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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by ZillowHaley (talk | contribs) at 20:57, 6 October 2023 (→Reply 30-AUG-2023: Reply). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.



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No longer in business as of January 30, 2020?

Saturday afternoon and the Zillow website has zero listings for real estate of any kind anywhere in the United States regardless of parameters set. No mention of website being down at any of the usual reporting websites. Email returned as undeliverable. Hacked or out of business? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.32.55.127 (talk) 18:35, 30 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Simple infobox update

Hello! This is my first request on Wikipedia, so here's a quick introduction to myself: I'm Haley and I am the communications contact for Zillow. My financial conflict of interest has been disclosed above at the top of this page and on my user page. I will also include a reminder of my COI in future posts.

I’d like to start with updates to the key people in the infobox, as those are a few years outdated. Below are suggestions and citations for bringing these details up-to-date:

  • Move Rich Barton (CEO) to the top of the list of Key people[1]
  • Change Lloyd Frink's title from (President) to (Executive Chairman)[2]
  • Replace Stan Humphries (Chief Economist) with Susan Daimler (President)[3]

References

  1. ^ Pandy, Jordan (2022-08-05). "Zillow CEO Rich Barton says he's 'relieved' the company no longer has to contend with the 'risk of iBuying' after losing $881 million". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  2. ^ Kirsch, Noah (2021-04-06). "Zillow Cofounders Debut On Forbes Billionaires List Amid White-Hot Residential Market". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  3. ^ Solomont, E.B. (2021-02-24). "Zillow Names Susan Daimler As President". The Real Deal. Retrieved 2023-04-24.

I'm looking for editors without a conflict to review and make these changes if they agree with my suggestions. Let me know if I can help, or if you have any questions. Thank you! ZillowHaley (talk) 18:13, 26 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

 Done Ptrnext (talk) 02:21, 27 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks so much for your help, User:Ptrnext. If you're interested in helping on a few other updates, I hope to post another request soon and certainly welcome your input. Thanks! ZillowHaley (talk) 18:37, 28 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

History section update

Hi, this is Haley again, the communications contact for Zillow. I'm back with a new request about revising the History section. Right now the historical information about Zillow is spread throughout numerous sections (Business model, History, Acquisitions, Website features, etc.). This seems frustrating for readers, as someone who jumps to the, say, Business model section is probably looking for contemporary operational details, whereas right now the first paragraph is historical information about a short-lived newspaper partnership from 2009. That's not to say that historical context can't be useful, but these sections appear to have developed incrementally as editors kept adding new information over time without reframing past material, and as a result the passages in question don't read as encyclopedic treatments of the topic. In addition, a number of these historical claims also lack citations or link to 404 pages.

To help fix this problem, I put together a revised History section draft that consolidates much of the historical material from throughout the article, presents claims in a chronological fashion, and updates all of the sourcing. I also split the material up into three different subsections (Early history, Expansion and growth, and 2015 to present).

Updated History section

History

Early history

Rich Barton got the inspiration for Zillow while at Microsoft, where he had founded Expedia.com from within the company.[1][2][3] Barton believed that a consumer-facing site could transform the real estate industry in the same way that Expedia had the travel industry.[2][3][4] "The web [had] been around for now nine years or 10 years, but still I couldn't get pictures of homes and complete listings and prices and addresses," Barton told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "It was just obvious to us. We were trying to answer a simple question. What is that house worth? What should we offer if we wanted to buy it?"[5]

In December 2004, Zillow was incorporated in Washington.[6][7] Barton and co-founder Lloyd Frink, a former Expedia executive, self-funded the company, which operated out of a downtown Seattle office with 20 employees.[4]

Zillow's website was launched on February 8, 2006, and included a home-valuation tool that anyone could use.[8][9][10] Other features at the time included information about home sale history and charts and graphs comparing home value appreciation with other towns or states.[10] The site crashed on the morning it launched because its servers were unable to handle the volume of traffic.[9][10]

In July 2006, Zillow announced a $25 million second-round investment.[11] By then the company had grown to 118 employees.[11] In December of that year, the Zillow website included features allowing users to put homes for sale online.[12]

Expansion and growth

In April 2008, Zillow launched a mortgage marketplace.[13][14] Later that month, the Zillow iPhone app was released.[15][16] Apps for Android iOS and Windows Mobile soon followed.[17]

In 2010, Zillow became profitable for the first time.[17] In September of that same year, Spencer Rascoff was named CEO of the company.[17][18] Rascoff was formerly Zillow's COO and VP of marketing, and before that had been at Expedia.[17] Rich Barton stayed as executive chairman.[17][18]

Rascoff has previously expressed a desire for Zillow to go public.[19] On April 18, 2011, Zillow filed for a $5.1 million initial public offering.[20][21] On July 20, the company began trading under the symbol “Z” on the Nasdaq stock market.[22][23][24]

Zillow made its first acquisition in 2011 by purchasing Postlets, a digital real estate listing and distribution platform.[25][14][26] Several more acquisitions of online real estate companies followed, with Zillow purchasing Rentjuice and Hotpads in 2012,[27][28] StreetEasy in 2013,[29] and Trulia, a major competitor, in 2015 in a $2.5 billion deal.[30][26]

2015 to present

Following the Trulia acquisition, Zillow began operating under the name Zillow Group, which comprised four real estate brands: Zillow, Trulia, StreetEasy, and HotPads.[30][31]

In April 2018, Zillow announced it would begin buying and selling homes through a new business, Zillow Offers, in partnerships with local brokerages and agents.[32] In June of that same year, Zillow signed a partnership with Century 21 Canada to begin listing Canadian properties on the site, marking the first country outside the United States to be covered by the company.[33]

In February 2019, Rich Barton returned to the CEO role, replacing Rascoff.[34][8] In May of that year, the company announced it would be expanding its home-buying business, Zillow Offers, to new markets.[35]

In February 2020, Zillow's stock was up 18% after hitting a four-year low.[36] In March of the same year, the company announced a cut in expenses by 25%, and paused hiring due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[36] In July 2020, Zillow became one of the first companies to let employees keep working from home indefinitely.[37][38] In March 2021, Zillow stated it had hired about 1,500 employees over the past twelve months.[39] The company then announced plans to increase the workforce by 40% by hiring more than 2,000 employees nationwide by the end of the year.[39]

In November 2021, CEO Barton announced the company would shutter the home-buying part of the business, sell its existing inventory, and lay off 25% of its employees.[40] When Barton announced the company would cease purchasing homes, Zillow owned about 7,000 houses.[41] The division responsible for acquiring and selling homes, Zillow Offers, resulted in the company losing $420 million in the third quarter of 2021.[42]

In February 2022, Zillow revealed a new “housing super app” strategy during an earnings call.[43][44]

