Home : Blogs : Spencer Rascoff : Spencer's Blog

Using Zillow data to get an edge

At Zillow, we released a new version of the website with an incredible amount real estate data available for free on the "Local Info" tab of the website. Real estate agents can get an edge by making use of this data.

I spent some time this morning checking out the Seattle home values page, and here are some findings.

First, let's take a 5-year look at the Seattle Zillow Home Value Index for Seattle plus 4 neighborhoods which I'll use throughout this analysis: Leschi, Madison Park, Madrona and Broadmoor.This gives a good long-term perspective on what's happening to the value of ALL homes in these neighborhoods over a 5-year time period. An agent could use this graph to help a client understand what's going on in a neighborhood.

Here's the 10-year look.

Here is the median value per sq ft for all of the homes (not just those that have sold) in the neighborhoods:

There are a million more ways to slice and dice the data. The bottom line is that there is a ton of free information available at Zillow. To get started, goto Zillow and click on the Local Info tab. Then search for a city and click on "Home Values" on the left side.

Check it out.

Like what you're reading? Then subscribe to my blog to receive updates.

Posted by Spencer Rascoff on 07/27/2009 12:53 PM

Comments (5)

Real Estate Data in the Sales Strategies / Tactics Channel

zillow, real estate data, real estate analytics

Post is included in group: Wake Up Brokers
Post is included in group: The Art Of Marketing You
Post is included in group: Realtors®

5 Comments on Using Zillow data to get an edge

JUL

Statistical market data like this is cool, but I'm still very skeptical when it comes to the market value of an individual home on Zillow.

Half the time it's WAY off due to it's inability to know about interior upgrades, hardscape, etc.

Thanks for the info, Spencer!

Ralph,

That's a fair criticism. Zestimates are always going to be less accurate than you or I would like. (BTW, here's a video with more info about Zestimate accuracy, in case you're interested.)

I really like the mechanics behind Zillow. The statistical package is one of the best I've ever seen...however, with that said, the stats that come out are only as good as the information that goes in and I've been pretty disappointed about the data.

Now that said, local MLS sites can have a similar prooblem as the data is input by agents. Most of the time it works great...but if someone is altering the data (and they can lose their membership for doing it) then the data isn't good either. It's generally the most accurate thing out there though.

I have some of the same concerns mentioned above (especially when you get outside of Louisville in my area), but I'll check it out. As long as the trends are accurate, the charts can be of value.