Hey Vanessa: My Thoughts About Zillow
“By the hundreds of thousands they had come, from all over Georgia , all over the South, all over America , all over the world into those subdivided hills and downs and glens and glades of trees…and they were still pouring in.”…Tom Wolfe, A Man In Full
You know Vanessa, I remember checking out Zillow after it launched and being totally awed by the site. With your “Zestimates”, I could easily track the rising value of my home and keep up with the sales comparables in my neighborhood. I can even tell you that one time, after my bank gave me a low-ball appraisal when I went to them for an increase in my home line of credit, I actually sent my branch manager to Zillow to show proof of my home´s value, and that (along with a WTF phone call to upper-level bank management) enabled me to lock in a credit line much higher than originally offered.
As I see it, Zillow has some formidable competition. Cyberhomes has no pretense of community but has a clean, uncluttered look that I prefer. Trulia seems to be a weaker Zillow alternative, but one that must be reckoned with.
How can Zillow win this fight? Vanessa, I know you´ve twittered about user-generated content and while acknowledging the importance of it, I question how you can get critical mass in a subject matter where most people only care about what´s going on in their immediate neighborhood.
Here are a couple suggestions that could change the game in your favor:
Zillow has a feature called “Make Me Move” which enables somebody to place a price on their house that they will theoretically accept from a buyer. Such a number is almost always going to be at the upper level of or over the Zestimate value and certainly above the true market value of the house. Everybody knows this and I suspect few of these user submissions will lead to serious inquiries.
Instead Vanessa, Zillow should create a much more meaningful process that will have a greater likelihood of matching buyer and seller. Put together a serious app where a motivated seller can let folks know that they would consider selling their home and in much the same manner that Priceline uses to get people to make near-market offers for hotel rooms and airline tickets, attempt to guide the seller into naming a realistic price. Then, buyers can register their requirements and the system can attempt to make meaningful matches between buyers & sellers.
Vanessa, did you follow Barry´s attempt to sell his Monsey Condo? He listed with a realtor in a down market and ended up selling to somebody he already knew (while, I assume, still being on the hook for the Realtor fee). Perhaps Barry could have saved himself a commission if he could have tapped into an already existing pool of people looking for comparable condominiums without Realtor assistance.
Right now Vanessa, Realtor Multiple Listing Systems have a near monopoly over the eyeballs of prospective homebuyers. If a buyer doesn´t use an agent to list their home, their ability to successfully advertise and market their home for sale is very limited. If Zillow can create a system that makes it easier for sellers without Realtors to connect with independent buyers, Zillow will gain huge positive mindshare from folks looking to avoid paying Realtors a fee.
Even better, bring this functionality to Facebook and watch it go viral. I´m sure you already have a pretty nice sized user database. Create a Facebook Group, link up with current users and encourage the non-users to join up. Vanessa, I´m sure you can think of many great ways for your user base to deepen their relationship with Zillow once you bring them to the Facebook platform.
However, I have an even more powerful suggestion…
It´s the time of year where homeowners like me get our property tax statements. I have the legal right to appeal my property taxes. Would I like to? Heck, yeah! Will I? Almost certainly not, because the time it would take me to compile the necessary information to appeal plus go through the appeal process isn´t worth the possible savings.
But what if Zillow could do the work for me? You all already possess all the comparable and tax information that I need. Vanessa, what if Zillow could programmatically evaluate my taxes and then advise me whether I have a good case to possibly appeal and if I did decide to appeal, allow me to print out a ready made report containing all the information that I would need to present at my hearing?
Such a service would be unbelievably popular. Once the word got out, Zillow´s website signups would skyrocket and almost assuredly, your user base would then achieve the critical mass that will allow you to put forth other community initiatives. Most importantly Vanessa, Zillow would be an empowering force in people´s lives…allowing folks to challenge a system where inequity runs rampant, resulting in a fairer universal application of property taxation policy.
Vanessa, the fact that you´re allied with Zillow means that the search community is rooting for y´all in Zillow´s epic bloodsport death match against Trulia & Cyberhomes. Hopefully, I´ve given you some ideas that can be translated into initiatives on the cyber-battlefield:.)
Discuss this article in the Small Business Ideas forum.
Todd Mintz is the Director of Internet Marketing & Information Systems for S.R. Clarke Inc., a Real Estate Development and Residential / Commercial Construction Executive Search / Recruiting Firm headquartered in Fairfax, VA with offices nationwide. He is also a Director & Founding Member of SEMpdx: Portland, Oregon’s Search Engine Marketing Association.
Todd, please share the name of your bank so that I can avoid ever having an account there. Any bank that uses Zillow to make its lending decisions is a bank I’d like to avoid at all costs.
As a Realtor, I support consumers gathering information from all available resources.I even support buyers and sellers finding each other in open forums. What I can’t support is the vastly misperceived value of a professional realtor.
For $200, I can supply a homeowner the necessary data to appeal a tax assessment or support an equity line or have PMI removed or determine if the Zestimate is accurate.I can discuss the pros and cons of renovating vs moving. I can tell you how remodeling will impact your resale value.
At the same hourly rate, I can sympathize with the homeowner who contracted to sell to a friend whose loan fell through on the day of closing. Or, I can listen to the buyer who “bought” his friends house yet could not close since the seller did not have a clear title.
No, not every transaction needs the professional expertise of an experienced Realtor. But for those that do, the value is priceless.
Thanks Todd! (And I’m not the only one listening at Zillow!)
From what I have seen for many of the homes in my area, if those owners think the Zillow value of their home is correct, they are leaving money on the table should they sell a that price. Well, it least it will help to make homes more affordable for some and show how ignorant some sellers can be…sell you home for less that it’s real value so you won’t have to use a realtor who would probably net you more in your pocket. Now there is an intelligent seller!
You’re welcome Vanessa. Thanks to the others who commented.
Zillow “Guess-Idiots” appear to rely on public tax records that in some cases haven’t been updated in twenty-five years. The zestimator is a sketchy tool to rely on. I believe it’s best to use a Professional Appraiser when valuing real estate.
Ron, it seems that you take it too seriously. I think that Professional Appraisers use different sources of information and Zillow is among them but never the only one.
Read by small business people, our newsletter delivers a digest of articles from the top search engine marketing experts. You will learn about:
Our newsletter is the perfect way to stay up to date with all of the latest trends, events and techniques in using search engines to grow your business and make more sales. Subscribe here. Your email address will NOT be given to third parties.
FreeFind Site Search Engine – FreeFind adds a “search this site” feature to your website, making your site easier to use. FreeFind also gives you reports showing what your visitors are searching for, enabling you to improve your site. FreeFind’s advanced site search engine and automatic site map technology can be added to your website for free.
Buy UPC Codes
Get your products listed online!
Search marketing information for small business owners.
Fetching the best small business news.
A friendly place to share small business ideas and knowledge.
Small business support through education, resources and community
The directory of the best small business sites and tools.
Copyright © 1998 – 2018 Search Engine Guide All Rights Reserved. Privacy
Research & References of Hey Vanessa: My Thoughts About Zillow|A&C Accounting And Tax Services
Source
0 Comments