References

  1. ^ Copeland, Michael V. (June 10, 2013). "The Man Who Escaped Microsoft and Took a Whole Company With Him". WIRED. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Stewart, Ashley (November 11, 2010). "Expedia and Zillow founder Rich Barton explains his 'power to the people' business model". Puget Sound Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Raz, Guy (June 14, 2021). "Expedia & Zillow: Rich Barton". NPR. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Cook, John (April 12, 2005). "Expedia founder sold on real estate idea". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  5. ^ Raz, Guy (June 14, 2021). "Expedia & Zillow: Rich Barton". NPR. Retrieved May 2, 2023. 'Like it's 2005. And the web has been around for now nine years or 10 years, but still I couldn't get pictures of homes and complete listings and prices and addresses even like, I couldn't get the address of a home I was shopping for online. It was just obvious to us. We were trying to answer a simple question. What is that house worth? What should we offer if we wanted to buy it?'
  6. ^ Pryne, Eric (April 18, 2011). "Zillow reveals financial details as it files to go public". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  7. ^ "Form S-1". Securities Exchange Commission. April 18, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2023. Zillow, Inc. was incorporated in Washington in December 2004.
  8. ^ a b Sharf, Samantha. "Extreme Makeover: Rich Barton Has A $700 Million Stake In Zillow And Plans To Turn It Into A Home-Flipping Machine". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  9. ^ a b Cook, John (February 8, 2006). "Zillow swamped, crashes". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  10. ^ a b c Saracevic, Alan T. (February 12, 2006). "Zillow: Pornography for the real estate-obsessed". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  11. ^ a b Bruene, Jim (July 26, 2006). "Zillow Opens "Financing" Area; Lands $25 Million in VC". Finovate. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  12. ^ Christie, Les (December 7, 2006). "Home challenge: Make me move!". CNNMoney.com. Cable News Network – via Nexis. The Web site Zillow.com, most known for its "Zestimate" price valuations for nearly 70 million homes, launched several new services for home sellers Thursday. Sellers can now post their home for sale at Zillow - free of charge. Sellers can add details to a page that already includes basic details, such as square footage, number of beds and baths and sales history.
  13. ^ Mills, Elinor (April 2, 2011). "Zillow launches 'Mortgage Marketplace'". CNET. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  14. ^ a b Rao, Leena (April 11, 2011). "Zillow Buys Real Estate Listings Creation And Distribution Tool Postlets". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  15. ^ Ricketts, Camille (April 29, 2009). "Zillow iPhone app tells you how much that house you just passed costs". New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  16. ^ O'Brien, Jeffrey (May 13, 2009). "The wizards of apps". Fortune Magazine. Retrieved May 2, 2023 – via CNN Money.
  17. ^ a b c d e Reisinger, Don (September 14, 2010). "Zillow appoints new CEO, talks growth". CNET. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  18. ^ a b Sharf, Samantha. "Zillow Founder Rich Barton Is a Billionaire One Year After Taking Back the Company". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  19. ^ Mullaney, Tim (January 14, 2010). "Zillow aims for IPO in 2011". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  20. ^ "UPDATE 1-Zillow files for IPO of up to $51.8 million". Reuters. April 18, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  21. ^ "Zillow files for $52 million IPO". CNN Money. April 18, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  22. ^ Rao, Leena (July 19, 2011). "Zillow Prices IPO At $20 Per Share, Now Valued At Nearly $540 Million". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  23. ^ Owles, Eric; Roose, Kevin (July 20, 2011). "Zillow Soars 79% in Its Debut on Nasdaq". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  24. ^ Ortutay, Barbara (July 21, 2011). "Zillow real estate site reaps big rewards with IPO". Associated Press. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  25. ^ Cook, John (April 11, 2011). "Zillow.com makes its first buy: Online listing service Postlets". GeekWire. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  26. ^ a b Shusong Ba; Xianling Yang (2016). “Internet Plus” Pathways to the Transformation of China’s Property Sector. Springer Nature Singapore. ISBN 9789811016998. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  27. ^ Cook, John (May 2, 2012). "Zillow to buy RentJuice for $40M in cash, posts record revenue and profits". GeekWire. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  28. ^ Grant, Rebecca (November 26, 2012). "Pass Go and collect $16M: Zillow acquires real estate marketplace HotPads". VentureBeat. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  29. ^ Frier, Sarah; Levy, Ari (August 19, 2013). "Zillow Buys Real-Estate Site StreetEasy for $50 Million". Bloomberg. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  30. ^ a b Cook, John (February 17, 2015). "Zillow closes $2.5 billion acquisition of Trulia, plans to cut 350 staffers". GeekWire. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  31. ^ "Zillow closes Trulia acquisition". Inman. February 17, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  32. ^ Soper, Taylor (April 12, 2018). "Zillow Group will start buying and selling homes, taking on Opendoor and expanding real estate footprint". Geek Wire. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  33. ^ "Zillow to list Canadian real estate in partnership with Century 21". Financial Post. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  34. ^ Salinas, Sara (February 21, 2019). "Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff is out — co-founder Rich Barton is taking over". CNBC. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  35. ^ Sharf, Samantha (May 9, 2019). "Zillow To Expand Controversial Home-Buying Business To 20 Markets Including Los Angeles, Austin And Miami". Forbes. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  36. ^ a b "Rich Barton lays out Zillow's coronavirus playbook: Freeze hiring; cut expenses; pause home-buying". GeekWire. 2020-03-25. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  37. ^ Solomont, E.B. (March 11, 2021). "Zillow to grow workforce by 40% in 2021". The Real Deal. Retrieved May 2, 2023. In July, it became one of the first companies to allow most of its employees to keep working from home indefinitely.
  38. ^ Schlosser, Kurt (July 29, 2020). "Zillow to allow 90% of employees to work from home indefinitely as pandemic 'debunks' old ways". GeekWire. Retrieved May 2, 2023. Zillow Group introduced a new policy on Wednesday allowing about 90% of its employees the option of working from home, at least some of the time, indefinitely.
  39. ^ a b Solomont, E.B. (March 11, 2019). "Zillow to grow workforce by 40% in 2021". The Real Deal. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  40. ^ Rodriguez, James (2 November 2021). "Zillow just stopped flipping homes after scooping up thousands of properties over 3 years. Here's what happened". Business Insider. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  41. ^ Clark, Patrick (3 November 2021). "Zillow's Flipping Halt Marks Major Collapse in Housing Push". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  42. ^ Gandel, Stephen (2 November 2021). "Zillow, facing big losses, quits flipping houses and will lay off a quarter of its staff". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  43. ^ Soper, Taylor (February 10, 2022). "Zillow shares up 16% as real estate giant reveals 'housing super app' strategy amid iBuying closure". GeekWire. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  44. ^ Soper, Taylor (May 3, 2023). "Zillow Group tops Q1 estimates with $469M in revenue amid 'challenging' housing market". GeekWire. Retrieved May 2, 2023.

I know that this draft is considerably longer than the current History section, but again the idea here is that the other sections can subsequently be stripped down. That's something I'd like to work on in the future, especially with the Acquisitions and Website features sections which feel far too detailed. It would also make sense for this revised History draft to be the first section in the article instead of Business model, which as noted above currently features dated and uncited information.

I understand that I have a clear conflict of interest here as I work for Zillow and that editors will want to closely review everything I'm proposing to ensure it aligns with content guidelines. I am certainly not a Wikipedia expert, but I did spend a lot of time familiarizing myself with how business entries are structured and what kind of sourcing is appropriate.

