Homes.com
Homes.com is a real estate search platform owned by CoStar Group that provides property listings, market data, and home search tools. The service competes with Zillow and Realtor.com by offering home buyers and renters access to residential property listings across the United States.
Score generated by AI agents based on publicly cited evidence and reviewed by the project maintainer. Not independently validated. Last assessed 2026-10-01. Score revised 2026-10-01: 50 → 48.
Score History
Timeline events are AI-curated from public reporting. Score trajectory is derived from documented events.
After its 2001 bankruptcy, Homes.com was bought by Trader Publishing in 2004 and later run by Dominion Enterprises as a mid-sized listing portal. It earned money the conventional way, selling buyer-agent advertising and lead forms next to listings, with 'Local Connect' ads from 2015 that listing agents could suppress by paying for enhanced display. It was privately owned and had little market power.
CoStar closed its $156 million purchase on May 24, 2021, merged it with Homesnap, ended Dominion's lead selling under 'Your Listing, Your Lead,' and relaunched the site in November 2022. Agents paid nothing yet, but CoStar's workplace culture drew a 2022 Business Insider exposé, and in March 2023 agents found Homes.com search ads running under their names. Investment was building product rather than extracting from it.
CoStar announced a roughly $1 billion 2024 marketing push with Super Bowl ads and began selling agent memberships on February 12, adding auto-renewing 6- and 12-month contracts and boosted placement for members. NAD found its '156 million visitors' claim bundled 16 other sites, Move sued over alleged trade-secret theft for Homes.com, and CoStar announced the $1.6 billion Matterport deal. In February 2025 CoStar cut about 120 Richmond jobs and authorized a $500 million buyback while still investing heavily.
Homes.com began pitching paid 'Boost' listing promotion, tested vendor-paid advertising, and in July 2025 mailed nearly 100,000 sellers asking them to pay for Boosts, angering agents. Cancellation complaints from members mounted, CoStar restricted Matterport tours on rival portals, REcore sued over unpaid MLS fees, and the 9th Circuit revived CREXi's antitrust claims. Homes.com net investment was still about $850 million for the year.
On January 7, 2026, CoStar pledged to cut Homes.com net investment by more than $300 million and authorized a $1.5 billion buyback; activists Third Point and D.E. Shaw then attacked the strategy until Third Point exited in April. Since then CoStar has bought back $589 million of stock, cut about 200 Homes.com staff and about 40% of its inside-sales team, raised prices for new members, and planned a 'Platinum' depth-advertising tier. Shoppers gained AI search, but the platform is now run to capture more value from agents and sellers.
Alternatives
A major real estate portal with MLS-sourced listings and a cleaner search experience than Homes.com, owned by Rocket Companies since July 2025. Redfin also runs its own brokerage with discounted listing fees for sellers if you want help beyond browsing. Easy switch: just use the site or app without creating an account.
Dimensional Breakdown
Summaries below were written by AI agents based on the cited evidence. They are editorial interpretations, not independent research findings.
Dimension History
Timeline (48 events)
Trader Publishing acquires Homes.com from bankruptcy
Trader Publishing Company, a joint venture of Landmark Media Enterprises and Cox Enterprises, purchased Homes.com Inc. after the site had filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2001 following the dot-com bust. The acquisition gave Homes.com corporate stability and access to Trader's publishing and advertising infrastructure.
FTC conditions CoStar's $860M LoopNet acquisition
The Federal Trade Commission required CoStar to divest LoopNet's stake in Xceligent and imposed conduct remedies including allowing customers to terminate contracts without penalty. The settlement signaled CoStar's pattern of acquiring competitors in concentrated markets, establishing the antitrust trajectory that would follow the company into residential real estate.
Homes.com launches 'Local Connect' buyer's-agent ads beside listings
Under Dominion Enterprises, Homes.com launched 'Local Connect' ads that let buyer's agents geotarget shoppers by ZIP code with branded contact forms on listing pages, below the listing agent. Inquiries also went to the listing agent, and the ads did not appear if the listing agent was a Homes.com advertiser with preferred display. Before this, Homes.com had routed inquiries to anonymous agent advertisers as well as the listing agent.
FTC sues to block CoStar's $588M RentPath acquisition
The FTC filed suit to block CoStar's proposed acquisition of RentPath Holdings, citing that the two companies were each other's closest rivals in internet listing services for apartment complexes. The complaint noted 70% of large US apartment complexes advertised on services operated by either CoStar or RentPath. RentPath terminated the deal on December 29, 2020.
