What's Cool About Zillow?

The following summary is from the RealtyTimes article, Cool Factor Clouds Memories When It Comes To Zillow by Blanche Evans Zillow is a cool wannabee. Here's why. Consumers search Zillow for free "home valuations." What supposedly makes Zillow so cool to consumers is that it takes property tax data and posts it online and then complements the report with a zoom photo of the property. Why wouldn't consumers love that? They get to see what their home is worth. If you think Zillow is cool, consider this:

• What's cool about an 8-year-old idea? Internet home valuations are nothing new, so can we please stop with the fawning? Microsoft's HomeAdvisor tried home valuations eight years ago. Since then, almost every real estate portal has some form of home valuations including Realtor.com. Contenders are coming out of the woodwork -- including RealEstateABC.
• What's cool about inaccuracy? Zillow's admitted accuracy rate for home valuations is about 70 percent. Some in the market argue that it's far worse.
• What's cool about whipping up the press to criticize Realtors' commissions? Barton is using Realtors' commissions as a means to get free PR which he has accomplished brilliantly, but the fallout for Realtors is that with every story, the question of your commissions is front and center. The free press is helping him drive millions of consumers to Zillow.
• What's cool about yet another advertising site masquerading as a technology solution for Realtors? Zillow has some cool tools, but so does every other real estate site. The bottom line is it sells advertising. Period.

Here's the cold shower reality -- real estate has not only proven to be a tough nut to crack, there's also plenty of competition in Zillow's home valuation space.

Home valuations are as old as real estate sales. Just ask any real estate agent and appraiser. They may be called by a number of other names -- comparables, CMAs, BPOs, but they're a species of home valuations nonetheless. Realtors are calling for home valuation tools to put on their websites to act as lead generators.

For the Full Story -Published: April 7, 2006 - Click Here. Appraisal , Real Estate , Appraiser , Technology