Please let me know what you think. I'd love to work with all of you to improve this article, which I hope you'll agree is kind of a mess right now ZillowHaley (talk) 21:06, 12 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

 Done with a few changes (such as copyedits, cleanup and the like). Nythar (💬-🍀) 04:28, 13 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you so much for taking the time to review and implement the changes! I will have another request posted soon if you are interested in reviewing that as well. ZillowHaley (talk) 20:26, 14 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
No problem; post a request at any time. Nythar (💬-🍀) 21:09, 14 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Business model request

Hello, Haley from Zillow here. I'm back with another request, this time about the Business model section.

The current version of this section includes a lot of outdated, unsourced claims. There is, unfortunately, *nothing* there about Zillow's current business model, which is the kind of information a reader would presumably hope to find in a section with that title. As such, I've put together a revised version focused on the company's contemporary operations and structure:

Updated Business model section

Business model

Zillow Group Inc is a real estate marketplace company[1][2] that provides information and services related to selling, buying, renting, and financing through its platform, which is accessible through a website and mobile application.[3][4][5] In 2022 the company announced a "housing super app" business strategy in which the Zillow platform would facilitate all components of the home buying, selling, and renting process, from initial property searches to closing to moving.[6][7][8] This new business model is structured around five pillars of growth: touring, financing, expanding seller solutions, enhancing partner network, and integrating services.[9][6][5] Zillow executives have stated that by focusing on these growth metrics, the company can increase both the total number of customer transactions and the revenue per customer transaction.[6][5]

Prior to 2023, Zillow's business operations were organized into three segments: Internet, Media, and Technology (“IMT”), Mortgages, and Homes.[10][11][12]

Acquisitions

Zillow has pursued acquisitions of companies that serve to expand its user base, provide new assets and services, or generally accelerate growth.[13][14][15] The company made its first acquisition in 2011 when it purchased Postlets, a digital real estate listing and distribution platform.[13][16] In 2015, Zillow purchased Trulia, a major competitor, in a $2.5 billion deal.[13][17] At that time, Zillow and Trulia combined to account for 70 percent of online real estate searches.[13][18]

Year Notable acquisitions
2020s ShowingTime, [19] VRX Media[20]
2010s Dotloop,[21] HotPads,[22] Mortgage Lenders of America,[23] Naked Apartments,[24] RentJuice,[25] StreetEasy,[26] Trulia[17]

References

  1. ^ "Zillow Group Inc". Bloomberg. 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  2. ^ "Zillow Group Overview". PitchBook. 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  3. ^ Crittenden, Andrew B.; Crittenden, Victoria L.; Crittenden, William F. (2017). "Industry Transformation via Channel Disruption" (PDF). Journal of Marketing Channels. 24 (1–2): 13–26. Retrieved June 5, 2023. Zillow is a residential listing company that exists primarily online through a webpage and mobile application. With regard to the disruption of the traditional real estate business model, Zillow was not designed to remove the personal connection between the consumer and a real estate agent. Instead, Zillow puts important property information in the hands of the buyer, educating the buyer to streamline the buying experience.
  4. ^ Carayannis, Elias G.; Sindakis, Stavros (April 19, 2017). Analytics, Innovation, and Excellence-Driven Enterprise Sustainability. Palgrave Macmillan US. p. 151. Retrieved June 5, 2023. Zillow's business model is straightforward: They connect people looking to buy houses with the real estate agents, mortgage lenders, and advertisers who want to reach them.
  5. ^ a b c "Form 10‑K" (PDF). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 15, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Han, Brooklee (February 15, 2023). "Zillow's 'housing super app' vision takes shape". Real Trends. HW Media, LLC. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  7. ^ Soper, Taylor (2022-02-10). "Zillow shares up 16% as real estate giant reveals 'housing super app' strategy amid iBuying closure". GeekWire. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
  8. ^ Manfredi, Lucas (2022-02-11). "Zillow betting big on 'housing super app'". FOXBusiness. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
  9. ^ Han, Brooklee (August 4, 2022). "Zillow pegs "Five Pillars" as key to future growth". Real Trends. HW Media, LLC. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  10. ^ "Form 10‑K" (PDF). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 15, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023. Prior to January 1, 2023, our business was organized into three segments, the Internet, Media & Technology ("IMT") segment, the Mortgages segment and the Homes segment.
  11. ^ "Zillow Group Overview". CNN Business. 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023. It operates through the following segments: Internet, Media, and Technology (IMT), Mortgages, and Homes.
  12. ^ Hendelmann, Viktor. "The Zillow Business Model – How Does Zillow Make Money?". Productmint. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d Shusong Ba; Xianling Yang (August 22, 2016). “Internet Plus” Pathways to the Transformation of China’s Property Sector. Springer Nature Singapore. p. 78. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  14. ^ Lawson, Sarah (October 20, 2015). "Zillow's Recipe For Scaling A Business The Smart Way". Fast Company. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  15. ^ Nielsen, Rachel (July 28, 2015). "Zillow bought 10 companies in the past 5 years – now they're 'starting to sprout'". Puget Sound Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  16. ^ Cook, John (April 11, 2011). "Zillow.com makes its first buy: Online listing service Postlets". GeekWire. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  17. ^ a b Cook, John (February 17, 2015). "Zillow closes $2.5 billion acquisition of Trulia, plans to cut 350 staffers". GeekWire. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  18. ^ Logan, Tim (July 28, 2015). "Zillow deal to buy Trulia creates real estate digital ad juggernaut". GeekWire. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  19. ^ Blake, Matthew (October 1, 2021). "Zillow's purchase of ShowingTime closes". HousingWire. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  20. ^ Bek, Nate (December 8, 2022). "Zillow acquires real estate marketing company VRX Media to boost listing services". GeekWire. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  21. ^ Lardinois, Frederic (July 22, 2015). "Zillow Acquires DotLoop, An E-Signing Service For Real Estate Agents". TechCrunch. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  22. ^ Grant, Rebecca (November 26, 2012). "Pass Go and collect $16M: Zillow acquires real estate marketplace HotPads". VentureBeat. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  23. ^ Lardinois, Frederic (August 6, 2018). "Zillow gets into the mortgage business, acquires Mortgage Lenders of America". GeekWire. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  24. ^ Lardinois, Frederic (February 3, 2016). "Zillow Gets Naked". TechCrunch. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  25. ^ Cook, John (May 2, 2012). "Zillow to buy RentJuice for $40M in cash, posts record revenue and profits". GeekWire. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  26. ^ Frier, Sarah; Levy, Ari (August 19, 2013). "Zillow Buys Real-Estate Site StreetEasy for $50 Million". Bloomberg. Retrieved May 2, 2023.

As you can see, this draft includes an Acquisitions subsection and is thus intended to replace both the current Business model and Acquisitions sections. The Notable acquisitions table includes only companies notable enough to have their own Wikipedia entries—with the exception of VRX Media and Mortgage Lenders of America, as those two deals were quite significant and attracted considerable media coverage. The Postlets acquisition is addressed in the introduction to this subsection, which is intended to contextualize these deals as a reflection of Zillow's business model.