CoStar acquires Homesnap for $250M
CoStar Group completed its $250 million all-cash acquisition of Homesnap Inc., a mobile productivity and marketing platform for residential real estate agents, on December 22, 2020, after announcing the deal in November and receiving FTC clearance in mid-December. The acquisition gave CoStar its entry into residential real estate and the agent-facing tools and relationships that would become the foundation for the rebuilt Homes.com.
CoStar completes $156M acquisition of Homes.com
CoStar Group closed its acquisition of Homes.com from Dominion Enterprises for $156 million in cash, after FTC clearance the week before. CoStar said it would combine Homes.com with Homesnap and, committing to the principle that leads generated by an agent's listings belong to that agent, discontinue Homes.com products and practices inconsistent with that 'your listing, your lead' approach. CoStar expected Homes.com to add about $10 million in revenue and about $15 million in negative adjusted EBITDA in 2021.
Business Insider exposes authoritarian CoStar culture
Business Insider reported, based on conversations with 29 current and former CoStar employees, that the company lost 1,546 of its roughly 4,200 employees in 2021 (about 37%) amid a crackdown on remote work. Sources said IT staff were ordered to make unannounced video calls to remote employees to note their attire and whereabouts, and that managers tracked when employees were at their desks. Florance dismissed critics as 'a tiny, vocal minority' and, in a memo, described the former employee behind an Instagram account documenting bad experiences as a possible security risk.
CoStar stock plummets as Homes.com spending accelerates
CoStar's share price opened more than 20% lower the morning after its Q4 2021 earnings call and a Business Insider report on employee turnover, leaving the stock down more than 50% from its October 2021 high. Analysts on the call pressed Florance on the residential push; he said CoStar would increase residential investment by $200 million in 2022 and aimed to grow residential revenue from $75 million to $1 billion over five to seven years.
CEO Florance accused of brandishing firearm on business call
A former CoStar communications director alleged that CEO Andy Florance brandished a semi-automatic weapon during a business call, with two former employees corroborating the account. The same former employee reportedly received a message from Florance showing a bullet-riddled target. CoStar denied the incident occurred. The allegations compounded governance concerns as CoStar pursued its aggressive Homes.com expansion.
CoStar relaunches Homes.com, sunsets Homesnap
CoStar Group integrated Homesnap operations into a rebuilt Homes.com, relaunching at the NAR annual conference in Orlando. The redesign positioned Homes.com as a cleaner, agent-friendly alternative to Zillow. Approximately 100 duplicative roles were eliminated in the merger, while CoStar planned to add 700 net new positions building the platform.
Homes.com caught running Google Ads with agents' names
Agent Kristina Smallhorn discovered Homes.com running Google Dynamic Search Ads using her name, title, and location without permission, redirecting consumers who searched for her to Homes.com profiles. Multiple agents reported the same experience. CoStar acknowledged the issue was caused by Google's DSA platform pulling agent profiles and blocked all agent profiles from DSAs on March 28, 2023.
CoStar cuts 76 San Diego research jobs months after Homes.com layoffs
CoStar disclosed in a California WARN notice that it laid off 76 researchers in San Diego (14 in January 2023 and 62 notified in March), consolidating the roles into its Virginia headquarters and offering relocation. The cuts followed a roughly 100-job reduction in December 2022 that hit the newly combined Homes.com and Homesnap teams, while CoStar said it planned to hire 700 for the residential business in 2023.
Homes.com fires back amid traffic claims scrutiny
Homes.com president Dave Mele defended the portal's growth after competitors questioned its traffic, including claims that Homes.com was buying 'low-intent' traffic. Mele said Homes.com had passed Redfin and Realtor.com with 100 million unique visitors, called Realtor.com's criticism 'desperation,' and previewed a paid agent membership, possibly under $300, that would promote member listings and agent profiles. The dispute over how portal traffic is measured left agents with little independent way to judge what they would be paying for.
FTC amicus brief backs CREXi's challenge to dismissal of antitrust claims
The Federal Trade Commission filed an amicus brief with the 9th Circuit in CoStar v. CREXi, formally in support of neither party, warning that the district court committed 'three fundamental legal errors' that could 'shield harmful monopolistic conduct from antitrust review.' The FTC argued the court misclassified CoStar's alleged conduct as a unilateral refusal to deal and wrongly relied on contract language while overlooking how CoStar allegedly implemented and enforced its broker contracts.
