If you watched the Big Game over the last couple of years, you definitely saw them. The high-production, slightly chaotic, and celebrity-drenched ads that seemed to pop up every time a whistle blew. One minute Dan Levy is hovering in a golden helicopter, and the next, Morgan Freeman is lending his "Voice of God" to a legal disclaimer.
We’re talking about the Homes.com Super Bowl commercial blitz.
It wasn’t just a one-off ad. It was the centerpiece of a staggering $1 billion marketing onslaught by CoStar Group, the parent company that decided it was tired of Zillow owning the "home search" part of our brains. But behind the glitz of Lil Wayne and Jeff Goldblum, there’s a massive business gamble happening. Did it actually work? Or was it just a very expensive way to see Dan Levy look confused in a tailored suit?
The 2024 Launch: "We’ve Done Your Homework"
In 2024, Homes.com didn't just dip a toe in the water. They cannonballed. They ran three separate spots during Super Bowl LVIII, plus an Apartments.com ad (also owned by CoStar) featuring the legend himself, Jeff Goldblum.
The vibe was "educational chic."
Dan Levy and SNL’s Heidi Gardner played high-energy, slightly intense executives. They weren't just showing you houses; they were conducting "reconnaissance." In one spot, they’re literally flying a helicopter over neighborhoods to scout out local parks and schools. The tagline, "We’ve Done Your Homework," was a direct shot at the idea that other sites just give you a list of houses without telling you if the local coffee shop is actually any good.
Then there was the Lil Wayne cameo.
Why was Lil Wayne in a library for a real estate commercial? Honestly, it didn't strictly need to make sense. It was about the "wow" factor. Seeing Weezy F. Baby in a school setting to announce that "home-shopping is going back to school" was weird enough to make people stop reaching for the 7-layer dip and actually look at the TV.
2025: The "Legal" Loophole with Morgan Freeman
Fast forward to February 2025. CoStar returned for Super Bowl LIX, but the tone shifted from "scouting" to "we're the best (but we can't say it)."
The 2025 Homes.com Super Bowl commercial arc was a meta-commentary on advertising itself. The plot? Dan Levy and Heidi Gardner are trying to convince a dry, stubborn corporate lawyer to let them claim Homes.com is the best site on the planet.
- Spot 1: "Not Saying We're the Best."
- Spot 2: "Still Not Saying We're the Best."
They tried everything. Interpretive dance. Morse code. Gibberish. The lawyer wouldn't budge. Finally, they brought in the heavy hitter: Morgan Freeman.
Because let’s be real—if Morgan Freeman says something in that resonant, authoritative baritone, it becomes true. The ads were directed by Taika Waititi, which explains the offbeat, rhythmic comedic timing. It was a clever way to handle the "Your Listing, Your Lead" policy that Homes.com pushes, which is basically their way of saying they don't sell your data to random agents like their competitors might.
By the Numbers: Was it Worth $1 Billion?
You might think $7 million to $8 million for a 30-second spot is insane. And it is. But Andy Florance, the CEO of CoStar, isn't exactly known for small moves.
Before the 2024 Super Bowl, Homes.com had a consumer brand awareness of about 4%. That’s basically nothing. You could have told someone it was a site for birdhouses and they might have believed you.
After the first year of this campaign? That number jumped to 33%.
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According to Google Analytics data from late 2024, the Homes.com Network was pulling in about 110 million average monthly unique visitors. To put that in perspective, Realtor.com was hovering around 62 million. They didn't just grow; they vaulted over established players to sit right behind Zillow.
The Real Difference in Strategy
Most people don't realize that Homes.com is trying to flip the script on how these sites make money.
Zillow and Realtor.com often use a "lead generation" model. You click "contact agent" on a house you like, and your info gets sold to an agent who paid for that lead. Homes.com is pushing a "Your Listing, Your Lead" model. The agent's name you see on the screen is actually the person selling the house.
The Super Bowl ads were the "loud" way of shouting this "quiet" business distinction.
Why the Ads "Feel" Different
A lot of Super Bowl commercials try to be heart-tugging or purely slapstick. Homes.com went for "aggressive competence."
Dan Levy’s character isn't a bumbling dad or a cool guy; he’s a guy who is obsessed with neighborhood data. The wild sentence lengths in the dialogue—the quick-fire banter between him and Heidi Gardner—is meant to mimic the frantic energy of the current housing market.
It’s stressful to buy a house right now. The ads acknowledge that by being a little high-strung themselves.
What This Means for You (The Actual User)
If you're just looking for a house, does any of this matter? Kinda.
Because CoStar is pouring so much money into the Homes.com Super Bowl commercial spots, they are forced to make the actual product better to keep people from bouncing. They’ve spent hundreds of millions of those "homework" dollars sending actual human beings out to photograph neighborhoods, interview locals, and drone-map school districts.
The "homework" isn't just a marketing slogan. It’s an attempt to build a Wikipedia-level database for every neighborhood in America.
Actionable Insights for Home Shoppers
Don't just watch the commercials; use the tools they're paying for. If you’re currently in the market, here is how to actually leverage what Homes.com is building:
- Check the Neighborhood Tabs: Instead of just looking at the kitchen photos, scroll down to the neighborhood sections. They often have proprietary drone footage and "vibe" descriptions that you won't find on Zillow.
- Contact the Listing Agent Directly: If you want the actual person who has stepped foot inside the house and knows the seller's timeline, use the contact info provided on the listing.
- Compare "Days on Market": Because Homes.com is trying to win over listing agents, they sometimes get data refreshes faster than third-party aggregators.
The real estate "portal wars" are far from over. With CoStar signaling a slight spending pullback in early 2026 to focus on profitability, the era of $1 billion ad budgets might be peaking. But for now, the Homes.com Super Bowl commercial legacy is clear: they bought their way to the table, and they aren't leaving anytime soon.
If you are planning to buy or sell this year, take ten minutes to compare the neighborhood data on Homes.com against your usual search app. You might find that the "homework" they did actually saves you a trip to a neighborhood that looks great in photos but feels wrong in person.