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The coolest Zillow feature you've never heard of

Plenty of ink has been spilled (too much!?) about Zillow's main features -- Zestimates, Make Me Move, For Sale Listings, and much more. So rather than debate the merits of these features -- which, don't worry, we'll do plenty of that in the future -- I thought it would be better to share with you my favorite Zillow feature which you've never heard of: ZMOBILE. Zmobile allows you to get Zestimates, sale history and house info (#beds, #baths, sqft) sent to you by email on demand.

Here's how it works:

compose a new email (either from your PC, or more conveniently from your cellphoneBlackberryIphonewhateverdevice) and in the subject line write an address. e.g., "123 Main Street, Seattle WA" or "123 Main Street, 98112".

You'll get a reply back in about a minute with the Zestimate and other info about the home.

This is particularly useful if you're traveling in a new city and want to get a sense of home values, or if you're at an open house and want to know what Zillow has to say about the home. Say what you will about Zestimate accuracy (and again, there will plenty of time for that later...) but it's very cool to be able to whip out your Blackberry when you're walking past someone's house and find out what they paid for it. :0

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Posted by Spencer Rascoff on 10/29/2007 06:58 PM

Comments (17)

mobile, zillow, cell phone

This post has been included in Washington Information King County, WA Information Seattle, WA Information

17 Comments on The coolest Zillow feature you've never heard of

OCT

2007

Spencer... indeed, this is a feature not featured very well. I like it.

Spencer beware, I like Zillow. Zestimate has a ways to go in this challenging market. A home I have for sale in Racine, Wi has an estimated value by Zestimates of $258,000, I've had it on the market for 4 months at $219,900.

I have sold 20 properties since I listed this property.

It is a good buy at $219,000. It will probably sell for around $210,000. Too big of a difference to even consider Zestimates as being a viable vehicle to base decisions on.

I'm sure it will get better, at some point.

Good to know...the main feature of Zillow I find useful is the aerial mapping stuff. Prices are pretty inaccurate around here...

OCT

2007

The Zestimates are really misleading and, I think, should be taken down until they can become more accurate.

Cool! I can get an inaccurate figure sent to my cell phone! Whoop de do!! Tell me - has the FTC investigation finished yet?

Hi, it's David from Zillow,

Spencer - it's AWESOME to see you blogging here. Welcome to A/R!

Dan - Thanks for the feedback. We're constantly working towards increasing accuracy and data coverage but it's important to note that Zestimates aren't intended to replace the opinion of a local expert.

Ann - Zestimate values are a starting point for research purposes but aren't the final word in home values. We believe that any information is better than no information. So, we aren't planning to take down Zestimates but we do believe it's important to be transparent about Zestimate accuracy. That's why we publish a value range for each home's Zestimate and our accuracy metrics for every county on Zillow. I highly recommend looking up Zillow's accuracy performance in your area and having that data handy when you discuss Zestimates with clients.

Simon - There is no FTC investigation. The NCRC filed a complaint with the FTC but they dismissed it and decided not to investigate Zillow.

Spencer-new to Zillow and so far so good except zmobile doesn't know anything about most of the zips I work in. Those zips cover coastal nc just north of Wilmington and most of the "towns" are not incorporated. Does that have anything to do with it. BTW, I did not install zmobile, I went to the site and used your try it feature. Zips=28443, 28445, 28460 (Hampstead NC, Surf City NC, Sneeds Ferry NC).

"The Zestimates are really misleading and, I think, should be taken down until they can become more accurate. "

Why? There are plenty of "misleading" things on the Internet but zillow is good for what it is, a tool. I'll use it sometimes when someone is looking to refinance. If the comparable sales in the area are 50k less than what the borrower says their home is worth, I'll bring that up to them and discuss options prior to ordering an appraisal. If they want to pay $400 and find out they don't have any equity in their home to do the debt consolidation they want, fine. I prefer them to explain why their property is worth more than the one that sold 2 months ago, three doors down, prior to the appraisal. By taking this extra step it address any issues that may arise due to a low valuation. Clearly the zillow estimate is just that, an estimate...it can't replace an actual appraisal. As to having it removed, there are plenty of things I'd have removed from the web before them.

Hi, it's David from Zillow,

Bill - we have 58% of NC homes on Zillow so we still have a way to go. Of the three Zip codes you provided we seem to have best coverage in Sneads Ferry - you should be able to get Zestimates on at least some of those homes via Z Mobile. And remember that you can add your listings to Zillow even if we don't have them in our database.

David - thank you.

David-Thanks for your quick reply. Zillow is and will be an added tool that I will use to distinguish myself from "the others". Thanks again.

Spencer,

What a great feature!!! I have my listings on Zillow, and this is a feature I have never seen. Consumers want instant information, and this one more step in the right direction. Thanks for your post.

OCT

2007

What a great place to market Zillow. In some circles, this would be considered spammy self-promotion. The AR community is nice to let you pitch here.

BTW, Houserfront has mobile guestimates too.

http://www.housefront.com/

NOV

2007

Tough Crowd! Hey I tried 4 different addresses, none of them worked. I typed in the full addresses etc. but kept getting the sorry response.

Hi Spencer, one of them just came through...it's still not 100% accurate but at least the last sales price was correct. That's pretty cool! :) Thanks for sharing!

Hi Shannon , it's David from Zillow -

Glad to hear the 3rd one worked. Our data coverage in Collier County is not as good as the it is across the rest of Florida - but we're constantly adding to our database and so my hope is that we get there soon.

NOV

2007

JUL

2008

Zillow dies Feb 22nd, 2009. I'd love your input on the translation. I'm certain you're not going away, but things seem like they will drastically change for you.