After expanding the History section so much with my last request, I wanted to streamline these two sections and remove details that didn't feel significant, even in a historical context. In my next edit request I'd like to address the Website features section, and that may be a good place to fold in some of this excised material.

As I stated above, I understand that I have a clear conflict of interest as I work for Zillow, so I'm asking impartial editors to review what I've put together. Please let me know what you think. ZillowHaley (talk) 23:30, 26 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Done Cherrell410 (talk) 18:35, 27 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you so much, Cherrell410, for swapping in the new Business model section. Alas, I seem to have made a few citation errors, I think because I used some of the same sources in the History section and a bot changed the parameters. Here's an updated version with those errors corrected:

Business model section with errors corrected

Business model

Zillow Group Inc is a real estate marketplace company[1][2] that provides information and services related to selling, buying, renting, and financing through its platform, which is accessible through a website and mobile application.[3][4][5] In 2022 the company announced a "housing super app" business strategy in which the Zillow platform would facilitate all components of the home buying, selling, and renting process, from initial property searches to closing to moving.[6][7][8] This new business model is structured around five pillars of growth: touring, financing, expanding seller solutions, enhancing partner network, and integrating services.[9][6][5] Zillow executives have stated that by focusing on these growth metrics, the company can increase both the total number of customer transactions and the revenue per customer transaction.[6][5]

Prior to 2023, Zillow's business operations were organized into three segments: Internet, Media, and Technology (“IMT”), Mortgages, and Homes.[10][11][12]

Acquisitions

Zillow has pursued acquisitions of companies that serve to expand its user base, provide new assets and services, or generally accelerate growth.[13][14][15] The company made its first acquisition in 2011 when it purchased Postlets, a digital real estate listing and distribution platform.[13][16] In 2015, Zillow purchased Trulia, a major competitor, in a $2.5 billion deal.[13][17] At that time, Zillow and Trulia combined to account for 70 percent of online real estate searches.[13][18]

Year Notable acquisitions
2020s ShowingTime, [19] VRX Media[20]
2010s Dotloop,[21] HotPads,[22] Mortgage Lenders of America,[23] Naked Apartments,[24] RentJuice,[25] StreetEasy,[26] Trulia[17]

References

  1. ^ "Zillow Group Inc". Bloomberg. 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  2. ^ "Zillow Group Overview". PitchBook. 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  3. ^ Crittenden, Andrew B.; Crittenden, Victoria L.; Crittenden, William F. (2017). "Industry Transformation via Channel Disruption" (PDF). Journal of Marketing Channels. 24 (1–2): 13–26. Retrieved June 5, 2023. Zillow is a residential listing company that exists primarily online through a webpage and mobile application. With regard to the disruption of the traditional real estate business model, Zillow was not designed to remove the personal connection between the consumer and a real estate agent. Instead, Zillow puts important property information in the hands of the buyer, educating the buyer to streamline the buying experience.
  4. ^ Carayannis, Elias G.; Sindakis, Stavros (April 19, 2017). Analytics, Innovation, and Excellence-Driven Enterprise Sustainability. Palgrave Macmillan US. p. 151. Retrieved June 5, 2023. Zillow's business model is straightforward: They connect people looking to buy houses with the real estate agents, mortgage lenders, and advertisers who want to reach them.
  5. ^ a b c "Form 10‑K" (PDF). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 15, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Han, Brooklee (February 15, 2023). "Zillow's 'housing super app' vision takes shape". Real Trends. HW Media, LLC. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  7. ^ Soper, Taylor (2022-02-10). "Zillow shares up 16% as real estate giant reveals 'housing super app' strategy amid iBuying closure". GeekWire. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
  8. ^ Manfredi, Lucas (2022-02-11). "Zillow betting big on 'housing super app'". FOXBusiness. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
  9. ^ Han, Brooklee (August 4, 2022). "Zillow pegs "Five Pillars" as key to future growth". Real Trends. HW Media, LLC. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  10. ^ "Form 10‑K" (PDF). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 15, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023. Prior to January 1, 2023, our business was organized into three segments, the Internet, Media & Technology ("IMT") segment, the Mortgages segment and the Homes segment.
  11. ^ "Zillow Group Overview". CNN Business. 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023. It operates through the following segments: Internet, Media, and Technology (IMT), Mortgages, and Homes.
  12. ^ Hendelmann, Viktor. "The Zillow Business Model – How Does Zillow Make Money?". Productmint. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d Shusong Ba; Xianling Yang (August 22, 2016). “Internet Plus” Pathways to the Transformation of China’s Property Sector. Springer Nature Singapore. p. 78. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  14. ^ Lawson, Sarah (October 20, 2015). "Zillow's Recipe For Scaling A Business The Smart Way". Fast Company. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  15. ^ Nielsen, Rachel (July 28, 2015). "Zillow bought 10 companies in the past 5 years – now they're 'starting to sprout'". Puget Sound Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  16. ^ Cook, John (April 11, 2011). "Zillow.com makes its first buy: Online listing service Postlets". GeekWire. Archived from the original on April 19, 2013. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  17. ^ a b Cook, John (February 17, 2015). "Zillow closes $2.5 billion acquisition of Trulia, plans to cut 350 staffers". GeekWire. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  18. ^ Logan, Tim (July 28, 2015). "Zillow deal to buy Trulia creates real estate digital ad juggernaut". GeekWire. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  19. ^ Blake, Matthew (October 1, 2021). "Zillow's purchase of ShowingTime closes". HousingWire. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  20. ^ Bek, Nate (December 8, 2022). "Zillow acquires real estate marketing company VRX Media to boost listing services". GeekWire. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  21. ^ Lardinois, Frederic (July 22, 2015). "Zillow Acquires DotLoop, An E-Signing Service For Real Estate Agents". TechCrunch. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  22. ^ Grant, Rebecca (November 26, 2012). "Pass Go and collect $16M: Zillow acquires real estate marketplace HotPads". VentureBeat. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  23. ^ Lardinois, Frederic (August 6, 2018). "Zillow gets into the mortgage business, acquires Mortgage Lenders of America". GeekWire. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  24. ^ Lardinois, Frederic (February 3, 2016). "Zillow Gets Naked". TechCrunch. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  25. ^ Cook, John (May 2, 2012). "Zillow to buy RentJuice for $40M in cash, posts record revenue and profits". GeekWire. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  26. ^ Frier, Sarah; Levy, Ari (August 19, 2013). "Zillow Buys Real-Estate Site StreetEasy for $50 Million". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on October 5, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2023.

Also, since the Business model section now covers acquisitions in detail, could we remove the existing Acquisitions section? That was my intent with the draft, sorry I didn't articulate that well enough. Thank you again. ZillowHaley (talk) 18:41, 3 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

 Done: I've fixed the citations manually and removed the unneeded section. Nythar (💬-🍀) 07:39, 4 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Website features / Services section request

Hi there, Haley from Zillow here again. I'm back with yet another request, this time about the Website features section.

