Monday, January 15, 2007

Zillow - Realestate Estimator

http://www.zillow.com/

Although Zillow (like "Pillow") claims to be in Beta, it is a very polished Web 2.0 application for anyone looking for a house. It has the look and feel of Google Maps and it overlays houses and housing prices. Although it is not 100% accurate it basically uses sale prices of the neighborhood and comparable houses, "comps", to estimate the value of the house at which you are looking. Zillow calls this a Zestimate.

It definitely gave me piece of mind when buying my first home. I realized that the neighborhood I was looking in was on average worth $XXX,XXX.xx and that the specific sq. ft. requirement and bedroom requirement would put me around that price. It can also pull tax records so that you can estimate what you will be paying when Uncle Sam comes knocking.

Useful, easy and fun to look all of your neighbors and friends houses. Enjoy!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi, it's David from Zillow.

Thanks so much for this review and I'm glad you found our site helpful.

FYI -- when you come to sell your house, we can now help you there too -- owners and their agents can now post their home for sale on Zillow (it's free).