How to download listing photos (Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com)

The quick ways, on desktop and iPhone

None of the three big portals has a download button for listing photos. What works is the same everywhere:

Zillow's help center says you save a home "by clicking the heart icon," find it in the Saved Homes section of your profile, and get email updates on status changes, price changes and open houses. Redfin's Favorites work the same way: click the heart on the map or at the top of a home's page, and the home goes into your Favorites list. For a buyer comparing homes, this is usually all you need, and it doesn't copy anything.

Why the copies look worse than the listing

• You get the web version, not the original. Portals show a copy sized and compressed for fast loading. The photographer's original file is larger and sharper, and it never reaches your browser.
• A screenshot is only as big as your screen. It also includes whatever sits on top of the photo, such as arrows, buttons and the site's own labels.
• Each save loses a little. Cropping, re-saving and sending a photo through a messaging app compresses it again. Keep the first file you saved.
• Some galleries aren't plain images. A 3D tour or a video won't save this way at all; record your notes instead.

That is fine for a note to yourself and not fine for print or a new listing. If you need a photo at full quality, the only clean source is the person who made it.

What the sites' terms allow

All three portals license their pages to you for personal use and forbid automated copying. In their own words:

In practice: saving a photo by hand to compare homes you might buy is the kind of personal use the terms describe. A browser extension or script that grabs a whole gallery is scraping, and posting the photos anywhere else, including your own listing, flyer or social account, is reuse the terms forbid. Realtor.com's wording is the strictest of the three, so the safest habit there is the heart button and your own notes. This is general information, not legal advice.

Who owns the photos

The portal doesn't own the photos either. Redfin's help center says property photographs "are protected by copyright and cannot be distributed as they belong to the listing agent or photographer," and it sends owners who want a copy to the previous listing agent. Who holds the copyright, why paying for a shoot doesn't usually transfer it, and what the MLS rules say are in our guide to who owns listing photos.

Legitimate reasons to keep a copy

• A buyer's notes. Saving a few photos of homes you toured, with your own comments, so you can compare them later. Keep them private.
• A record of your own home. If you bought the house, the listing photos show its condition at the sale, which can help with a renovation plan or an insurance question. Ask your buyer's agent or the listing agent too, since they can see the full set in the MLS.
• Following a home you like. The heart button is enough, and it keeps you up to date when the listing changes.

None of these needs you to publish the photo, and that is the line to keep. If you want to put a photo in front of other people, get permission first.

For agents: ask for the originals

If you are an agent and need photos of a home for a listing, a comparable or a marketing piece, don't download them from a portal. Ask the listing agent or the photographer for the original files and a license that covers your use, or get them through your MLS where its rules allow it. Zillow's help center is explicit that "photos provided by previous agents or homeowners cannot be used for future listings," so a re-listing needs its own photos. If photos of your own listing show up somewhere you didn't put them, our guide to removing or updating listing photos covers what Zillow and Redfin let you change.

Need photos you own? Take them

If you were going to download photos because you need pictures of a home you are selling or renting out, it can be simpler to make your own. With the October app you walk the home with an iPhone 12 or newer; it shows you where to stand in each room, keeps the phone level and takes the pictures. October's photos are AI-generated from that guided capture: an AI image model draws the finished photos, with a daylight look and loose items left out, usually within a few hours. The model is told to keep walls, floors, windows, fittings and the view, but compare each photo with the room before you use it, and label it as AI-altered where your MLS requires. A place of up to 6 rooms is $49 for photos or $99 with a walkthrough video, and your first place is free. See pricing and our guide to how to take pictures of your house to sell.

Step by step

1. Save the home first

   Click or tap the heart on the listing. Zillow keeps it under Saved Homes in your profile and Redfin under Favorites, and both email you when the price or status changes.

2. Open the photo full size

   Open the gallery and click the photo you want so it fills the screen. Saving the small thumbnail gives you an even smaller file.

3. Save it on a computer

   Right-click the photo and choose Save Image As. If the menu has no save option, take a screenshot instead.

4. Save it on an iPhone

   In Safari, touch and hold the photo and choose the option to save it to Photos if it appears. If it doesn't, press the side button and the volume up button together for a screenshot (side button and Home button on an iPhone with a Home button).

5. Write down where it came from

   Note the address, the site, the date and the listing agent next to the file, so you know later whose photo it is and where to ask for the original.

Questions