Product Overview of Zillow
Zillow, launched in 2006 by Expedia co-founders Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink, is a comprehensive online real estate marketplace designed to streamline the process of buying, selling, and renting homes. Here’s a detailed look at what Zillow does and its key features:
What Zillow Does
Zillow serves as a one-stop shop for all real estate needs, connecting buyers, sellers, renters, and landlords with the necessary tools, services, and professionals to facilitate a seamless transaction experience. The platform hosts millions of home listings, both for sale and for rent, and generates significant revenue each year through its diverse range of services.
Key Features and Functionality
Home Search and Exploration
- Zillow allows users to search for homes using advanced filters such as location, price range, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, square footage, and special features like pools or finished basements. The platform also includes natural language search capabilities, enabling users to enter search criteria in a conversational manner.
- Users can explore homes through 3D Home tours and virtual tours, providing an immersive experience similar to an in-person walkthrough.
Mortgage and Financing
- Zillow Home Loans, an affiliate lender, offers mortgage pre-approvals and financing options. Users can also shop around on Zillow’s online mortgage marketplace to find the best rates and providers.
- A mortgage calculator is available to estimate monthly mortgage payments based on home price, down payment, and interest rate.
Real Estate Agents and Professionals
- Zillow connects buyers and sellers with trusted, customer service-focused agents through the Zillow Premier Agent program. These agents are vetted for responsiveness, knowledge, and overall service quality.
Rental Management
- Zillow Rentals enables renters to search, request tours, apply for rentals, and pay rent directly through the platform. Landlords can list properties, screen tenants, and manage rental applications and payments using Zillow Rental Manager.
Additional Tools and Features
- Zestimates: Zillow provides estimated home values using its proprietary Zestimates algorithm, which leverages public record information, past sales prices, tax assessments, and local market trends.
- Saved Searches and Alerts: Users can save searches and set up email alerts for new listings that match their criteria, with options for instant, daily, or no alerts.
- Co-Shopping: The mobile app allows users to tag and share favorite homes with partners or family members via email alerts.
- Home Comparison: Users can compare multiple homes side-by-side, viewing all details in one place.
Mobile App
- The Zillow mobile app, available for both iOS and Android, offers an intuitive interface to view photos, virtual tours, property details, demographics, school information, and more. Users can save favorite listings, get alerts for price changes, and schedule tours.
Overall Experience
Zillow’s ecosystem is designed to modernize the real estate experience by integrating various tools and services into a single platform. Whether you are a buyer, seller, renter, or landlord, Zillow provides a comprehensive set of features to make the process of finding, financing, and transacting real estate as seamless and efficient as possible.