Stephen Capezza is leaving Zillow to join white-label brokerage Side after being named president of the firm, according to an announcement on Tuesday.
In the newly created role, Capezza will be tasked with driving “Side’s continued growth,” according to the press release.
“Steve is the exact right person to help guide Side through the next phase of our growth,” Guy Gal, the CEO of Side, said in a statement. “He has significant industry experience, and a deep understanding of the specific needs of the top-producing agents and teams we partner with at Side.”
Most recently Capezza served a senior vice president of business operations at Zillow, where he oversaw the Zillow Premier Agent program. Capezza joined Zillow in 2015, moving to the firm through Zillow’s acquisition of Trulia, where he had led Trulia’s San Francisco sales and operations team for two years.
“Side’s platform is the future of brokerage,” Capezza said in a statement. “I’m thrilled to play a role in expanding this unique model so that even more agents, teams, and independent brokers across the country can take ownership of their business and careers.”
Capezza is just the most recent executive named to the Side team over the past 12 months. In March 2022, the firm appointed Michelle Denogean as chief marketing officer and in August, Side added Carmine “CJ” Napolitano as CFO.
“With this experienced executive team in place, we will continue to advance our mission to transform the best real estate agents into companies that they own, and help those companies continue to grow,” said Gal.
Despite these additions, Side has struggled in recent months, undergoing two rounds of layoffs in the last half of the year.
Side raised $200 million in 2021 for a valuation of $2.5 billion at the time. Valuations for real estate and mortgage companies in general have fallen substantially in recent months as the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes chill the housing market.