zillowZillow continues to ink alliances with real estate groups, even as questions arise over the growing power of the Seattle online real estate company.

The latest deal involves MLSListings Inc. of Northern California, which has agreed to syndicate listings directly to Zillow.

Obviously, Silicon Valley is an important market, given the early adopter tech crowd; rapidly rising home prices and large population base. MLSListings is the multiple listing service platform for 16,000 real estate agents in Monterey, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, covering some 28,000 square miles of California.

A photo of Errol Samuelson.
Errol Samuelson of Zillow

“We are excited to welcome MLSListings to the Zillow Partnership Platform,” said Errol Samuelson, Zillow chief industry development officer. “This partnership platform enables us to offer home shoppers in the intensely competitive housing market access to the most comprehensive inventory of homes with the most up-to-date information.”

Getting up-to-the-minute listings is key for companies such as Zillow, which has been criticized by rivals such as Redfin in the past for its listing quality. The best way to get that data is to partner directly with multiple listing services, some of which have withheld the data from Zillow in the past.

Samuelson, who joined Zillow earlier this year, and was promptly sued by his former employer of Move Inc., is working hard to build those bridges.

The alliances will be key for Zillow, especially as Redfin looks to expand into as many as 46 new markets in a bid to become more of a national real estate player.

Zillow continues to grow its audience and market value. The Seattle company topped 80 million visitors last month, and its market cap topped $5.5 billion last week, which makes Zillow more valuable than Century 21 and ERA parent company Realogy Holdings.

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline

Job Listings on GeekWork

Find more jobs on GeekWork. Employers, post a job here.