Right now this section is a hodgepodge of historical factoids, including claims about services, features, and tools that are no longer available. Some of this information would thus feel more appropriate for the History section, where key development milestones are already covered. It also feels misleading to label this section as Website features, as (a) many users obviously access the Zillow platform through the Zillow mobile app, and (b) features are functionally an extension of services, a concept that provides a better organizational framework.

Given this, I put together a new Services section draft that is intended to replace the current Website features section:

Updated Services section

Services

Zillow's web and mobile platform offers real estate-related services for buying, selling, renting, and financing.[1][2][3] The range of services offered has changed over time,[4] with some service offerings being discontinued and others added.[5][6] Zillow notes that many customers utilize multiple services simultaneously, as home sellers are often buying at the same time and many renters are also investigating ownership options.[7]

Nearly all of Zillow's online services are structured around real estate listings, and the web and mobile platform's functionality reflects this.[8] As of 2022, Zillow had 140 million properties listed in its database.[3] Zillow receives property information from numerous sources, including multiple listing service feeds published by realtor associations, county records, tax data, and mortgage information.[9][10]

Buyer services

Zillow allows home buyers to search for properties by location, total price, monthly mortgage cost, features, and other criteria.[11][12] Users may also view properties not currently on the market as part of the research process.[13] Zillow connects buyers with local real estate agents through their Zillow Premier Agent program.[14][15]

Seller services

Zillow provides sellers with an estimate of home value, referred to as a "Zestimate", based on a range of publicly available information, including sales of comparable houses in a neighborhood.[16][17] The accuracy of the Zestimate varies by location depending on how much information is publicly available.[16] Zillow allows users to check the accuracy of Zestimates in their own region against actual sales.[16]

Zillow also connects sellers with local real estate agents, who can perform additional market analysis to determine home value and consult on home improvements to maximize value.[18][3] Sellers and agents can both use Zillow's listings tools, which facilitate interactive floor plans, rotating photos, and AI features.[19] Agents also have access to professional photography and media services.[20]

Sellers can also use Zillow to request cash offers from Opendoor.[21][22]

Renter services

Zillow allows renters to apply for apartments and pay rent through its platform.[23] Landlords can also use the platform to process applications, conduct background and credit checks, and accept payments.[23]

Financing services

Zillow's affiliate lender, Zillow Home Loans, offers mortgage and refinance products.[24][3] Zillow also provides an affiliated online mortgage marketplace,[24][3] and information about down payment assistance programs.[25]

References

  1. ^ Crittenden, Andrew B.; Crittenden, Victoria L.; Crittenden, William F. (2017). "Industry Transformation via Channel Disruption" (PDF). Journal of Marketing Channels. 24 (1–2): 13–26. Retrieved June 5, 2023. Zillow is a residential listing company that exists primarily online through a webpage and mobile application. With regard to the disruption of the traditional real estate business model, Zillow was not designed to remove the personal connection between the consumer and a real estate agent. Instead, Zillow puts important property information in the hands of the buyer, educating the buyer to streamline the buying experience.
  2. ^ Carayannis, Elias G.; Sindakis, Stavros (April 19, 2017). Analytics, Innovation, and Excellence-Driven Enterprise Sustainability. Palgrave Macmillan US. p. 151. Retrieved June 5, 2023. Zillow's business model is straightforward: They connect people looking to buy houses with the real estate agents, mortgage lenders, and advertisers who want to reach them.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Form 10‑K" (PDF). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 15, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  4. ^ Ana Costa; Victoria Sass; Ian Kennedy; Roshni Roy; Rebecca J. Walter; Arthur Acolin; Kyle Crowder; Chris Hess; Alex Ramiller; Sarah Chasins (2021). "Toward a Cross-Platform Framework: Assessing the Comprehensiveness of Online Rental Listings". Cityscape. 23 (2): 327–339. Retrieved June 5, 2023. Although its first website, Zillow. com, was launched in 2006, rental listings were not added to the database until 2009. Since then, Zillow has significantly expanded the size of its consumer base. Not long after becoming a public company in 2011, Zillow acquired three other consumer brands: Hotpads, StreetEasy, and Trulia. After acquiring Trulia, Zillow announced the formation of Zillow Group, which it claims to be a 'portfolio of the largest real estate and home-related brands.'
  5. ^ Metz, Rachel (November 9, 2021). "Zillow's home-buying debacle shows how hard it is to use AI to value real estate". CNN Business. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  6. ^ Han, Brooklee (February 15, 2023). "Zillow offers a new home selling solution with Opendoor". Real Trends. HW Media, LLC. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  7. ^ "Form 10‑K" (PDF). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 15, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023. This typically includes the need for multiple services simultaneously. Approximately 71% of sellers are also buying at the same time, and among renters with plans to move within the next year, 45% plan to buy their next home.
  8. ^ Manko, Barbara A. (2022). "Teaching user-friendly web design: A case study on Zillow.com in the real estate industry". Journal of Information Technology. 12 (1): 35–42. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  9. ^ Blake, Matthew (June 10, 2021). "Judge rules for Zillow in REX antitrust lawsuit". HousingWire. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  10. ^ "Solving the Challenges of Public Records Data". Zillow. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  11. ^ Alexander Loukissas, Yanni (April 5, 2019). All Data Are Local: Thinking Critically in a Data-Driven Society. MIT Press. p. 132. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  12. ^ Verde, Ben (April 10, 2023). "Zillow unveils affordability tool that prioritizes buyers' monthly budget". Inman. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  13. ^ Jean Fasolo, Pamela (May 2016). "Using Crowd Sourcing to Change the Real Estate Landscape" (PDF). University of Baltimore. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  14. ^ Han, Brooklee (April 22, 2022). "Zillow testing major changes to Premier Agent program". HousingWire. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  15. ^ Taufen, Amber (March 31, 2016). "Zillow invests in real estate team success with massive Premier Agent update". Inman. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  16. ^ a b c Howell, David. "How accurate is Zillow's Zestimate? Not very, says one Washington-area agent". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2020-04-23. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  17. ^ LaPonsie, Maryalene (May 22, 2023). "How to Do 'For Sale by Owner' the Right Way". U.S. News & World Reports. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  18. ^ Joanna Green; Russell Walker (2017). "Neighborhood Watch: The Rise of Zillow". Kellogg School of Management. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  19. ^ Schlosser, Kurt (June 27, 2023). "Zillow taps into AI to power new immersive features in virtual home tours". Geek Wire. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  20. ^ Han, Brooklee (January 18, 2023). "OZillow Group's ShowingTime+ plans to up agents' marketing game". Real Trends. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  21. ^ Han, Brooklee (March 17, 2023). "Opendoor and Zillow expand their partnership". Real Trends. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  22. ^ Sopher, Brooklee (August 4, 2022). "After ditching home-buying business, Zillow Group partners with rival Opendoor". Geek Wire. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  23. ^ a b Levy, Nat (July 31, 2018). "You can now pay rent and apply for apartments on Zillow as real estate giant expands scope yet again". GeekWire. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  24. ^ a b Jackson, Jhoni (July 31, 2018). "Zillow Review: Mortgage Refinance". Money. Money Group , LLC. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  25. ^ Lerner, Michele (December 21, 2021). "Zillow partners with housing group to make down payment assistance programs more accessible". Washington Post. Retrieved June 20, 2023.

