Introduction to Zillow, a Web 2.0 Tool

As you already know, my blog is heavily focused on the real estate side of the economy, specifically, the housing market. People have asked me why I have unique forecasts and opinions that are different than other experts.(By the way, I take that as a compliment.) First of all, I admit that I do not have a Ph.D (it doesn't mean that you should not trust what I say) so the way I do my research is different, using more of the media and interviews with people who are working in the field. Also, I am not using the theories economists use when they forecast, but I use the freshest data I can find. Now that I have revealed all my research secrets, let me introduce a Web 2.0 tool that I use for my research. Warning: you will be surprised that I use this tool for my research (hint: you probably have used it).

Zillow is a tool that stole my heart the first time I used it. It is a real estate tool (as specified by seomoz.org which awarded Zillow the number one Web 2.0 real estate site award ) where people can check the value of their homes, list homes for sale, and much more. Out of curiosity, I found out the background of this tool. Zillow was founded by Rich Barton, who also founded Expedia.com, and Lloyd Frink in 2005. When Rich and Lloyd were looking for a new business venture, they came up with the idea of real estate. (Obviously, the real estate market was hot back then and many were looking to profit from it.) Barton says he loves real estate and he wanted to create a tool where people can get information about their homes and obtain valuable resources.

At Zillow, you can find out about how much your home is worth by typing in your home address or another home you want to know about. Then, you will get a detailed analysis of the home's worth along with other information such as the sales history of the home. From that analyzed report, I particularly like the market value change chart that shows price trends for your home, state, and even the nation. This data is now being used by the media to see the conditions of the housing market. For example, CNN recently reported the decline of home values using Zillow's value calculations. Also, sign up for an account and you will be able to claim your home and make corrections to the data, if you would like. The great aspect of Zillow is that you can ask questions to homeowners, for example, whether they like neighbors. Additionally, if you are looking for a home, this is a great place to start your research. It has homes for sale (yes, they have foreclosure data) and you can get information about the neighborhood, mortgage rates, and so on.

That is not all, because there are more tools and information at Zillow.Do you need to sell your home? Zillow can help you. They have a tool called Make Me Move: you set a price for your home and if someone is interested, you can sell it without the fat commission! In addition, Zillow has a database of recently sold homes that was once available only to real estate professionals. The list goes on and on and you should check it out yourself.

Zillow is popular among homeowners and sellers. Since the market downturn has started, worried homeowners are checking their home prices regularly, and sellers check out how much they can get for their homes. Actually, they are not the only groups who use Zillow. People like me who do research on the housing market use this site not only because it provides home sales data, but also because I and others can read people's behaviors such as how people react to falling prices or particular market. Last but not least, buyers jump into it to chat with local real estate professionals, check data on homes they are trying to buy, and shop for a mortgage.

Since Zillow has been very successful at attracting users, other websites that are similar to Zillow are appearing online. A strong competitor is realestateabc.com, but people who have been using Zillow will immediately notice that it has a long way to go since its graphics look like a Web 1.0 site. Another competitor is Cyberhomes. I understand that it has very cool graphics and a variety of data;however,I checked the accuracy of the valuation tool and their numbers are way off than the actual numbers. For example, I entered a few home data into its valuation tool, and the estimates were off more than 15% of those homes' actual values. That is why Zillow is still the number one home valuation site.

Now that you have heard what I have to say about Zillow, go ahead and check it out. I promise you will not be disappointed.