CoStar announces $1B Homes.com marketing blitz with Super Bowl ads
CoStar said it would spend roughly $1 billion ('rounds up to a billion,' per Florance) on 2024 Homes.com marketing, opening with four Super Bowl commercials (three for Homes.com, one for Apartments.com) featuring Jeff Goldblum, Dan Levy and Heidi Gardner; the New York Times estimated the Super Bowl spots cost about $35 million. The campaign continued through events including the Oscars and NBA playoffs. Florance said CoStar had spent 'multiple billions' bringing Homes.com to market, including acquisitions and content.
Homes.com launches agent membership sales
CoStar began selling Homes.com memberships to agents on February 12, 2024. With less than two months of selling, memberships reached nearly $40 million ($39 million) in net new bookings in Q1 2024, which Florance called 'by far the strongest sales launch of any product in the company's history.'
CoStar announces $1.6B Matterport acquisition
CoStar Group agreed to acquire Matterport, the global leader in 3D digital twin technology, in a transaction valued at approximately $1.6 billion enterprise value. CoStar already had nearly 300,000 Matterport digital twins across its platforms. The acquisition signaled a strategy to create differentiated content that competitors could not easily replicate, potentially deepening lock-in through proprietary 3D tour integration.
Homes.com president David Mele leaves CoStar
David Mele, Homes.com's president since about 2014, confirmed he had left CoStar for an opportunity outside real estate. He had overseen the CoStar acquisition, the end of Homes.com's practice of selling buyer leads, and the launch of paid memberships in early 2024. Homes.com went without an appointed president for more than two years.
Move sues CoStar for trade secret misappropriation
Move Inc., operator of Realtor.com, sued CoStar and former Move employee James Kaminsky, alleging Kaminsky, who headed Realtor.com's news and insights group for nine years before joining CoStar, kept accessing Move documents after leaving and took confidential information to benefit Homes.com. The court denied Move's preliminary injunction in September 2024 and later dismissed two computer-fraud claims. In April 2025 the parties stipulated to dismissal with prejudice, each paying its own fees; Move cited a settlement with Kaminsky, while CoStar said Move dropped the suit after CoStar threatened sanctions.
NAD censures Homes.com for misleading traffic claims
The BBB's National Advertising Division recommended CoStar discontinue claims that 'Homes.com just reached 156M monthly unique visitors' and had 'DOUBLE Realtor.com's traffic.' NAD found the 156 million figure combined traffic from 16 other CoStar websites; Homes.com alone had 110 million monthly unique visitors, which is not double Realtor.com's 66 million. CoStar agreed to change the ads but said NAD had not found its numbers inaccurate and that it would keep advertising Homes.com Network traffic with disclosure.
CoStar lays off about 120 Richmond workers citing AI efficiencies
CoStar laid off about 120 Richmond-area workers, including writers, editors, production staff and senior managers, the same day it announced plans to hire 1,000 people in 2025, mostly in Richmond (including 500 Homes.com sales professionals). The company said it expected to eliminate roles 'from efficiencies gained by using AI' and reallocate resources.
CoStar closes $1.6B Matterport acquisition
CoStar completed its acquisition of Matterport, the 3D digital twin company, roughly a month ahead of the expected end-of-March close. The deal brought Matterport's library of more than 14 million digitized spaces into CoStar's portfolio; CoStar had said consumers spent 20% more time on Apartments.com listings with Matterport tours and planned similar use on Homes.com. The acquisition gave CoStar proprietary 3D content that Zillow and Realtor.com could not easily replicate.
Homes.com experiments with vendor-paid advertising model
CoStar reported experimenting with a vendor-paid advertising model on Homes.com similar to Australia and Sweden's real estate portals, where home sellers regularly purchase tens of thousands of dollars in marketing boosts. Focus groups in Southern California showed participants willing to pay approximately $500 for listing boosts. The model blurred the line between organic listings and paid promotion.
Homes.com pitches paid listing 'Boost,' offers it free for Zillow-banned listings
Homes.com said it was offering a paid one-time 'Boost' marketing package that bumps a listing in its algorithm, and that it would comp the boost for agents whose listings were banned by Zillow's new policy on publicly marketed off-MLS listings. Florance said it was not right to ban listings for Zillow's economic interest. Homes.com claimed boosted listings were 25% more likely to go under contract within 10 days, and said member agents' listings are boosted automatically.
