
Photo: zillow.com
Why It Made the Cut: Zillow is committed to improving the user experience through cutting-edge technology and valuable tools that help buyers, sellers, and renters.
After a frustrating real estate experience, former Microsoft executive Rich Barton and several colleagues formed Zillow in 2006. Barton believed that adding technology to the real estate process would revolutionize it—and his hunch was correct. Since then, Zillow has become one of the best in the online real estate marketplace, and it boasts high site traffic and the largest online database with millions of sales and rental listings. The site has a comprehensive collection of calculators, advertising, and Zestimate tools. Since Zillow’s inception, Zestimate has been a way for users to understand how much a property is worth without soliciting appraisers or agents. Zestimate has a relatively low median error rate of 1.9 percent for on-market homes, meaning that users are more likely to get an accurate valuation. Users can also access Zillow’s home value comparison tool to select two or three specific listings and directly compare features and home values. The platform lets users search not only for real estate agents but also for inspectors and builders, and Zillow serves as a real one-stop shop for all things real estate. Zillow’s listings may not update as regularly as other sites, but with all of the listings and traffic, buyers, sellers, and renters can’t pass up Zillow as a leader in online real estate.
Specs
- Site type: Real estate listings website
- Buying, renting, or selling: Buying, selling, renting
- Search parameters: Price, beds, baths, square footage, home type, amenities, view
- Site tools: Calculators, Zestimate, property management, advertising
Pros
- Relatively high site traffic and number of property listings
- Users can search for and post both sales and rental listings
- Home value comparison tool
- Customers can search for agents, inspectors, and builders
- Relatively low home valuation median error rate of 1.9 percent for on-market homes
Cons
- Widely variable completion times for new listings and updates