammates want clearer total cost information, some want better neighborhood and commute insights, and some want a simpler way for buyers to compare many similar homes. You need to choose a target user, identify the most important pain point in their journey, and recommend one feature Zillow should build first. The hard part is staying narrow while still showing how the idea would improve decision quality and help users take meaningful action.

What to produce

Write a 1 to 2 page product sense memo, about 600 to 900 words.

Your answer must

Identify one primary Zillow buyer segment and explain why this segment is the best place to focus first.
Choose one specific pain point in that segment's home search journey and justify why it matters more than nearby alternatives.
Propose one feature, or one tightly related feature set, and explain how it would work in the current Zillow experience.
Define a primary success metric tied to a real user action, plus 1 to 2 guardrail metrics.
Describe a practical validation plan that covers pre launch learning and post launch monitoring.

Constraints

Focus on US home buyers as the primary user, not sellers or agents.
Assume no major regulatory, MLS, or technical blockers, but keep the idea realistic for Zillow's current app or website.
Scope the answer to one feature that can be tested incrementally, not a broad marketplace redesign.
Do not rely on new partnerships or offline services to make the idea work.

Format

Use short sections with headers: target user, problem, solution, success metrics, validation.

How Zillow actually played it

A full worked answer to an open product sense question. It picks a user group, narrows to the pain of comparing homes, proposes a match score banner and closes with test and tracking plans.

Narrow to one user group before listing ideas
Tie the success metric to a real action such as a booked tour
Finish with how you would validate and monitor the idea

Built from Product Sense Interview: If you were a PM at Zillow, what will you build and why? by Candidace.fyi.