Zillow Relaunch - Adds Its Own Q&A Service.

Did I miss the significance of the name? Zillow? Am I missing something?

I am not too sure that i would be keen on anyone being able to upload pictures of my house. There has to be security issues - as once it has been uploaded to the internet it could be cached so once i buy a house - burglars can potentially still see pictures of it and know the basic layout of the house - which could make it easier to break into.

There was a simlarish thing that was attempted here in Australia several years ago where a company tried to photograph every house from the street and add it to a database - many people complained and it was stopped.

I really liked the site when it first started, I’ll have to check it out again. New features sound pretty interesting.

I definitely think niche versions of Yahoo Answers type of sites can work even on their own– detailed questions I’ve asked on Yahoo rarely get a satisfactory answer.

Bronson,

If you have not heard of Zillow, it’s a major real estate site. You can look it up on the Company Index if you want to read more about it. Mike has covered it here many times. If you are wondering where the name came from, search google for “A talk with Zillow’s CFO.” Robert Scoble did an interview with the CFO and he explains it.

Great post, but there is a tiny typo. “54% play to buy or sell in the next two years” should probably be 54% plan to buy or sell in the next two years.

They seem to very good features. I don’t think you can put somebody else’s home on the site without the owner knowing about it and so in the end I think it will be the owners putting up their homes with a view to sell them in the future. Even then its quite good.

Thanks Stephen. I thought there might be something obvious that I was missing.

I cannot stand the zillow search feature. Why do sites feel the need to have a google map driven search. Loading is slow and it serves no purpose. It took me a long time to check three listings on zillow. I almost needed a pillow for my nap between results.

site is clunky

The concept is good, the interface looks good too.

i don`t like it to much!

@ anfrew “I almost needed a pillow for my nap between results”

this is it! The design is pretty “american” and common!

I think the site is getting more useful but still it is not a usable tool, for example “Zestimates” need to be more in line with the actual market price of a home, this feature is totaly worthless to me. Their maps are about 3 years old, new developments don’t show in the map or show as empty lots even when a new home has been there for three years, and some times the when you enter an address the system shows it clear on the other side of town. The data on some homes is also some times not accurate specially if improvements were done to the home, although I think this one is workable since the home owner can login and make updates to the home information. Overall a great concept, I think Zillow could revolutionize the real estate industry, right now most of this info is jealously kept by the Realtos in the various MLSs, and home addresses are kept out of reach of ordinay users, thus you need a realtor to show you a home for sale. Zillow does away with the middle man, at least for the “home searching part”, as for the contract negotiation, etc, etc, well, lets wait and see.

I know a neighbor who actually had the bank QUOTE Zillow’s rates to compare to their estimate and although they had recently had an in house (full) appraisal six months ago at $650K, Zillow said $555K. No house around here drops $100K in 5 months, not in California, and not when other houses in the general neighborhood have been reduced MAYBE $10-15K, max. This is a huge discrepancy.

Looking into it, they noticed that one house on their street was dumped (ie sold for very little - someone got very lucky) and another has been on the market for over 6 months (probably asking too much). Both of those facts served to push the comps down on the street. But $100K drop? Meanwhile houses that were smaller on the next street were up over the $600K range. I think that’s pretty significant issue. The houses on either side were both ranked higher even though this house is bigger (and nicer). They tried to contest but no one from Zillow responded. Even more interesting was that the bank said something to the effect of “We even double checked this on Zillow” so it may be that it’s not necessarily Zillow that’s making this error but the whole real estate market. And to get zinged on it by the bank. Sucks for them!

@information - I’m only American by naturalization but I think overall the “american” designs are usually the best. So I’d hardly find that a negative thing.

Great. So now the old prank in which someone puts a For Sale sign in your yard while your away on vacation will be expanded so that anyone can open the floodgates of buyer inquiries on the head of any poor homeowner. I can just imagine the exchanges: “You’re knocking on my door why? It says it’s for sale where?” Oi.

Zillow is great - it will be a great force on a site I am going to be developing …

- of course using their API .. and some iframes ….

- Anyways Zillow is the google of realestate -

hey mike, is the 4.1mm vs. 1.8mm user discrepancy based primarily on global vs. us comparisons?

@RG - The maps are 3rd party. There isnt a mapping service out there that has the whole US (let alone the world) mapped with any relative recency. To expect that is to show ignorance on the huge task that would be. It is supposed to give the user a good idea location wise where the home is.

My “Zestimate” is all over the place. My home in 40 yrs old but tucked between to brand new housing developments. The comparibles are slowly getting demolished to fit the new homes so how they can come up with mine is beyond me.

Media types reading this can download video of Zillow and this Home Q&A from The NewsMarket. http://www.thenewsmarket.com/R.....c7b7a5fdb1

These are really cool features that they are adding.

Has anyone else heard Zillow’s estimates used as a proxy for market pricing? Is this something that’s common? Is it becoming common? If so, then Zillow’s estimate algorithm is going to get scrutinized by everybody. Including me. (And I’m not even in the market.)

An algo with status in the marketplace might be worth more (in terms of indirectly contributing to zillow ad viewer/revenue growth) than the user generated content stuff. (I agree with Greg, though. Zillow needs to get ready for an outbreak of Fakester-style pranks.)

@information

is this negativ? i think it is pretty “normal” - how designs are in these days! but

@ amy

the american desings the best hmmmm…..caue everybody is copying desings, this is not a reason to be the best - the reason ist not to make something wrong!! Look alt several designs out of Berlin! They are pretty cooo…l