As you can see, this section is structured around four kinds of services: buyer services, seller services, renter services, and financing services. Variations of this framework for categorizing Zillow's services are also used by peer-reviewed journals,[1] academic textbooks,[2] and SEC filings.[3] This draft includes all of the key information from the current Website features section, but with up-to-date figures and improved sourcing.

As I've stated above, I understand that (a) I have a clear conflict of interest as I work for Zillow and that (b) editors will thus want to closely review everything I'm proposing to ensure it aligns with content guidelines. I should say, though, that I think the Services draft is a clear improvement on the existing Website features section for the reasons described above. Please let me know what you think. Tagging Ptrnext and Nythar here as they've previously expressed interest in reviewing these requests. ZillowHaley (talk) 16:46, 14 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Hopping back in here to ping User:Cherrell410 to see if they'd be interested in evaluating this request, as they've been active on this page before. Thank you so much. ZillowHaley (talk) 16:38, 23 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]

References

  1. ^ Crittenden, Andrew B.; Crittenden, Victoria L.; Crittenden, William F. (2017). "Industry Transformation via Channel Disruption" (PDF). Journal of Marketing Channels. 24 (1–2): 13–26. Retrieved June 5, 2023. Zillow is a residential listing company that exists primarily online through a webpage and mobile application. With regard to the disruption of the traditional real estate business model, Zillow was not designed to remove the personal connection between the consumer and a real estate agent. Instead, Zillow puts important property information in the hands of the buyer, educating the buyer to streamline the buying experience.
  2. ^ Carayannis, Elias G.; Sindakis, Stavros (April 19, 2017). Analytics, Innovation, and Excellence-Driven Enterprise Sustainability. Palgrave Macmillan US. p. 151. Retrieved June 5, 2023. Zillow's business model is straightforward: They connect people looking to buy houses with the real estate agents, mortgage lenders, and advertisers who want to reach them.
  3. ^ "Form 10‑K" (PDF). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 15, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023.

Reply 30-AUG-2023

Below you will see where proposals from your request have been quoted with reviewer decisions and feedback inserted underneath, either accepting, declining or otherwise commenting upon your proposal(s). Please read the enclosed notes within the proposal review section below for information on each request.  Spintendo  00:33, 31 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Edit request review 30-AUG-2023

Zillow's web and mobile platform offers real estate-related services for buying, selling, renting, and financing
Clarification needed.[note 1]


The range of services offered has changed over time, with some service offerings being discontinued and others added
Clarification needed.[note 2]


Zillow notes that many customers utilize multiple services simultaneously, as home sellers are often buying at the same time and many renters are also investigating ownership options.
no Declined.[note 3]


Nearly all of Zillow's online services are structured around real estate listings, and the web and mobile platform's functionality reflects this.
Clarification needed.[note 4]


As of 2022, Zillow had 140 million properties listed in its database.
Clarification needed.[note 5]


Zillow receives property information from numerous sources, including multiple listing service feeds published by realtor associations, county records, tax data, and mortgage information.
Clarification needed.[note 6]


Zillow allows home buyers to search for properties by location, total price, monthly mortgage cost, features, and other criteria.
Clarification needed.[note 7]


Users may also view properties not currently on the market as part of the research process
Clarification needed.[note 8]


Zillow connects buyers with local real estate agents through their Zillow Premier Agent program.
no Declined.[note 9]


Zillow provides sellers with an estimate of home value, referred to as a "Zestimate", based on a range of publicly available information, including sales of comparable houses in a neighborhood. The accuracy of the Zestimate varies by location depending on how much information is publicly available
no Declined.[note 10]


Zillow allows users to check the accuracy of Zestimates in their own region against actual sales
Clarification needed.[note 11]


Zillow also connects sellers with local real estate agents, who can perform additional market analysis to determine home value and consult on home improvements to maximize value.
Clarification needed.[note 12]


Sellers and agents can both use Zillow's listings tools, which facilitate interactive floor plans, rotating photos, and AI features. Agents also have access to professional photography and media services.
no Declined.[note 13]


Zillow allows renters to apply for apartments and pay rent through its platform. Landlords can also use the platform to process applications, conduct background and credit checks, and accept payments.
no Declined.[note 14]


Zillow's affiliate lender, Zillow Home Loans, offers mortgage and refinance products. Zillow also provides an affiliated online mortgage marketplace
no Declined.[note 15]


and information about down payment assistance programs.
 Approved.[note 16]


___________

  1. ^ Three references are provided for these claims. If all three references confirm all of the information in this section, then having three of them is superfluous. Please narrow down the number of references for these claims.
  2. ^ The way in which this text is written does not disclose any usable information. Additionally, three references are used to validate these claims. If only one is needed, then the others ought to be deleted.
  3. ^ According to the text shown under the |quote= parameter, the provided reference does not confirm the information in the proposed text.
  4. ^ Please provide the page number from the source where the verifying information resides.
  5. ^ Please provide the page number from the source where the verifying information resides.
  6. ^ The Housing Wire source does not appear to confirm this information. The second source provided is from Zillow itself.
  7. ^ Please provide the verbatim text from the Loukissas source which verifies the information in this portion of the request. This text can be placed under the |quote= parameter. Additionally, the Inman source appears to be a press release from Zillow.
  8. ^ Please provide a page number from the Fasolo source which verifies this information.
  9. ^ Both the Inman and Housing Wire sources (author:Brookley Han and Ben Verde) appear to be based on press releases from the company.
  10. ^ The requested information does not accurate reflect the text used in the Washington Post article. The description "accuracy varies by location depending on how much information is publically available" is not clear what is meant by "publically available information".
  11. ^ It's not clear what is meant by "allowing users to check the accuracy of Zestimates in their own region against actual sales", specifically, how actual sales either confirm or deny the accuracy of the information obtained from the Zestimates, or whether any time (large versus small) elapsed after the Zestimate also affects this accuracy.
  12. ^ It's not clear what is meant by the phrase "additional market analysis".
  13. ^ It's not entirely clear how these services differentiate from those offered by others, or what it is about these services (specifically, simply being able to look at photographs of the buildings involved) which makes them worthy of additional mentioning in the article.
  14. ^ This information appears to have originated form a company press release or statement (e.g., "Renters tell us they want the entire rental process to happen online, from search to application to payment,” Zillow President Jeremy Wacksman said in a statement.")
  15. ^ Products and services offered by the company are best described on the company's websites. It's also not clear what is measnt by "affiliated online mortgage marketplace".
  16. ^ Since a majority of the requested text could not be implemented, rather than deleting the Website features section as a whole and adding only the information about the Down payment assistance program (the only item in the request which was approved), a seperate section was added covering this program. If it is desired that the other sections be deleted, please advise.
Hi there Spintendo, thank you for the comprehensive response. I'm going to spend some time reviewing your feedback closely. In the meantime, though, I think I'm going to package up a shorter request about a different section that should hopefully be easier to review and potentially implement. Thanks again! ZillowHaley (talk) 20:56, 1 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Hi there spintendo Haley from Zillow here responding to your feedback on the Services edit request. Thank you again for taking the time to comprehensively review to make this page as strong and accurate as possible.
I worked hard to address all your feedback, including removing repetitive citations, putting page numbers and quotes for certain citations, finding new citations that more accurately encapsulate the content, and some language tweaks to make this more easily understandable. I hope this does a good job addressing your concerns.
As stated in my original request, this new Services section draft that is intended to replace the current Website features section:
Updated Services section
==Services==
Zillow's web and mobile platform offers real estate-related services for buying, selling, renting, and financing.</ref>Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
Nearly all of Zillow's online services are structured around real estate listings, and the web and mobile platform's functionality reflects this.[1] As of 2022, Zillow had 140 million properties listed in its database.[2] Zillow receives property information from numerous sources, including multiple listing service feeds published by realtor associationsBlake, Matthew (June 10, 2021). "Judge rules for Zillow in REX antitrust lawsuit". HousingWire. Retrieved June 5, 2023., county records, tax data, and mortgage information.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). Zillow connects buyers with local real estate agents through their Zillow Premier Agent program.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). Users can compare their Zestimate to prices of actual home sales in their region or neighborhood. [3]
Zillow also connects sellers with local real estate agents, who can perform additional market analysis, such as appraisals, to determine home value and consult on home improvements to maximize value.[4] Sellers and agents can both use Zillow's listings tools, which facilitate interactive floor plans, rotating photos, and AI features.[5] Agents also have access to professional photography and media services.[6]
Sellers can also use Zillow to request cash offers from Opendoor.[7][8]
===Renter services===
Zillow allows renters to apply for apartments and pay rent through its platform.[9] Landlords can also use the platform to process applications, conduct background and credit checks, and accept payments.[9]
===Financing services===
Zillow's affiliate lender, Zillow Home Loans, offers mortgage loans and refinance options.[10] and information about down payment assistance programs.[11]