9th Circuit revives CREXi antitrust claims against CoStar
The US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit reversed the district court's dismissal of CREXi's Sherman Act counterclaims, ruling that CREXi plausibly alleged CoStar exercised monopoly power through de facto exclusive deals with brokers and technological barriers preventing listing transfers to competitors. The ruling revived claims under both Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act.
Homes.com sends direct mailers to 100,000 sellers soliciting Boost payments
Homes.com sent direct mailers to home sellers across the country asking them to pay roughly $260 to over $900 to 'boost' their listings; CoStar later told investors the campaign reached nearly 100,000 sellers. The mailers used at least one listing photo and, agents said, their branding. Agents called the campaign 'scammy,' 'unethical' and 'a money grab' that suggested to clients their agent was not marketing effectively, and CRMLS's general counsel said Homes.com must follow MLS licensing rules. Florance said most agents were happy with the mailers.
CoStar sues Zillow for $1B+ copyright infringement
CoStar filed suit in New York federal court alleging Zillow displayed nearly 47,000 of CoStar's copyrighted, watermarked photographs on its sites more than 250,000 times, mostly in rental listings. CoStar sought injunctive relief and 'a substantial award of damages' that could top $1 billion, and Florance threatened to sue Realtor.com and Redfin if they did not remove the images.
Agents report contract lock-in as Homes.com scales membership
As Homes.com scaled its agent membership program in 2024-2025, agents posted complaints on ConsumerAffairs about contract terms. Reviewers said they were told there was no renewal requirement or never signed a contract, only to be held to 6-month or 12-month terms that renew automatically unless canceled with 30 days' notice; one agent who canceled in April 2025 reported $1,120 in charges through September 2025. Reviewers described the cancellation process as difficult.
Homes.com launches AI Smart Search with undisclosed ranking
Homes.com launched 'Smart Search,' an AI-powered feature using natural language processing built on Microsoft Azure OpenAI. The tool supported conversational queries, multi-geo searches, and voice input. However, the underlying ranking algorithm and how paid Boost listings affected search results remained undisclosed, introducing new opacity into the platform's listing presentation.
Zillow pulls Matterport tours as CoStar restricts API access
Zillow removed Matterport 3D tours from Zillow.com and StreetEasy listings, saying CoStar had declined to renew its Matterport API agreement and changed its terms to restrict use of the tours, an effort Zillow said was meant to 'wall off data.' CoStar said Zillow was 'intentionally misrepresenting' its terms and that Matterport customers can share their Spaces anywhere; CoStar's September 29 terms bar CoStar Group media from competing platforms. Agents who relied on Matterport tours for Zillow listings may need a different 3D tool.
REcore sues Homes.com for $887,500 in unpaid MLS fees
REcore Solutions, the licensing arm of the California Regional MLS, sued CoStar and Homes.com for breach of contract, alleging they owed at least $887,500 in fees for 2024 and 2025 under a January 2024 license (about $2 per listing, capped at $500,000 a year), having paid only $75,000 for 2024 and $37,500 for 2025. REcore said it would cut off CRMLS data feeds to Homes.com on November 1. Two days later, CRMLS announced a renewed agreement with CoStar and that the suit would be dismissed with prejudice.
CoStar petitions Supreme Court on CREXi antitrust case
CoStar Group filed a petition for certiorari asking the Supreme Court to review the 9th Circuit's decision reviving CREXi's antitrust claims. CoStar argued the appellate court erred in allowing the case to proceed. The petition elevated CoStar's antitrust exposure to the highest court, with implications for monopoly standards across digital marketplace sectors.
CoStar announces $300M Homes.com spending cuts
CoStar said in an SEC filing it would cut net investment in Homes.com by $300 million in 2026, more than 35%, from an estimated $850 million in 2025, and by over $100 million a year after that through 2030. It said Homes.com would reach 'revenue in excess of expenses' exiting 2029 and positive adjusted EBITDA in 2030.
