What Is Zillow Showcase and Is It Worth It for Cedar City Realtors?

If you have spent any time on Zillow lately, you have probably noticed certain listings that look dramatically different from the rest — immersive photo experiences, interactive floor plans, room-by-room navigation. Those are Zillow Showcase listings. And the data on their performance is hard to ignore.

Here is everything you need to know about Zillow Showcase and whether it makes sense for your listings in Cedar City, St. George, and Southern Utah.

Zillow Showcase is Zillow's premium listing format, designed to give buyers a more immersive experience than standard MLS photos. It was launched nationally in 2023 and has quickly become one of the most talked-about tools in real estate marketing.

A Zillow Showcase listing includes:

• Immersive photo experience — A full-screen, magazine-style photo presentation that replaces the standard thumbnail grid
• Interactive floor plan — A clickable floor plan that lets buyers navigate room by room through the photos
• Room-labeled photos — Each photo is tagged with the room name so buyers can quickly find what they are looking for
• Highlighted listing badge — Showcase listings appear with a special badge in Zillow search results, making them stand out from standard listings
• Priority placement — Showcase listings receive preferential placement in Zillow search results

Zillow's own data on Showcase listings is compelling:

• Showcase listings receive 60% more views than comparable standard listings
• Showcase listings get 79% more saves (buyers adding to their favorites)
• Showcase listings receive more inquiries and tend to sell faster

In a market where buyers are scrolling through dozens of listings, anything that stops the scroll and keeps them engaged longer is a significant advantage. The interactive floor plan alone keeps buyers on your listing far longer than a standard photo gallery.

To create a Zillow Showcase listing, you need a Zillow Showcase certified photographer. Not every real estate photographer is certified — Zillow requires photographers to complete specific training and use approved equipment and software to create the interactive floor plan and room-labeled photo experience.

Lee Webb of Cedar Real Estate Media is a Zillow Showcase certified photographer serving Cedar City, St. George, and all of Southern Utah. This means we can create the full Showcase experience for your listings — including the interactive floor plan that is the centerpiece of the format.

The process works like this:

1. We photograph the property using our standard professional process
2. We capture the data needed to generate the interactive floor plan
3. We deliver the Showcase-ready package, which you upload to Zillow through your agent dashboard
4. Your listing goes live with the full Showcase experience

There are two costs to consider: the photography fee and the Zillow listing fee.

Photography fee: Cedar Real Estate Media charges $350 for a Zillow Showcase shoot. This includes all standard real estate photography plus the additional floor plan capture and Showcase-formatted deliverables.

Zillow listing fee: Zillow charges agents a separate fee to activate the Showcase format on their listing. This fee varies by market and is paid directly to Zillow through your agent account. Contact Zillow directly for current pricing in the Cedar City and St. George markets.

The honest answer: it depends on the listing.

Showcase makes the most sense for:

• Listings priced above $350,000 — The incremental cost is a small percentage of the commission, and the performance lift is significant
• Luxury and high-end properties — Showcase's immersive format showcases premium finishes and spaces far better than standard photos
• Properties with unique layouts — The interactive floor plan is especially valuable for homes with unusual or impressive floor plans that are hard to convey in photos alone
• Vacation and second-home properties — Out-of-state buyers rely heavily on digital experiences. Showcase gives them the closest thing to an in-person tour
• Competitive listings — If comparable homes in your price range are using Showcase, not using it puts you at a disadvantage

Standard photography may be sufficient for:

• Entry-level listings where buyers are less price-sensitive and more urgency-driven
• Properties that need to move fast and the standard package timeline is sufficient
• Listings where the seller's budget is tight

Cedar Real Estate Media is one of the only Zillow Showcase certified photographers serving Cedar City, St. George, Hurricane, and the surrounding Southern Utah market.

To book a Showcase shoot, schedule online or contact us to discuss your listing. We offer 24-hour turnaround on all deliverables so your listing goes live fast.

Have questions about whether Showcase is right for a specific listing? Reach out — we are happy to talk through the options.