References

  1. ^ Manko, Barbara A. (2022). "Teaching user-friendly web design: A case study on Zillow.com in the real estate industry". Journal of Information Technology. 12 (1): 38. Retrieved June 5, 2023. For an organization's redesign to impact its users positively, the designer and others responsible for creating its online presence must consider both the content, especially including the functionality of search tools in the case of real estate, and the visual elements of their website's navigation
    {{cite journal}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 301 (help)
  2. ^ "Form 10‑K" (PDF). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 15, 2023. p. 3. Retrieved June 5, 2023. At the core of Zillow is our living database of approximately 140 million U.S. homes
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference WaPo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Joanna Green; Russell Walker (2017). "Neighborhood Watch: The Rise of Zillow :". Kellogg School of Management. Retrieved June 5, 2023. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 39 (help)
  5. ^ Cooper, Gael (June 30, 2023). "Zillow Launches AI-Powered Virtual Home Tours". CNET. Retrieved October 6, 2023. Real estate company Zillow is using artificial intelligence to create a new, immersive listing format on its website.
    {{cite news}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 119 (help)
  6. ^ Han, Brooklee (January 18, 2023). "OZillow Group's ShowingTime+ plans to up agents' marketing game :". Real Trends. Retrieved June 5, 2023. {{cite news}}: line feed character in |title= at position 64 (help)
  7. ^ Han, Brooklee (March 17, 2023). "Opendoor and Zillow expand their partnership :". Real Trends. Retrieved June 5, 2023. {{cite news}}: line feed character in |title= at position 45 (help)
  8. ^ Sopher, Brooklee (August 4, 2022). "After ditching home-buying business, Zillow Group partners with rival Opendoor :". Geek Wire. Retrieved June 5, 2023. {{cite news}}: line feed character in |title= at position 79 (help)
  9. ^ a b Hinchliffe, Emma (July 31, 2018). "Zillow now lets you apply for apartments, pay rent online". Inman. Retrieved October 6, 2023. The listing giant has unveiled a new set of tools letting prospective renters apply to multiple apartments with one form and pay rent directly from the website
    {{cite news}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 160 (help)
  10. ^ Jackson, Jhoni (July 31, 2018). "Zillow Review: Mortgage Refinance". Money. Money Group , LLC. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  11. ^ Lerner, Michele (December 21, 2021). "Zillow partners with housing group to make down payment assistance programs more accessible". Washington Post. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
|}
As I've stated above, I understand that (a) I have a clear conflict of interest as I work for Zillow and that (b) editors will thus want to closely review everything I'm proposing to ensure it aligns with content guidelines. I should say, though, that I think the Services draft is a clear improvement on the existing Website features section for the reasons described above. Please let me know what you think, and know that I appreciate your help as a Wikipedia newbie. ZillowHaley (talk) 20:57, 6 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Zestimate request

Hello, Haley from Zillow back again. Following the Services/Website features, I wanted to address the Zestimate section since there are some updates needed to this section.

I've considerably reworked this section in order to provide more details about Zestimate's development, launch, and updates. I did not have any changes for the two paragraphs in the Accuracy subsection, as these passages address critical claims and I felt it best to avoid any rewording there. But I did provide updated figures about Zestimate's error rate in the last paragraph.

Updated Zestimate section

Zestimate

Zestimate is a home value estimation model developed by Zillow that functions as a key feature on the company's web and app portals.[1][2][3] The Zestimate tool allows users to see an estimate of a home's market value.[1][4] This information is displayed on individual listings and in map view, which provides users with a visual guide to the value of homes in particular markets.[2][5] Figures are based on a proprietary algorithm, which incorporates data from the multiple listing service database, user-submitted details, public data, market trends, and specific facts on homes.[1][3][6]

Development of the Zestimate model was led by Stan Humphries, a data analyst who had worked at Expedia with Zillow co-founders Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink.[3][7][8] Spencer Rascoff, another Zillow co-founder, told Insider that "we went about the task of assembling all this data from county sources. So most of this information — bed, bath, square footage, tax assessment, sale history — is available in county courthouses, but we had to go acquire it, digitize it, and then build the data layer, the Zestimate, that sits on top of that."[3]

Zillow launched Zestimate in 2006 as a feature on the Zillow website.[9][4] The tool provided estimates for the market value of 2.4 million homes.[10] This marked the first time that the public had access to estimated home values, as this data was previously only available to real estate agents, appraisers, and mortgage lenders.[9]

By 2008, Zillow featured home value estimates for almost 90 percent of homes in the United States.[11]

In 2011, Zillow released Rent Zestimates, which provided estimated rent prices.[12] Zillow stated that these estimates were based on "public property data and similar local properties listed for rent", among other considerations, and were meant to be “a starting point for determining a home or apartment’s estimated monthly rent price.”[13]

On June 14, 2011, Zillow changed the algorithm used to calculate Zestimates. In addition to changing the current Zestimate for millions of homes throughout the country, Zillow changed historical Zestimate value information dating back to 2006.[14] That same month, Zillow reported that it updated how it calculates the Zestimate for off-market homes in order to be more responsive to local trends and seasonality that may affect a home’s market value and includes even more historical data to improve accuracy.[15]