Third Point calls Homes.com a 'fiasco,' demands board overhaul
Hedge fund Third Point published a letter calling CoStar's residential push a 'fiasco' and blaming the company's 'anemic performance' on the misallocation of roughly $3 billion into U.S. residential real estate, overseen by a 'feckless board' that rewarded Florance with 'exorbitant pay packages.' Third Point said it would nominate a slate of new directors and urged CoStar to divest or shut down its residential businesses.
D.E. Shaw estimates $11B in shareholder value destruction
Hedge fund D.E. Shaw released an open letter to CoStar's board estimating that investor concern over Homes.com had destroyed as much as $11 billion in shareholder value. It said CoStar will have spent more than $3 billion on Homes.com by end-2026 for about $80 million in annual revenue and over $2 billion in cumulative losses, far short of the $700 million to $1 billion in revenue CoStar had projected for 2027. The letter said every shareholder who bought in the past five years had lost money (32% decline vs. a 101% S&P 500 gain), that Florance earned about $130 million over five years with incentives paying 200% of target, used company jets for personal travel at over three times peers' rate, and had net sold about $27 million of stock since November 2022.
CoStar drops severance 'director clause' after Delaware shareholder suit
A retail shareholder sued in Delaware Chancery Court on February 10, alleging CoStar's executive severance plan, a potential $100 million golden parachute, was designed to tilt the threatened proxy fight over Homes.com. On February 13 CoStar removed the clause tying a 'change in control' to board composition, calling the suit opportunistic and saying the clause protected management continuity.
Homes.com launches Homes AI conversational search assistant
Homes.com introduced Homes AI, a voice and text assistant built on Microsoft Azure OpenAI that searches listings and answers questions using CoStar data, Matterport tours, school and neighborhood information. CoStar said the assistant routes interested buyers to the listing agent.
CoStar cuts about 200 Homes.com staff amid cost-cutting
CoStar laid off approximately 200 people from the Homes.com division of its roughly 8,000-person workforce, a day after announcing an AI search assistant, as it carried out its pledge to cut Homes.com investment by 35%. The cuts came weeks after activist investors publicly pressured the company and about a year after the roughly 120 Richmond layoffs of February 2025.
CoStar buys back $589M of stock in H1 2026 as Homes.com is scaled back
CoStar entered a $500 million accelerated share repurchase on February 27, 2026, and with additional open-market purchases repurchased 13.8 million shares for $589 million in the first half of 2026 under its $1.5 billion program. The buybacks came as it cut about 200 Homes.com staff and reduced Homes.com net investment.
CoStar hires defamation firm amid feud with critical investors
Rebutting D.E. Shaw's criticism of Homes.com, CoStar said it had never reported Homes.com as a separate segment, questioned the fund's holdings in competitors, and said it had engaged a law firm specializing in 'complex defamation matters and high-profile reputational attacks.'
Supreme Court declines CoStar's petition in CREXi antitrust case
The Supreme Court denied CoStar's petition for review, leaving in place the 9th Circuit ruling that revived CREXi's antitrust counterclaims. CREXi alleges CoStar used its market position to lock brokers into its platforms and block competitors; CoStar denies violating antitrust law and called the counterclaims a sideshow to its copyright case.
CoStar expands Zillow copyright suit to about 53,000 photos
CoStar filed an amended complaint alleging Zillow had used about 53,000 CoStar-owned images, up from about 47,000 at filing, mostly in rental listings first shown on Apartments.com. Zillow, which had moved to dismiss, called the suit an example of 'wastefully leveraging litigation rather than competing.'
Third Point sells CoStar stake and drops Homes.com proxy fight
Third Point sold its entire CoStar stake and abandoned its effort to replace directors, though Dan Loeb's letter still called Homes.com spending a 'reckless drain' on operating income. CoStar's stock was down 43% for the year at the time.
CoStar raises Homes.com membership prices for new agents
On its Q1 2026 call Florance said a study of 11,400 members showed an 11x return on an average $3,400 annual subscription, so prices for new members would rise from May 1 and 'measured potential renewal increases' were under review. He said that in most agent cohorts 'we're leaving too much on the table.' Homes.com had 35,175 paid members.
Court rejects CoStar amicus brief attacking Zillow in MRED listings fight
CoStar sought to file an amicus brief opposing Zillow's bid to keep its MRED listings feed, arguing Zillow wanted open MLS access for itself while locking rivals like Homes.com out of pre-market listings through Zillow Preview. Judge John Tharp denied CoStar's motion to file on June 16 without giving a reason.
