Heard of Zillow.com yet? You will.
A: As I browse my favorite real estate weblog, Curbed.com, I noticed this link in their Monday PM Linkage about an article posted on Hot Property today about Zillow.com; a new entity that is coming.
Here is what I do know about Zillow:
What is Zillow? A Real Estate Website startup (Not a brokerage!)
Who founded Zillow? Rich Barton. You know him, he founded a little company called Expedia.com in the 1990's. Well, that guy!
Is it going to be a MLS system? No. Actually, according to the Hot Property article:
Zillow won't be some kind of national Multiple Listing Service of homes for sale. In fact, Barton said he thinks anyone trying to create such a list is wasting time. The reason: "The Web is the national MLS already. It's happened. You're arguing over yesterday's news."
How will it make money? Advertising. It is mentioned that the model will be designed so that real estate agents and brokers will be the target customer for placing ads. Perhaps a pay-per-content system similar to that of craigslist where brokers post ads for properties. Sure its free at first, but once the site gets going, they'll be a posting fee? Who knows. The site is still months away from launching.
Will there be reviews? Yes. It seems Rich Barton is huge on user feedback and that this site will incorporate some type of 'REVIEWS' feature in it. One thing that a 'feedback' model does offer is a barrier to entry. If Zillow is successful and this catches on and garners a ton of public opinion, it could be huge for the startup. Another quote from the article states:
Lots of its information will come from users of the site--a model that has been proven highly successful by real estate blogs like curbed.com.
Is the company funded? OH YES! Zillow currently has 75 employees working, mostly engineers, and has raised $32M so far. Read the article!
It seems to me that Zillow will most likely be some sort of combination between NY Times property search, Craigslist model of using brokers as target customers, and Ebay system of feedback and self governance for users to review buildings, listings and agents. Well this seems the most likely to me anyway.
So how will brokers respond to this? Well, what can we do? In my humble opinion, I think there are still plenty of buyers out there who appreciate the hands on advice and services that real estate agents offer on both sides of the transaction.
For buyers, its not just about finding the property that fits the clients needs, but evaluting its true market value, negotiating the best price, handling the packages for the board, and co-ordinating the entire transaction until closing. For sellers, its taking emotion out of the deal, pre-qualifying the buyers, and providing mass exposure in proven marketing channels to get the highest and best offer possible.
But thats just me. I certainly think Zillow will be big. It has the perfect mix of management, connections, funds, and timing to make some sort of impact. The question that remains unanswered is, 'What will it be'?
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Comments (20)
Travel and Real Estate are two completely different industries and with exception of data requirements, I don't see any solid comparisons. Searching for a home is just a small part of an actual home buying process. Let's not forget negotiating the deal, managing the transaction and acting as an advisor through the biggest purchase that a person will make in their lifetime. Until vacations cost $975,000 with no parking, let's compare the same fruit!
Welcome Zillow...
Posted by ReyEstate | January 18, 2006 6:19 AM
Zillow may make a big splash, as they have a lot of dough behind them, but just having a great webpage will not sell real estate. If it's an advertising real estate portal, great. If they can give buyers and sellers more information, fabulous. But if they think that somehow they're going to replace real estate agents, that's just not going to happen. The business can never be totally "virtual". One still needs an agent to schlep them around to tour homes, to hold their hands, prepare and negotiate contracts, repairs, financing, etc... and that cannot be done through a computer.
Posted by Marlow | February 4, 2006 7:52 PM
Beta site launched tonight. A friend and former employee works there and sent me a note. The site is a kick to use with some cool mapping and price overlay features. The revenue model isn't clear yet, but it doesn't take a great leap of imagination to get from what their beta site does (and remarkably well, for a beta) to something that makes money off of targeted ads, home-seller and home-buyer matchmaking, or other services.
Posted by Tony | February 8, 2006 7:56 AM
Zillow's creativity will soon have extremely significant impact on real estate industry and the housing market as well.
Property value, similar to any other commodity value, requires "mark-to-market" across time. Traditional human appraisal, or even automatic valuation method by certain algorithm (AVM), no matter how accurate it is, due to its high cost and time consuming, could not provide a convenient and systematic way to track underlying asset value across time. Such a mark-to-market (MtM) evaluation process impacts on secondary market of mortgage backed securities (MBS) dramatically - MtM will give MBS investors comfort, and eventually it will enhance the liquidity of the secondary market, which in turn will benefit the primary market (or house owners).