In 2021, Zillow announced that an updated version of Zestimate would utilize AI components, including computer vision that mines data from the images associated with homes and neural networking that correlates home facts, location, housing market trends, and home values.[10][16]

Accuracy

In 2007, The Wall Street Journal studied the accuracy of Zillow's estimates and found that they "often are very good, frequently within a few percentage points of the actual price paid. But when Zillow is bad, it can be terrible."[17]

In October 2006, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission[18] stating that Zillow was "intentionally misleading consumers and real-estate professionals to rely upon the accuracy of its valuation services despite the full knowledge of the company officials that their valuation Automated Valuation Model (AVM) mechanism is highly inaccurate and misleading." In a letter dated May 4, 2007, the FTC elected not to investigate this complaint,[19] which was later withdrawn by the NCRC.[citation needed]

As of 2023, Zillow reports that the nationwide median error rate for valuations provided by Zestimate is 2.4 percent for on-market homes and 7.49 percent for off-market homes.[20]

References

  1. ^ a b c Runshan Fu; Ginger Zhe Jin; Meng Liu (March 2022). "Does Human-Algorithm Feedback Loop Lead to Error Propagation? Evidence from Zillow's Zestimate" (PDF). National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Vuong, Madeline (February 8, 2016). "How Zillow came up with the Zestimate, and why it has become such a hit". GeekWire. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d Lebowitz, Shana; Shontell, Alyson (November 2, 2017). "People nearly crashed Zillow's site on launch day thanks to a genius product feature — now it's a $7 billion company". Insider. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Saracevic, Alan T. (February 12, 2006). "Zillow: Pornography for the real estate-obsessed". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Corporation. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  5. ^ Loukissas, Yanni (March 17, 2018). All the homes: Zillow and the operational context of data. Transforming Digital Worlds: 13th International Conference. Springer International Publishing. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  6. ^ "What is a Zestimate?". Zillow. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  7. ^ Cook, John (February 16, 2012). "Zillow's Rich Barton: Why 50-50 equity splits between co-founders are extremely dangerous". GeekWire. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  8. ^ Lynch, Dennis (February 16, 2012). "The face of big data". TheRealDeal. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Soper, Taylor (June 15, 2021). "Zillow Group uses machine learning to improve Zestimate algorithm for changing market trends". GeekWire. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Huang, Allison (July 14, 2021). "Zillow utilizes explainer AI, data to revolutionize how people sell houses". VentureBeat. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  11. ^ Sterling, Greg (January 10, 2008). "Zillow Comes Out Of Beta, Improves Zestimates". Search Engine Land. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  12. ^ "Zillow's Rent Zestimates to provide rent prices for 90 million homes". VentureBeat. 2011-03-10. Archived from the original on 2013-10-03. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
  13. ^ Wellborn, Mark (March 10, 2011). "Zillow Launches Rental Zestimates". Urban Turf. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  14. ^ Whelan, Robbie (2011-07-06). "Zillow 'Zestimate' Shifts, Prompting Howls". WSJ. Archived from the original on 2016-08-21. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  15. ^ Zillow. "Twitter Post". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2021-07-20. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  16. ^ Wiggers, Kyle (June 26, 2019). "Zillow now uses computer vision to improve property value estimates". VentureBeat. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  17. ^ Hagerty, James R. "How Good Are Zillow's Estimates?" Archived 2017-08-09 at the Wayback Machine, The Wall Street Journal, 2007-02-14. Retrieved on 2009-02-25.
  18. ^ "Federal Trade Commission Complaint" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 1, 2007.
  19. ^ "FTC_NCRC_Zillow.pdf" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
  20. ^ "What is a Zestimate?". Zillow. Retrieved June 20, 2023. The nationwide median error rate for the Zestimate for on-market homes is 2.4%, while the Zestimate for off-market homes has a median error rate of 7.49%.

To help editors review this, I've put a break down below of how the new draft compares with the existing material:

Changes vs. current section

Current text: Zillow determines an estimate, also known as a "Zestimate", for a home based on a range of publicly available information, including sales of comparable houses in a neighborhood. According to Zillow, the Zestimate is a starting point in determining a home's value.[1][2] The accuracy of the Zestimate varies by location depending on how much information is publicly available, but Zillow allows users to check the accuracy of Zestimates in their own region against actual sales.[1]

  • New text to replace the existing text: Zestimate is a home value estimation model developed by Zillow that functions as a key feature on the company's web and app portals.[3][4][5] The Zestimate tool allows users to see an estimate of a home's market value.[3][6] This information is displayed on individual listings and in map view, which provides users with a visual guide to the value of homes in particular markets.[4][7] Figures are based on a proprietary algorithm, which incorporates data from the multiple listing service database, user-submitted details, public data, market trends, and specific facts on homes.[3][5][8]
  • Changes: Expands the description of Zestimate and explains how it is used and where it appears on the app; the discussion of accuracy is moved into its own subsection

References

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Howell, David. "How accurate is Zillow's Zestimate? Not very, says one Washington-area agent". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2020-04-23. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  3. ^ a b c Runshan Fu; Ginger Zhe Jin; Meng Liu (March 2022). "Does Human-Algorithm Feedback Loop Lead to Error Propagation? Evidence from Zillow's Zestimate" (PDF). National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Vuong, Madeline (February 8, 2016). "How Zillow came up with the Zestimate, and why it has become such a hit". GeekWire. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Lebowitz, Shana; Shontell, Alyson (November 2, 2017). "People nearly crashed Zillow's site on launch day thanks to a genius product feature — now it's a $7 billion company". Insider. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  6. ^ Saracevic, Alan T. (February 12, 2006). "Zillow: Pornography for the real estate-obsessed". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Corporation. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  7. ^ Loukissas, Yanni (March 17, 2018). All the homes: Zillow and the operational context of data. Transforming Digital Worlds: 13th International Conference. Springer International Publishing. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  8. ^ "What is a Zestimate?". Zillow. Retrieved June 20, 2023.

For transparency, I have a clear conflict of interest as I work for Zillow, so I'm asking impartial editors to review these changes. Please let me know what you think. ZillowHaley (talk) 22:36, 7 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Reply 28-SEP-2023

no Declined I'm afraid that many of the issues I brought to the attention of the COI editor have yet to be resolved with this new proposal.

  1. Multiple bundled citations are used to reference information in the proposed text. This is not acceptable.[a] (See WP:TOOMANYREFS, WP:INTEGRITY.)
  2. Verbatim text from the Loukissas source has not been provided as requested.
  3. The page number from the FTC complaint PDF has not been provided. The document is 12 pages long, and I'm sure the COI editor does not expect the reviewer to read all 12 pages in order to complete the edit request review.
  4. Additional requests for clarification from my reply dated 30-AUG-2023 appear not to have been addressed.

Until and unless these issues are clarified/addressed, the request cannot proceed. Regards,  Spintendo  21:51, 28 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Notes

  1. ^ "Bundled" citations is when 2 or more ref notes are placed at the end of one sentence or a group of sentences like so: "The Earth orbits the Sun.[1][2][3]"
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