Does Zillow Suck Or Is It Me?

I'm working on a project for an agent to pull some data to help automate/enhance their CMA process.   I wanted to learn what I could so I posted on a few real estate forums and was told to try Zillow.  

In case you don't know, Zillow.com is an online real estate service company which launched in February 2006. It was founded by a pair of former Microsoft executives (same guys that did Expedia)  Zillow was created to provide home value estimates.

So, I go to have a look, and while the site is Expedia-class in the design, I can't seem to get any data from their 70 MILLION + inventory of homes.    I tried searching for homes in a number of posh neighborhoods and this is the most common result:

Sorry - can't find any data?

I'm guessing Zillow is for people that don't know any better.    Am I missing something?

(This is more what I was looking for, but for Michigan)

 

 

16 Comments on Does Zillow Suck Or Is It Me?

It sure does, I thought it was great when I first tried it but since then I have been left on an address in Delaware.

I am in New Jersey and can't get that address off! I thought it would be an added attraction for my website. I have just joined this and I don't believe how popular it is.

 

10/10/2007 07:37 AM by BLUE Realty GMAC REAL ESTATE


Kasey - in terms of evaluating properties zillow does a very poor job. It is very innacurate both high and low on various homes. I have not done any searching as you mentioned but that would get real annoying. Zillow does have some value as a listing agent in terms of enhancing your listing with photos, descriptions, ect....it is a highly traveled site.

10/10/2007 07:43 AM by Bill Gassett Metrowest Massachusetts Real Estate (RE/MAX Executive Realty)


It doesnt seem to work where I live in Pike County PA, something to do with GPS. Its never worked at all here.

10/10/2007 07:44 AM by Richard Dmochowski, ABR, CRS, e-Pro, SRES (ERA Hemlock Sales Agency)


The product has tons of issues. I guess they did not use realtors in the design but figured like evrybody else they know more than we do

10/10/2007 07:47 AM by Charlie Ragonesi Big Canoe Realestate Jasper,Ellijay,Ball Ground,Benttree (All Mountain Realty)


E.Kasey,

I think that Zillow over prices property, too. At least in my area and when I lived in FL.

10/10/2007 07:48 AM by Christopher Pike, REALTOR®_803-727-7800 (Keller Williams® Realty)


You are lucky that's the message you get. Zillow is a complete hazard and disgrace, and makes it harder to work with clients who think it's educated them.

10/10/2007 07:56 AM by Danielle V. Lewis - DDR Realty (DDR Realty)


Yes, Zillow does suck and they suck in a big way.  They certainly give the consumer an uneducated view of a property value which and this is truly not helpful for anyone.

10/10/2007 08:03 AM by Sam Miller (RE/MAX Stars Realty)


NO i do not think you are missing anything, sillow is not very friendly

10/10/2007 08:04 AM by Michael Mapes-Suntrust Mortgage (Sun Trust Mortgage)


And for 25 points...............My whack at Zillow:

Your inclination is right.  Zillow is Zillow.

10/10/2007 08:10 AM by Mike Jaquish Keller Williams Realty, Cary, NC (Keller Williams Realty)


So now we have to know about site which are inaccurate...but at least we can speak to it.  Much better position than if we aren't aware of it!

10/10/2007 08:20 AM by Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty)


Expect to get a call from David, he moniters comments on Zillow.

10/10/2007 08:41 AM by Missy Caulk Ann Arbor Real Estate (Keller Williams Ann Arbor, Michigan)


I'll have to check it out.  Sounds sucky to me.  Thanks for the info.

10/10/2007 09:17 AM by Karen Webster...Grand Rapids, MI Realtor (5 Star Real Estate, Grand Rapids MI)


Hi Kasey, it's David from Zillow -

I'm sorry to hear about your sucky experience. The site is working fine - but the map component which is giving you an error can be sensitive to conflicts with other software you're running. To repair the problem, please see the FAQ that lists all known solutions to this problem - for most people, activating active-X or updating Yahoo! Instant Messenger seems to do the trick.

Let me know how it goes. If you're still battling, let me know and I'll have one of our customer support folks jump on the phone with you and troubleshoot the problem. 

Kathy -

We "remember" the last address you searched. If you search for an address in NJ we'll stop showing you stuff in Deleware. As to the site's popularity; 4,4 million people used Zillow in August.

Charlie -

You should be happy to hear that we regularly have Realtors in our focus groups and have licensed agents and brokers on staff. Do you have more specific feedback or suggestions?

Missy - ;-) 

10/10/2007 10:06 AM by David Gibbons (Zillow.com)


Hey David! Wow, thanks for the feedback!   I did click the link that was shown in the above error message and it took me to a forum page where I found feedback from others.   Down around posting 8 I found one that looked like something similar to what I was experiencing:

 Getting Errors While Searching?
 Are You seeing an Incorrect Year Built on your Home?
 Recently Sold Information
 FLASH Bug
 Pictures
 House mixup
 How to remove listing?
 Search Failed : Never found data

I viewed the last one and CoRinn3 said to clear cookies from the browser.    That really didn't seem to make sense to me, but I did it anyway... same results.   If your site is ActiveX dependent then maybe it's a Firefox issue as I (almost) never run IE (and never use Yahoo IM)  I really do appreciate you taking the time to respond.   Thanks again!

10/10/2007 10:30 AM by E.Kasey Kasemodel - Dexter, Mi - Tech Advice (API Network Corp)


Kasey -

I'm sorry, I meant to link you to this FAQ and will change the error message to also point there. 

Zillow does work well with firefox (also my preference.)

If you've recently added anything that could block flash files - like spam and ad blockers and software based firewalls - please try disabling it and then searching Zillow again.

 

 

10/10/2007 10:42 AM by David Gibbons (Zillow.com)


This blog does not allow anonymous comments

 
Virtual Assistant: E.Kasey Kasemodel - Dexter, Mi - Tech Advice (API Network Corp)
E.Kasey Kasemodel - Dexter, Mi - Tech Advice
Dexter, MI
More about me…
API Network Corp

Office Phone: (734) 253-2305
Email Me
A bunch of potentially clever ideas to help attract new buyers and sellers via internet activities.

Links

Tags (Tag Cloud)

Archives

RSS 2.0 Feed for this blog
ATOM 1.0 Feed for this blog

Find MI real estate agents and Dexter real estate here on ActiveRain.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
© 2007 ActiveRain Corp. All Rights Reserved