CoStar shareholders re-elect all directors and back say-on-pay
At CoStar's annual meeting all director nominees were re-elected, Florance with 99.46% support, and the advisory say-on-pay proposal passed after the company redesigned its 2026 executive pay program in response to investor feedback.
CoStar cuts Homes.com inside sales ~40%, plans 'Platinum' paid placement tier
CoStar said its Homes.com inside-sales team fell from 660 at end-2025 to about 400 as it builds a 50-person field force, and that a 'Platinum' tier with enhanced placement in search results, priced at multiples of standard listings, would arrive in Q3. Florance said most Homes.com revenue should eventually come from depth advertising. Homes.com revenue rose 66% to $28.5 million, subscribers topped 36,000, and the residential segment posted its first positive adjusted EBITDA.
CoStar names Felix Kusch president of Homes.com
CoStar appointed Felix Kusch, former CEO of German portal Immowelt and interim CEO of Belgium's Immoweb, as Homes.com president, filling a post vacant since David Mele left in May 2024. Kusch reports to Florance.
Evidence (50 citations)
D1: User Value Erosion
D2: Business Customer Exploitation
D3: Shareholder Extraction
D4: Lock-in & Switching Costs
D5: Twiddling & Algorithmic Opacity
D6: Dark Patterns
D7: Advertising & Monetization Pressure
D8: Competitive Conduct
D9: Labor & Governance
D10: Regulatory & Legal Posture
Scoring Log (6 entries)
Checked 79 items + prose. 31 verified, 36 corrected (7 date-only), 11 re-sourced, 1 removed (duplicate). Main fixes: 76-job cut misdated from 2023 to 2025 (and derived 'nearly 200'/'over 400' layoff totals); Bisnow stock item misdated a year; membership-launch salesforce (41 not 275) and 26,000 members (Oct 2025, not Q3 2024); D.E. Shaw figures misattributed to Third Point; FTC amicus was neutral-party; Boost price not in cited source; 'sick twisted stunts' quote, Glassdoor 2.4 culture score and 'email and wait weeks' unsupported and trimmed; SCOTUS cert denial reflected in prose.
50→48. Since Feb 2026: CoStar cut Homes.com net investment $300M+ and authorized a $1.5B buyback (Jan 7), bought back $589M in H1 2026, laid off ~200 Homes.com staff (Feb) and cut inside sales 660→~400 (Q2), raised new-member prices (May 1), planned a 'Platinum' depth-advertising tier; Third Point exited (Apr), all directors re-elected (Jun); Homes AI launched (Feb); SCOTUS denied CoStar's CREXi petition (Mar 23); new president Kusch (Sep). D1 4→3 (recalibration: free search improved; paid placement and homeowner-data complaints are annoyances, not core decline). D2 6→5 (correction: fact audit removed the 'leads sold back' support; flat-fee pay-to-play plus auto-renew terms and 2026 price rise fit 4-5). D4 5→4 (recalibration: near-zero consumer lock-in; agent contract and Matterport lock-in moderate). D6 4→5 (recalibration: obstruction, sneaking and misdirection in the agent funnel persist through 2026 reviews). D8 6→5 (recalibration: CoStar-wide antitrust history (LoopNet, RentPath, CREXi) is commercial/rental and weighted as context; Homes.com is a residential challenger). D9 5→6 (event: 2026 layoffs and sales cuts concurrent with $589M buybacks; 303:1 pay ratio; severance clause). D3, D5, D7, D10 held (D3 summary reframed: pre-2026 losses were over-investment, not extraction). CoStar-wide conduct counted only where it touches Homes.com (buybacks/layoffs funded alongside Homes.com cuts, Matterport, Zillow fights); commercial antitrust treated as context. Eras: Dominion Era kept (re-scored); CoStar Takeover re-dated 2021-06-01→2021-05-24 (acquisition close); Billion-Dollar Blitz re-dated 2024-02-01→2024-02-08 (marketing launch); Monetization Crunch re-dated 2025-06-01→2025-05-09 (Boost pitch); Investor Revolt re-dated 2026-02-12→2026-01-07 (investment cut + buyback) and relabeled 'Profit-First Pivot'. Historical adds: 2015 Local Connect ads, 2024 Mele departure. Category 'Real Estate' fine.
Removed typed-in site scores from alternatives text (they go stale on re-score; the page shows live scores). No other changes.