Best wishes to Zillow!
Posted by Zhiqiang | February 8, 2006 7:39 PM
The price is not accurate for my house by about $100,000. Some houses on my street, such as my neighbor, have additions which are not reflected in the data presented.
I am having fun even though it is not accurate.
Thanks
Posted by jeffolie | February 8, 2006 11:04 PM
If the Zillow plan does not include the active involvment of a professional Realtor, it will end up being just another Do-it-yourself project,
with do-it-yourself results. The greater New York area has in the past few years seen the emergence of several cut-rate brokers with limited service, mediocre sales results and disappointed clients who eventually turn to the pros for selling their property. The internet cannot replace Realtors and the pledge of fiduciary they have to their clients, any more than it does with doctors and lawyers. I doubt Zillow will consider an enforced code of ethical conduct for their guidance. Realtor fiduciary, and the Realtor Code of Ethics are the essence of Realtor value to buyers and sellers.Simply stated, our clients' needs come before
ours...a value that doesn't translate well to the internet.
Posted by Jeff Rosenfeld | February 9, 2006 1:07 AM
HomePriceMaps.com combines Google Maps with Home Sale Prices.
I use http://www.HomePriceMaps.com to search for realty prices by zipcode and/or city. Also-if you don't see any data for your area you can email them your info and they will quickly post home data for your area and email you within a day or two. pretty convenient.
Posted by Abe Hoffman | February 9, 2006 3:12 PM
Queens Properties
Posted by Salvatore Crifasi | February 9, 2006 5:43 PM
I checked several of my properties, the results were accurate for recent sales and general info. this site could be a big hit. It looks like a another avenue for me when I sell.
Posted by David | February 9, 2006 7:02 PM
Zwillow was spot on in identification/valuation of my property and appears to be accurate as to the properties of my neighborhood as well. Very cool site.
Posted by R.Hurley | February 9, 2006 7:57 PM
Heard about Zillow on PBS and had to try it out. It was accurate and very interesting and will certainly be a good tool in the future. Found it lacking info on a previous sale in Bend but I assume they will catch up as data is available. Will Keep an eye on progress. Keep up the good work.
Posted by Bill Austin | February 10, 2006 4:37 AM
Site seems great, while not supporting Safari...
Data seems accurate, but bathrooms are not listed in halfs (as in 2.5 instead of 3). Editing this data made the Zestimate go down by $40000 (for half a bathroom...) and when I entered 2 stories (it's a townhouse, not a condo) the value jumped up by about $100000.
So, I guess needs some tweaking, but otherwise great..
Posted by R. Furch | February 11, 2006 3:22 AM
I am using Linspire which is a linux based operating system. Your program tried to install flashplayer but it was very complecated and failed. How can I use your services if you do not have compentent programers who can setup a simple system for linux users.
Posted by Donald Shirkey | February 11, 2006 10:59 AM
They are no big deal. same ol' kind of site. not impressed, looks good, but nothing new.
Posted by Ashli Norton | February 16, 2006 7:21 AM
I've been appraising real estate for 23 years. Looks like someone moved my cheese.
Posted by Frederick Witte | February 16, 2006 1:32 PM
check out http://www.HomePriceMaps.com
its very simple, gives Zillow a run for its 32 mill, and they just added data for a ton more cities including Indianapolis, IN and Port Orchard, WA
Posted by homepricemaps | February 17, 2006 6:16 PM
I like to use www.HomePriceMaps.com because they show how much homes were SOLD for using the google mapping technology.
also-if you don't see HomePriceMaps for your area, simply email them your address and or zip and they'll update the site within a day or two and send you a follow-up email.
Posted by HomePriceMaps | March 13, 2006 7:14 PM
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Posted by debt consolidation | April 8, 2006 7:22 AM
I think zillow is a great tool. I have worked with it many times and would recommend it. I would always double check the subject property against comparable properties, the computer sometimes misses very crucial things when it comes to determining the exact true current market value. But still one of the best tools online.
Posted by Vancouver Washington Real Estate Guy | December 24, 2007 6:11 PM
Zillow is a tool but I think the human touch is needed. Its perfect for sellers in the beginning stages.
Posted by gresham oregon real estate | January 2, 2008 4:36 AM