Christian Real Estate Blog

Update on Zillow.com

Earlier last week, we reported on a brand new service launched in February called Zillow.com.

We thought we'd give you a quick update on their progress...

Since opening their online doors last month, they have jumped into the coveted top 1,000 websites on the web according to Alexa.com. This is probably one of the fastest growing sites of all time, considering they are only a few weeks old.

The only other real estate related website in the top 1,000 is realtor.com, and inman news reported they had even topped their ranking at one point last week.

what does this new site mean for the real estate industry as a whole?

Here is an exert from inman news:

"If Zillow is successful, Realtors will have to redefine their value proposition. Ever since inception, Multiple Listing Services have provided important sales documentation that was not available to the general public. Zillow provides not only comparable sales data, market statistics that show whether prices in a given area are increasing or decreasing, but it also provides its Zestimate of how much a given property is worth. The market data is particularly useful information for Realtors to know because it can assist them in helping sellers to set accurate list prices. It can also assist buyers in identifying how much they should pay. Where Zillow faces major challenges, however, is providing accurate values for its "Zestimates."

Zillow's success ultimately will rest with how well its algorithms evaluate comparable sales data and then supply an accurate sales price. The problem with Zillow's model is that there are several other companies doing a better job of supplying accurate comparable sales data. Sadly, virtually no one seems to have noticed.

Over the last six months, several new companies have entered the realm of providing comparable sales information on the Web. The first entry into this foray was Trulia.com. Trulia's goal is to become the Google for the real estate industry by working with brokers directly. This so-called "vertical" search engine will direct visitors to specific agent sites based upon the user's search. In other words, rather than using the general Google search engine that generates lists of nursing homes, for example, when you search "homes for sale," Trulia will direct its users directly to agent sites that match the client's search request. This increases the accuracy of the search. According to Greg Sterling, an analyst with the Kelsey Group, this produces a better-qualified lead as compared to leads generated by Google, MSN or Yahoo. The Trulia search engine provides comparable sales, links to listings, as well as a mapping feature. As Trulia works with more brokers, their data will become increasingly accurate. Since they launched in July, their beta search engine contains a fair amount of data from California and New York, but is still unavailable in many places throughout the country."

posted by Justin Smith @ 3/13/2006 01:58:00 PM